AHU swap into 93 Eurovan Weekender

[njt1rider]

This is my first post so I decided to jump in head first. I have a road trip through America planned for next May and I want to do it in my Eurovan but I don’t want to pay gas for a 17 MPG vehicle so my solution is to transplant an AHU into my Eurovan. I haven’t found any super detailed discussion on this swap in one post so Im gonna try my hand at keeping a pretty detailed blog on my progress. Heres what we’re working with:
Transplantee:
1993 Eurovan MV Weekender. Automatic 205,000miles
Donors:
1993 Eurovan GL, Manual 150,000ish miles
1998 Jetta TDI, Manual 206,000 miles
The game plan is to take the transmission from the GL and the AHU from the jetta and put them into the Weekender. While I do not plan on doing a 100% restoration, functionality and longevity are of the upmost importance. I do not have an unlimited budget but I can sink a good chunk of money into this project. I think what will hold me up most is just finding the time to do it. I usually end up working between 65-80 hours a week at my day job.
From my research thus far this is what im looking at. First off I just spent two years living in Germany so I have a friend trying to source the following parts for me straight from the dealership in Germany. All these parts should be from a euro 1.9TD Eurovan except the cruise control is from the 2.5:
Dipstick: 028115629E, N90461401, 044115611F, N 028 224 01
Trans mount: 02B409905K
Engine mount: 028199207E, 701199201G
Ring and pinion: 02B409143H
Pedal and bracket: W7D2 721 509 B, W7D0 721 531
Cruise control: W7D0 998 527
Oil drain plug: N 90288901, N 0138492
I already have the oil pan and pickup. If anyone is interested in the P/N let me know and ill post it so all the info is in one spot.
While Im waiting on that to fall into place, I will start pulling the drivetrain out of the GL tomorrow. I will be parting out the van and selling the 2.5 engine so PM me if you need anything. When I am finished parting out (hopefully in a week or two) I will pull the AHU out of the Jetta. I plan on using the 3rd 4th and 5th gears out of the jetta trans and put them in the GL trans (while having everything rebuilt) and put in the ring and pinion from Germany. Simultaneously I will start tearing down the AHU and seeing how in depth of a rebuild I want to do. I was really hoping to find a low mileage AHU and just do a straight swap but I got a killer deal on this one so Im going with this. 200k isn’t much on these engines but with the time and money im putting into this project, I want to do it right. I will also be looking into performance upgrades if any that I will be doing. When the trans and engine are rebuilt, I will mate them and prep them and when I am 100% sure I have every last piece to do the swap, I will pull the drivetrain on the weekender and start the swap process. I know this is a tall order but I think the reward will be well worth it. If you have any advice or comments please feel free to start a discussion. This is my first swap so I am not an expert by any means but I have been doing my homework and I hope to know this swap inside and out by the time im finished. I will try to keep this as up to date as possible with good detailed pictures. I will post links to other threads I found helpful. I hope you enjoy this and I hope this might answer some others questions(and my own) about an AHU Eurovan swap.
August 16, 2013

Weekender:

Jetta:

GL:

Weekender:

Jetta:

GL:

 

[BigDan1]

I did an AHU transplant in my 94 eurovan with a 2.5 AAF engine ....

I needed both europeean eurovan 1.9TD engine mounts brackets

oïl pan , strainer and dipstick ....got all this from a belgium scrap yard
costed me $460.00 delivered ....

got a passat cluster ( same ) with complete harness that was converted in the eurovan ....

I have a K24 with .216 injectors noozles

I do 7.5L/100 kms ( 38 mpg ) love the torque

 

[njt1rider]

The first weekend of work is finished. I accomplished pretty much what I wanted to do and had some surprises along the way. FYI for those attempting this, you will need an 12mm serrated (triple square) bit for the axle half shafts. Also, an impact gun makes this go a lot faster. Pulling the engine was surprisingly straight forward. It wasn’t the easiest engine to pull but not the hardest either. I was able to put the engine on the ground after about 4-5 hours of work by myself. I wrapped up for the night and had at it again today pulling everything I need for the auto to manual swap. I also pulled the harness in hopes someone might want this engine. I split the trans from the engine and while usually surprises are a good thing, in this situation not so much. See pictures below. For those who are looking for a very detailed and accurate how-to for doing the auto to manual swap go here: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?6058742-DIY-Auto-to-Manual-transmission-conversion-5th-gear-set-swap
All the exterior body parts removed:

ready to pull:

After i little wrestling and sawzaw handy work:

made it before the sun went down:

Fuse block references:


Splitting the pack:

Surprise number 1

surprise number 2


luckily it seems that the throwout bearing is the only thing that exploded and the trans internals seem to be in good shape. I will spend the next week parting out the van and if noone takes it by next monday it will go to the scrap yard. anyone with a lot of eurovan experience have any suggestions on what i might want to keep as spare parts that often go bad? When this shell is out of my hair then it will be the jettas turn. Its going to hurt a little bit on the inside tearing apart a running driving TDI but the thing is rusting from the bottom up with no hope of saving it so i keep telling myself im doing the jetta a favor...

 

[bbob203]

I'm in louisville id love to come check this out!!

 

[njt1rider]

Feel free to come lend a hand!! PM me if you really wanna swing by. I wont be tearing into any fun TDI stuff for at least a week or two...need to get rid of the eurovan first...

 

[Frans]

Nice swap! Every Eurovan deserves a TDI

Let me know if your are looking for parts! I sold several t4 conversion sets, see also picture below

 

[Growler]

frans, What does a kit like that go for with all of the bolts etc needed to put it all together?

 

[rcowan]

I have received a pile of parts like that from Frans. I would recommend him as a good source for anything you will need for this swap. It's a lot of work but well worth it!

One thing I don't see on your list is the support bracket for the passenger's side drive axle that bolts to the engine block. They are different between 4 and 5 cylinder.

 

[njt1rider]

I have not seen any pictures of the part numbers that i have listed. I was kinda blindly going with that list from research i have done through the forums. in my third to last picture you can see the support bracket i pulled off is trashed but i was assuming thats what "Trans mount: 02B409905K" this is. In frans picture it should be the part above the engine mount. the trans mount in the picture looks identical to what i pulled off and i dont see how that one would be any different since its the trans that came out of the eurovan bolting to the mount in the eurovan. (unless there is a difference between where the mount is on auto and manual versions of eurovan). I can understand the drive axle support bracket since it is bolting to a different engine block. Can you please elaborate on this and if you have any part numbers that would be much aprecciated. Also anyone know what part that is between the oil pan and dipstick in frans picture?

 

[rcowan]

You are correct. I didn't remember the part number but 02B 409 905K is the part I was talking about. I had to look up the part number on vagcat.com. (If you don't know about this resource, it should help quite a bit.) That piece between oil pan and dipstick is the lower timing belt cover. You will need that also.

 

[njt1rider]

why is the lower timing belt cover needed? im assuming something with either the engine mount or oil pan? Also do you have the P/N so all this information can be in one source? I briefly checked out that website and i need to register before i can gain full access which I cant quite do at work right now...

 

[njt1rider]

Ok finally got rid of the Eurovan so next up on the chopping block:


Tomorrow I will pull the engine. Today I wanted to do a compression test to try and get a gauge of what this engine is looking like. I got the following readings:
CYL 1: 530 PSI
CYL 2: 520 PSI
CYL 3: 518 PSI
CYL 4: 520 PSI




Not looking too shabby. This engine has 206K on the clock. My only concern is when I pulled the glow plugs the number 1 looked like this


So my question to the experts out there: I'm trying to decide if I want to do a full rebuild on this engine or just clean it up and throw it in the Weekender. I will have a better idea of what I'm working with when I get it on the engine stand but between the compression reading and what the glow plugs looked like what do yall think? I was driving the jetta today and it has great pickup, no funny noises but does blow a little black smoke when you punch the gas. One last thing to consider is I plan on doing a stage II or III kerma tune.

This TDI sounds like a happy diesel to me (you might have to click this to watch)


Does anyone know if this is suppose to go to anything? It was coming out of the harness going to the injection pump. I couldnt find anything that it might possibly plug into...

 

[greengeeker]

Does anyone know if this is suppose to go to anything? It was coming out of the harness going to the injection pump. I couldnt find anything that it might possibly plug into...

Just an extra wire. IIRC it is used on an MFA car for an oil temp sensor or something like that.

 

[94x]

Just an extra wire. IIRC it is used on an MFA car for an oil temp sensor or something like that.

That is the oil temp sensor wire. Add an oil temp sensor from a vr6 engine and FMA from a Passat GLX and you can monitor oil temp.

 

[njt1rider]

Thanks for the info guys.

Got rained out over the weekend but did manage to get the engine out. I still need to pull the rest of the parts off the jetta but got the engine on a stand at least. Pulling this engine was even easier than the eurovan and the wiring harness just unplugs from the side of the engine making for a pretty easy pull job. Anyone know how this could fill up with oil? It looks like there is a slight valve cover leak but nothing leaking onto the plug itself???


Anyone need parts?


This looks to be in a lot better shape than the CHP in the Eurovan.


So from other forums I read that the ideal fix to the transmission gearing is to find an EWB from europe. The next best thing is to swap the 5th gear from the CTN trans from the jetta and get a 4.23 R&P from Europe. Does anyone know what would be the advantages/disadvantages to just swap everything from the CTN into the Eurovan CHP? Here are the gear ratios for all three trans:

EWB Gear Ratios (from 1.9TD eurovan)
1st gear
34 : 9 = 3.778
2nd gear
33 : 16 = 2.063
3rd gear
30 : 23 = 1.304
4th gear
28 : 31 = 0.903
5th gear
28 : 40 = 0.700
Final drive
72 : 17 = 4.235
Reverse gear
18 : 9 x 36 : 20 = 3.600
Speedometer drive
12 : 20 = 0.600

AYD, CCW, CHP, CRL (Eurovan with 2.5 gasser)
1st 3.778
• 2nd 2.118
• 3rd 1.458 (1.429 - AYD)
• 4th 1.029
• 5th 0.837 (36:43)
• Final Drive 4.611
• Overall Ratio in 5th Gear 3.859:1 = Theoretocal Road Speed @ 3,000rpm 60mph (97km/h)

CTN (Jetta TDI)
1st 3.778
2nd 2.118
3rd 1.36
4th 1.029
5th 0.755
Final Drive 3.158

I must admit that I dont quite understand the gearing ratios in relation advantages/disadvantages in the jetta VS the eurovan and drive-ability. I'm looking for an ideal ratio that will get me to highway cruising speed fairly easily but will still be ok for around town driving. I would like to maximize highway MPG as well and plan on driving between 65-70 mph on highway conditions. I have heard of some conversion projects getting up to 38 MPG and I hope to achieve similar results.

I think I'm gonna go ahead and pull the head off and take a look inside and see what we are dealing with. I figure I'll go ahead and at least rebuild the head and then determine what I want to do with the bottom end once I get a good look at it. Is there anyone out there that would advise against rebuilding the bottom end?

 

[greengeeker]

Does anyone know what would be the advantages/disadvantages to just swap everything from the CTN into the Eurovan CHP?

I wish I could help answer that question but I also hope it can be done!

 

[Growler]

Take a look at the calculator found here:
http://www.supradave.com/tech/gearspeed/comparator.php?do_what=gearspeed

Mix and match the pieces you have and do custom transmission and tire size and see what this thing says. it does say that 60mph = 3000 rpm when you put in all of the CHP gearing and a 215/60/16 eurovan tire size.

 

[Growler]

playing with it, easiest would be to put a .681 5th gear on the otherwise stock CHP 2.5 gasser trans to get your 5th gear speed 5mph lower than the same RPM on the 1.9 TD trans. granted, this gives you about a 1000 RPM drop between 4th & 5th gears, so passing and hill climbs would want to be done in 4th gear with such a large vehicle.

CHP with .681 5th 215 60 16 tires
rpm-, 1st-g, 2nd-g, 3rd-g, 4TH-g, 5TH-g, FINAL
ratio, 3.778, 2.118, 1.458, 1.029, 0.681, 4.611
5000, 22.33, 39.83, 57.86, 81.99, 123.88
4500, 20.10, 35.85, 52.08, 73.79, 111.5
4000, 17.86, 31.87, 46.29, 65.59, 99.11
3500, 15.63, 27.88, 40.50, 57.39, 86.72
3000, 13.40, 23.90, 34.72, 49.19, 74.33
2500, 11.17, 19.92, 28.93, 40.99, 61.94
2000, 8.930, 15.93, 23.15, 32.80, 49.55
1500, 6.700, 11.95, 17.36, 24.60, 37.17
1000, 4.470, 7.970, 11.57, 16.40, 24.78
0500, 2.230, 3.980, 5.790, 8.200, 12.39

but for cruising, this might be a very nice combo for the freeway.


I do wonder though if the 5th gear from the CHP can be modified to be installed as a 4th gear in the CHP , and a .681 5th gear installed.., with the 3rd from the mk3 trans.. would bring the rPMs closer together in the upper 3 gears and not have such a large gap between 4-5 shifts..

CHP with CTN 3rd, CHP 5th as 4th, and 0.681 5th, 215 60 16 tires
rpm-, 1st-G, 2nd-G, 3rd-G, 4TH-g, 5TH-g, FINAL
Ratio, 3.778, 2.118, 1.360, 0.837, 0.681, 4.611
5000, 22.33, 39.83, 62.03, 100.8, 123.88
4500, 20.10, 35.85, 55.83, 90.72, 111.5
4000, 17.86, 31.87, 49.63, 80.64, 99.11
3500, 15.63, 27.88, 43.42, 70.56, 86.72
3000, 13.40, 23.90, 37.22, 60.48, 74.33
2500, 11.17, 19.92, 31.02, 50.40, 61.94
2000, 8.930, 15.93, 24.81, 40.32, 49.55
1500, 6.700, 11.95, 18.61, 30.24, 37.17
1000, 4.470, 7.970, 12.41, 20.16, 24.78
0500, 2.230, 3.980, 6.200, 10.08, 12.39

 

[njt1rider]

Growler...awesome find! thanks for the heads up. Green geeker, I'm working to get a rebuilt EWB from Frans so once that comes in, I may either play around with the CTN and CHP or may be putting it up for sale for someone who wants to....

 

[ken.fresno-tdi]

I've never heard of swapping out all the guts from at CTN and putting it into the Eurovan tranny, but I don't know enough about either tranny to know if that is an option. Another way to go is to get a 4.23 ring and pinion (Justin at Greaseworks might have one) to swap into the stock Eurovan tranny, then just switch out the .755 5th gear from the CTN Passat/Jetta, which is easy to get to. This gets you pretty close to the EWB gear ratios and, from what I have read, keeps the TDI power band close to what you need for the extra weight of the Eurovan.

 

[Growler]

CHP Eurovan 2.5 Gasser Trans, 4.235 final drive, .755 CTN 5th gear
rpm-, 1st-g, 2nd-g, 3rd-g, 4TH-g, 5TH-g, FINAL
ratio, 3.778, 2.118, 1.458, 1.029, 0.755, 4.235
5000, 24.31, 43.35, 63.00, 89.27, 121.66
4500, 21.88, 39.02, 56.70, 80.34, 109.5
4000, 19.45, 34.68, 50.40, 71.41, 97.33
3500, 17.02, 30.35, 44.10, 62.49, 85.16
3000, 14.59, 26.01, 37.80, 53.56, 73.00
2500, 12.16, 21.68, 31.50, 44.63, 60.83
2000, 9.730, 17.34, 25.20, 35.71, 48.67
1500, 7.290, 13.01, 18.90, 26.78, 36.50
1000, 4.860, 8.670, 12.60, 17.85, 24.33
0500, 2.430, 4.340, 6.300, 8.930, 12.17

Not a whole lot different in 5th gear than simply putting a .681 5thon the stock CHP gearing..

CHP with .681 5th 215 60 16 tires
rpm-, 1st-g, 2nd-g, 3rd-g, 4TH-g, 5TH-g, FINAL
ratio, 3.778, 2.118, 1.458, 1.029, 0.681, 4.611
5000, 22.33, 39.83, 57.86, 81.99, 123.88
4500, 20.10, 35.85, 52.08, 73.79, 111.5
4000, 17.86, 31.87, 46.29, 65.59, 99.11
3500, 15.63, 27.88, 40.50, 57.39, 86.72
3000, 13.40, 23.90, 34.72, 49.19, 74.33
2500, 11.17, 19.92, 28.93, 40.99, 61.94
2000, 8.930, 15.93, 23.15, 32.80, 49.55
1500, 6.700, 11.95, 17.36, 24.60, 37.17
1000, 4.470, 7.970, 11.57, 16.40, 24.78
0500, 2.230, 3.980, 5.790, 8.200, 12.39

 

[njt1rider]

Cleaning up

 

[greengeeker]

Another way to go is to get a 4.23 ring and pinion (Justin at Greaseworks might have one) to swap into the stock Eurovan tranny, then just switch out the .755 5th gear from the CTN Passat/Jetta, which is easy to get to.

This assumes you can get Justin to respond to such inquiries.

 

[Growler]

njt, what size tires are you putting in for your caloculations? you will need to note that so others can duplicate the numbers you have.

 

[njt1rider]

growler howd you get all your numbers to line up? I just sent 30mins putting all those commas in and redid the spacing and it still looks like crap...

 

[njt1rider]

growler i used the same numbers as you, 215, 60, 16 for all of the numbers i just posted...i will edit again...

 

[Growler]

What can I say, I am just good like that

here is my formatting.

1, make sure there are 4 digits in the RPMs,

1000
0500

then a comma, then a space, 5 more digits including the decimal, comma space, repeat. (see all the trailing zeros?)

1234, 1.345, 12.45, 123.5, .2345, 123.4
rpm-, 1st-g, 2nd-g, 3rd-g, 4th-g, 5th-g
1000, 4.470, 7.970, 11.57, 16.40, 24.78
0500, 2.230, 3.980, 5.790, 8.200, 12.39

 

[njt1rider]

Lets try this... All numbers were produced with tire size 215/60/16

EWB Trans:
3.778, 2.063, 1.304, .903, .70, 4.235

CTN Trans:
3.778, 2.118, 1.36, 1.029, .755, 3.158

CHP Trans:
3.778, 2.118, 1.458, 1.029, .837 4.661

CHP Trans with .755(CTN) 5th gear:
3.778, 2.118, 1.458, 1.029, .755 4.661

 

[njt1rider]

Figured out the pictures. Please enjoy the larger pics for now on..

 

[jimbote]

02J final drive is much smaller than the 02B...so swapping guts would be impossible ....the diff bearing location on the 02B would place the 02J diff so far back the pinion teeth would no longer mesh with the ring gear