ALH Swap - '96 XJ

[tdixjman]

Finally got it all ironed out and it drives great!

Resealed 03 ALH
All new sensors and seals
VNT17
DLC764 balanced by DFIS
Rebuilt 11mm by DFIS
PD150 intake
Custom intercooler and piping
Custom stainless 2.5" downpipe and exhaust
Malone stage 4 tune
Original AW4 trans
Original NP242C transfer case
Ford 8.8, 3.73 LSD
Custom 4 link rear suspension
Custom radius arm front suspension
31" tires


TDI in XJ:
There are challenges but it's doable if you can fabricate.

A/C compressor fit with custom suspension configuration and careful engine mount planning.

TD conversions mounts were a bit stiff, used Volvo 740/940 hydraulic mounts and they are great.

Shifter and T-case linkages were simple to modify.

Stock driveshafts were re-tubed.

Radiator was moved toward engine 3" to make room for A/C condenser and intercooler.



AW4 trans mated to ALH:

AW4 is easy to make work for those wondering. Just leave the jeep ECM/TCM in place and trim all engine wiring out of Jeep harness- or leave it if you don't care and want to zip tie it out of the way...

I made a custom arm bolted to the TDI pedal to yank on the TV cable through the firewall. This works great and stupid simple.

ECM needs a TPS signal to make it shift. Tap into the 0-5v on the TDI pedal and route it to the Jeep ECM connector. Splice it into the wire where it enters the Jeep ECM.

It shifts at slightly higher rpm's than I'd like for a daily driver but for an offroad rig the stock Jeep TCM tuning is aggressive and works awesome!

 

[zymguy]

How does in compare , seat of the pants, daily driving vs the stock 4.0 ?

 

[tdixjman]

How does in compare , seat of the pants, daily driving vs the stock 4.0 ?

Considering that the 4.0 would barely make it up hills and got 13mpg... Massive improvement!

Seat of the pants feels like 50% more power since the powerband is so much better on the TDI. I wouldn't be surprised if it made twice the torque from 2000-4000 rpm.

Biggest downside is that the TDI is a noisy engine and is not smooth in comparison to the 4.0l. But I keep making improvements to isolate the engine and it is acceptable now.

 

[joe00golf]

Awesome to hear. Would love to put one in my 4 cylinder TJ but the tub and frame rot keep halting me from committing to all that work for a jeep that's probably not gonna make it long term.

 

[Bradm]

Nice
Got any pictures?

 

[03Golfer]

Was your 4.0 in bad shape? I found our old XJ with 400,000 km on it to have plenty of power up hills. Of course, I'd still prefer a TDI, but just want to make sure it's a fair comparison.

 

[zymguy]

Was your 4.0 in bad shape? I found our old XJ with 400,000 km on it to have plenty of power up hills. Of course, I'd still prefer a TDI, but just want to make sure it's a fair comparison.

I too would prefer the TDI but all of my 4.0 in the xj platform could stay in high gear and maintain highway speed on hills. my current 2000 with 150000 miles is at 17mpg over a dozen tanks . Not fast Not efficient. Adequate. Id sure love a tdi in it

 

[zymguy]

Biggest downside is that the TDI is a noisy engine and is not smooth in comparison to the 4.0l. But I keep making improvements to isolate the engine and it is acceptable now.

Thats interesting , there is so much road noise and wind noise from these beloved shoeboxes already!