Replacement for my 1.6D

[scottysmoov]

Hi There. I bought my first van back in August this year, a 1985 1.6D (CS engine code) with a 5 speed box. The engine is tired and smokey and I plan to replace it over the winter. I've looked at various options and I was wondering what the more experinced owners out there would recommend.

My options are.

1.9D 1Y - Heard this is a pretty straight swap, no turbo to worry about and I should already have all the parts I need. However I don't think this is gonna give me as much power as I'd like.

1.9TD AAZ - I know this is a popular conversion but I believe it's an easier conversion from the 1.6TD JX engine. I'd have to source some JX parts such as the exhaust manifold.

1.8 or 2.0 from Golf GTI. Again I've heard this is a straight forward swap and I'd have all the parts I needed. Would have to do some extra electric work what with these engines being petrol. They should give me pletty of power just a slight concern over whether they'd be torquey enough or whether they'd struggle a bit on larger hills. I know they wouldn't give me the fuel economy of a diesel but it's not like I use the van everyday.


Anywho what do you guys reckon. There must be a few of you out there that have done each of the conversions above and I'd love to know what your experiences were.

Scotty

[oldiguana]

theres loads of us who have done the 1y owduck...myself,weldore,ringo's done a couple i think.....its just a no hassle swap,and the nuggets arent too bad to source either.........

[scottysmoov]

Thanks for that, but what I really wanna know is how the 1Y will perform in a van. I want something that will be happy doing 70 odd on the motorway and will pull me up hill without struggling to much. Will a good 1Y give me that or will I be better off with one of the GTI engines?

[weldore]

my 1y wouldnt be happy at 70 ..more like 60 all day.but gets there better than the 1.6.
i think you might be better off with the aaz if your going diesel but you need turbo diesel parts to do the swap

[covdubber]

you have more torque with a diesel bud!

i'm considering the 1y on a bus i have, my bus is a 1.7 diesel, the engine is mint with no smoke or rattles but its on a close ratio gearbox as your 1.6d may be? so is only comfy up to 65mph max, pulls up hills in forth no probs though

i'm interested how easy the 1y swap is as the motors re'nt hard to get or too many pennys

a turbo diesel is the best route to go but check what geabox you have as if its the close ratio like mine then 70mph is'nt likely

more experianced folk can explain better than me!!!

[scottysmoov]

my 1y wouldnt be happy at 70 ..more like 60 all day.but gets there better than the 1.6.
i think you might be better off with the aaz if your going diesel but you need turbo diesel parts to do the swap

That's kinda what I thought I'd get with the 1Y. I currently don't have the TD parts I need to go AAZ. I am right in thinking they're not easy to come by?

a turbo diesel is the best route to go but check what geabox you have as if its the close ratio like mine then 70mph is'nt likely

With all this in mind would they 2L 8v Golf GTI engine be my best bet? It should have the power to give me a good motorway cruising speed, assuming a petrol engine would suit my gearbox better. Looking at figures for the engine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen ... ne_choices) it's got higher torque value than both the 1Y and AAZ it just kicks in at higher revs and doesn't last as long. However I'm no expert so could be talking rubbish. Would dropping in one of these motors could be a really bad idea?

[covdubber]

its down to the final drive of your gearbox, crown-wheel & pinion.

put it this way:

on ya racing-bike you put it on smallest cog on the front & largest at the back to got up hills to make it easier!!!

now if your going up a hill peddling ya ass off you wont be going to fast yp the hill
put "lance armstrong" on the same bike same hill & he wont go a great deal quicker just cause he has more power

so therefore if thats "if" you have the high ratio box like my 1.7 diesel then its better to get a lower ratio gearbox if your planning an engine swap to give you a quieter/less stressed motorway cruise

or to put it another way, you could put a scooby engine on a close ratio box & it would get to 70mph fckin quick but you gearbox wont allow a comfy motorway cruise, the scooby motor will be revving its breasticles off which is nbad for both engine & box, its RPM's that kill engines & box's

we have pretty oldscool ratio's in out gearboxs compared to modern TAT so i'd say research your gearbox code & final drive ratio before spending ya bucks on a good engine & go to all the trouble of the swap & being peeeved at the small differance in performance

my PERSONAL preference with a close ratio box if you do want to get better motorway cruise & a bit more poke would be the N/A 1.9 1y as you'll get a little more torque than at present, as others have said, you have to determine what you use your bus for?

Daily = ECONAMY/TORQUE
weekender = good cruising & more power/torque/fun, mpg is'nt so much of an issue if its a 2nd vehicle!

thats my theory anyway! which aint much of one but its fairly sencible-ish

if my bus was a 2nd a vehicle i'd get a good low ratio gearbox & a scooby-turbo power or the biggest capacity TDI i could fit in the bay without too much greaf

a daily bus is always a comprimise, but a diesel is a dammed goog choice!!!
stick with what you have & learn to enjoy it whatever bus/power/mpg you get
if your a town person then a close ratio box will do the job, ocasionally go camping then put up with high revs & low cruising speed

my usual daily bus is a 2.0 petrol devon pop-top, mpg not great, reliable-ish need a new starter, good on the motorway due to an ok final drive
my bus i'm doing up to sell is a close ratio 1.7 diesel on a close ratio box which is happy at 60-65 on th motorway if a bit noisier but its good on fuel, starts great, dont smoke or rattle & pulls up hills in forth gear the petrol wont so for me i think it aint too bad really

rant over LOL

ANYONE GOT THE LINK FOR GEARBOX CODES & RATIOS ON THE WIKI I CANT FIND IT & I'VE SEEN THEM SOMEWHERE

[windysurfer]

http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/VehicleSpec ... fo/gbx.htm

[scottysmoov]

Ok check gearbox right got it, thanks covdubber

Doesn't escape from the fact that my engine is a pile of unreliable, powerless, smokey, oil drinking rubbish though. It WILL be coming out this winter!!!

It is a weekender van but I'm not bothered by getting around really fast in it, that's what my car is for. I'd just like to be able to comfortably cruise down the motorway without being the slowest thing around for a hundred miles. I'd also like to be able to go up hill quicker than 20mph.

Anyway thats enough of my moaning I shall go away and check out what gearbox I have.

[SplendiferousII]

A 1Y is just fine in my opinion.

[covdubber]

as others above have said, drop a good 1y in there & turn the diesel pump mixure screw up a 1/4 turn form the factory setting, give a little more black smoke when you full thorttle it but gives a little more power, which is enough for a weekender, should see 70mph a bit easier

doing this 1/4 turn on my 1.7 diesel has helped alot! runs nice

all the best with the swap chap!

[covdubber]

forgot to say, seeing as you have the pants gearbox like i have, put the biggest tyres on the back you can get away with!
something that fills the arch, alot bigger than stock, as it'll change the gearing, it'll lower the gearing & not affect the speedo as the speedo reads off the front wheel,

although i have 16" wheels on my devon i run big tyres on the back 235/60/16s, i'll go bigger if i can when i need to change them

[scottysmoov]

Finally got round to crawling under my van to find out the gearbox code. Turns out I have an 8L, so slightly better ratio than that of the 1.7D but not by much. I'm gonna have a word with Aidan Talbot about new gearsets which should make give me the sort of comfortable cruising speeds I'm after.

For those that might find it useful here's a couple of links I come across during my investigations.

1) T25 Gearbox codes has a few more stats than the Brick Yard http://www.rjes.com/html/gearbox_types.html
2) A gearbox ratio calculator that runs in Excel. Put in your wheel size and gear ratios and it'll give you a graph of MPH per RPM in each gear. http://www.gearboxman.co.uk/inforatios.html

[covdubber]

spot-on bit of info bro

[scottysmoov]

Sorry to revive an old thread but I just though I'd let you all know what I've decided to do. That way if any of you think I'm mad you can shout before I spend any more money.

Anyway I've gone for a 1Y engine which I managed to get from a local scrap yard. They promise me the engine was running fine before they took it out and to be honest it does look sound with now odvious signs of major oil leakage.

I'm gonna try and couple this engine with an AAP gearbox that I've managed to find. It's a reconditioned box so should be in good working order.

I think the ratios on the box will be fine and give me 70mph at a reasonably comfortable 3500rpm. However, as you may be aware from reading the earlier posts, I'm no expert. So if anybody thinks the box is no good for the 1Y please let me know as I haven't parted with the cash for it yet.