Do I or dont I??? DG to AAZ

[1antons]

Hi all

I have finally got myself a T25. It had a 1.9 DG engine fitted but my cousin has had it to fit to his van (for a fee of course).

I have trawled through this website plus others trying to find a few answers on fitting an AAZ. The old man has got all excited about doing the conversion but if its going to cost the earth I'm not. I haven't got an endless amount of cash especially with running my golf VR and restoring the van

I realise that this isn't an easy conversion but I have a donor MK3 golf (with AAZ engine).
As far as I can see I will need a diesel sump + pick up pipe, possibly JX manifolds?, flywheel and diesel clutch and possibly an engine carrier (or could i mount another engine mount??) and the obvious re-wiring plus lots of other little bits and pieces.
I'm not worried about doing the conversion especially with the help from my old man who has many years behind him in the motor trade. What I am worried about is, is there something I'm missing other than the above? Is there somebody out there that does a DIY type kit or am I just better sticking another petrol engine in? If so any recommendation for other engines? Or do I just stick to a DG lump?

Opinions / ideas and thoughts welcome

Thank you in advance

Ant

[Aidan]

lots of work for a noisy smelly dirty engine that only does a bit better mpg and is just as prone (actually it's a turbo engine so make that more prone) to failure as the one you are replacing, not in my book
DG's are fine, use it and enjoy the view don't waste life fixing something that ain't broke

[1antons]

Thanks for your thoughts and views. But I think I'm going to give it a go. Even going to make my own bellhousing. I'm a high precision tool make by trade and fancy making one.

Does anyone know if I have to use a diesel flywheel or can I just use the existing one?

Thanks
Ant

[Simon Baxter]

Gas it.
Easier, cheaper.
WBX's are crap, but going from petrol to Diesel is a bind.

[Ian Hulley]

As the 2 gentlemen above ^^^ and if you want to make the most of it swap the DG for a 2.1 DJ running the carb and lpg set-up from the 1.9.

Ian

[1antons]

Ok so bearing in main all of your thoughts about gassing will the DG run OK gassed? I have heard that they don't like being run on gas or is this a myth?

Cheers
Ant

[Ian Hulley]

I have heard that they don't like being run on gas or is this a myth?

Cheers
Ant

It's complete bollox, they run smoother, quieter and FAR cheaperer. Change the oil regularly and look after it properly and it'll be fine, we've done many many thousands of miles on gas and we've only ever had one lpg related problem when the original filler valve failed, Steve replaced it FOC and all was great again.

I couldn't afford to run the van as a daily commuter let alone the holidays home and abroad in it if I was just getting the 18>20 mpg it does on petrol, but we do 20,000ish per year 99% of it on the good stuff.

Ian.

[Aidan]

whs

the wbx might be flawed but it seems to be pretty content when set up right to run on lpg 15% down on max power but the torque not much affected and no apparant issues with valve recession, 16p p mile fuel cost daily driver 2.1 syncro and mines 140k miles original engine and in last three years apart from beng serviced regularly as you'd expect, had the exhaust patched and a new water pump and some small water pipes and the big one and has not let me down, nor have I spent days of my life trying to change it into something else so the little free time I have had has been away in it enjoying it


but lpg balance fuel cost savings v space loss and something else to go wrong and service; £900 petrol gets you a long way over the next two years so unless you planning keeping it long term and using it then may not make economic sense you have to do the maths, lpg has gone up by 30% in last 12 months, more than other fuels have

ok £900 only gets you like 3500miles at £1.30 a litre but there's plenty of vans do less than that each year, not every one does 20k miles a year now

[Red Westie]

Still toying with the idea of gassing myself.....oh balls! I mean gassing the van lol. Pays for itself in a year...for me the issue is lost space! when every nook and cranny is being used loosing that much space (under the rock n roll seat) would be a real bind.
Martin

[1antons]

Guys thanks for the replies.
I'm starting to doubt myself AGAIN now.
I think I may just put back in a DG lump for now (no motor at present). I do need a fair bit of work to the van in other areas to get it to where I want it. Its a tin-top ATM and I want to convert to a high top camper.
So I'm thinking of getting an engine back in, get the rest of it done and then look at the next step in regards to the engine. Whether its AAZ or gas or just another DG and fully recondition it. I'm probably only looking at 4k / year MAX, although I want to do a 6 week trip across Europe in 3 years time.

Thanks again chaps

Ant