Toyota Tacoma ALH Swaparoo!!

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1.9ZOOK said:

That's good to hear,was there ever a point at which you were disappointed
or felt like it didn't perform as you imagined?
I am still at that point and slowly working the bugs out one by one.

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honestly never been disappointed in the performance or reliability, some things i would have done differently and may still change those things... some things i want to add and improve ... i drive it daily so it's just hop in and go without even thinking about vehicle, almost never pop the hood except to show someone curious about the swap ...
recent upgrades maintenance:
*KMC Enduro 16 x 9 with 265/75 wranglers
*softopper (gets more comments than anything else)
*explorer 5.0 canister air filter upgrade
*new windshield

near future upgrades and maintenace:
*aluminum front winch plate bumper
*aluminum rear bumper (both of these to be built by my buddy Geoff)
*motor mounts from evguy
*timing belt
*on board air
*new rear springs (truck is on second set now and they are shot!)
*dual friction clutch (yes it's slipping again)

Jim your thread is great its one that I come back to regularly as I am in the process. Other than clutches you really haven't had many issues. I know this might sound expensive but have you considered a twin or tripple disk setup? They have come down alot since my drag racing days. I bet toysport could point you in the direction of generic tilton style and you would not have to worry about it again.

I'm really impressed with the performance(stage 1 tune in a 3100lb car)
just need to get a program to start deleting sensors that are no longer and get the
idle to stop shaking so badly(50 rpms more and it smoothes right out)

jimbote said:

well I used the toyota heater control valve and yes I can turn it off....no need for the coolant to circulate through the core all the time....the engine will just heat up a bit quicker and the t stat will open sooner opening the channel through the rad. ....keep in mind too that the coolant is always circulating through the oil cooler whether the t'stat is open or not ....on my swap due the the layout of the toy heater core VS the coolant pipes on the TDI, I did weld a nipple onto the water outlet so I wouldnt have to loop a heater hose around the back of the engine ....

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Can you clarify a little about your coolant hose routing?

I've got a thread going over here.

From your picture, the hose is going straight to your heater core. It does not pass Go and it does not collect $200, right?

Then, the other outlet on that flange goes where? Doesn't it go to the upper radiator hose? You were saying you have flow through the oil cooler all the time. How do you have your routing to get to the cooler? Is it anything like what I've sketched up?

I see an extra sensor on the coolant flange. Is that the OEM Toyota sensor (for the instrument cluster)?

Thanks for your help.

large nipple is upper rad, small added nipple goes to heater core, added sensor is for toyota gauge.... as for the oil cooler it always has coolant circulating regardless of thermostat opening, this is the way VW designed it... i really have not changed anything from the stock VW flow other than having the toyota heater control valve in the system ... this does not change how coolant circulates through the rest of the system as it only diverts a small amount of hot coolant from the upper rad hose when open

How does the coolant GET TO the oil cooler? The small, added nipple up top would normally be out the bottom and that would feed the cooler. Did you have to make a custom splice of some sort into the upper rad hose?

frambach said:

How does the coolant GET TO the oil cooler? The small, added nipple up top would normally be out the bottom and that would feed the cooler. Did you have to make a custom splice of some sort into the upper rad hose?

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there is still a small original nipple on the bottom of the flange out of view that feeds the cooler

http://www.myturbodiesel.com/images/a4/TB_head_rem/turbor3b.jpg

Ah, gotcha. I assumed (you know what they say) that the welded nipple was relocated from the bottom. Thanks for the clarification.

frambach said:

Ah, gotcha. I assumed (you know what they say) that the welded nipple was relocated from the bottom. Thanks for the clarification.

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np, the manual coolant flange has the bolted on rear heater feed nipple with the coolant glows and because i was going longitudinal i didn't have room @ the firewall for that configuration so i built a block off plate as seen in the pic and added the nipple on top ....iirc the cjaa coolant flange has all the right nipples to use unmodified ... i'll take another look though

Motohead1 said:

Jim your thread is great its one that I come back to regularly as I am in the process. Other than clutches you really haven't had many issues. I know this might sound expensive but have you considered a twin or tripple disk setup? They have come down alot since my drag racing days. I bet toysport could point you in the direction of generic tilton style and you would not have to worry about it again.

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thanks Moto... i have a stock disc that's been modified to dual friction by southbend... gonna give that a shot

jimbote said:

np, the manual coolant flange has the bolted on rear heater feed nipple with the coolant glows and because i was going longitudinal i didn't have room @ the firewall for that configuration so i built a block off plate as seen in the pic and added the nipple on top ....iirc the cjaa coolant flange has all the right nipples to use unmodified ... i'll take another look though

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Got one on its way (p/n 03L 121 132Q)! Thanks for the tip. I'll see what I can do with it.

I'd really like a metal one so I can cut/weld/machine it. So, I have one like you used (p/n 038 121 133A) on its way as well.

The CJAA unit looks perfect! I just wish it was metal. I still need to find a place for my Toyota coolant temp sensor for my cluster.

I know there are options available to splice into the upper radiator hose (like: http://www.42draftdesigns.com/vw-universal-water-temp-adapter/) but, it has to get it's own ground & it just looks like an afterthought to me...

frambach said:

The CJAA unit looks perfect! I just wish it was metal. I still need to find a place for my Toyota coolant temp sensor for my cluster.

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The AHU has a boss in the radiator hose but I think the ALH has a similar boss in a couple other places. I drilled out a VW sensor and installed my toyota sensor in it. Its a two pin sensor, one of them goes to ground.

Rockwell, that looks great and it's a good idea. Our coolant lines didn't have any bosses like that that I remember (2002 Jetta ALH w/ autotragic).

Here are some of the coolant flanges I'm currently fiddling with.



From top to bottom:
038 121 133 A
03L 121 132 Q
03G 121 132 B

We've got another plastic one somewhere but it has the nipple coming off of the bottom (like the aluminum one). For that reason, it was quickly ruled out.

Since this pic, I have cut the nipple off of the bottom of the aluminum one. I later saw that there was an OEM part that is both A) aluminum and B) doesn't have the lower nipple. It's part number 038 121 133 J)

Anyone know if the ECM has to get a signal from the VW ECT sensor? There are two wires out of the ECT that go directly to the ECM (pins 104 & 112).

If I don't have to have the VW sensor, that is one more thing I can shed. Then, I could possibly install something like this in the flange to hold my Toyota sensor (similar to what you did Rockwell):

Available from ECS Tuning

The ECU needs a temp signal to run correctly. In the VW sensor there are 4 pins, one is ECU temp reading, which you need to have, the next is gauge reading, and one for overheat a/c disable. The 4th I assume is ground.

VW used various sensors over the years for ECU temp and as far as I know they all use similar resistive values, some had only one single terminal going to the ECU, and screwed into a fitting. You should be able to use that for Engine temp and the one from the car for gauge temp.

I doubt that the gauge values in the VW sensor match the car, but if so then you could use it for both.

frambach said:

Rockwell, that looks great and it's a good idea. Our coolant lines didn't have any bosses like that that I remember (2002 Jetta ALH w/ autotragic).
Here are some of the coolant flanges I'm currently fiddling with.

From top to bottom:
038 121 133 A
03L 121 132 Q
03G 121 132 B
We've got another plastic one somewhere but it has the nipple coming off of the bottom (like the aluminum one). For that reason, it was quickly ruled out.
Since this pic, I have cut the nipple off of the bottom of the aluminum one. I later saw that there was an OEM part that is both A) aluminum and B) doesn't have the lower nipple. It's part number 038 121 133 J)
Anyone know if the ECM has to get a signal from the VW ECT sensor? There are two wires out of the ECT that go directly to the ECM (pins 104 & 112).
If I don't have to have the VW sensor, that is one more thing I can shed. Then, I could possibly install something like this in the flange to hold my Toyota sensor (similar to what you did Rockwell):

Available from ECS Tuning

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All those flanges have that boss, or do you need them for the VW sensor?

Rockwell said:

All those flanges have that boss, or do you need them for the VW sensor?

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The post right above yours (from pdq import) says that I will need that boss for the VW sensor to send info to the ECM.

the 4 wire temp sensor on the ALH is 2 independent resistance circuits.. no grounds or anything.. one circuit (2 wires) for the dash, and the other circuit for the ECU.. The early cars (98-99 ALH) had an additional temperature switch in the upper radiator hose that was normally closed, and opens at high temperatures to disable the a/c.. The 2000+ ALH doesn't have that extra sensor since the ECU takes care of disabling the a/c

^^^^ Good info. Thanks for the knowledge.

i had to answer Nick's post



small backhoe/loader i got suckered into towing ... i joked to my friend that the trailer prob weighed more than the equipment ... prob the heaviest thing i've towed so far

Jimbote did my you get my pm?

frambach said:

The post right above yours (from pdq import) says that I will need that boss for the VW sensor to send info to the ECM.

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I didn't mean to or try confuse you on temp sensors, sorry if i did. You don't need to use the VW sensor specifically if you can find one with the same values. You only need the ECU temp sensor for running the engine, and can have a separate sensor for the gauge.

I would not be surprised that most of the Bosch one wire sensors used in the early years of fuel injection are the same values and maybe one of those would package better in your flange.

Flexalite 675 fan review ....



*fan controllers x 5 (at least) (honestly lost count) .... even isolated the later controllers via a heavy duty relay, all melted, all rated above flexalites "claimed" amp draw
*several #100 vw 70 amp relays just running AC "ON" fan function, all melted
*used fat short wire run directly from battery fuse box to fan controllers/relays
*original set of motors: melted, warranty replaced set: melted
*always from day one i've had to turn the AC "OFF" to keep the starter from cranking slowly (huge amp draw)
*after the last meltdown i gave up on the nearly $400 flexalite set and installed a single fan unit from a ford contour with a single relay ... cheap and so far so good... truck cranks easily now even with AC on and fan running

Flexalite used to be great 10 years ago but they have moved part supply and production over seas. The contour fan should work great. I was about to suggest old ford taurus duel fan setup. Seen many swaps use them for there packaging and CFM. A great factory pusher fan is the E36 BMW AC fan.

Motohead1 said:

Flexalite used to be great 10 years ago but they have moved part supply and production over seas. The contour fan should work great. I was about to suggest old ford taurus duel fan setup. Seen many swaps use them for there packaging and CFM. A great factory pusher fan is the E36 BMW AC fan.

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i looked at the taurus fans but they were just a hair too wide for my rad ....the contour unit pushes a surprising amount of air for it's size ... i might try the new derale controller i had bought before the first set of motors went chernobyl .... i agree on the quality drop with flexalite... these fan motors were a very unusual flat design with an armature just a few milimeters thick repulsing against what looked like a flat ring magnet (think speaker mag) .... could be a design flaw or poor materials but the fans were completely sealed with no way for air to pass through and cool the armature

The Jetta/Golf fans also fit like a glove on the Taco rad. Even found bolt holes that lined up for the top half. I bypassed the built-in low speed circuit, and connected them to a Flex-a-lite variable speed controller.

Do you think the F.A.L. fans were what caused the controller failures - or were your controllers shoddy too?

smelly621 said:

The Jetta/Golf fans also fit like a glove on the Taco rad. Even found bolt holes that lined up for the top half. I bypassed the built-in low speed circuit, and connected them to a Flex-a-lite variable speed controller.

Do you think the F.A.L. fans were what caused the controller failures - or were your controllers shoddy too?

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had planned to use mkiv fans but i don't have enough room between the rad and front mount truss ... i most certainly blame the flexalite fans for the controller failures... as i posted above the flexalites were even burning up straight 70 amp relays with no controller to blame ... if you google "flexalite 210 failure" you'll see a common theme of melted fuse holders and controllers that were supplied by flexalite for the fan ... 210 is the base fan module without the tacoma rad brackets

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showpost.php?p=3110590&postcount=4

see here ^^ for a consolidated chart of wiring interfaces between the 121 pin ecm and the vehicles gauges/lights/switches

1.9ZOOK said:

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thanks !.... it took me a long time to make the vw color code shift, but once i understood they were abbreviations for german color names it was a bit easier

and here

121 ecm interface pin/wire chart:
component:...........pin color
CEL:…...................24 ws/bl
tach:.....................27 gn/br
glow:.....................40 bl/gn
vss:.......................20 bl/ws
k line:....................16 gr/ws
clutch cancel:..........66 ws/ro
BS n/o:...................32 ro/sw
BS n/c:...................65 ws/ge
"wake up"
(key O/S):...............37 sw/li