B4V>ALH aka "the minimalist"

did this swap last year, still uses a WG hybrid turbo, aluminum case ecm, basically the bare minimum to get the mkiv motor working right in a B4 ...no fancy mounts or intercooler setup, repinned the stock b4 harness to an mkiv headlight plug for the ALH IP

cleaned up bay

tackled these while the drivetrain was out


found some previous damage to the gearbox, seemed to be holding up so i let it rock


ALH lump ready for prep


ALH and 02A, happily ever after ? ... customer got a free CR oil cooler upgrade due to the ALH cooler nipples interfering with the B4 front trans/engine mount bracket


backside showing the hybrid borg turbo on the stock B4 mani, clearance is super tight between the compressor housing and the ALH oil drainback channel, so close in fact that i had to flap wheel the block and use a thicker fiber/steel exhaust gasket to achieve clearance


perched in it's final resting place


had to clearance the front crossmember for the mk4 compressor... all new motor mounts BTW


some intercooler pipe mock up, stock turbo>IC pipe interfered with the ALH vacuum pump so had to be ditched for a custom piece


custom turbo>upper IC pipe elbow... the cone part came from my buddy's 3000gt vr4 intercooler kit that he modified and this was left over... my friend Geoff did the melt work to make one from two

italian tonight!


cooling pack in (finally) ... this was the toughest part of the entire swap... custom high pressure AC line, custom upper and lower radiator hoses, custom power steering line using a beetle alh upper hard section spliced to the B4 rear section, custom power steering feed line, many small hoses and connectors to make it all work together


another engine bay overview


AC recharge

do you have a link for that company that makes that oil cooler? my google skills are failing me. i have the same annoying problem with hoses on my alh into mk2. my hoses fit but are tight and i cocked the cooler to the side, i don't like it.

Sounds like he used a heat exchanger off of a CR TDI, but looks very similar to the PD130 units I am using on my motors. I have had good luck with the "topaz" brand being sold on ebay. I don't know if I believe they're actually made in Germany - but the quality has been good on the three I have purchased. Make sure you get a matching longer length bolt for it too.

damac said:

do you have a link for that company that makes that oil cooler? my google skills are failing me. i have the same annoying problem with hoses on my alh into mk2. my hoses fit but are tight and i cocked the cooler to the side, i don't like it.

Click to expand...

just a used cjaa common rail oil cooler

smelly621 said:

Sounds like he used a heat exchanger off of a CR TDI, but looks very similar to the PD130 units I am using on my motors. I have had good luck with the "topaz" brand being sold on ebay. I don't know if I believe they're actually made in Germany - but the quality has been good on the three I have purchased. Make sure you get a matching longer length bolt for it too.

Click to expand...

correct sir !

also changed the manual coolant pipe for an auto unit, this allowed the b4 driver side mounted coolant reservoir to tee directly into the hard pipe, plugged off the stock feed location with a passat b5.5 tdi coolant nipple cap

I guess that’s 1 way to get 100k timing belt intervals! Wish I had your motivation to finish projects!

-Todd

ToddA1 said:

I guess that’s 1 way to get 100k timing belt intervals! Wish I had your motivation to finish projects!

-Todd

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this was a paying job so obviously i had motivation to finish... i have slowed down on projects, might have to sacrifice some to complete others... priorities evolve

how did you find the loom splice from the mk4 era to the cE2 fusebox?

I've knitted a few ce1 & ce2 looms but not (yet) played with the mk4 era spaghetti

amongst other cars I have an '89 B3V that is currently AHU powered & have an ALH engine/loom with possible hybrid intentions

or maybe into my AHU engined '87 mk2 Golf

Rich.

Italian tonight, that's a sum pasta.

Zed. said:

how did you find the loom splice from the mk4 era to the cE2 fusebox?
I've knitted a few ce1 & ce2 looms but not (yet) played with the mk4 era spaghetti
amongst other cars I have an '89 B3V that is currently AHU powered & have an ALH engine/loom with possible hybrid intentions
or maybe into my AHU engined '87 mk2 Golf
Rich.

Click to expand...

did not dive into the fuse box at all, splicing was all done underhood and to a minimum ...mainly temp sensor, AC and alternator, cps, etc... most everything was kept B4 except for those accessories and sensors i wanted to carry over with the ALH

GCBUG00 said:

Italian tonight, that's a sum pasta.

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and rainbow at that