Rockcrawler

I have an 86 suzuki samurai that I have been using off road for both competition and just playing around.It was powered by an 8 valve 1.6 fuel injected gasser and it worked not too bad.I have abused the engine over the years and it fineally gave up.

We have had problems with the previous engine running low or no oil pressure due to the extreme angles that the engine see's.In a couple of the pics you see the modified oil pickup and oil pan.The oil pickup can turn 360 deg and uses a cartridge ball bearing and an oil seal to keep it sealed up.

I have pics but they are poor quality however better than nothing.

http://andy2turbo.multiply.com/photos/album/11/Samurai_TDI#

The AHU has a mechanical 12mm pump not too much different than the cummins 4bt and some race 520 injectors.I'am using a carter feed pump that was used on a cummins ISB (5.9).The turbo is a gt2052 form a perkins.I don't need a 12mm pump and race injectors but they were hand me down parts form the drag car as it progressed over time.

The acme atomic clutch I'm using is only rated for somthing like 235 lb-ft torque so I will have to tune the fueling to keep it from slipping.I decided to stick with the small samurai transmission and transfer case beacuse I didn't want shell out the extra $$$$ and work involved in swaping the toyota trans and T-case etc........Too many projects for all of them to be full blown.

The transfer case has a 6.5:1 gearset and a rear disconect and I have a line lock to go along with it.The rear dana 44 has a spool and the front has a spartan locker,yukon shafts with superjoints the axle gears are 5.38.The steering cylinder is a 2"x8" double ended ram and the travel has been cut down to keep the steering quick reacting.The tires are 36" Iroks on 17" rims with beadlocks.

I havn't quite got the engine running yet but should be soon.

Good looking rig you have there, how do you think that turbo is going to spool on this setup? you'll have to post some videos when you get it up and running.

Thanks,The reason I used that turbo in theroy was to try and use it as torque control.The gt15 would make an undesired touque spike IMO.I want to have to fight the turbo a little before it goes nuts.

Just got the engine running last night.I didn't have the glow plugs hooked up but it fired up fine without them.The inj pump has no AFC unit so it is a little smoky when reving up .

the swiveling oil pump pickup is ingenious! You build some cool stuff man!

I can understand the torque control, good news about getting it started.

Hi Andy. How is the crawler going? love the swivel pump pick-up gizzmo btw. I think I want to build a tdi crawler too!!

HI Louis,The crawler is working really well.It feels like it has about 3-4 times the power of the gasser it replaced.I can make 15-17 psi boost in neutral (gt2052w) so I can develop alot of power without any lag.The gasser could manage enough power for 5th gear in 4x4 low and 1st in 4x4 Hi.Now I can launch in 1st 4x4 Hi and spin all 4 tires on the driveway.I tried 2nd but the clutch would not let me .Looks like there is definitely no need to intercool this engine as egt's are pretty low and I don't really keep full load on the engine for that long.

Gotta love the 1z/AHU's they just seem to start so much better than the ALH in my opinion.

I have a low oil pressure system hooked up now.Its simple and uses the vw oil pressure switch to trigger a relay that when energized powers the inj pump.If there is no oil pressure then the engine will shuttoff.I have a light/buzzer combo that is used to check the system with the ignition is on and I have a momentary switch that is held when I first cold start the engine as it takes too much cranking to develop enough oil pressure to trigger the relay.

A video of the beast in action.I went a little nuts and rolled it bad.Ripped both motor mounts apart,bent right rear axleshaft and bent the roll cage a bit.I managed to get the engine shuttdown before it went over.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OiHquNefnY


I also changed the front suspension from leaf spring to 4 link.I have belt squealing that needs addressing as well.

Dude! You are definitely getting bookmarked under the heading NUTTERS lol. Awesome, love it.

Sounded healthy, sorry to hear about it rolling over. I bet it was quite the rush though. Nice to have the mounts give way instead of the block.

Thanks Guys,I will have to make up some poly mounts so that the motor can't go anywhere.

The rollover shook me up pretty good,As I only had my lap belt on and no helmet.Should have had harness on and helmet .I hit my head on both sides and well it could have been worse.

Vid. Liked.
Motor. Loved.
Sami. Lust.

I just finished installing Autotech dual valve springs as I was having valve floating issues with the original springs.I also bought a new (290 fl-lbs) clutch from acme.This clutch is built to work with the custom acme adapters flywheel and the samurai transmission.

We have some fresh snow today so I took it for a rip as the snow will soon be gone.

Here's a video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Mh5YiXa_v4

I figured I'd update this thread just to show that the samurai Trans and T-case are pretty tough.The pic below is showing broken dana 44 chrome alloy axleshafts both front and rear.Also a broken driveshaft.



It seems that alot of people are quick to put toyota trans/t-case in when they don't need to.

I broke both shafts when getting bound up the the rocks in 1st gear and 4 low with a 6.5:1 T case.Axle gearing is 5:38 and tires are 37" Maxxis Trepador "competition compound" AKA sticky compound.

Remember that this drivetrain is powered with a 150 hp TDI also.I do work it hard in low and High range.

Now I need to go and knock on wood

That is one sweet looking rig! I'm thinking about putting one in. That's some inspiration watching the video you posted a while ago

can you post an updated link for your pictures?

Most of the pics lost from the first post.

frozenplum4 said:

That is one sweet looking rig! I'm thinking about putting one in. That's some inspiration watching the video you posted a while ago

Click to expand...

Thanks,the downsides I found was the added weight of the diesel engine and limited rpm range.Fortunately more traction made up for more weight and more horsepower/torque lets me turn the tires faster when using taller gears.It now easily out performs the gasser .

Hay Andy it's Luke I met you at loonie run. I was telling you about my new sammy buggy build with a 1.9. So from what I have found the 1.9 that I have is an AAZ. which sounds like that's not what I'm wanting to go with. So..... if you know where there's any AHU's for sale. Keep me posted. Thanks buddy

The aaz is still a good motor, why would you want to change? Unless you're gonna build the ahu with electronics, and do full tune and stuff, the aaz is just as good in my opinion.

Well I had some other people tell nothing but bad things about the AAZ but finally I did a bunch of research and some other people started tell me the same thing you are so I am going to stay with AAZ. I did check the end of the crank and it looks perfect. I would like to try to get as much HP out of it without making it a ticking time bomb.

Hi Luke,Glad to see that you found me.I should have left contact info with you but we left early after the breakage.

Any diesel engine can have problems when they are old.The AAZ can have the crankshaft sprocket issue.The injection pump can also leak if it has not been resealed/rebuild.

The main reason I went with the TDI over IDI was due to the amount of time I spend beating on my engine when stationary and being at a higher state of tune.The IDI will require more cooling when running the same power as the TDI.I have no issues keeping my coolant temp under control and I'm still just using the samurai viscous fan with a VW mk2 rad.

If you bought an AHU powered car you just need to take the ECU/wiring out and use it for free.If more than stock HP is needed then just get some nozzles and then a tune if necessary.

A "properly" built mechanical TDI pump can cost $$$$.I went with the mechanical TDI as I work at a diesel shop and was able to have a pump built at little to no cost.Also I had alot of injection pump parts and TDI nozzles left over from a previous project.

You could stick with your AAZ and have a good rad and fan combo.The bonus is that it's already mechanical and you have one.

andy2 said:

Hi Luke,Glad to see that you found me.I should have left contact info with you but we left early after the breakage.

Any diesel engine can have problems when they are old.The AAZ can have the crankshaft sprocket issue.The injection pump can also leak if it has not been resealed/rebuild.


The main reason I went with the TDI over IDI was due to the amount of time I spend beating on my engine when stationary and being at a higher state of tune.The IDI will require more cooling when running the same power as the TDI.I have no issues keeping my coolant temp under control and I'm still just using the samurai viscous fan with a VW mk2 rad.

If you bought an AHU powered car you just need to take the ECU/wiring out and use it for free.If more than stock HP is needed then just get some nozzles and then a tune if necessary.

A "properly" built mechanical TDI pump can cost $$$$.I went with the mechanical TDI as I work at a diesel shop and was able to have a pump built at little to no cost.Also I had alot of injection pump parts and TDI nozzles left over from a previous project.

You could stick with your AAZ and have a good rad and fan combo.The bonus is that it's already mechanical and you have one.

Click to expand...

Hay Andy. Thanx for getting back to me. Yeah it sounds like I'm gonna say with the AAZ . I'm gonna try to get as much HP out of it but still keep trust worthy and dependable. It was really nice to see yours up there working really well. Definitely made me feel a lot better about it once I saw it in person. And if for some odd reason I don't end up liking the AAZ then I'll just find something different and go from there. Once I really gett things going on the new build I'll probably start a build thread.

You should definitely look into pinning the crank pulley. Although it may look fine now, they can suffer the dreaded crank pin shearing rather quickly. It is a simple process that involves not much more than drilling through the pulley into the crank snout, and inserting a couple steel dowel pins. There is many write ups on it online.

A WAY better option is to machine the AAZ crank to use a TDI pulley. It's not hard to do, it just needs a flat spot cut in to it. An AHU pulley will fit perfectly once the crank is machined.

vanbcguy said:

A WAY better option is to machine the AAZ crank to use a TDI pulley. It's not hard to do, it just needs a flat spot cut in to it. An AHU pulley will fit perfectly once the crank is machined.

Click to expand...

This is true as well! If you need a pulley tdi samurai, I have one. It's yours for free if you just cover a few dollars for shipping.

andy2 said:

and tires are 37" Maxxis Trepador "competition compound" AKA sticky compound.

Click to expand...

37" stickies on d44s? Yeah, broken parts should be expected.

Nice swiveling pickup. Just a sealed bearing in there to keep the suction?

I've thought of a dual pickup with a single ball in it to roll to the front or rear and seal off the pickup that would be higher, but never got around to doing it yet. Would probably put together an accumulator as well inside the pan. Keep as much of the plumbing internal as possible, my luck with hydraulics is dismal at best.

[486] said:

37" stickies on d44s? Yeah, broken parts should be expected.

Click to expand...

Its not too bad actually.I really only break stuff when there is a crowd around and/or Beer involved

The oil pickup uses a cartridge bearing without seals to keep the drag low and then a separate seal to keep the suction.

Been a while since I last updated this thread.I have now decided to swap the samurai manual transmission out for an automatic.The th350 is the one I'll use.The transfer case will be a dual toyota setup with stock ratio gearing.

The question I have is what torque converter stall speed should I aim for ?
The gt2052w is still on there and I plan on feeding it with an hx30w.

Many aftermarket companies have a smaller 10" converter that would work better for the smaller flywheel or flexpate that I will be using.The lowest stall speed I found in the 10" was 1800 rpm.

I think I'd like the stall high enough that I wouldn't have to load the engine too hard to build boost.I need the gt2052w to come alive without too much work.

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated in regards to the torque converter selection.

I'll post up pics of the progress as it comes.

https://www.facebook.com/1172380750...0.1451274847./695006040600466/?type=3&theater

A torque converter lockup would help for downhill crawling.