'84 Toyota 4x4 1Z TDI
Andy and cbandy, you guys (and previous success stories here) make great points (above) that I hope people pay attention to. All of your points I'll not bother repeating, but they are very important. Nice work, guys
The Toyota TDI swap I'm talking about is
here. Was it worth it? Yes, without a doubt.
My truck's gone over 3000 miles so far in almost every imaginable condition and terrain (except a sand dune, actually) in temps 0 - 85 deg F. I haven't done a long distance drive longer than 5 hours in one shot, but those two drives have shown me what's going on. Truck had 0 problems. The short 4lo crawls (over nothing extreme, but certainly over stuff that's beyond the reach of the average 4x4) have proven the truck very adept at offroading. On longer trips on highways and freeways, the power is great (engine is stock) and I could drive in the fast lane all day...
if the truck wasn't such a relative bucket of bolts... that can't corner.
Use hydraulic motor mounts. The vibrations and rattles I get in the truck with the 325i mounts could be worse, but they are indeed pretty bad. This is my major complaint - vibration and irritating resonance. I am used to the noise and bouncy ride, but most passengers generally act like the truck is super uncomfortable. I will adjust or replace springs and shocks next year. Vibrations at speed - between 30 and 75mph - are minimal, and are least noticeable at the higher speeds.
I get 28-32 mpg driving around at 6000' on B10-B100.
The truck weighed 4800 lbs with the 22R in it. I need to have it weighed.
In 4wd on road in snow, the truck rallies like a lifted, top-heavy A6 wagon when floored in 2nd gear. (I drove an A6 much of last winter). The truck never had nearly enough torque to do anything like that before. That is an awful lot of fun to have 4 wheels spinning while drifting and clawing your way up a big wide hill. The truck climbs like a champ (like all Diesels).
The IP is drawing fuel a long distance up into itself in extreme cold sometimes, and the hard morning starts are hopefully soon to be remedied thanks to some help from a fuel filter heater and a block heater, each under $40. I worry only about one thing on the truck - the IP working so hard on these freezing mornings. I need absolutely perfect fuel line connections to ensure no air's getting in that long distance to and from the fuel tank.
In general, the swap went well and works well because:
I bought almost exclusively new German, Canadian, or USA-made parts for nearly everything. Avoid Chinese parts - simple.
I took my time - only needed it running by summer. Buy a motorcycle to get you through a job this big. Read. Read a lot. TDIClub has invaluable information throughout it. I have nearly twelve inches of papers/documents I used and countless bookmarks and info gleaned from the web. When you are unsure, step back and research it. Find a local expert on the motor and on your recipient vehicle. If they are truly good, pay them what they are worth and be grateful for them.
I took 8 months from the time I decommissioned both vehicles to the time I could drive the Toyota to work. This project cost me $7500. I had to pay for actual welding. I did every other bit of work myself (with a little-a lot of help from my friends and you guys!)
I did most of the hard stuff that I didn't want to do while the motor was out. Couldn't do it all because of $ at the time. Don't hurry. Think carefully about what you'll be able to do repair and maintenance-wise upon having the motor in your truck. For example, I did the complete OldPoopie timing belt kit
after I had driven the truck around for a few weeks.
I verified information from a second source. Very few people seem to really know what they're talking about regarding TDIs. I am no expert, and I found a whole lot of people who, if they were in fact expert, didn't really know how to explain things too well. The experts are here on Fred's forum - read enough around this forum and you will be able to discern who's who. There are a small handful of guys I know personally, just coincidentally, for whom I am grateful. I did have a friend locally swap a 1.6TD into a Samurai two years ago. That was the first such swap I'd
seen, and it allowed me to
see what it was I kept hearing about. It became real. Then I saw e*clipse's '92 Toyota TDI. His first fire was with me happening upon a visit. It helped motivate me exponentially. It also intimidated me because he's an electrical engineer (I am nothing close). E*clipse's truck and Chaz's Sammi allowed me to begin wrapping my head around the whole concept. Go see one of these if you can - it puts things in better perspective if you're unsure about pursuing this kind of project.
I bought the VAGCOM software. Not cheap. But just have it. You'll need it to be sure you aren't wrecking your motor when you first start it up.
Move the engine and transmission forward an inch or two. I didn't and SkiInNC told me to. A) I lacked the $, and B) I figured I would just do a solid job of connecting hoses and wires between the engine and firewall so that I didn't have to worry about it for 40,000 miles. Still, that time will come when I have a very awkward replacement/fix to do.
I used the expensive heavy walled heat proof Viton hose for $9/ft. and Viton rubber when you can (e.g. on the gas tank fuel line gasket where lines enter and exit the tank). You don't want to keep messing with fuel line, especially when having to remove the bed of the truck for access to the fuel tank. Nothing will scare people away from innovating and creating faster than someone who doesn't do it right and makes it look risky or impossible (which I only did a little ; ). I don't want to have to replace a fuel line in the middle of the night because I used a cheapo fuel line and stopped looking under the hood, even if I do carry extra on the truck.
I recognized that I was now the chief mechanic (very funny to think about, and tiring). Know that you will have no one around to tell you if something is wrong with your vehicle. You will be the only one familiar with it and how it should sound, run, perform. Whether you want to or not, you will be the one fixing it. You will be the one who knows when something's vibrating and needs to be checked or not. Only you will know what wires connect the ECU and the power source, the fan and the manual over-ride switch, or the oil pressure sensor to the gauge, or if your glow plugs are good/working, etc...
I started with original-owner owned vehicles. I did with both the truck and the '97 Passat. I looked for each for 6 separate months before I found what I wanted. Both ran very well. The Toyota I knew from driving it a year and a half - the Passat for 4 months. I had driven my '99.5 Jetta ALH TDI for just over 3 years and worked on it most of the time I'd owned it. The ALH was where I first familiarized myself with and learned about the TDI first-hand. Know how each vehicle drives, feels, smells, squeals, and you'll be better equipped for and attuned to your swap.
Examine your motivation(s). Determine that it's the right swap for you. Be honest about what you need to do and how long it will take. Then
commit. You can do it! You will succeed if you recognize that one of the arts of life is asking good questions. This requires humility; keep it around, because you'll need it throughout your swap. You will learn a lot and grow immeasurably. I still have a
lot to learn.
I would not have attempted this without this forum. The information is all here. You guys are great!
It has truly been a great, rewarding experience, busted knuckles and all.