ALH 1949 willys cj3a

jmodge

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Joined
Jun 18, 2015
Location
Greenville, MI
TDI
2001 alh Jetta, RC2 w/.205's 5speed daily summer commuter and 2000 alh Jetta 5spd swap, 2" lift, hitch, stage 3 TDtuning w/.216's winter cruiser, 1996 Tacoma ALh
Misspoke myself, if no air in the lines, focus downstream toward the injectors. I see you had air in the lines that disappeared while running it, then focus upstream toward the tank. Calm and wise, true or not, I'll run with that. I'm going to see if I can get anywhere with Donna using that one!
 

AndyBees

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Joined
May 27, 2003
Location
Southeast Kentucky
TDI
Silver 2003 Jetta TDI, Silver 2000 Jetta TDI (sold), '84 Vanagon with '02 ALH engine
If you have long cranks again, check the ground(s) circuit(s) for the ECU.

Long, long story short, I had very hard starts (long cranks, far more than 3 or 4 seconds, even up to 10 seconds and more)... 18 months of PITA hunting and following suggestions, such as: starters, battery, alternator, air-leaking into fuel system, O-ring on the IP, timing, etc.

One day, I removed the ground cable at the battery and connected a very long cable out the door directly to the engine block ... bam, bam, it started immediately each time I turned the ignition. Well, the problem was a loose ground strap from the body to the transmission.

Apparently the starter was "drawing" most of the ground from the ECU which was grounded nearby to the transmission.
 

Millennium Falcon

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2016
Location
Central pa
TDI
2003 jetta wagon, 1949 willys cj3 ALH TDI swap
Thanks Andy, I will check all my grounds today. As of right now it seems to have healed itself. Its starting to the tune of "one-Mississippi" im guessing it was a air/prime issue. Ill keep you posted. Thank you all for the advice!

Ive been driving it all over lately. So far so good. Installed my new shocks the other day.... she is pretty much done for now.








 
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jmodge

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 18, 2015
Location
Greenville, MI
TDI
2001 alh Jetta, RC2 w/.205's 5speed daily summer commuter and 2000 alh Jetta 5spd swap, 2" lift, hitch, stage 3 TDtuning w/.216's winter cruiser, 1996 Tacoma ALh
what does the jeep weigh in at?
 

jmodge

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Joined
Jun 18, 2015
Location
Greenville, MI
TDI
2001 alh Jetta, RC2 w/.205's 5speed daily summer commuter and 2000 alh Jetta 5spd swap, 2" lift, hitch, stage 3 TDtuning w/.216's winter cruiser, 1996 Tacoma ALh
That thing must pull like crazy! Easy to tow also. That tip from Andy sounds easy and worth looking into, a ground is something that could "fix itself" as the truck bounces around.
 

Millennium Falcon

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Nov 2, 2016
Location
Central pa
TDI
2003 jetta wagon, 1949 willys cj3 ALH TDI swap
Yeah it pulls nicely.....but is geared to low to use the top end power. Once I get the overdrive installed I will be able to put some actual load on the engine. I have added a ground strap from the frame to the block and from the frame to the tub. Hopefully that takes care of any grounding issues. It seems to be running good at the moment.
 

AndyBees

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Joined
May 27, 2003
Location
Southeast Kentucky
TDI
Silver 2003 Jetta TDI, Silver 2000 Jetta TDI (sold), '84 Vanagon with '02 ALH engine
My Tin-top Vanagon, with about a half tank of fuel and me in it, weighed in at 3640 lbs if I remember correctly. The ALH TDI engine has no problem pushing the Van down the highway, even while towing a popup camper, at 70 MPH, mile after mile!

So, Millennium Falcon's Willy Jeep conversion project is going to be awesome... The more I read the more I am impressed ......... makes me want to do another project.:D

EDIT: You cannot go wrong adding those extra ground connections.
 
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Millennium Falcon

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Nov 2, 2016
Location
Central pa
TDI
2003 jetta wagon, 1949 willys cj3 ALH TDI swap
Thanks Andy! Yeah this little thing doesn’t weigh much. This engine easily out performs the chassis/steering & brakes. 50mph is plenty fast enough. I think the biggest problem will be keeping the turbo vaines clean. With 5.38 gears and 2000lbs the engine doesn’t get much of a load.
 

Millennium Falcon

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Nov 2, 2016
Location
Central pa
TDI
2003 jetta wagon, 1949 willys cj3 ALH TDI swap
Then overdrive was factory ad on. They are really cool. They work in any gear 2 and 4 wheel drive and reverse. Plus you retain the Benifits of the low gearing for off roading. Plus it takes a few minutes to install. I use the od in my other Jeep as a gear splitter. It’s fun having 4 shifters sticking up through the floor. :) the Jeep goes 50-55 now. The over
Drive will bring the rpm down to 2100 @ 55. That should be perfect. I don’t want to go any faster than that. Haha this thing is 69 years old.
 

jmodge

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Joined
Jun 18, 2015
Location
Greenville, MI
TDI
2001 alh Jetta, RC2 w/.205's 5speed daily summer commuter and 2000 alh Jetta 5spd swap, 2" lift, hitch, stage 3 TDtuning w/.216's winter cruiser, 1996 Tacoma ALh
Divorced transfercase with od on back of trans?
 

Millennium Falcon

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Nov 2, 2016
Location
Central pa
TDI
2003 jetta wagon, 1949 willys cj3 ALH TDI swap
No it’s attached. It’s little aluminum planetary assebmbly that bolts in the pto cover. I have pictures and videos of it on my YouTube channel. I will post some later.
 

Hasenwerk

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Nov 28, 2003
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Quesnel, BC
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1982 Cabriolet (BEW|VNT17|Stage4), 1989 VW TriStar Syncro soon-to-be CR TDI (CBEA), 2001 Ford Ranger Edge 4x4 (ALH|VNT17|R520|Stage4)
My experience is that your timing could be minorly changed for better starting. With the timing set above the line, you get easier starting, slightly louder and better power but not as good fuel economy. Below the line is quieter, slightly better fuel economy but crappy cold starts, especially in winter. It's too bad we can't just loosen everything and set timing while the engine is running!
 

Millennium Falcon

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Joined
Nov 2, 2016
Location
Central pa
TDI
2003 jetta wagon, 1949 willys cj3 ALH TDI swap
Here are some videos of my mercedes swapped jeep with the same overdrive setup. In the video I use it to split gears. I just did that to have fun on the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q9g3bZX_Lo


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsTemCcG_Lo


Here is the little guy! I just love these things! They are rated for mild v8 power and provide 25% overdrive or gear splitting in any gear. Reverse overdrive is also handy when you have to back up down a long driveway or something. It is fully synchronized so you can shift on the fly.




Divorced transfercase with od on back of trans?
 

jackbombay

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Mar 12, 2002
Location
Diesel knows best
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A4 Jetta
Air introduced at any point that isn't the pump head o-ring will not result in a long crank as that air will not be in the pump head yet when the engine is trying to fire.

2 ways to sort of test for a bad pump head oring, crank till it fires, then shut off immediately, wait 10 seconds then crank again and if it fires quickly it could be the pump head oring. The other way is to park the vehicle with the nose notably downhill overnight and see how it starts in the AM, the lower the nose is the less "suction" there will be from the tank/fuel lines trying to pull air into the pump head.
 

Millennium Falcon

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Nov 2, 2016
Location
Central pa
TDI
2003 jetta wagon, 1949 willys cj3 ALH TDI swap
I think I had a leaky fuel filter line or something.... the starting issue has been resolved. Those are good tips to keep in mind should the issue show up again. Thanks!
 

AndyBees

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 27, 2003
Location
Southeast Kentucky
TDI
Silver 2003 Jetta TDI, Silver 2000 Jetta TDI (sold), '84 Vanagon with '02 ALH engine
Wow! The Diesel Mercedes powered 8-speed Jeep is awesome!
 

Millennium Falcon

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Nov 2, 2016
Location
Central pa
TDI
2003 jetta wagon, 1949 willys cj3 ALH TDI swap
Thanks Andy!

I finally got around to making a video for the guys on the jeep page. I though you guys might appreciate it. I still have a few small things to do. Making an oil pan skid plate is one of them... But its derivable so Im going to putt as many miles on it as I can to get all the bugs worked out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUhLxIn0nYQ&feature=youtu.be
 

Growler

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Nov 24, 2003
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Millersport, Ohio
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Schmutz, 2015 Golf Sportwagen DSG & Schnurren, 2001 Golf GL 2 door 5M
I just watched the video of you driving around the yard. that turbo sounds glorious.

started watching the longer video, but will finish later at home where I can see it on the big screen.

great job.
 

Millennium Falcon

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2016
Location
Central pa
TDI
2003 jetta wagon, 1949 willys cj3 ALH TDI swap
I got the overdrive installed! What a difference! 2200rpm at 50mph. I had to make a shifter and bracket. I used a stainless steel bracket and pivot pin. This thing can really roll along now!















 
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jmodge

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 18, 2015
Location
Greenville, MI
TDI
2001 alh Jetta, RC2 w/.205's 5speed daily summer commuter and 2000 alh Jetta 5spd swap, 2" lift, hitch, stage 3 TDtuning w/.216's winter cruiser, 1996 Tacoma ALh
Is the handle to the right of the gauged a parking brake?
 

Millennium Falcon

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Joined
Nov 2, 2016
Location
Central pa
TDI
2003 jetta wagon, 1949 willys cj3 ALH TDI swap
Yes but if you turn it to the right it engages the flux capacitor. I needed the overdrive to be able to get her up to 88 mph.
 

ToxicDoc

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Joined
Mar 1, 2018
Location
Virginia, US
TDI
2001 Jetta, S7, .216
What do your throttle and choke pulls do (if anything)? Also an observation - you need seat belts and maybe a roll bar in that thing. If would suck to get knocked out of it.
 

Millennium Falcon

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2016
Location
Central pa
TDI
2003 jetta wagon, 1949 willys cj3 ALH TDI swap
Yeah they don't do anything. I tried to come up with a cool idea but came up blank. Safety belts are in the works. Ive been driving the jeep everyday. I can keep up with traffic!! rolls right along quiet and smooth. I played with my gps app more to track my speed. 54 mph is 2250 rpm. Not bad considering it has 5.38 gears. 55 is more than fast enough for these little jeeps.





 
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Millennium Falcon

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2016
Location
Central pa
TDI
2003 jetta wagon, 1949 willys cj3 ALH TDI swap
Shout out and a big thank you to Owain, and Malone for hooking me up with a sweet tune and dynamic Idle for the jeep!







 
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