ID This Engine?

[Conan]

Hi,

I'm looking for a pre-ALH engine for a swap project, and recently found this one. It is being represented as a 1989 Golf, but the car looks more like a 1998 to me. Possible Canadian origin. Does this look like an AHU? (The car is 2+ hours drive away, and I'm doing as much homework as I can before proceeding.)

Thx,

Lee

 

[Windex]

That's an AAZ. IDI engine (not TDI), can be made lively with nozzles and some modifications to the governor and altitude compensator in the injection pump. It's a turbo, but there's no intercooler from the factory (many put one in if modding).

That engine is prone to crankshaft pulley wobble (the notch in the crank is not very robust), check the crank pulley while running - if it wobbles at all, walk away.

Manual timing advance needed when cold (handle in the car like an old style choke).

Probably a 95 or 96 Canadian car (I owned a 95)

Great engine for swaps, as it runs on 1 wire (pump shutoff solenoid).

 

[Ski in NC]

Could also be a 1.6 turbo. The AAZ is 1.9 turbo, looks about the same. Back of block has a casting imprint "1.6" or "1.9".

 

[jimbote]

it's 1.9 aaz .... it has the cam cap studs through the valve cover instead of the bolts along the flange like the 1.6

 

[Conan]

Thanks for the quick info! The seller is saying it is turbocharged, but he also has it listed as a 1989... More clues:

 

[Windex]

Ask him for the VIN - It's a MK3, so it's not an 89. 93 was the first year in Canada - it's more than likely a 95, as it was the most common year found up here with the AAZ.

Looks pretty beat. Hope it's cheap - how many KM?

 

[Conan]

I asked him to e-mail the VIN-- He bought it for the same swap I have in mind, never intending to register the car as a driver in the states. Canadian title and BOS. Asking $1200, which sounds like a deal compared to the AAZ prices I've been Googling up... I'll post the VIN when I get it. Looks like a good candidate for a Tracker swap, but I'm spooked that the seller is not even sure what it is...

 

[VeeDubTDI]

AAZ is turbo - you can see where the air plumbing goes to it between the engine and the firewall.

Also, that Golf is BEAT!

 

[Windex]

Also, if the car has over 300,000km on it, there is a word "total" that will disappear from the cluster next to the odometer. Under 300,000km, the word "total" will still be there.

If the "total" is gone, and the ODO says 100,000km, you might be at 400,000, or 700,000, though 700k is unlikely

 

[Vince Waldon]

Ha ha.. good catch.

Used to happen on the IDI forums all the time "hey guys look at this fantastic deal I got on this low-mileage MK3... only has 86K". Then we're have to burst their bubble...then they'd deny...then we'd send 'em to youtube where there are tons of videos people have posted of their MK3 rolling over and low and behold the word "total" disappears.

Youtube is a strange place but it has its uses.

Common belief was that the cluster simply went to all zeros at 600K and stayed there, but we never found any Youtube video to confirm or deny.

OP... the one thing I notice about that AAZ is that it looks like it's got the Eco pump on it (hard to tell for sure from the blurry picture). This means that it likely has the "tiny" K03 turbo rather than the "small" K14 and the pump has the so-called "joke" enrichment pin which adds very little fuel under boost. Eco pumps had a smaller hi pressure drive piston as well.

The "Eco" version was the "ecology" version, meaning it was tuned for emissions as opposed to power.

The K14 and non-Eco pump are much more rare, even here in Canada, and of course it all depends on whether your swap needs more power... but it does suggest that the engine has room to wake up if you so chose. Otherwise it will get great fuel economy, and if it's going in a Samurai etc it will have lots of torque as is.

 

[Conan]

Seller evidently ran the VIN and came up with this info:

Country: MEXICO Make: Volkswagen Vehicle Type: Passenger Car Body Type: Engine Type: L4, 1.9L; Turbo Restraint System: Active Belts Model: Golf III Check Digit: 4 Model Year: 1993 Assy. Plant: Puebla Production Seq. Number: 004311 Fuel Type: Diesel Vehicle Class: Small Car Manufacturer: Volkswagen de Mexico S.A. De C.V. Engine Code: P

He claims it's just over 200K (KMs on a Canada model, I assume...?) What can he check to verify if it's the "ECO" version or the K14 or "non-Eco" version? He hasn't sent me the VIN yet-- I could ask again if that contains the pertinent info.

Thanks!

Lee

 

[Vince Waldon]

He can't really send you anything, unless he knows his way around the engine and can tell the difference between the two, but if I was buying that car for a swap I wouldn't worry about it. AAZs are getting rare and beggers can't be chosers.. particularly south of the border.

I mentioned the difference in turbos just to point out an upgrade path for you in the future if you decided you needed more zip... either turbo is fine in general.

 

[Conan]

Cool, thanks Vince. I have a line on what looks like a good deal on a complete AHU for around the same money-- weighing my options as the AAZ should be a way easier swap, but the AHU would be more power out of the box...

 

[Windex]

If you can get the AHU for the same money, with the harness and the ECU, then I would go for that.

Much more flexibility in terms of power upgrades, and the pumps are a lot less fiddly and more plentiful. You even have the option of converting to the ALH pump with a slight modification of the pump bracket and pulley.

 

[Conan]

I held off until another project car moved on and missed out on this one (and evidently any AHUs around). Sold the AE86 so the hunt is back on. Posting a WTB in the classifieds-- any leads on a good engine for my swap most welcome. (Closer to Metro Denver the better.) Thanks for all the great information!

Lee