Corrado TDI Project: Lightweight Daily Driver

deecee

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2012
Location
Black mtn NC
TDI
96 Passat Tornado Red, 99.5 Golf ALH, 2002 Jetta ALH
Ah ha, do I spy Audi TT shift lever? at least that is what mine looks like.
 

G60ING

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 5, 2001
Location
MD
TDI
No TDIs Currently, I have an R36 Corrado. I've had an ALH Corrado swap, AHU Corrado swap and 2003 TDI Jetta
Ah ha, do I spy Audi TT shift lever? at least that is what mine looks like.


Yes I was able to score a TT shifter assembly, I'm not certain if it's really necessary but when I took apart the 02j shifter I grabbed from the jy for the conversion I found the lever was bent and a local gave me a TT shifter for free.
 

Houpty GT

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2008
Location
South Carolina
TDI
Corrado TDI, 2000 Golf, 1996 B4 Variant
I have not installed the shifter yet. I was going to disassemble and relubricate the mechanism since it was underwater during one of the floods. Did you buy the Polo parts or cut your body?

So the TT shift has a 10 o'clock offset and a different length maybe? I know the weight has a shorter throw for front-to-back. Anything else?

I have a bunch of these shifter weights now.
Pin style Audi TT or whatever late 02J with 20% shorter throw front-to-back: 8N0 211 051 A
Pin style normal:1J0 711 051 Q
Ball style:1J0 711 051 D

I don't plan to use the Audi TT short shifter weight if someone wants to buy it. I am a lazy shifter. It's the best way to protect your tranny from a hard jerking.
 

Houpty GT

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2008
Location
South Carolina
TDI
Corrado TDI, 2000 Golf, 1996 B4 Variant
My differential finally came in. If you want one and have the money, I recommend you buy it and keep it under your bed until you need it. Now that I have this LSD, I can finally do this tranny! Very excited!
 

G60ING

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 5, 2001
Location
MD
TDI
No TDIs Currently, I have an R36 Corrado. I've had an ALH Corrado swap, AHU Corrado swap and 2003 TDI Jetta

Houpty GT

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2008
Location
South Carolina
TDI
Corrado TDI, 2000 Golf, 1996 B4 Variant
The 1st through 3rd gear upgrade is awesome. 1st gear is no longer too low and you shift into second around 15 MPH instead of 10 for casual driving. It took a lot of the burn-out-monster out of the car but I bet it is faster now because more time is spent in first. I put a Peloquin in also so that is also a major factor. 2nd through 3rd are proportionately sized to make for smooth shifting into 4th gear. The gears come from a 1.8T and I believe a VR6 also. I wish there was a nicer upgrade for 4th gear. The one option I saw on Boraparts was expensive and too insignificant of an increase (+7%?) to match well with an upgraded 5th gear.

Does anybody have recommendation for a transmission mount that is stronger? I split another hydraulic mount in half. I do not want to transmit any more vibration so racing mounts are out. Remember it's a daily driver.
 

vanbcguy

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
'93 Passat - AHU mTDI with GTB1756VK
For what it's worth the G60 mount is definitely a source of vibration frustration in my life. Were the hydraulic mounts you broke VW or another supplier?

Sent from my LG-H873 using Tapatalk
 

G60ING

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 5, 2001
Location
MD
TDI
No TDIs Currently, I have an R36 Corrado. I've had an ALH Corrado swap, AHU Corrado swap and 2003 TDI Jetta
also consider replacing all of the mounts at one time.
 

Houpty GT

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2008
Location
South Carolina
TDI
Corrado TDI, 2000 Golf, 1996 B4 Variant
The Chinese mounts broke right away. The top plate just pulls right out. I have been using parts car mounts and those hold up for about a year. I remember the G60 mount giving me vibrations many years ago. I might have to look into modifying the stock mounts if possible.
 

G60ING

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 5, 2001
Location
MD
TDI
No TDIs Currently, I have an R36 Corrado. I've had an ALH Corrado swap, AHU Corrado swap and 2003 TDI Jetta

Engmk

Active member
Joined
Sep 19, 2014
Location
oHIo
TDI
04 golf 5 spd
So how much of a chore is this swap? if your using a MKiv engine and trans?
 

Houpty GT

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2008
Location
South Carolina
TDI
Corrado TDI, 2000 Golf, 1996 B4 Variant
As far as swaps go, it is not hard. You could do one of the poor quality swaps in 40 hour of work if you knew what you were doing and did not expect to use the car or you can spend 1,000 hours to make it decent quality that could compare to the original work VW did.
The 02j tranny will bolt in with the 02a mount brackets installed but is going to have gearing that is too low. G60ing did the swap with a ALH MK4 engine and he recommends against it. Sound advice.
 

G60ING

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 5, 2001
Location
MD
TDI
No TDIs Currently, I have an R36 Corrado. I've had an ALH Corrado swap, AHU Corrado swap and 2003 TDI Jetta
As far as swaps go, G60ing did the swap with a ALH MK4 engine and he recommends against it. Sound advice.
I think the best combo is a MK4 ALH, with a 1997 Passat wiring harness with a MK4 MAF and upgraded MK4 MAP sensor with an upgraded turbo. Thats what I would build if I were to do another TDI corrado that had an injector pump.
 

Houpty GT

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2008
Location
South Carolina
TDI
Corrado TDI, 2000 Golf, 1996 B4 Variant
I think the best combo is a MK4 ALH, with a 1997 Passat wiring harness with a MK4 MAF and upgraded MK4 MAP sensor with an upgraded turbo. Thats what I would build if I were to do another TDI corrado that had an injector pump.
I don't see the advantage of just the ALH block and head. Is there something I am missing? The real improvements on those motors were the work they did on vibration reduction with the pendulum engine mounts and dual mass flywheel. You wouldn't be using either one though. I also like the external waterpump more even if the timing belt interval is shorter at 60,000 miles. I think common rail will be really nice one day.
 

Houpty GT

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2008
Location
South Carolina
TDI
Corrado TDI, 2000 Golf, 1996 B4 Variant
The thermocouple for my EGT gauge has been dead for about 5 months. I ordered a new one from McNally today.

I like this little bracket that they are selling on FixMyVW.com


It's nice to see GTiTDi's hardwork and creativity making it in the world. He has the originals on his site for sale now.
http://www.schnellvw.com/parts/
 
Last edited:

G60ING

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 5, 2001
Location
MD
TDI
No TDIs Currently, I have an R36 Corrado. I've had an ALH Corrado swap, AHU Corrado swap and 2003 TDI Jetta
After having both an ALH and AHU tdi corrado i found the fuel economy was better out of the ALH. The AHU harness is plug and play. That's why I suggest to combo above.
 

G60ING

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 5, 2001
Location
MD
TDI
No TDIs Currently, I have an R36 Corrado. I've had an ALH Corrado swap, AHU Corrado swap and 2003 TDI Jetta
My buddy swapped a commonrail into his mk1 and loves it.
 

Owain@malonetuning

Associate Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jul 1, 2016
Location
Vancouver
TDI
PD jetta wagon
My buddy swapped a commonrail into his mk1 and loves it.
Do go on Frank :p Still a rare swap and hoping to do one myself someday (fantasy pipe dreams of when I have infinite time). S&P has some stuff in the works, got a guy in rural Texas running one in his ranch Jeep, but haven't heard of many CR swaps yet.
 

Hasenwerk

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Nov 28, 2003
Location
Quesnel, BC
TDI
1982 Cabriolet (BEW|VNT17|Stage4), 1989 VW TriStar Syncro soon-to-be CR TDI (CBEA), 2001 Ford Ranger Edge 4x4 (ALH|VNT17|R520|Stage4)
My buddy swapped a commonrail into his mk1 and loves it.
That looks more like a 2004 to 2006 Pump Duse than a 2009+ Common Rail - still a nice motor though!
 

G60ING

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 5, 2001
Location
MD
TDI
No TDIs Currently, I have an R36 Corrado. I've had an ALH Corrado swap, AHU Corrado swap and 2003 TDI Jetta
That looks more like a 2004 to 2006 Pump Duse than a 2009+ Common Rail - still a nice motor though!
you are probably right, I stopped paying attention to TDIs after 2003.
 

Houpty GT

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2008
Location
South Carolina
TDI
Corrado TDI, 2000 Golf, 1996 B4 Variant
My EGT thermocouple died back in July. I finally installed a replacement this week.

The failure was scary because it was telling me I was hitting 1850 degF on the interstate. I thought a nozzle could have been streaming but it was just the thermocouple. I checked it by looking at my injector balance with my old ISO-COM and it looked normal so I knew it was not a nozzle.

McNally really came through for me on service, above and beyond. Definitely, a positive referral for them.

I should be working on my car more now, unlike the last 2 years. I think 2018 is going to be a great year with hard work finally paying off and lots of changes in life!!!

Merry Christmas!
 

G60ING

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 5, 2001
Location
MD
TDI
No TDIs Currently, I have an R36 Corrado. I've had an ALH Corrado swap, AHU Corrado swap and 2003 TDI Jetta
I've seen some of your posts on the vortex and I cant wait to see what you have cooking. I should be a few shows this coming year.
 

Houpty GT

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2008
Location
South Carolina
TDI
Corrado TDI, 2000 Golf, 1996 B4 Variant
There's a sweet deal on a 1991 blue Corrado with BBS rims and and 1998 Jetta TDI in Charleston if anyone is interested. I bet someone could bake something nice out of that. I can give you the contacts if interested.

My PP520 nozzles are worn out at ~190,000 miles. I have more smoke and my fuel economy average has plummeted to 52 MPG. I am planning to install some PP764's soon. My lady is going to be getting new PP520's on her Golf first though. What a lucky lady! That car is a dog with the automatic nozzles and a 10mm pump. That will be done this weekend. The Corrado with the stock turbo and pieced together intake, I am going to knock the fueling back until the SDI long runner intake and air to water intercooler go in. I think I will also do a GT20 turbo for improved efficiency and better top end performance while still limiting it to 20 PSI. I JUST WISH IT WAS NOT SO COLD HERE!
 

Houpty GT

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2008
Location
South Carolina
TDI
Corrado TDI, 2000 Golf, 1996 B4 Variant
I hit 300,000 miles on the Corrado the weekend before my child was born. Pretty exciting, right?


I think I can smell fuel and the injection pump and PP764 nozzles are not happy. Injector balance at idle is not existent. The idle balance just wanders up and down from +3.00 to -3.00. Must be a pump wear, QA, or maybe a engine speed sensor issue. This will all have to be fixed soon.



Paint could be going on soon. Cross your fingers.
 

Houpty GT

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2008
Location
South Carolina
TDI
Corrado TDI, 2000 Golf, 1996 B4 Variant
I was doing some planned maintenance on the Corrado and found a cracked piston.







I now have BRM rods and pistons. The pistons are heavier with the oil cooled galleries.

The rods are much lighter, enough that the sets weigh 46 grams less each.


'97 1Z (ALH style) piston set 1495 grams
BRM pistons 1449 grams


'97 1Z (ALH style) pistons 553 grams
BRM pistons 582 grams


1Z rods 729 grams
BRM rod 663 grams


1Z wrist pins 206 grams
BRM tapered wrist pins 203 grams


The sets came in balanced to 5.4 grams.

I balanced all individual pieces and then the sets to less than a gram.



I have about 400 miles on the rebuild so far. It is going very well.

Once it is adequately broken in, I will give some reviews of all the performance changes.
 

Houpty GT

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2008
Location
South Carolina
TDI
Corrado TDI, 2000 Golf, 1996 B4 Variant
Oh and for a spare tire I've been running a tire from a smart car. 25 year old spares are dangerous.
My replacement spare from an MK3 separated the tread this year. I either need to buy a new tire, find a Smart spare, go full size G60 Sebring rim, or go spareless. I like spareless around town but need to deal with the hole in the trunk.



The rebuild is still running strong. My 11mm pump is dying and I picked up a used 11mm with 114k miles on it. The fuel economy has only been 48 and 46 on the last 2 tanks. The lower compression ratio should only cost me about 1/4 MPG so I hope the MPG gets back up to 54-56 MPG average as the motor breaks in. Maybe the pump is costing me some efficiency.
 

Houpty GT

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2008
Location
South Carolina
TDI
Corrado TDI, 2000 Golf, 1996 B4 Variant
I have been having injection pump headaches for a while. The replacement fuel pump with the 114k miles on it was a VW remanufactured unit with the X in the part number. Inside, it looked brand new. The pump lasted about 1,500 miles before I broke the spider gear into 4 pieces. The case pressure relief valve was also sticky. It was sad to lose so many new parts in that pump.
The next pump I put in had a sticky advance mechanism. I replaced the cold start valve and replaced the case pressure relief valve that was stuck partially open and would not move to open or shut.
I made a 1,000 mile road trip last week and hit a tire on the interstate at night. I busted the lower grill and knocked the brake ducts, lower spoiler, and wheel well liners around. I hope to reuse those parts but need a new lower grill.
I had the remanufactured starter stick on me and fail to start in some freezing weather. My turbo is also worn out with a bunch or axial play in the shaft. I did put new Nitto NeoGen tires and the handling is much better than the touring tires I had on there. The oversteer that is designed into the Corrado suspension can be easily felt again. Michelin Pilot Exaltos were the best tires I have had because they road soft like the touring tire and handled like the performance tire. Too bad they stopped making them in these sizes. Both sets of Michelins gave me 80,000 miles. For the last 3 years I have only been putting about 8,000 miles a year on the car unlike the 20,000 that I used to. Long tire life and high fuel economy do not mean as much as they used to.
A Chinese tire plug ruined one of my tires and left me in an awkward position. Buy this tool and save yourself a headache, save your tire, and save your hand from a cheap Chinese plastic handle that splits and lets the steel shaft drive through the palm of your hand. This tool is the real deal. Western Weld Tubeless Flat Tire Repair Kit - USA Made (sherco-auto.com)
I did purchase a brand new spare tire for $90 from Discount Tire. Rubber tires have questionable safety after around 10 years.
I need to put some pictures on this thread.
 

Houpty GT

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2008
Location
South Carolina
TDI
Corrado TDI, 2000 Golf, 1996 B4 Variant
I added a big air horn to my car to go with the Hella and stock low tones. I do not know why someone in a CUV thinks they can out accelerate and cut me off in a traffic jam. "We are all in this together," but I am faster and louder.

Time to add a few old pictures. Here are some of the big sites to see in Iowa and Minnesota. The Bohemian Museum in Cedar Rapids and the home of the World's Biggest Cheese in Pine Island, MN.




I am down to 5,000 miles per year. I hope to get a few modifications done this year. A new lower grill should arrive soon to replace the one that got wrecked by a tire on the interstate in DC.
 
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