And yet another Toyota swap, but M-Tdi.

cumminsfromthecold

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2006
Location
HumCo
TDI
'84 Toyota 1Z 4WD x-cab
Jaysin, why did you keep the coolant glow plugs? I ditched mine for simplicity's sake. Even in Truckee, I don't seem to need them.
 

JaysinSpaceman

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Joined
Aug 5, 2008
Location
Skull County, Ca
TDI
Golf
Ronnie,

I thought about ditching them but after driving my folks Golf Tdi it is really nice to have instant defroster on a cold winter morning. Also, most engine wear and excessive emissions occurs in a cold engine condition and the glow plugs help to warm the engine two ways, they add heat directly and they load the engine via the alternator. While I am not super concerned with the emissions, warming the motor and oil quicker to reduce cold start wear always sounds like a plus to me.

As a side question to those out there that do care about the emissions issue, What after market catalytic converters are people running in these swaps. I am not in a hurry to install one but it's in the back of my mind to do once I get the truck on the road. As for placement of the cat, I don't have room to install it real close to the engine (exhaust brake and all), would it be problematic to have it 5-6 feet down the exhaust system? I know the cat will be slower to light off but does anyone think it would be problematic, the way I see it is that a slow cat is better then no cat.

Mostly just thinking out loud.

Thanx,
Jaysin
 

vanbcguy

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
'93 Passat - AHU mTDI with GTB1756VK
I have had good results with a Magnaflow diesel cat. Stock position is a few feet down the pipe but not that far.

Are you running relatively smoke free? If the cat doesn't get hot enough plus you throw a fair bit of soot at it you will find it clogging up. I did notice with my smoky IDI that it would run waaaaay nicer if I gave it some good highway miles versus short trip around town.

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JaysinSpaceman

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2008
Location
Skull County, Ca
TDI
Golf
Thanx to everyone playing along at home.

My pops came up today and we shot some color. It was nerve wracking to say the least. And I made a mistake and a run/sag. The mistake was that I didn't re-mask the windshield and back window and I got a little bit of dust into the roof, I think it will buff out but even if it doesn't it's not real bad. The color is Desert Tan and we shot the roof and inside of the doors and hood. All in all it came out well considering its really the first car painting I've done (shot some motorcycle sheet metal but nothing big like a hood or roof. Anyway, the pictures will say more then I can.











It's supposed to get rainy here in the next few days and so I am going to shoot the green on the rest of the cab Sunday so that I can start installing the insulation, vinyl floor, headliner, windshield, etc, etc... I'll post up the green when I get it shot on.

Thanx everybody,
Jaysin
 

JaysinSpaceman

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2008
Location
Skull County, Ca
TDI
Golf
More paint. I've got a green cab!

This is a big and important step because it lets me start putting the interior back together and windshield/rear window back in, flatbed on, etc... Plus when the weather clears back up I can shoot the fenders, doors and hood and be ready to hang them so as not to screw the paint up trying to store them until the rest of the truck is ready.

It came out fairly well. I still ended up with some orange peal texture, I'm not sure why but I'll learn. And I will need to figure out how to get a wee bit of over spray off of the tan roof, even though I used what seemed like a half mile of tape I still had a gap somehow. But all in all I am pretty happy, it should be about a 5 foot, 5 mph paint job and for a truck and my first real full paint job that is good enough.

I'll be very happy when all this paint business is done.

Pictures.









I will be the first to say that I have learned a hell of a lot through this process. Like that it takes a massive number of hours to do body work, prime, block, etc, etc... and it takes 5 times longer to tape and mask then it does to put the color down. And if it is possible for paint to find a way through any gap it will. And that it is very difficult to get enough paint sprayed on to flow out but not so much that it runs, this is a very fine line.

I'll keep posting the progress.

Thanx for tuning in,
Jaysin
 

JaysinSpaceman

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2008
Location
Skull County, Ca
TDI
Golf
It looks great. Does this mean you're not going to take it on the Rubicon?
It will likely see the Rubicon but I wont be rubbing it on rocks so it may mean I will take the easy lines.



I hope to be shooting the rest of the green this Thursday or Friday but I have a few other updates. I now have a working tachometer which is pretty cool. As it turned out all I needed was to use a MSD 8920 Tach adapter and voila working tach.

I am also working on a new grill for it with a built in LED light. It's not finished yet but I thought that I would get some opinions on it before I go too much further. So anyway, the pictures.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Working tach. As well as making the pickup for the tach I also remade the face so that it reads from 0 to 5000 instead of the original 0 to 7500. I think it came out fairly well and looks pretty much like the original, it even has the same green glow with the headlights on at night. In order to make it read correctly with the 2/3 scale face it now gets 3 pulses per revolution instead of the 2 pulses like the original 4 cylinder gasser.


The grill, let me know what you think. I still need to add filler panels to the ends next to the headlights but it's a start. It is reminiscent of the original but I think a little less gaudy without the chrome. It will likely end up blacked out along with the headlight bezels.






The LED came from Burden Surplus (24 LED Light Bar). I wanted extra light and this will give it to me and then some, I really didn't know just how bright 5400 lumens was, it's fairly ridiculously bright. It's an imported part and I'm sure it's not the quality of the Rigid Industries ones but for the price I can afford to replace it several times.

Let me know what you think about the grill.

I post pictures when I get the paint on.

Thanx for looking,
Jaysin
 

ronnierider

Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2013
Location
Kootenays
TDI
2004 Jetta Wagon 1987 4Runner w/97aaz swap
The grill looks awesome. What is behind the main frame. It's difficult to tell on my phone. Awesome project. I'm 1/2 way through my project and seeing progress on yours keeps me in the shop every night.
 

JaysinSpaceman

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2008
Location
Skull County, Ca
TDI
Golf
Well I shot more paint today. It's not as good as I would have liked it to come out but it's good enough for my first paint job and a work truck. Got a bit of peal and a few runs (driver's side fender). Painting is tough, I now know why good painters get the kind of money they do for the skills that they have. This is not to say that I won't eventually paint another car (I can't afford a good painter) but it is a skill that is only learned through practice and having lots of patience.

Anyway, pictures are what you want to see I'm sure.









It looks better in the pictures then it does up close but as long as I don't slow down when people look it's great.

I also got the flatbed mounted and I have driven it around the neighborhood about 2 miles so far and not out of 2nd gear but it drives which is a big inspiration to push to get it finished.



Anyway we are close to getting it back on the road and I am really excited.

Hopefully the next update will have all the sheet metal hung. And for those that had input on my grill I have been working on the modified design and hope to have that cut and bent up next week.

Thanx for tuning in,
Jaysin
 

JaysinSpaceman

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2008
Location
Skull County, Ca
TDI
Golf
The grill looks awesome. What is behind the main frame. It's difficult to tell on my phone. Awesome project. I'm 1/2 way through my project and seeing progress on yours keeps me in the shop every night.
The material behind the sheet metal of the grill is 3/16 perforated 16 gauge steel. Should let plenty of air through and keep rocks and bugs out.

Thanx,
Jaysin
 

cumminsfromthecold

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2006
Location
HumCo
TDI
'84 Toyota 1Z 4WD x-cab
Will there be two Toyota TDI 4x4s at the June 21st-22nd GTG in San Pablo? (One of which will look brand new, one of which will be blue and dirty) : ) Lookin' great Jaysin!
 

Chkn

Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2014
Location
Orange
TDI
2013 JSW
I'm digging the grill! I think putting the toyota symbol from the oem grill on yours would make it perfect.
 

JaysinSpaceman

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2008
Location
Skull County, Ca
TDI
Golf
Guys,

I got a question. I seem to have a bit of an oil leak. It is either coming from the crankcase breather/drain back tube just above the oil cooler (the tube that goes up to the puck on the valve cover) or the oil cooler itself where it attaches to the block. Is it common to have that plastic breather tube leak or break? And if it the oil cooler can someone tell me how to take it off the block because the allen bolts that hold it to the block are right under the heat exchanger thing with no way to access the heads of the bolts.

Thanx guys I will post some progress pictures and maybe a driving video soon.

Jaysin
 

JaysinSpaceman

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2008
Location
Skull County, Ca
TDI
Golf
Yea! It's another update!

I got the front sheet metal mounted and I think it looks pretty good or at least good enough for who it's for. I am definitely going to redo the grill so it follows the hood better but that won't come for a few more days. During this build I moved the front axle forward by about an inch and a half (rear springs up front) and occasionally the tires just barely catch the very bottom of fenders with the right amount of steering and compression but right now not enough to worry about.





I also insulated the underside of the hood to help with the clattery diesel noise and it helped considerably. I compared the mTdi noise that this motor makes (hood open) with the noise of a standard eTdi in my folks Golf (hood open) and while the mTdi is a wee bit louder it not really much. The 2.5" straight pipe on the other hand makes some nice noise but not too much, I'd call it throaty but not obnoxious. Right now the two black straps I made hold the insulation in but I will be adding some sort of adhesive. Adhesive alone doesn't do it for me, too many times I have had adhesive fail and insulation fall on the motor so that is what the straps are there to stop.



I also fitted the vinyl floor mat that I purchased. It's not a perfect fit but it will work. It also came completely untrimmed and needed about 2-3 hours to get all trimmed up. For the price I think it worked out well.



Close ups.




And lastly I got the spare tire up under. I will tell you that a tire measuring 33" dia. is all that will fit up under one of these trucks. It clears everything but just barely. Hangs down a bit more then I'd really like but if it is going to interfere with ground clearance when wheeling I'll just drop it down and strap it to the bed, problem solved.



My pops is coming up tomorrow and with his help and likely my wife we should have the headliner, windshield and rear window in by tomorrow evening.

Thanx for looking,
Jaysin
 

JaysinSpaceman

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2008
Location
Skull County, Ca
TDI
Golf
Guys,

Well I got a new CCV breather tube and replaced it, however, while it was leaking, that was not the main culprit. I still seem to have a leak and I think it is coming from between the block and transmission. The flywheel is not wet and with a flashlight it doesn't look like the rear main seal is wet at all. Are there any fittings or plugs or screws on the back of an ahu/1z block that can leak? I am afraid that I might have to pull the trans out to find the leak but I don't want to pull it if there isn't anything that can leak between the block and bell. So I guess what I want to know is if there is anything that can leak besides the rear main seal? Maybe someone has a picture of the back of the ahu/1z block they could post up.

Thanx,
Jaysin
 
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cumminsfromthecold

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2006
Location
HumCo
TDI
'84 Toyota 1Z 4WD x-cab
Back of the 1Z

All I've got... None are too great. I had the same leak. It's become minor. That oil pressure sensor, perhaps? Hope you pin it down.











 
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vanbcguy

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
'93 Passat - AHU mTDI with GTB1756VK
There is a freeze plug in the end of the block that I believe seals an oil gallery but I could be wrong.

The valve cover would be the first place I'd spend some effort though. If yours was used it may be slightly warped, bent or overly depressed in the center preventing the edges from making a good seal. I'm fighting that with mine right now, finally bit the bullet and bought a new OEM one.

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JaysinSpaceman

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2008
Location
Skull County, Ca
TDI
Golf
Thanx for the responses and all the pictures.

Oil and diesel look very similar.

Turns out that the injector line on the number 4 injector was seeping just a wee bit. At idle it wouldn't do anything but every time I took it around the block it would have (what I thought was) oil on the bottom of the bell housing, turns out that as the engine speed went up the injector line would leak more. I got about a 1/8 turn on the line nut and it is now leak free.

Thanx again,
Jaysin
 

JaysinSpaceman

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2008
Location
Skull County, Ca
TDI
Golf
More progress with the final assembly. Like I said my father and wife helped put the glass and headliner in and then a few days later my wife and I hung the doors and (rehung) fenders (I didn't realize the doors had to go on before the fenders). For the most part it all went very smooth. I thought the glass install would be much more difficult then it was. We used the rope in the window seal trick and it was just easy and the cat's meow.

I also welded up and painted the grill and added the painted tie down strips to the bed. It is getting really close to being a road worthy truck. In fact I have so far taken on about 30 miles of shake down on the local back roads and I am happy to report that so far it is doing pretty good. Fixed a leak or two and one electrical issue but all in all not much has gone wrong, so far.

The pictures.

This is the first headliner that I have ever sewn and (not to toot my own horn) I think it really came out well.




And the truck with glass, doors and a painted grill.








As I have been driving around I have been seeing about 18 psi boost (started at 10 psi and I have been creeping it up slowly with the dawes device) under hard acceleration and it seems to be all there (18 psi) by about 1700-1900 rpm. I am running a BV43 turbo and I am wondering if anyone has recommendations as to safe boost limits for it. I looked around here and it seems that there are a few in the "Tdi Perfprmance" section that are running up to 26 psi boost with the BV43, I don't think I need to go that high but what is safe and good for a long life with the BV43? And what kind of boost pressure should I be looking for with PP764 nozzles and a 12 mm mTdi pump? So far I get just a wee bit of smoke (I can only see it in the right lighting) on hard acceleration and EGTs seem to max at about 1000-1050F but I haven't pulled any long hills in high gear yet.

Thanx,
Jaysin
 

JaysinSpaceman

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2008
Location
Skull County, Ca
TDI
Golf
With the little limited driving I have done so far, I would say it is pretty good. From about 1400 rpm up it pulls fairly well and even at that engine speed the BV43 is building about 13-15 psi on the throttle with less then a 1/4 second lag. Like I said, so far it seems pretty good. I bumped the limit up a wee bit more and now that I've got it producing 19 psi the EGTs have dropped to about 950-1000, with just a off idle puff that clears up when the boost comes up.

Jaysin
 

JaysinSpaceman

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2008
Location
Skull County, Ca
TDI
Golf
Any updates?!
Great work. Have you calculated the MPG yet?
I do have an update but it is not quite to the MPG calcs yet. I still need to take the truck to DMV to have them verify the "Diesel" fuel type and I need to get the front bumper done so that the truck has all the turn signals working and indeed looks finished. The only time I have run into problems at DMV in the past was having them look at a vehicle that wasn't "finished". Is any custom built vehicle really ever finished?

So I have been working on the front bumper design.

This is a mock-up skin made from 16g sheet to make sure the bends and whatnot all work. The final bumper will be made from 3/16 aluminum plate. The two round holes on either side are for turn signals. The front fenders will get trimmed and the bumper will wrap around the corners under the trimmed off fenders.









I also recieved the speedo correction gearbox from Commercial Speedometer in Sacramento. This should correct for the oversized tires and make the speedo read right. I'll take a picture of it before I install it this afternoon.

I hope to have the bumper done soon and get the truck legally registered very soon, maybe next week. Then maybe I'll get some video on the road and some MPG numbers.

Thanx,
Jaysin
 

Chkn

Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2014
Location
Orange
TDI
2013 JSW
I really like the look of that bumper. It completes the front and makes it look real nice.
 

JaysinSpaceman

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2008
Location
Skull County, Ca
TDI
Golf
A wee update.

The final bumper is mostly done out of aluminum, the front fenders are rough trimmed and the turn signals are in and working, I still need to cut out a few more pieces for the corners to fill in under the fenders. I will brush finish it when it's done and leave it bare aluminum. I was originally thinking that I would powder coat it black but I think the bare aluminum looks really good and brightens up the front some.





I also designed sliding tie downs for the rails mounted on the sides of the flatbed. These are the first two styles that I came up with, I may change them but (unless someone has other Ideas or input) as of now I will likely make three more of each.





This one below can be flipped either way which might be handy.





And this last piece is the speedo correction unit I got from Commercial Speedometer here in West Sacramento. I told the very nice fellow what percentage the speedo was off and he sent me out the unit the next day. Very nice people to deal with.



All you do is install it between the transmission output and the speedo cable. In my case it increases the speed the cable rotates by 16%. The speedo seems to run correctly although I will need to verify with a GPS or GPS enabled smart phone.

The registration is also done and I have now filled the tank but haven't yet driven it enough to get any sort of MPG info yet. But I will get that soon.

That's the update for now. I get to take a short but needed family vacation for the next few days. We rented a house boat on one of the local lakes for a bit of swimming, fishing, and wake boarding behind the ski boat.

See you on the flip side,
Jaysin
 

Chkn

Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2014
Location
Orange
TDI
2013 JSW
Was it pretty simple to declare the truck as a diesel? Did the DMV give you a hard time?
 
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