Project: PolarXJ (M-TDI XJ)

[6_DoF]

This place used to be full of jeep swaps, the last one is like 3 or 4 pages back

Decided with all the volatility in the car and fuel markets, i needed a back-up ride that was 4x4 and could sip fuel if needed. even better that it can sip free WMO. i've always had a soft spot for 2dr XJ's and "accidentally" bought this one non-running from a buddy, but really clean over all. the 4.0 turned out to be junk, had an ALH laying around, so head first into another "quick" project.

Started with:
2000 2dr XJ
2002 1.9 ALH TDI - with VNT15 for now
Hans Auto 12mm M-TDI pump
.216 Injectors
nv3550 5spd / NP231
Whitbread transmission adapter
TDI Conversions poly engine mounts

 

[6_DoF]

Fueling:

was easy enough using the stock XJ system. first thing was adding a return line to the sending unit. bulkhead 90 sealed with PTFE sealant on the inside to keep fuel in, and that blue RTV slathered on the outside to keep road crap out. i learned on other projects you MUST get the tube back into the can. if not you'll suck the can dry and get air in corners around 1/4 tank. return is all 3/8" and just T's the injection pump and psi reg's together under the hood.

don't forget to clean out the fuel filler neck while its all apart! i did, had to pull pull it back out

on the pressure side the EFI system really throws way too much flow and pressure. tried the dead-head regulator, couldn't get it below 2x the rated psi and it was all over the place. tried the return style, similar issue and it was returning so much fuel it was coming out the little injector return hoses. turns out, they also needed replaced anyways. after researching efi to carb regulators, they were all dual stage, so i threw em together in the jeep. the dead-head makes the factory system return some itself and cuts the psi, then the return is able to keep a rock solid 11psi at the injection pump. all the pressure lines are -6an braded nylon summit racing hose.

 

[6_DoF]

whoever thought that an EGR and a crank case vent going back thru the intake together was a good idea ... deserves a serious kick in the nutz!

 

[6_DoF]

Jeep Coolant bits:

with the M-TDI i don't need the VW temp sensor, but i also don't need a huge weird hold in the coolant flange. made this little NPT to O-Ring adapter so i could put the Jeep sender in the same hole. so far so good!

moved the radiator back 1.25" to gain clearance at the grill for an intercooler. lower mounts were real easy, just added tabs with a new hole for the factory rubbers. the top side was a little more complicated. 5/8" move between the rad and the upper mount, then another 5/8" move between the mount and the core support. this was just re-drilling holes and bolting it back down, but the core support required a decent amount of clearance added in the rear lip. electric fan still pops right on and clears the steering box, but needed a HARD 90 for the upper rad hose to clear the battery.

 

[6_DoF]

VW Coolant Bits:

the coolant flange on the back of the head is annoying, but followed suit to other builders on here and made the hard line to the front. well worth the time! this is my first time using the rubber flex hoses, got em on summit racing, and i really like these things. just annoying you cant' cut them down shorter.

lower hose was 1.5" for the jeep and 1.25" for the VW. i found this awesome long 90 on summit with 1.25 and 1.5 in the right places. Continental Molded Radiator Hoses 61025 then 1.5" stainless flex and a 1.5" silicone coupler.

 

[oilhammer]

I recently had a Cotybuilt 2006 Wrangler in here with a BEW in it. They do a pretty good and thorough job of the conversion. Runs good, but I think 1st gear is a bit too tall, you really have to modulate the clutch just right to get it going from a stop, and this one had normal stock wheels and tires on it.... if you bit some big mud huggers on it, it would be virtually impossible to drive.

But as far as all the plumbing and stuff, they did good. There is no preglow lamp, however, and the glow system's operation still seems to be a mystery to me (and the owner). He said they said it was tied to the door buzzer??? Seems strange.

 

[6_DoF]

Air:

i was feeling cheap and turns out the neck on the ALH intake is the same 2" as the chinesium universal intercooler tube kit i got on Amazon. chopped off the flange, chopped out the bracket mount, and the boot clamped right on! was able to cut down the other bracket mounting tab that made a nice thick spot on the tube and drilled/tapped it for 1/8" NPT ports. Boost gauge and boost reference for the pump handled. (pictures in last post)

intercooler i used the same one it looked like most ppl do for XJ's, 2.5" I/O Same Side Universal Intercooler oversize 27"X12.5"X3". used some scrap tube for a lower mount, some power steering return hose sleeved inside it nice, and then the post mount on the intercooler slips into that. the upper mount is the same hose sleeved over the post, but with an extra inch or so to take up the gap to the core support. then it's just top bolts going down into the post mount to hold em snug. didn't like chopping out the front crossmember for the charge pipes, but it's getting a huge steel bumper that'll stiffen it all back up.

had to get a few conversion 2.5" to 2" and 2" to small for the turbo, but all worked out pretty nice. had to get a little amazon tubing bead roller thought, and was a very good tool! as-shipped bead on the left, my rolled bead on the right of the little test pc. i actually did the rest just a little less.

 

[6_DoF]

I recently had a Cotybuilt 2006 Wrangler in here with a BEW in it. They do a pretty good and thorough job of the conversion. Runs good, but I think 1st gear is a bit too tall, you really have to modulate the clutch just right to get it going from a stop, and this one had normal stock wheels and tires on it.... if you bit some big mud huggers on it, it would be virtually impossible to drive.

But as far as all the plumbing and stuff, they did good. There is no preglow lamp, however, and the glow system's operation still seems to be a mystery to me (and the owner). He said they said it was tied to the door buzzer??? Seems strange.

i'm really excited to try this engine in the jeep, it was great in the Golf. got a buddy with a TJ who's thinking about doing the swap as well. if the gearing isn't enough, easy to swap ratio in the axles. VW spins this little thing way higher at speed than the jeep would spin theirs, so more gear makes a lot of sense. i guess we'll find out soon enough on this thing, the one lap i've been able to do around the house didn't quite give me enough to figure that out.

i've been thinking about the glow plugs recently too ... i'll need something for winter. at the moment i'm just thinking about using some form of timer relay and a momentary switch on the dash to make them a stand-alone system. i can't imagine how the door buzzer would help ...

 

[6_DoF]

Engine Mounts:

i cut down the factory XJ bolt-in engine mount structure to keep just the track bar bracket support. hopefully helps keep things stiffer and together.

i bent the VW heater hose tube forward to clear the firewall and was able to get the engine back far enough to get transmission on the factory mount! no drive shaft cutting. set the engine on jack stands then and made sure it cleared the hood, that took a few guess n check trials to get right. left and right i just "centered the clearance" making sure the VW power steering pump cleared the jeep steering shaft, and the turbo VNT actuator cleared the frame.

the conversion mount kit was really pretty nice! bolted right to the jeep, bolted right onto the engine, and had enough extra plate to put the engine where i wanted and trim to fit. added a few of the gussets from the kit and we should be good to go.

axle clearance however ... an issue. stock height was not going to allow any up travel

 

[6_DoF]

Trans adapter:

HUGE props to Whitbread on this kit. it all just worked and was easy. 100% would use this adapter again.

 

[6_DoF]

Timing:

this forum was a HUGE help getting the timing worked out while not having the VW flywheel/trans. Props and credit to Mavrick.

cam was easy enough, cylinder 1 lobes both "pointing up" and install the cam lock plate.

crank was a combination of things. romex ground copper wire stuck down the glow plug hole on #1 to verify the #1 was up, and going back and forth watching it move found the center of dwell. that lined up with 2 if the the VW flywheel bolts perpendicular to the trans mount bolts, though i can't find the drawing to link to at the moment. and then also used this picture i borrowed from Mavrick on this forum, and his "nipple trick" thanks dude!! i don't have the timing lock, but used the nub at about the 7:00 position in relation to the timing cover bolt boss to verify the crank wasn't a tooth off. once the timing belt was on and tight, with the cam locked, the crank lined up perfectly to picture still, handled.

the M-TDI pump was another mess. the whole dial indicator in the back of the pump was kind of a lame. with the belt off, and the sprocket hub off, line up the keyway with the #1 cylinder output. then i'd put the sprocket hub on only snug, and pin it. i did this a few times until i had about 1.1mm of stroke while pinned. slipped the sprocket on with the bolts loose, threw on the belt keeping the cam n crank at TDC, and cogged the pump sprocket to "mid adjustment" on the bolts. this would let me dial in pump timing later.

once i got the engine running, it would run and both ends of adjustment, but poorly. in the middle where i set timing originally was good so that's where it'll be for now. i made a relative timing mark between the sprocket and hub so i could go back. i also ordered the injection line timing light adapter ... who knows when it'll actually get here. though i keep slipping timing on that sprocket and might need to do something different. maybe i didn't get the bolts torqued well enough yet? at least it's stupid easy to adjust.

 

[6_DoF]

Acc Belt:

i had seen a few guys on the forum do a sliding mount off the alternator bolts to achieve the AC delete, but i decided to try something different. the pivot really worked well, no clue if it was any better than the slider. 54" belt, and SendCutSend laser cut the parts. i was able to get correct spacing from their stock plate thicknesses, and got 2 compete sets in their minimum order qty of $29

assembly order:
Alternator
1st spacer (0.25" thick)
2nd spacer (0.104" thick)
pivot bracket (0.25" thick)
pully spacer (0.188" thick)
pully

alternator bolts are 5" spacing.
pully is 2" below top bolt ... inline with one edge of the slot

 

[6_DoF]

Exhaust:

made a flange for the turbo and pieced together this head pipe from some old Grand Cherokee 2.25" pipes. plan to paint it with high temp, and then TI wrap it to keep from cooking the starter. had to get a little tricky around the bolt and beat in some wrench clearance. welded from the inside around that and then ground everything off smooth.

 

[6_DoF]

Gauges:

this worked out really good actually, entire factory XJ cluster still works! so i kept the XJ computer and after testing everything cut down the 4.0 engine harness by a lot keeping only the connectors i needed.

Oil PSI ... screwed right in place of the VW sender
Coolant ... jeep sensor in the VW port with that little adapter
volt ... from the jeep ECU
fuel level ... from the Jeep sender
Speed ... from the Jeep sender

Tach i got working again with the help of this forum, great info! it uses the jeep crank position sensor, and that bolts right in since I'm using the jeep trans and flywheel/clutch. however to "wake it up" the gauge, the ground and sense wire of the cam position sender need shorted once. one blip to the ECU to kick things off. i did what a few others had done and wired a relay to do it using the starter relay wire. when cranking the shorting relay closes and shorts the wires waking the ECU process, done.

hell even the factory jeep ASD works

for the EGT, fuel PSI, and Boost i got one of the GlowShift 3-in-1. run one in my truck too and has been great so far. fuel psi screwed into the regulator, while boost i screwed into the ports i drilled into the intake. EGT i forgot to drill into the manifold while it was off, so i reconfigured and re-bent the probe to work from the EGR block-off plate. that one worked out really well, and if the threads get baked i can just make a new plate.

 

[oilhammer]

LOL... the timing belt tensioner in your picture is backwards.... if you run the engine like that, the valves will get romantic with the pistons in short order.

 

[6_DoF]

LOL... the timing belt tensioner in your picture is backwards.... if you run the engine like that, the valves will get romantic with the pistons in short order.

you're going to have to provide a picture of what you think is correct ... cuz it runs fine, is what came off both the ALH i have, and google image search agrees

edit: ... found it! my bad, and VERY good catch sir! thank you! you weren't talking about the belt or pully orientation ... but the fact that i rotated the tensioner in from the bottom and not the top. i will change that as soon as i get home!

 

[6_DoF]

ever want your heart to stop though? first engine fire up, HUGE excitement, look around the hood to see the gauge you've faced out the window to see fuel psi ... but instead see fluid flinging up the windshield! never installed the shifter tower and the trans was spinning fluid out the top

 

[oilhammer]

It isn't "what I think". The tensioner gets tensioned clockwise, like the arrow shows, and will land with the spanner holes on top(ish). You tensioned it backwards, and the spanner holes are on the bottom... so the auto-tensioner cannot work.

I get lots and lots of valve jobs from that mistake (that's how I got my daily driver for cheap!). But hey, you do you. Common [expensive] mistake, though.

 

[6_DoF]

It isn't "what I think". The tensioner gets tensioned clockwise, like the arrow shows, and will land with the spanner holes on top(ish). You tensioned it backwards, and the spanner holes are on the bottom... so the auto-tensioner cannot work.

I get lots and lots of valve jobs from that mistake (that's how I got my daily driver for cheap!). But hey, you do you. Common [expensive] mistake, though.

i added an edit to my message above before i saw this post ... you are 100% correct! i wasn't picking up what you were saying then it hit me ... and smacked me up-side the head.

thank you!

 

[6_DoF]

 

[oilhammer]

And just FYI, I would NOT reuse that tensioner. I'd get a new one, and start the process all over of setting the static timing and tensioning the belt with the cam sprocket loose and the pump sprocket loose. Because you may have ruined that one to the point that it can now break.

 

[6_DoF]

fakk ... dually noted

glad i decided to post this build! anyone else notice anything i jacked up?

 

[6_DoF]

i keep thinking about that tensioner ... if the eccentric is rotated counter clockwise, then to loosen it would actually be pulling the nut tighter. clockwise and the force on the eccentric is trying to loosen the nut. seams backwards that VW would have set up the internal spring tensioning for clockwise.

 

[Mozambiquer]

fakk ... dually noted

glad i decided to post this build! anyone else notice anything i jacked up?

The injection pump from Hans... there are numerous horror stories about his junk pumps.

 

[6_DoF]

The injection pump from Hans... there are numerous horror stories about his junk pumps.

i had seen that, but wasn't able to pin-point any specific mechanical issue related to his work when i was researching it. he has also been super responsive and helpful so far.

i did re-set the sprocket hub from where he had it set to pin at TDC though. and had already planned to basically re-set all fueling tuning too.

 

[oilhammer]

Oh man, I totally missed that Hans-prothe-rochenbasher engineering pump part... yeah, lots of engines get tooefed from his stuff, too. I would not use ANYTHING from that clown.

 

[6_DoF]

everyone is caught up now at least, this is how things sit right now waiting on the lift install.

 

[6_DoF]

Oh man, I totally missed that Hans-prothe-rochenbasher engineering pump part... yeah, lots of engines get tooefed from his stuff, too. I would not use ANYTHING from that clown.

would love specifics to watch for, or things to check, what does he screw up? ... non of my research amounted to anything more than an angry internet. everyone seamed to blame the pump but without any real smoking gun.

 

[oilhammer]

You are new here. That idiot is well known.

The "bad vendors" thread was started OVER A DECADE AGO largely due to him:

**Bad VW part vendor WARNING list**

In honor of "Prothe" also known as "Proethe" who seems to have single handedly destroyed more TDI's than anyone else - See the current threads http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=314980 http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=199567 and...

forums.tdiclub.com

And he has a seemingly endless supply of websites to pawn off the garbage.

 

[6_DoF]

yup, didn't come across that in my search!

funny thing is I'm not exactly new here ... my profile from like 10 years ago when i had a golf wouldn't let me in. i guess i was looking for more specific pump issues and didn't find it since he was a forgone conclusion. i also wouldn't have looked that deep, cuz no way it could go that deep ... obviously wrong.

ok, so say i wanted to send in my pump for rebuild/rework or as a core against a new M-TDI pump for the ALH ... who's the go-to?