JX to AAZ Conversion

[H-G]

So Wednesday Night:

Removed the Turbo and exhaust manifold, the Turbo Oil Return, the Oil Cooler system and a few remaining odds and sods. The only thing remaining on the donor engine is the Brickwerks Throttle Lever which I will remove and swap directly on to the 'new' AAZ when I start building up that side of the engine.

So this evening I have finally got to start looking at getting the 'new' AAZ ready to install I thought that I would start on the manifold side of the engine.

This is the starting point:

15 July - The start of the build.jpg

It still needs some cleaning so put a drip tray underneath and got to work with some white spirits around the head making sure that none entered the top and tilted the engine on THE stand to prevent any going down the manifold holes.

Once I had done that I had to spens some time removing the nuts for the studs as they whole stud came out when I removed the exhaust manifold. Simply held the nut in a vice then used 2 nuts to lock against each other to undo the stud. They all came out really easily, so a good clean of the threads and then screwed them into the head. Used the same 2 nut method to tighten them into the head. A good wire brushing and clean of the inlet manifold bolts and screwed them into the head a few turns so that I know where they are. Also I have blocked off the hole in the block where the AAZ Turbo Oil Return pipe screws in to.

So this is the block as I left it this evening:

15 July - Cleaned and the Exhaust Studs inserted..jpg

Finally I turn my attention to the exhaust manifold. One of the common problems with the exhaust manifold is that numbers 1 and 4 outlets tend to 'pull' away. This needs to be checked with an engineers rule to check to see if this has affected the manifold. True to form, there is about 0.2mm difference in height between 1 & 4 and 2 & 3. After and initial scrub with a wire brush to remove the rust and remaining gasket before laying out a whole sheet of 180 grit emery paper to start the process. as there was a fair amount of metal to remove, I then removed the majority of the excess from the centre 2 outlets before reverting back to the emery to ensure that the faces had a good clean key and another check with the rule and we are down to about 0.1mm. I could spend more time, however I think that the new gaskets will see to the remaining difference. I will be getting some new nuts for the manifold, so I have used 4 of the used manifold nuts to replace the rusted nuts holding on the heat shield. I have re-used the JX manifold as it was in better condition than the 'Donor' manifold and the old JX one has the heat-shield on it.

The Exhaust Manifold ready to fit:

15 July - Exhaust filed and keyed..jpg

I hope that the photos have uploaded.

Grateful for you thoughts regarding the queries I raised in my last post should anyone have any previous experience in these areas.

It's great to have finally started putting things back together again

[sdelasal]

is the centre core plug leaking in the top photo and staining the block beneath it? steve

[H-G]

Now that you have highlighted the area it looks like it could be. I'll have a closer look when I get back to the garage on Sunday. It may be (fingers crossed) where the engine mount prevented the gunk and jet wash getting too.

[H-G]

Steve, you were right The centre and left hand core plugs have corroded through so I now need to seek out replacements for those as well

19 Jul - Buggered Core-Plugs.jpg

Anyone point me in the direction of somewhere that sells core-plugs?

Managed to fit the Throttle Lever and Conduit Holder this evening. Another Job Jobbed.

19 Jul - Throttle Body Pre- Conversion (1).jpg

Fingers crossed, I didn't disturb the lower lever as this one is indexed to the pump. I removed the donor lever and then turned to the new AAZ.

19 Jul - Donor Throttle Lever (1).jpg

I removed the damper and the top spring. The bottom lever remained in place. I loosened the 2 Spline-drive bolts and then undid the long nut holding everything in place. I carefully removed the nut and then the spline-drive bolts. On with the new throttle lever however the Fuel inlet snagged the lever. Out with the 17mm socket and we have moved the inlet out of the way. This can be adjusted again when it comes to fitting the fuel line. Everything nipped up and all fitted.

Ordered loads of bits from Brickwerks today which should arrive on Wednesday. I have taken the day off work so I can be at home when they arrive. I hope also to be able to do the welding that needs to be done at the base of the rear pillars.

Tomorrow, I aim to get the oil cooler fitted so hopefully more pictures as I go along with this installation.

[H-G]

It's been a while since I updated the thread however I am going to split the updates to take account of each of the steps I have done to minimise the number of photos attached to each- here goes:

Oil Cooler

The oil cooler is all fitted - the cooler itself goes straight on using the bars and holes already in the bodywork. No drilling, no messing.

20 Jul - Cooler Fitted 1.jpg

20 Jul - Cooler Fittings.jpg

As you look at the front of the van, the pipe are routed to the off-side and I have used the water pipes to support them; they then route over the fuel tank along the near-side valley and then back to off-side to use the water pipes as support. I am yet to finish off the rear and will wait until the engine and gearbox are installed so that I can then work out the best route for them. I am also going to use one of the old water pipes to create a rubber sleeves to prevent the oil pipes from chaffing against the any sharp edges as they pass over the fuel tank.

20 Jul - Cooler Pipework - Over Tank.jpg

The pipes were not fully home on the unions, so before fitting them to the cooler, I spent a bit of time gently heating them with a heat gun to make then pliable enough to push fully home. I have refitted the jubilee clips as added insurance.

The fit is so good that I was able to re-fit the lower cardboard airflow deflector.

A top Brickwerks product that fits right out of the box.

[H-G]

Core Plugs

As posted earlier, the Core Plugs had correded to the point where they had perforated - this wasn't really evident until the photographed and the flash highlighted the dull areas. Thanks to Steve for pointing this out for me.

I look on Flebay brought up a few shops that would be able to supply the plugs, however very much aware of the quality of some of the products I emailed a chap who was advertising full sets for various engines. His feedback was excellent and after a call it was very apparent that he was extremely knowledgeable; I think I was sold when we started discussing the conversation I was doing and he then told me of the many that he had already undertaken and some of the pitfalls (mainly cooling) to look out for.

If anyone is looking for core plugs I strongly recommend that you give Christopher Haynes a call on 02380 440478 or email him at sale@partsland.co.uk . The full set for the AAZ came to just under £12 delivered.

Anyway; removed the plugs by using a sharp chisel to split them around the edge:

21 Jul - Core Plug Removal.jpg

This then allowed me to put a thin electrical screwdriver through them to prevent them falling into the engine while I then hit them on one side to 'spin' them and then pull them out with a pair of pliers.

Most surprised to find a pile of rust debris behind them:

21 Jul - Debris in Water Jacket.jpg

Hoovered out the debris and then used some wire-wool to clean up the holes before inserting the new core plugs. Using a socket that just fits into the core plug and then 'gently' tapping them into place using a raw-hide mallet until they are just past the chamfered edge around the hole in the block.

24 Jul - Core Plugs Installed.jpg

So all fitted and should prevent any leaks from the block for the next few thousand miles, however the amount of rust goes to show how important it is to use a goo quality anti-freeze with rust inhibitors. I think that I will initially fill with water to get the engine working after the installation and then draining, flushing, then give it a good dose of system cleaner before filing with anti-freeze.

[H-G]

Turbo Installation

Pretty straight forward to install - complete reversal of the removal. I was lucky enough that none of the bolts sheared so re-used them, making sure that I had cleaned the mating faces with emery cloth and wire-wool.

Points to note:

The Brickwerks Oil Return Line is a straight forward fit, no hassle just fits.

26 Jul - Turbo Installed.jpg

The JX Oil Feed Pipe will fit but you will need to 'persuade' it a little to make it fit nicely with no springing out of the Oil Filter Housing or the Turbo Oil Inlet. This is important to ensure that it is not under any strain or stress when fitted. Also very importantly, the pipe must be supported with a P-Clip at the 1/2 way point.

26 Jul - Turbo Oil Feed Routing.jpg

The other point to note is that with the AAZ Oil Breather pipe from the block to the Cam Cover is very very close to the Turbo Oil Feed. I didn't want either to chaff so I used a length of 7mm Pipe and some Electrical Tape to provide a buffer. This is a place to keep an eye on, with an option to remove this pipe at a later date and use the cover off of the donor AAZ and blank the port off.

26 Jul - Turbo Oil Feed.jpg

After this was done I fitted the turbo inlet pipe along with the oil-breather pipe from the turbo to the cam-cover cap ( had to make one good one out of the 2 holed pipes that I had) and the Turbo-to-LDA pipe. All that was left to do on this side of the engine was to fit the engine mounting bracket.

[H-G]

Odds and Sods

The Turbo Support Bracket needs to be lengthened slightly. I have been lucky in that this bracket had already been lengthened so I had no work to do there. A point to note when bolting the bracket to the engine is that the AAZ only has only one hole tapped into the block. I see no reason to see that will be a problem however I will use a split washer to prevent the single bolt from coming loose.

26 Jul - Turbo Bracket Bolt.jpg

Due to only being able to post 3 pics per post, the next pic shows the routing of the Oil Breather pipe from the Cam Cover to the Turbo Inlet along with the Turbo to LDA pipe.

26 - Jul - Oil Breather and LDA Pipe.jpg

Finally I should mention the Inlet Manifold. A bit late I know but this is one area that I had to get done as the inlet manifold had not bee converted on the donor AAZ. I was emailing the good Mr Baxter regarding my shopping list and asked if he had any adapted manifold he would be willing to sell. He had none, but he did offer to take a 'spare' JX inlet manifold around to his local machine shop to get the flange Ali-Welded and skimmed. He then did the work to reshape the bore so match the AAZ Profile. As to be expected with all things Brickwerks - the fit was spot on and the service exemplary. If anyone is following then I would give him a call as he was considering putting a few converted manifolds on the shelf (well as soon as send him my old one back as an exchange unit - next week I promise!). As you can see, both manifolds fit and the JX pipework just fits. (I have a thing about stuff 'just-working' and get grumpy when you buy something that needs additional effort to make it work).

26 Jul - Turbo Installed.jpg

So the engine is now ready to get acquainted with the gearbox, however while everything is out and in the garage, I am taking the opportunity to change the output shaft bungs. I have also been treating the rusty areas in the engine bay which I will post later. While mooching around the engine bay I have noted that a couple for the CV boots are very perished so will be changing them while as well. As soon as these 'small' jobs are jobbed I think that we will be about ready to put everything back in the van and connect all the various pipes and wires.

At the start of this long thread I mentioned that my aim was to have the bus back on the road in time for a trip to Europe; I have resigned myself to the fact that this is not going to happen which is a shame, however I am not comfortable rushing the job and also missing out on the opportunity to rectify some other challenges which I have noticed along the way. It will be on the road in time for VanFest - Tickets are booked and its also my Birthday that weekend.

[H-G]

So on Thursday I leave work an hour early and after a bit to eat I get into the garage; I have a chap interested in the old JX Injection unit so the first job is to remove that so I can take some pics and send them on to him.

Then I turn to the AAZ, Everything is back on it now so I paint the areas I have primed with a good coat of black smoothrite. Looking pretty good - I then get the engine hoist out and place remove the AAZ from the engine stand and put it onto a large low trolley I have (as seen in one of the first pics I posted) So flywheel backing plate goes on followed by the flywheel. I have borrow a flywheel locking tool so that goes on to allow me to tighten the bolts (New Flywheel Bolts from Mr Baxter). Once done, a Spigot bear goes into the end of the crankshaft - this is not used when the AAZ is in one of the cars and it is important that this is not forgotten when doing this conversion. Clutch is then fitted using an old input shaft to centre the pressure plate.

As part of the build-up I replaced the cam belt and tensioner along with the crankshaft drive sprocket and bolt. There was no evidence that this had come loose in the past but after reading that it was a common fault I didn't want to go through all of this only to find a few hundred miles down the road it had come loose and I am back to square one. I used an impact wrench to remove the old bolt and had done the new one up as tightly as I could but waited until the I could lock the flywheel before fully tightening. I had put a few drops of oil on the threads during the initial assembly so all that was left was to pull it down to 90nm and a further 90 degrees.

With this done I then replaced the bungs in the Gearbox Output Drives as one had been smeared in go to stop it leaking and the other was weeping. This required some patience as they keep popping out due - it was a case of keep some pressure on them and wait until the air trapped behind the bungs has been pushed out. They eventually went in. I have noticed that the CV Boots have perished so I have ordered some replacements and will replace those before re-fitting the driveshafts.

Gearbox went became acquainted with the engine again - slid straight on with no problems and then bolted into place along with the starter motor. I had done more than I was expecting to get done already but still had an hour or so of time left so I took a bit of a gamble - lets see if I can get the engine and gearbox back in the bus tonight - nothing ventured, nothing gained. As the engine was on the trolley it was wheel under the van - I ad to jack it up a bit as the AAZ is a little taller then the JX and that was very tight coming out. A trolley jack underneath the gearbox to lift that and the engine hoist attached using the two lifting eyes on the head. I didn't attach the engine bars to the engine but had already attached the offside bar to the van. I literally hoisted the engine a high as I could, lifting the gearbox on the jack to keep everything as level as I could. The offside mount needed to be lifted a little however this was more to rotate the unit rather than lift it. Offside all connected and the nut in place. Lowered the unit so that the nearside was about where it needed to be and then jacked the gearbox mount up to meet the cross-member. The Attached the nearside engine bar to the engine first and then the the rear cross-member then finally to the chassis rail. The bolt-holes in this engine bar are slightly elongated , so with all the bolts in I gave the engine a good 'shake' so that the bar settle where it 'wanted' to be before tightening all the nuts and bolts. Final bit was to secure the gearbox mount (and earthing strap while I was there). It was at that point (quite literally) that I get the 'playtime is over, time to come in' call from the boss.

Very happy with the nights work and good to see that the bus has a heart once more.

Next time that I get on the bus will be Saturday after buying oil, antifreeze and and in-line hand pump for the fuel line. With a bit of luck I may get to hear the sound of diesel engine chug into life this weekend.

[vandad]

H-G, Well done, good luck tomorrow. My AAZ engine from a scrapyard has arrived, it is from a passat and is still on a pallet on the drive. The fuel pump on the AAZ has a lot more wires sticking out of it than the one on the JX. That could be fun. I'll be very pleased if I can make as much progress as you have done in a month. Can you post a movie of the AAZ running in position to spur me on? Thanks Vandad.

[Echo Beach]

i'm sure Ian will be along later with some good news but i can tell you the engine came from early (for aaz's) J plate golf so didnt have any of the electric gubbins on the pump the later ones seemed to be blessed with

[H-G]

Saturday:

A very good day with the exhaust and water pipes all fitted. I replaced the CV boots on the near side drive-shaft as they were very perished and would not have made it through the MOT. Well packed with grease and back on the wagon. The gear-linkage was all put back in place and given a good greasing and a new rubber boot between the cup and the ball.

All standard engine back in stuff really with no snags what so ever - If I could offer 'H-Gs Top-Tip' here it would have to be meticulous labelling of everything as you remove it and then store it in the order that you removed it.

Sunday

So out for the day with some very good friends (Zorbing - great fun but don't eat before hand!) but got back and had to clean some of the bits I had borrowed (engine Stand, Engine Hoist ect) so that I could load up the trailer for them to be taken back to their rightful owners and also free up some space in the garage.

Well the sun was out (yes really) and I had to tinker just a little bit more:

The bus was off the ramps as they had to go home as well so I filled it with oil - 4/5 litres, however at this time I have NOT got the oil cooler in-line as it would be impossible to get an accurate level reading on the dipstick.

While this settled, I installed the Aux Water pump and the remaining wires and the battery. I took the dipstick out to see where the oil mark was showing; at this point the oil was up to the lower dimple.

I haven't put any water in at this point as I didn't want to have to drain it again in the event that something wasn't quite right; as long as it is not run from cold for more than 2-3 minutes everything will be just fine.

Anyway - ensured that the wire to the cut-off solenoid was removed and started cranking. Cranking for about 15-20 seconds with about a minute wait before the next go. This is to ensure that I don't burn out the starter motor! Not long after starting this process the battery started giving the signs that it wasn't really happy with the punishment I was giving it so bring on the modern wagon and a set of heavy duty jump leads. What a difference - Another 3 or 4 goes with the boosted battery and the oil light went out on the dash. Good pressure - a very good sign.

So back on with the wire to the cut-out solenoid and start that cranking process once again. 1/2 a dozen cranks later - Nothing! A check of the fuel pipe showed that there was no fuel getting to the Injection Pump. Off with the fuel pipe and on with the old one which had one of the Banjos missing. A couple of very gentle sucks later and I have re-filled the fuel filter which the engine was struggling to do. Reconnected the 'new' Fuel pipe. The cranking process starts over again however on about the 3rd go there is a cough. Another go and the engine is turning over a bit more slowly, I am guessing that this is because the started motor is now pumping fuel up to the injectors.

I wait a few minutes and then go for gold with a long crank and we get a much bigger cough and the engine starts very briefly and then dies. Another couple of cranks amounts to nothing so another wait - By this time the promise of the chugging noise is getting far to much to bear and it is the longest couple of minutes I think I have ever experienced!

This is it - crank until the engine starts or the motor stops. Turn the key and it almost instantly burst into life and settles at a fast idle of just over 1000rpm. Push in the cold -start and it settles to around 900 rpm. I have a huge smile on my head now; blip the throttle and the response is instantaneous (well as instantaneous as a Diesel gets that is!). No oil light on the dash so pressure is good. Turn it off and call my other half so that I can share the good news. After a few minutes of self-congratulation she wanders back in to the house to get her phone (my camera is with the friends we went out with so that they can down-load the days photos.

While she is in the house, the dip stick comes out, wiped, back in again and then out again. Holding it so that the oil doesn't run up the dipstick into the garage so that I can make a file mark on the dipstick where the new oil level needs to be. BAck it goes and I have to go play the diesel tune again when out come the most patient person I have ever know and she records this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cC8jR2D-cIs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Forgive me - I was very excited!!!!!

So there you go - the bus lives with a new heart stamped AAZ. Not out of the woods yet as I have to connect the oil cooler and fill it with anti-freeze etc. I have the engine lid to modify and the air filter to re-install and the gearbox oil to change. I has already been suggested that it re-think which vehicle I take to Europe but as much as I would love to take the bus, it is untested and I have my daughters with me. Last thing I need is a repeat performance of what made me start this thread in the middle of France.

My work for the night done - it was time to clear up and find a cold one out of the fridge.

Just a couple of thankyou's:

Fran for his encouragement and lending me the Engine Hoist, and other workshop tools that would have cost a fortune otherwise.

Andy for deciding that the AAZ route was not for him and sold me the engine (it is working so you can breath again!) and also for lending me the engine stand.

Em - without whose patience the conversion would have taken many many more weeks and with the labelling of the pile of bits (and for the video !).

Mr Baxter (Brickwerks) for his assistance with the inlet manifold and 'shopping list'

To the Club 80-90 Members who have provide advice along the way.

I have a few more jobs to job before I can say that it is finished so I will continue the thread until the engine lid is finally fitted - target is to have that done by the end of next week.

Beer time now

[Echo Beach]

Well done ian on a great install and yes i can breath now as obviously the engine didnt exactly have a warranty with it !!. Looks like i will have to find another if i'm going to keep the TD caravelle lurking on the drive

[keeno]

20 Jul - Cooler Fitted 1.jpg

Whilst the installation of your oil cooler looks top notch, I would worry about the effect its location would cause on your water radiator. You are blocking off a good proportion of you rad with your oil cooler. Whilst logic suggests that air still passes through the water rad as well, it is already preheated to around 80 degrees celcius. Most radiators - oil and water type - operate on approx 70 % efficiency. This suggests that the air passing through the oil cooler will pick up 70 % of the temp difference between ambient air temp and oil temp of the oil cooler. Oil temps are usually in the region of 100 degrees C, so the air having passed the oil cooler on a 20 C day will draw 70 % of the difference of ambient air to oil temp - 100 C - 20 C = 80 degrees C. 70 % of 80 C is 56 C + ambient 20 C will give you 76 degrees C of hot air passing through your water radiator at the points obscured by the oil cooler. 76 C air trying to cool 100 C water gives you one third of your cooling medium on approximately half of your water radiator. These figures are not conclusive, but represent a good idea of what will be going on with your cooling system.

Sorry for boring you with all the maths, but your water system will have to work extremely hard to cool your van. I know the location is practical for mounting purposes and good to have the cooler out of the way, but the reality is that it is far from ideal. Mounting your oil cooler away from the rad will cool your engine much more efficiently. Physics is a hard fact that does, unfortunately, take no prisoners.

Hope this helps in some way, as the potential of overheating will undo all of your good work. Cheers, Matt

[axeman]

intresting reading there keeno, all seams logical,
where would you recomend to install an oil cooler so that air can flow through it?

neil