50 degree mTDI options for Vanagons

blackdogvan

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 17, 2008
Location
Vancouver Island
TDI
Mtdi Vanagon
There are a few good threads over on vwdiesel.net by Libbybapa on 50 degree vanagon installs with VNT turbos, well worth a read.

Zeitgeist, shoot me a PM if you want the CAD file on my $hit plate to fit behind the thicker TDI flywheel.



 

Zeitgeist

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2004
Location
Cascadia
TDI
'04 Variant and Vanagon mTDI
Thanks BDV, that looks really cool. I may have a need for that in the future.

What's a good deal for a moderate to high mileage example of a complete 1Z/AHU these days? The prices seem all over the map, and they're downright rare over here in NA. I found one in the UK that when all the known costs are factored, ends up to be approximately $1k. I have no idea whether there would be customs duty charges and whatnot. So far I'm having a hard time budgeting for the project without some decent figures for calculations. If I were to trust some of the hyperbolic chatter on these interwebs, I'd say this thing is gonna cost me three appendages and a kidney. I think I can do it for significantly less, but that's the beauty of complete pig-headed ignorance.
 

Zeitgeist

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2004
Location
Cascadia
TDI
'04 Variant and Vanagon mTDI
Wow I forgot I started this thread back in '11. Time has marched on...

Here's where I finally landed with the questions I was asking back then:



 

Zeitgeist

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2004
Location
Cascadia
TDI
'04 Variant and Vanagon mTDI
Well, it's probably one of the least cost outlay TDI swaps into the Vanagons out there, because I made all the bits out of the recycled junk I can't seem to get rid of around my shop. The engine is from an '01 Jetta w/200k I bought for $2k and then stripped and sold off to reduce the total cost for the engine to around $500. I did a work trade for a used Kennedy adapter kit and the aircooled DK transaxle. I stole the K14 turbo from an OM606 and made the intake manifold from the Jetta dash crash protection bar. The engine cradle is stock WBX crossbar with parts cribbed from a pilates machine and an old engine stand. The exhaust is mostly comprised of pipes stolen from an '87 Mercedes.

I think the most interesting bit is that it's installed at 15 degrees and still fits under the stock decklid. I dropped the drivetrain to about Syncro height and then raised the suspension so that I still maintain 10" of ground clearance to the oil pan. The injection pump is from a Land Rover 300tdi.


 

mogly

Veteran Member
Joined
May 27, 2003
Location
Sarnia, ON, Canada
TDI
MKIV TDI + B5.5V AVF/01E
Looks good Casey. Neat out of the box concept on the intake log.

What is the white box in the firewall for? Initially I thought it was for the ECU but your mTDI, so not that.

Are you using any charge cooling?
 

Zeitgeist

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2004
Location
Cascadia
TDI
'04 Variant and Vanagon mTDI
The box contains the relays for the glow plugs and intercooler coolant pump and fans. It slides out for service work.

 

ValveCoverGasket

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2012
Location
pnw
TDI
colorado duramax, 1z vanagon, tdi touareg
sorry to bring this back from the sorta-dead, but did you find there werent many ways to hack up the ALH pan to make it work at 50deg?
also dropping to syncro height for the drivetrain - how much of a drop is that?


came out looking great!
 

Zeitgeist

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2004
Location
Cascadia
TDI
'04 Variant and Vanagon mTDI
There's a company in Maine (Foreign Auto Service--FAS) that makes an install kit for later model VAG blocks to fit @ 50 degrees, but they're pricey. Mine was a bare budget build, so kits weren't in the cards.

I've never measured the absolute drop figure, especially since I simultaneously raised the suspension height. I believe the spacer I built for the trans mount was 2", which roughly corresponds to Syncro drivetrain drop relative to a 2WD.
 

mogly

Veteran Member
Joined
May 27, 2003
Location
Sarnia, ON, Canada
TDI
MKIV TDI + B5.5V AVF/01E
sorry to bring this back from the sorta-dead, but did you find there werent many ways to hack up the ALH pan to make it work at 50deg?
also dropping to syncro height for the drivetrain - how much of a drop is that?


came out looking great!
If you do some digging you'll find that there are stamped steel ALH pans available. I believe these are from industrial TDIs of the era.
 

Uberhare

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2006
Location
Ontario, Canada
TDI
Too many.
FAS used to advertise their aluminum pan for $869....(yikes) My plan was to start with a steel pan with the correct bolt pattern for flange and fabricate my own from there. I believe I have found the correct steel version out of China.
 

jimbote

Certified Volkswagen Nut
Joined
Jul 10, 2006
Location
spiral arm, milky way (aka central NC)
TDI
Tacoma 4x4 converted to TDI
why not use a stock unmodified oil pan and just cut/extend/rotate the pickup to match the new angle ?
will 50 degrees put the crank below oil level ? Does anyone know the static vs dynamic oil level in an alh?
 
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Hasenwerk

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Nov 28, 2003
Location
Quesnel, BC
TDI
1982 Cabriolet (BEW|VNT17|Stage4), 1989 VW TriStar Syncro soon-to-be CR TDI (CBEA), 2001 Ford Ranger Edge 4x4 (ALH|VNT17|R520|Stage4)
I did two 50 degree Vanagon conversions in the past. The oil pan and pump was simple - TIG welder and some aluminum sheet, cut-n-paste! The bolt on engine mounts also needs to be made from scratch as well. After that, it's "easy"! :)

Personally, I'll never do a 50 degree again as you will also have turbo issues as the output of the turbo needs to be 6 o'clock +- 15 degrees. Raising the engine cover and gaining some longterm storage and soundproofing with a false floor is a much better solution.
 
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