BHW/ALH VE Hybrid...

Rub87

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 10, 2006
Location
Belgium
TDI
Ibiza '99 90HP
Id say similar to a VB, turbo is pretty much maxed out at 210-215 crank hp. 1.75 bar at 4k on 2.0 16v.
 

jimbote

Certified Volkswagen Nut
Joined
Jul 10, 2006
Location
spiral arm, milky way (aka central NC)
TDI
Tacoma 4x4 converted to TDI
just had someone pm me about the reliability and vibes of this hybrid setup, i'm using solid rubber dodge truck mounts but the vibes at idle are not harsh at all (it is a truck) ;)...no noticeable vibes underway..... as far as reliability I will hit 100k miles this year since finishing the BHW/ALH hybrid engine tacoma swap ... so i guess it's safe to say pretty reliable for a daily driven swap ....
 

turbovan+tdi

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Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Location
Abbotsford, BC.
TDI
2003 TDI 2.0L ALH, auto, silver wagon, lowered, Colt stage 2 cam, ported head,205 injectors, 1756 turbo, Malone 2.0, 3" exhaust, 18" BBS RC GLI rims. 2004 blue GSW TDI, 5 speed, lowered, GLI BBS wheels painted black, Malone stage 2, Aerotur
Cool build, didn't see this before, thanks for sharing. :cool:

So if I wanted to run an ALH head on a BEW shortblock, I need to change the timing belt crank gear and crank trigger wheel?
 

jimbote

Certified Volkswagen Nut
Joined
Jul 10, 2006
Location
spiral arm, milky way (aka central NC)
TDI
Tacoma 4x4 converted to TDI
Cool build, didn't see this before, thanks for sharing. :cool:

So if I wanted to run an ALH head on a BEW shortblock, I need to change the timing belt crank gear and crank trigger wheel?
thanks! the BEW piston tops are flat, so you could if you cut valve reliefs as A5 stated or you could replace the BEW pistons with BRM units
 

turbovan+tdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Location
Abbotsford, BC.
TDI
2003 TDI 2.0L ALH, auto, silver wagon, lowered, Colt stage 2 cam, ported head,205 injectors, 1756 turbo, Malone 2.0, 3" exhaust, 18" BBS RC GLI rims. 2004 blue GSW TDI, 5 speed, lowered, GLI BBS wheels painted black, Malone stage 2, Aerotur
Perfect, thanks guys.
Keep up the good work, :cool:
 

jimbote

Certified Volkswagen Nut
Joined
Jul 10, 2006
Location
spiral arm, milky way (aka central NC)
TDI
Tacoma 4x4 converted to TDI
over 100k miles on the BHW/ALH VE hybrid with zero issues ... this thing is a beast and has taken me across the USA to the west coast and many places in the eastern US ... I still love the truck and drive it every day while getting 30+ mpg nearly every tank :)
 

tanner

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2013
Location
Alabama
TDI
2005.5 BRM 5-Speed, 2013 Golf TDI 6-Speed, 2011 Golf TDI 6-Speed
jim, idk if it's your photo bucket or what, but the photos aren't working..
 

turbovan+tdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Location
Abbotsford, BC.
TDI
2003 TDI 2.0L ALH, auto, silver wagon, lowered, Colt stage 2 cam, ported head,205 injectors, 1756 turbo, Malone 2.0, 3" exhaust, 18" BBS RC GLI rims. 2004 blue GSW TDI, 5 speed, lowered, GLI BBS wheels painted black, Malone stage 2, Aerotur
jim, idk if it's your photo bucket or what, but the photos aren't working..
Photobucket has literally f*cked every build thread in the world by stopping 3rd party linking unless you become a paying member. I wish I had the time to take all my photo's off their site but that would take months. :mad:
 

turbovan+tdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Location
Abbotsford, BC.
TDI
2003 TDI 2.0L ALH, auto, silver wagon, lowered, Colt stage 2 cam, ported head,205 injectors, 1756 turbo, Malone 2.0, 3" exhaust, 18" BBS RC GLI rims. 2004 blue GSW TDI, 5 speed, lowered, GLI BBS wheels painted black, Malone stage 2, Aerotur
There's an add on for Chrome that fixes all the photobucket links, but in this thread it says the user moved or deleted them
I tried that, thanks, pretty cool but yeah, he must have pulled them down due to that. :(
 

Motohead1

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2016
Location
charlotte
TDI
2002 bug+telephone pole
Thanks for the write up Jimbote! No pics needed with the detail your wrote. My stock ALH bottom end is getting a little tired so I picked up a BHW short block and will be doing the same to my ALH at some point.
 

jimbote

Certified Volkswagen Nut
Joined
Jul 10, 2006
Location
spiral arm, milky way (aka central NC)
TDI
Tacoma 4x4 converted to TDI
Thanks for the write up Jimbote! No pics needed with the detail your wrote. My stock ALH bottom end is getting a little tired so I picked up a BHW short block and will be doing the same to my ALH at some point.
sweet! i'll be building another bhw/alh hybrid in the not to distant future and i'll amend this thread with new tdiclub hosted photos
 

bhodgkiss

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2006
Location
Banbury, UK
TDI
AFN Passat Wagon
I have a set of new genuine BHW 81mm pistons for sale, and also a new set of ARL 79.5mm pistons if youre keen.
 

jimbote

Certified Volkswagen Nut
Joined
Jul 10, 2006
Location
spiral arm, milky way (aka central NC)
TDI
Tacoma 4x4 converted to TDI
Jim how did you determine headgasket? Or did you just go 3 hole BHW and call it good?
sorry for the delay in posting.... Use the the BHW head gasket that is specified for your piston projection or simply replace it with the same hole count head gasket the BHW came with. ..... on another note this thread has been de-photophucked and pics added via the native server ;)
 

Ross

Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2017
Location
Maine
TDI
01 Beetle ALH 5speed
Hi Jim,
Thanks so much for reposting this with all the detailed photos.
Ross
 

Ross

Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2017
Location
Maine
TDI
01 Beetle ALH 5speed
sorry for the delay in posting.... Use the the BHW head gasket that is specified for your piston projection or simply replace it with the same hole count head gasket the BHW came with. ..... on another note this thread has been de-photophucked and pics added via the native server ;)
Hi Jim,
Thanks so much for reposting this with all the detailed photos.
Ross
Hi all,
I've been researching the option of building a cjaa/alh hybrid. They seem to be much more plentiful on carpart.com than bhw engines. From what I've found out so far they don't have the BSM and have the same connecting rods as the bhw so they should be as strong right? My biggest concern is whether the pistons will hit the ALH valves. They appear to use different pistons but I don't know what the differences are. I'm calling a local yard on Monday who has a core engine for sale and maybe I can build this over the winter with the alh I have. I'm retired and on a very tight budget so this might be my least expensive way to go since I couldn't find a local bhw short block. Anyone know about the pistons?
Ross
 

jimbote

Certified Volkswagen Nut
Joined
Jul 10, 2006
Location
spiral arm, milky way (aka central NC)
TDI
Tacoma 4x4 converted to TDI
Hi all,
I've been researching the option of building a cjaa/alh hybrid. They seem to be much more plentiful on carpart.com than bhw engines. From what I've found out so far they don't have the BSM and have the same connecting rods as the bhw so they should be as strong right? My biggest concern is whether the pistons will hit the ALH valves. They appear to use different pistons but I don't know what the differences are. I'm calling a local yard on Monday who has a core engine for sale and maybe I can build this over the winter with the alh I have. I'm retired and on a very tight budget so this might be my least expensive way to go since I couldn't find a local bhw short block. Anyone know about the pistons?
Ross
Unfortunately common rail shortblock will not work with the VE configuration. Piston bowl is entirely in the wrong spot to work with the ALH injector spray angle. Plus the crank does not have a spot to bolt the ALH reluctor wheel to nor does the block have a spot to mount the crank sensor.
 

Ross

Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2017
Location
Maine
TDI
01 Beetle ALH 5speed
Unfortunately common rail shortblock will not work with the VE configuration. Piston bowl is entirely in the wrong spot to work with the ALH injector spray angle. Plus the crank does not have a spot to bolt the ALH reluctor wheel to nor does the block have a spot to mount the crank sensor.
Hi Jim,
Yes I found pictures of the cjaa pistons compared to what the bhw look like. I figured I could use a fly cutter to make valve to piston clearance if that was an issue. I understand the spray angle may be wrong but I wonder if it would still run decent even though I might lose power. I have a Land Rover pump so I'm going mtdi. I'm not so concerned about a little power loss but I like the idea of a really strong block because this is going to get put in my Ultra Van in place of the Corvair engine in the back. (See my avatar). I've done a lot of custom engine stuff and engine swaps over the years just like you I'm sure, so I'm wondering if we could still attach the reluctor wheel to the cjaa crank with modifications. Same goes for the crank sensor. I know it would take a lot of extra time but I'm retired and this might be a neat winter project.
Thanks for your help,
Ross
 

Ross

Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2017
Location
Maine
TDI
01 Beetle ALH 5speed
Hi Jim,
Yes I found pictures of the cjaa pistons compared to what the bhw look like. I figured I could use a fly cutter to make valve to piston clearance if that was an issue. I understand the spray angle may be wrong but I wonder if it would still run decent even though I might lose power. I have a Land Rover pump so I'm going mtdi. I'm not so concerned about a little power loss but I like the idea of a really strong block because this is going to get put in my Ultra Van in place of the Corvair engine in the back. (See my avatar). I've done a lot of custom engine stuff and engine swaps over the years just like you I'm sure, so I'm wondering if we could still attach the reluctor wheel to the cjaa crank with modifications. Same goes for the crank sensor. I know it would take a lot of extra time but I'm retired and this might be a neat winter project.
Thanks for your help,
Ross
Wait a minute, I don't even need a reluctor or a crankshaft sensor since I'm going mtdi!
 

jmodge

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 18, 2015
Location
Greenville, MI
TDI
2001 alh Jetta, RC2 w/.205's 5speed daily summer commuter and 2000 alh Jetta 5spd swap, 2" lift, hitch, stage 3 TDtuning w/.216's winter cruiser, 1996 Tacoma ALh
Another thing to consider would be setting up the ALH timing belt system
 

Ross

Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2017
Location
Maine
TDI
01 Beetle ALH 5speed
Hi,
Thanks for your reply, yes this is true I guess it comes down to if there's any difference between the cjaa and bhw in regards to the timing belt. I haven't seen any of these in person yet I'm working on this. Maybe Jim can weigh in on this. I may be able to buy a set of used bhw pistons from PA. I'm calling the yard monday.
Ross
 

jimbote

Certified Volkswagen Nut
Joined
Jul 10, 2006
Location
spiral arm, milky way (aka central NC)
TDI
Tacoma 4x4 converted to TDI
Hi,
Thanks for your reply, yes this is true I guess it comes down to if there's any difference between the cjaa and bhw in regards to the timing belt. I haven't seen any of these in person yet I'm working on this. Maybe Jim can weigh in on this. I may be able to buy a set of used bhw pistons from PA. I'm calling the yard monday.
Ross
don't know the answer to the timing belt component question but my guess is you can use the ALH components and drill the block for the lower small idler. You'll definitely have to swap pistons. Rings are the same from what I recall.
 

Ross

Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2017
Location
Maine
TDI
01 Beetle ALH 5speed
don't know the answer to the timing belt component question but my guess is you can use the ALH components and drill the block for the lower small idler. You'll definitely have to swap pistons. Rings are the same from what I recall.
Well that's encouraging, I'll look into it and get back to you guys.
Thanks,
Ross
 

jimbote

Certified Volkswagen Nut
Joined
Jul 10, 2006
Location
spiral arm, milky way (aka central NC)
TDI
Tacoma 4x4 converted to TDI
Well that's encouraging, I'll look into it and get back to you guys.
Thanks,
Ross
a few things i'm seeing in the pic i posted above...first, there appears to be a freeze plug in the area where the large idle roller bolt would go... not good
second, it looks like the small idle roller might be in the wrong spot, i could be wrong here
third, the water pump bore might be different. I do know it's missing the chamfer that the ALH O-ring needs to slide into the bore ...The cjaa pump uses a face type oring
fourth, and i'm not positive about this but i believe the thermostat opening is different somehow
 

Ross

Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2017
Location
Maine
TDI
01 Beetle ALH 5speed
a few things i'm seeing in the pic i posted above...first, there appears to be a freeze plug in the area where the large idle roller bolt would go... not good
second, it looks like the small idle roller might be in the wrong spot, i could be wrong here
third, the water pump bore might be different. I do know it's missing the chamfer that the ALH O-ring needs to slide into the bore ...The cjaa pump uses a face type oring
fourth, and i'm not positive about this but i believe the thermostat opening is different somehow
Wow, thanks for all the observations, advice and the cjaa picture. I'm not discouraged yet, I welcome the challenge, sounds like fun ! I'll call yards Monday to get prices on the local cjaa core and used bhw pistons.
Ross
 
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