BEW / Cherokee swap

evguy1

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Location
Erington, BC, Canada
TDI
2000 Jeep Cherokee TDI, 2008 Jeep JKU TDI
Made a bit of progress this weekend and the engine is bolted in.
I think my intake turned out OK.
Just need to figure out rad hoses and then build the wiring harnesses for the Jeep and Ranger.
Could be a while before I make much progress due to work load, at work.

DSCF3135 by evguy, on Flickr
 

Tagg33

Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2015
Location
Denver
TDI
none yet
That looks great! Do you have any plans to sell the adapters after you get these 2 projects done?
 

evguy1

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Location
Erington, BC, Canada
TDI
2000 Jeep Cherokee TDI, 2008 Jeep JKU TDI
That looks great! Do you have any plans to sell the adapters after you get these 2 projects done?
I didn't when I started these two but the interest has been so much that I started a web site but until I'm listed as a vendor I cant tell you where it is.
I think that takes two months.
 

evguy1

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Location
Erington, BC, Canada
TDI
2000 Jeep Cherokee TDI, 2008 Jeep JKU TDI
Finaly got a bit of time on the Jeep this week.
New motor mount design and had a casting done for the remote oil filter plate which will drop the cost a bit.
 

Ill Named

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2011
Location
Central BC
TDI
2001 Golf, 2003 Golf
I see you're in Errington. My inlaws live in Errington and I may be coming down this summer for a visit. I'm up in PG. This is a swap I am seriously considering doing and I'd love to come check it out. I think I'd prefer an ALH though. Mind if I stop by for a look if I'm down?
 

craws01

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 20, 2013
Location
GA
TDI
Audi A3
Great thread and timely. I just bought a BEW from a wreck and plan to do this same swap. I was going to swap into a YJ, but I think the XJ is a better fit for me.
 

evguy1

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Location
Erington, BC, Canada
TDI
2000 Jeep Cherokee TDI, 2008 Jeep JKU TDI
I need some cooling system help.
I have done away with the EGR cooler and engine oil cooler so all I have is a top and bottom rad hose, two heater hoses and the small line from the back of the BEW head.
Where can I tie in that small line?
Can it tie into my upper rad hose?
Can it just be capped off?
Can I just loop it down to where the oil cooler return line was?
I know on the VW it went to a header tank that was common to the top hose?
The Jeep does not have a header tank, just the pressure cap on the rad and overflow tank.
 

evguy1

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Location
Erington, BC, Canada
TDI
2000 Jeep Cherokee TDI, 2008 Jeep JKU TDI
Now that the Ranger is done http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=438039 its time to get this Jeep finnished!
I started to deal with the TDI wiring harness.


After stripping off all the looming on the harness it became obvious that this is really two separate harness and might be much easier to deal with as two separate harnesses.


One is just the engine harness and one is mostly the chassis harness.
There were only a few wires that crossed over from one to the other so I installed a Weatherpack 6 pin connector between the two harnesses.
Here is a modified harness and the added 6 pin jack at the top middle.



I called my local VW dealer and gave them the VIN# of the TDI car and they printed off a stack of diagrams showing each pin on the ECU and where it went. Too bad they did not email it or I would post them.
I'm sure "most" dealerships would do the same.
Just have to finish looming this engine harness and its ready to go into the Jeep.
The chassis harness is next.
 
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evguy1

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Location
Erington, BC, Canada
TDI
2000 Jeep Cherokee TDI, 2008 Jeep JKU TDI
This is the "chassis" TDI harness once all the extra stuff is stripped out.
The 6 pin jack at the top is to connect to the "engine" harness.
This has worked out really well and made routing the harnesses much easier since I'm dealing with two small harnesses rather than one large one.
I should say that I don't have to meet any smog testing so the EGR, O2 and some other sensors have been removed which made the harnesses easier.

 

evguy1

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Location
Erington, BC, Canada
TDI
2000 Jeep Cherokee TDI, 2008 Jeep JKU TDI
Figured out how to mount both Jeep and TDI ECM's.
This bracket bolts to the inner fender, holds both ECM's, the glow plug relay and room for a few more relays for lights and other stuff.


Still have some wiring to finish up.



c
 

evguy1

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Location
Erington, BC, Canada
TDI
2000 Jeep Cherokee TDI, 2008 Jeep JKU TDI
I needed the clearance on the stock TDI oil filter housing so I made up the adapter fitting for the block. Had a few other people ask about them so we just did a run of 25 to see if they would sell.
http://gastodiesel.tdconversions.com/accessories/


Sold a few so far.

The same with the accessory drive bracket. Had to raise the bracket 4" to get power steering pump clearance.
I could not get the stock spring loaded belt tensioner to work with the new belt position so we designed the mechanical one and it works great.
 

TDIsyncro

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2005
Location
Saskatoon, SK
TDI
Audi/TDI x 2
the work on your projects looks very clean and professional! great stuff!! I found your adapters a very interesting approach. :cool:

You seem set-up for short run casting. That is one resource I wish I had but do not.
 
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evguy1

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Location
Erington, BC, Canada
TDI
2000 Jeep Cherokee TDI, 2008 Jeep JKU TDI
Thanks TDIsyncro.
We have been building cast EV adapters for 25 years and work with some very talented Engineers, machinists and foundry people.
After 35 years of doing conversions of one type or another I'm always looking to solve those annoying roadblocks that we all run into on these sort of projects.
I'm open to suggestions for new parts to make swaps easier for us all.
 

Rockwell

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 23, 2009
Location
Manchester, NH
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI (R.I.P.), 1.6TD Toyota pickup, 2011 BMW 335d, 1996 Passat TDI
How about an AHU thermostat housing that points down instead of towards the oil filter? With the engine mounted longitudinally you have to find a radiator hose that does a 180° turn.
 

A-man930

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2014
Location
St. Louis
TDI
Planning Stages: ALH Jeep MJ
I'd like to tip my hat to you sir, this is an awesome swap and I'm thrilled to see somebody competing with HPA for XJ/MJ conversion parts.
:cool:
-Could you shed some more light on your mounts (compatibility with other TDi variants? Availability of replacement "rubbers"?) And I take its pretty well established that these engines don't need support at the front of the engine?? I ask because even the longitudinal (Passat) applications for this engine have some kind of mount for the front... just curious.
-I see that your adapter plate kit for the 4.0 includes the mini-starter; what's the off-the-shelf availability of this guy? I'm not so certain I want to stray away from easy to find stock replacement parts...
-What exhaust manifold are you using and am I seeing correctly that you didn't have to notch the frame to fit it in there?


Again, killer swap and excellent work!
 

evguy1

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Location
Erington, BC, Canada
TDI
2000 Jeep Cherokee TDI, 2008 Jeep JKU TDI
Thanks for the kind words. :)
I will be stocking all the parts that are listed on the web site, no 3 month wait!

I use off the shelf rubber mounts, the ones in the Ranger kit are a bit hard and according to Hasenwerk who bought one of the kits they do transmit vibration.
I did not find that on my TDI Ranger but then I drive a Dakota with a Cummins so I'm used to the vibration. ;>)

The mounts in the Jeep are a softer urethane one and time will tell if they vibrate.
Correct on the front mount, no added support required.

All the kits include the Mini starter. This is an off the shelf Hitachi style starter which is sold by almost every automotive website out there.
We machine the bolt on clockable end adapter to work with our adapter plates. If you had a starter problem you just swap the machined end adapter to the new starter.
These little starters really spin the TDI quick as they are normally used on small and big block V8's.

I did not have to notch the frame on my XJ (or the Ranger). The adapter rotates the engine up more vertical which puts the turbo up higher and clears the frame.
An XJ does need a 2-3" lift for the front axle to clear the oil pan.
 

evguy1

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Location
Erington, BC, Canada
TDI
2000 Jeep Cherokee TDI, 2008 Jeep JKU TDI
Its been really busy at work so not much got done for the last few weeks.
I have set a deadline of Nov 10th to have this on the road so lets get moving!
Got the TDI/Jeep engine harness finnished.
It has a bit of both TDI and Jeep in it so its just a plug in harness.




Next is to finish the TDI / jeep engine compartment harness which should be a lot easier.

Started on modifying the shifter.
When the trans was moved forward the 3" for firewall clearance it meant the shifter also moved forward and would hit the dash.
I heated up and bent the lower shifter so it was straight on the top half.
Once its installed and the console in place I can bend the upper shifter shaft to match the stock angle.


 

evguy1

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Location
Erington, BC, Canada
TDI
2000 Jeep Cherokee TDI, 2008 Jeep JKU TDI
ITS ALIVE!!
Just a 30 second test run but it fired up on the 3-4 revolution.

Still a few things to do before a test run (like coolant) but it sounded great.
 

xerootg

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2015
Location
USA
TDI
Mk7 Golf Sportwagen, BHW Jeep XJ
Congrats on getting it running! That's awesome man! What do for an intercooler? I have been eyeballing a stock euro VM Motori XJ intercooler, as it just bolts into the radiator support with the inlet and outlet on the right side of the block. Seems convenient.
 

A-man930

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2014
Location
St. Louis
TDI
Planning Stages: ALH Jeep MJ
I have been eyeballing a stock euro VM Motori XJ intercooler, as it just bolts into the radiator support with the inlet and outlet on the right side of the block. Seems convenient.
Very interested in this as well.
 

evguy1

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Location
Erington, BC, Canada
TDI
2000 Jeep Cherokee TDI, 2008 Jeep JKU TDI
Congrats on getting it running! That's awesome man! What do for an intercooler? I have been eyeballing a stock euro VM Motori XJ intercooler, as it just bolts into the radiator support with the inlet and outlet on the right side of the block. Seems convenient.
Are you building a Jeep XJ?
The problem I found is there is no room between the front of the rad / AC condenser and the back of the grill.
I ended up with a smaller unit mounted below the rad and put an electric fan on it.
The fan is controlled by a temp switch in the pipe coming from the turbo so as soon as the air gets to 170F it turns the fan on.
 

xerootg

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2015
Location
USA
TDI
Mk7 Golf Sportwagen, BHW Jeep XJ
Are you building a Jeep XJ?
Not yet. I am filling my shed with parts. I have to take the bus to and from work until its complete once I start, so for now I fill my shed.

The problem I found is there is no room between the front of the rad / AC condenser and the back of the grill.
I ended up with a smaller unit mounted below the rad and put an electric fan on it.
The fan is controlled by a temp switch in the pipe coming from the turbo so as soon as the air gets to 170F it turns the fan on.
That's pretty much what the OEM intercooler is, but both inlet and outlet are on the right side of the block. It is mounted in the same location as yours from the sound of it.


Image credit

I will go back to lucking in the shadows and watch your build :D
 

nztdi1

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2015
Location
nz
TDI
golf mk4, touareg 2.5, octavia 2.0 8v, boats x2
Congrats on getting it running! That's awesome man! What do for an intercooler? I have been eyeballing a stock euro VM Motori XJ intercooler, as it just bolts into the radiator support with the inlet and outlet on the right side of the block. Seems convenient.
I started with an xj td with the vm motor. Looked at using the factory intercooler but it's pretty small. I ended up moving the rad/aircon condensor back approx 20mm(easy) which combined with some serious modification of the grill and headlight buckets meant i could fit a large aftermarket front mount i/c
 
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