Toyota Tacoma ALH Swaparoo!!

davidtdi said:

Hey Jim are you going to provide much details on the wiring. I am considering this very sway myself. Just looking for the right truck.

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I will when I get everything figured out...basically it will be just a few wires (prob less than 15) tied in at key points to the tacoma harness ....most of those are power and ground wires...but details will be forthcoming

tach wiring....

here's what I hope to do to make the tacoma tach functional .... check out post 142 http://forums.tdiclub.com/showpost.php?p=2400772&postcount=142http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=161139&page=10

jimbote said:

I will when I get everything figured out...basically it will be just a few wires (prob less than 15) tied in at key points to the tacoma harness ....most of those are power and ground wires...but details will be forthcoming

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Hell I will pay for good details on that. I am looking to do the same thing very soon.

davidtdi said:

Hell I will pay for good details on that. I am looking to do the same thing very soon.

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donations accepted

just an update...mounted the flywheel today using ford ranger 2.9 flywheel bolts cut down to fit and torqued to 65ft lbs...whats left now is removing the tacoma engine and fitting for mounts checking clearances etc...should get started on this mid next week!!

Any new updates? What did you wind up doing for mounts?

onlyn8v said:

Any new updates? What did you wind up doing for mounts?

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only things I've done have been upgrading the suspension with new bilstein struts/shocks with 1.5" lift in the front 0" in the rear...and cleaning/reorganinzing the shop for the big push ....just a few days away though from pulling the 3RZ engine and fitting the TDI

Any updates?

LukeWilson said:

Any updates?

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yep a few...just got around to working on some details today...decided to go with a BHW 2.0l bottom end, with an ALH head, BHW turbo and manifold and passat B5.5 mounts, a few issues have to be dealt with to use this combination so here are a few pics


this is the passenger side mount to starter clearance, I had to grind slightly for the 3rz starter motor to clear....about 1/8 of an inch




this is the drivers side B5.5 mount and the ALH IP bracket...notice the "wedge" I removed for clearance here (a little sloppy) can't wait to get a plasma!!...alternator still clears the B5.5 mount with plenty of room (no pic of that)


this is the front seal holder for the ALH against the BHW block...notice the much larger bolt pattern for the bhw seal holder...I can either drill and tap four holes in the block (the bottom two already mate up) to match the ALH part or I can mill the BHW holder to match the ALH thickness...probably go with the latter...

in order to use the BHW bottom end I'll have to delete the
BS module due to space constrictions with the front tacoma differential (the pan has to be "notched" in a big way), my plan is to replace the BHW crankshaft with an ALH crank, this will allow me to have the correct reluctor wheel and the correct ALH oil pump drive sprocket...I could just replace the wheel and the sprocket but I have an excellent ALH crank just taking up space on the shelf ...another issue I will look at tomorrow will be the secondary drain back hole in the block...something I didn't notice before was that the BHW has a square shaped casting in the block and the ALH has a rounded one....has anyone else dealt with this issue?...anyone else used a BHW bottom end with an ALH VE setup?

OK I checked the drainback (or oilfeed?) holes in both the head and the block, although the BHW uses an oversize casting for that area the holes mate up perfectly....just need to measure piston projection and order the appropriate head gasket

wow...amazing how the best laid plans.... you know the rest... anyway the swap is well underway!! ...3RZ lump is sitting on the shop floor... and a BEW "dummy" block is nested in the tacoma... some issues that arose include no clearance (as i originally thought) for the vacuum pump...so it's out...I'm using a ford 7.3 diaphragm pump that will take up residence where the A/C compressor used to reside on the ALH bracketry...won't be able to use the BHW mounts either...so I'm back to the Idea I came up with a few years ago using the factory MKIV mount.... OK enough text here are some pics...more to follow in a few days

[url=http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=72142&title=swap-underway-006&cat=500][/URL]

jimbote said:

wow...amazing how the best laid plans.... you know the rest... anyway the swap is well underway!!

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Man I know exactly what you mean. I can't tell you how many custom made parts I've built and not been able to use them! I can't wait to see more progress since I see myself doing the same swap in the near future!

410onefour said:

Man I know exactly what you mean. I can't tell you how many custom made parts I've built and not been able to use them! I can't wait to see more progress since I see myself doing the same swap in the near future!

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Ha ha!! ...yeah...by the time i'm finished i'm sure there will be several iterations of the swap collecting dust ..."if" I had to do it over (I still may) I would use a modified 5VZFE bell and r150 tranny...the taco v6 bell is at least a couple of inches deeper (read more firewall clearance) on top of that I'd also use a flywheel spacer and thicker adapter plate...the TDI engine really could be more centered fore/aft in the engine bay of the yota...imagine putting a PD engine in there ...that friggin' tandem pump is a monster!!

update, update, update

OK as promised...photos with captions....

pic of the mount, ignore the huge welds I was
trying to raise gummy worms and my friend
with a "real" welder had to tame the
little beasts ...I'm using dodge truck 318
mounts...prob will shake my teeth out...if
so I'll upgrade/change out later

View attachment 112593











pan clearancing in progress, yeah it's a big
notch...all this and I still had to "drop" the
diff about an inch

View attachment 112594
mocking up the ford 7.3 diesel vacuum pump
bracket via USPS priority flat rate

"finished" bracket for the ford vac pump made
from 1/4 plate aluminum


installed without pulley


side view with pulley to show alignment
with idler


rear view

the pan mocked up with panels tacked in showing the diff to pan clearance


another view of the mount


vacuum pump with accessory bracket mocked up


table of dreams


"swap shop"


new toy....looking forward to trying out some functions this weekend

^^ thank you for the awesome posts Jimmy!!

So you have a 2pt mounting setup? Are you planning on a torque limiter of sorts?

greengeeker said:

^^ thank you for the awesome posts Jimmy!!

So you have a 2pt mounting setup? Are you planning on a torque limiter of sorts?

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your welcome...and thanks for the encouragement ....at this point it will remain a "two" point mount setup....the dodge mounts are very very stiff....I'm counting on them breaking in somewhat...but if I have to go with softer mounts I may consider a "dogbone" to limit engine movement

against my original plans and with encouragement from my good friend Tom "Amosdoodle".... I ended up moving the engine and transmission forward approximately 2 1/4" ....I'll have to lengthen the forward section of the rear driveshaft...but in doing this I solved so many other problems....now I can use the ALH vacuum pump, the stock auto coolant flange (rear of head)...and no modification required to the coolant pipe that runs along the side of block to the back of the engine...stock VW A/C compressor fits (barely)....I mocked up almost all the engine bay last night...everything looks pretty good.... pics to follow

Good call on moving the whole thing fwd a few inches. More work initially, but will solve so many problems, as you noted.

The motor mount issue is looking for an elegant design. As I see it, you have a rigid frame to the normal mk4 block mount, with resilient mounts where your frame meets the truck frame. Your frame where it attaches to the block up high will have to absorb the driveline torque going down the propshaft, which in low range has a big torque multiplier. So that attachment point on the block is going to see ALOT of shear.

Is there any way to tie your frame to some attachment points down low on the block? (please ignore if you've already covered this) That would take some of the shear load off the mk4 three bolts up high.

can't wait to see the finished truck and how well it performs. is your truck 4x4? do you think it would be possible/practical to do this conversion and maintain the 4x4. I've been dreaming about having this done to a double cab 4x4 tacoma with locking rear. Is the tdi engine too small for this?
What fuel mileage to do anticipate. do you care?

Ski in NC said:

Good call on moving the whole thing fwd a few inches. More work initially, but will solve so many problems, as you noted.

The motor mount issue is looking for an elegant design. As I see it, you have a rigid frame to the normal mk4 block mount, with resilient mounts where your frame meets the truck frame. Your frame where it attaches to the block up high will have to absorb the driveline torque going down the propshaft, which in low range has a big torque multiplier. So that attachment point on the block is going to see ALOT of shear.

Is there any way to tie your frame to some attachment points down low on the block? (please ignore if you've already covered this) That would take some of the shear load off the mk4 three bolts up high.

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still concerned about this myself and I'm looking into other options...yes this seems high on the block but it's really no higher than the stock B5.5 mounting points...but it is placed in a position of shear rather than tension/compression because it is at the front of the block inline with shear forces...my buddy gave me a couple of new vanagon diesel mounts that I may play with later this week...will keep posted on that also

LMJ said:

can't wait to see the finished truck and how well it performs. is your truck 4x4? do you think it would be possible/practical to do this conversion and maintain the 4x4. I've been dreaming about having this done to a double cab 4x4 tacoma with locking rear. Is the tdi engine too small for this?
What fuel mileage to do anticipate. do you care?

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yes the truck is 4x4 and I am maintaining this feature ....1.9 TDI engine I believe is adequate as VW is using a 2.0 CR 4 cylinder in the midsize Amarok truck available elsewhere...not really sure on the mileage ...hoping for at least low 30's but won't be terribly disappointed with high 20's as what I'm really after is diesel torque and that beautifull sound

JB- I think your front mount is the way to go. All that is needed is a couple tie-in points from your frame to some points low on the engine block. That will absorb the shear.

curious as to what a swap like this would get for fuel economy

Ski in NC said:

JB- I think your front mount is the way to go. All that is needed is a couple tie-in points from your frame to some points low on the engine block. That will absorb the shear.

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If I do end of using a "torque link" or "dogbone" I may just go with the factory MKIV swing mount setup...this would help eliminate alot of vibration and take most of the shear force away from the three front mounting bolts

Yep, if you put that mk4 mount up on the front of the block, then that mount would work much like in the car, probably with no issues. But somewhere else in the motor/gearbox you will need some sort of torque link to keep the whole package from rotating about its axis.

Maybe something could be fabbed back there at transfer case?? Does not need to be up front.

On second thought, a dogbone style torque link may need to be up front to keep the front lower part of the engine in place.

Ski in NC said:

On second thought, a dogbone style torque link may need to be up front to keep the front lower part of the engine in place.

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yeah...if I go with the swing setup I will use either the factory dogbone on the right side of the engine (rear in the MKIV transverse setup) or a dogbone from a domestic car in the same place...I would build a bracket that puts the tie in point down low prob level with the bottom of the oil pan..for max leverage against engine rocking/twisting

engine bay and intercooler progress


engine bay


another view... notice the toyota power steering line on the VW pump...toyota banjo bolt and line fit nearly perfect


ebay IC mounted...


some intercooler piping mocked up


detail of U bend and bumper clearanceing


some IC pipe routing

Following this thread with great interest. I'm thinking of a swap sometime in the future, and I'm trying to learn as much as I can. Couple questions: are you putting higher (diesel) gears in the Toyota tranny? I would think that if you just bolted up a TDI to a gas tranny, max speed would be about 60... Also, why the mix of block/head? Are the B5.5 motor mounts in better places for a longitudinal swap?

My swap idea is to put an ALH in probably a first-generation Toyota MR2. Very light, mid-engine, great handling, cheap buy. I chose the ALH, because that's what my daily driver has, and a lot of the left over parts can be used multiple places. Plus, having only one engine type between my DD and my project car keeps me from having to learn a lot all over again. Any reason to think the transverse ALH would be a bad choice for that application? I'm looking into whether or not it's doable to remove most of the body around the mid-engine-bay. Otherwise, it would be a horrible pain compared to a regular front-engine. I looked at a mkii MR2 over the weekend, and the Toyota turbo looks like a MUCH bigger engine than the TDI, so there should be lots of room.