Swap an MK4 GLI to a TDI?

Gents,

I have an 02 ALH Jetta, I like alot. Rust is starting to take over on the quarters, and thats just not working for me.

I have a lineup on a very clean 2005 MK4 GLI 1.8t car for a VERY unbeatable price. How friendly are the MK4 cars for swapping engines, ETC.

Im very mechainical, ive hust never dug this deep into a VW.

Im wondering how straight forward it would be to swap in the ALH, harness, cluster and trans? I know the fuel tank and lines would be gravy.

Any one dug into this? my car already has the immobilizer deleted, so thats a non concern.

Im not concerned about people thing if its worth it or not. I like the ALH, i know and trust my ALH, and I like the looks/asthetics of the GLI cars. I could do this in a weekend on 2 hoists and be done.

My biggest concern is if it would require changing all harnesses(dash, etc) or if the engine harness will plug in, maybe repin a few things, etc, swap over glow plug controller, etc.

Thanks in advance for any information!

Ryan

The swap should be fairly easy. A few on here have swapped GTI's, so I can't see a GLI being any different.

Jake

I have done a 2003 1.8 conversion using my totaled out (rear ended) 2003 TDI, so I had everything on hand. That's the big advantage. Manual to manual engine swap is pretty easy. You need a few other bits such as the power steering hoses and AC compressor to firewall hose/line in addition to the TDI ECU and the two engine bay wiring harnesses, GP relay and the TDI gauge cluster I used to get the correct tach face, etc. Immobilizer is already deleted from your ECU but if you want to get rid of the immobilizer light the cluster will eventually need to be adapted also. Fuel tank I left in place from the gas engine, but need to swap in the diesel fuel filter and the fuel pick up tube assembly. Change/splice in the related connector and only need the two fuel gauge sender wires. Since I live where it's cold I will have to remove the gas car fuel filter and either splice the hoses or swap out the supply line from the donor TDI.
The wiring needs some work to get the ECU to wake up the GP relay via a 109 relay circuit. It's not too bad but not my forte, but it all worked and I still have a functioning OBD port and no fault codes. I used a schematic from a member on VWVortex and here. He was very helpful and we texted several sessions when I had questions.
Do some research to see if your 2002 will communicate with that 2005. That would be the big possible issue.

So with the exclusion of everything mentioned, is everything else on the vehicle ready to fit/mount? As far as CV axles, suspension, and calipers? I'm mechanically inclined though I'm new to diesel. Also if there is a thread for the wiring schematics, a link would be highly appreciated!
TJ

waking up an old thread here, but I have a question on inspection and or registration. when you go to get the car inspected how will the inspector know not to check the fuel filler cap or look for emissions data or lack of.

john

You'll need to check with the requirements of your individual state/county government regulations for this information. There's nothing universal about how each jurisdiction handles gas to diesel conversions. Where I live neither entity knows or cares what's moving my vehicle down the road. In other places, there are hoops or barriers to these projects.