'86 Suzuki Samurai TDI Swap

[number3114]

1986 Suzuki Samurai hard-top;
1.9L TDI 1Z diesel motor from a 1993 VW Passat: 90 HP and 149 ft lbs torque. So far, gets about 32 mpg in this vehicle;
Toyota 5-speed Transmission and T-Case with 4.7:1 low-range & 1:1 high-range;
Dana44 rear differential with 3.73 gears (tall gears were selected to keep highway RPM low: 2500-rpm @ 75-mph);
Reinforced Samurai front axle with heavy-duty 26-spline shafts;
Rear disk brakes using Samurai rotors, Audi 5000 calipers, and Acura Integra parking brake cables;
Toyota MR2 intercooler;
Volkswagen Quantum radiator;
Honda Prelude air-filter-box;
Jeep Wrangler fenders;
Suzuki SJ410 grill;
Dodge D50 motor-mounts;
Chevy S10-Pickup oil pan;
15-gallon petroworks fuel tank;
5-gallon stainless-steel jerry-can is integrated into the fuel system (automatically drains into main tank);
Air-lockers with on-board compressor;
Roll cage is welded into the body to provide solid mounts for tailgate & roof rack;
Compartments for storage & stowaway-winch are built into the floor;
Body, Frame & Wheelbase were lengthened four inches;
Three inches were removed from the cab-height (for increased stability & aerodynamics);
Leaf-spring mounts were raised one inch (to keep springs even with contour of frame and to lower vehicle);
FOA coil-over shocks can be adjusted to provide additional lift (and softer ride);
32-inch tires;
Many more parts from the local Pick-n-Pull.

Here are some pictures of the (relatively) finished vehicle. Before & After comparisons are in the next post, followed by some random pictures I took during construction. I'll try to get some more pictures and commentary up shortly.
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=341609


Suzuki Samurai diesel front

Suzuki Samurai diesel rear

Suzuki Samurai diesel inside

Suzuki Samurai diesel undercarriage

Suzuki Samurai diesel TDI motor front

Suzuki Samurai diesel TDI motor side

Suzuki Samurai diesel construction 1

Suzuki Samurai diesel construction 2

Suzuki Samurai diesel TDI motor 1

Suzuki Samurai diesel TDI motor 2

[number3114]

[Zedbra]

great job! you did a lot of work to make all that come together. those old samurais are fun little trail rigs, do you think a little more lift / tires are in the future?

[number3114]

Thanks, yeah it required much more work than I ever imagined. I would have probably not started it had I only known.

As far as the lift... I actually went to great lengths to avoid lifting it. The cab's been lowered 3" and the spring-mounts were modified to achieve an additional 1" drop (though my coil-overs do raise the vehicle back up an inch or so). It seems like everyone's able to make a decent off-road vehicle by lifting these things... It takes a little more effort to achieve those results by lowering it. As an added bonus, this thing is actually quite stable out on the highways too. I was more interested in an all-purpose vehicle for road-trips and exploring, and less interested in something that can only be used to crawl over boulders.

Having said that... I'm thinking about adjusting my coil-overs to increase the lift by maybe a half-inch... My theory is that if the entire weight of the vehicle is supported by the coil-overs (allowing the leaves to be completely slack in the vehicle's resting state), then I will have a good inch of travel on only the spongy coils. This should make for a comfortable ride on washboard and rocky roads. But as I start to bottom out, the beefed-up leaves should increasingly resist the force, allowing me to reduce the total travel necessary and allowing me to keep the vehicle low and stable. I admit that articulation will not be a strong-point for this vehicle, but that's what lockers are for :-).

Edit: I just took the vehicle on its first off-road trip and the suspension worked exactly as I had hoped... The ride was comfortable and I never felt the vehicle bottom-out. I also really started appreciating my 4.7:1 low-range, which I was unsure about previously.

[number3114]

[number3114]

[Abacus]

That's really sweet. I love my Zuk, but am still running the stock engine.

Why no swaybar disconnects? They'd help tremendously with your flex.

[markd89]

The engine-bay looks factory -- like it's all meant to be there.

Really nice work :-)

[BarnyardsTDI]

Amazing build!!! Great Pics.

[rsxsr]

Very professional. Must have taken you all weekend to do.

[number3114]

There actually is a quick-release mechanism (sort of) on that bar, though it's hard to see in the photo. I have bolts connecting the bar to the leaf-spring plate (not welded-on studs w/nuts). On the right mount (left in photo), you can see the reflection off the bolt-head. "Quick-release" involves taking out those bolts and taking the nuts off the top mounts. I had pins and pin-locks on that same bar in a previous Samurai and kept breaking and loosing the small pins and pin-locks.

[dieselzuk]

Excellent build. Thanks for all of the pictures too. What transmission did you use, the W56, or did you get a hold of a R151f?

I'm looking to do the same thing, but with an 98 AHU engine. I'm starting phase one very soon by buying a 1998 VW Jetta TDI. After that I'm going to slowly build up all of the parts that I need. Thanks again.

[rspring]

Great build. Love to do a TDI swap into my Zuk. Have a 16v right now...

[CFM]

Great job! If I hadn't seen the "before" pictures, I would have thought it came from the factory that way.

[glitdi]

That my friend is probably the best expedition zuk I have seen to date. I love the integration of the roll bar into the body. Starting a project in the next year or so like this how much money have you got tied up into it? (If offense is taken feel free not to answer)
Really like the job you did congrats on a great expedition/zombie apocalypse/ daily driver/zukyotawagon