tdi donor vehicle question

[hotpod]

Right...
after a couple of years of holding 4th gear in with a bungee,
and 6 months of gradually worsening rear camber
the doka is now properly off the road as i lost 1st and 2nd gear on tuesday.
Aidan has booked the box in at the end of nov so it wont be back on the road till the new year i suspect. ( thats my christmas holiday spoken for)

my plan for a temporary cheap runaround to tide me over till its back, is to get something cheap with a vw group tdi so i can do an engine swap when the gearbox goes back in and replace the inadequate 1.9na that i have at the moment.

My question to you guys is:
how can i tell what car has the right engine for an easy swap which would also be the right upgrade ( i am not sure an aaz will be much of an improvement, the truck is a 16" which is geared for its original 112i )
i have found a 1998 seat alhambra 10 miles away for with 131000 miles on the clock which i might go and look at.

how do i tell what engines are in what cars, and what engine should i be looking for please?

[xriss]

golf /passat code 1z for least hassel

[v-lux]

Kinda depends what route you want to take.

1Z tdi is 90hp and can be run electronically (etdi) or mechanically (mtdi) and is fairly easy to make fit.

AFN tdi is 110hp, probably best run electronically to make use of various nice gizmos it has, but needs engine mounts fabricating/purchasing as the block is different.

Common route is 1Z whether it's etdi or mtdi. Probably best to have a long hard think about which set up you want and will suit your gearing (if youre not modifying this when its with aidan) before looking at cars.

Any tdi set up will also require intercooling which can be air-air but will require some fabrication/cutting of your van to get airflow, air-water which requires piping, pump, radiator etc. Air-water is commonly thought to be way to go.

You'll also need an updated clutch to deal with the torque....

[hotpod]

right, the 1z looks good to me for a straight swap. i did the major expense about 4 years ago with the petrol to diesel conversion so i dont want to be doing mounts and wiring again.
i have been looking at the alternative engine forum and the wiki for ages now and there is a lot to take in and some conflicting information and since mine is a syncro i reasoned it was better to post it here and perhaps get some more syncro specific advice.

my 1y na engine has d/td on the block. some people say that means i can bung a turbo on it but some people say i cant.
if i definitely could then that might be the simplest thing, but what horsepower could i expect then? the truck used to run beautifully on its 2.1 petrol and i would love to have a diesel which could perform similarly. i figure that the 90hp is my minimum.

re aidan and the gearing, i was going to finalise what engine i want and then chat with him. i have a month to work this out.

after some research, i think the 98 alhambra is an afn or avg engine . how different are they?

my main concern in the doka is the intercooling then. cant just stick one in one of the ears because i dont have any. am i right in thinking that the air/water setup runs on the cooling system? and what setup am i likely to find on a donor vehicle?

[v-lux]

Do a few searches for 'chargecooler' that should answer your questions about intercoolers.

In terms of horsepower, a slight shift in thinking I required when it comes to diesels, especially tdi. It's the huge jump in torque that make the difference, hence needing to sort the gearing to make use of it.

[hotpod]

whilst looking for chargecooler, i found a thread from bigblue16 earlier this year which i am curently reading through but the original brief:

Primarily longevity, simplicity and economy. Improve power and cruising speed to 110kph plus, Remain OEM as far as possible and not go overboard with power increase so as not overstrain the existing mechanical systems

is spot on.

[hotpod]

i am not trying to create a monster but putting a normally aspirated 1y in a van which used to have 112 horses has been a bit like castrating the poor fellow. i just want to give him his balls back in the best way possible
and on a budget.

one day i hope not to be on a budget, and then i shall send him to those people who do this all the time and do it well.
and i would certainly rather do that than buy a new car.
it has been really depressing looking through the small ads trying to find a temporary car to use now both trucks are laid up. i dont want to drive anything else, and what happens when it snows? i shall be stuck like the normal people.

[lloydy]

the golf petrol engines are pretty much a straight swap, they use all the diesel stuff. Over 100bhp, good torque and very, very cheap and good mpg. Could be good for you, until you save up tdi money

[hotpod]

thats quite intersesting lloydy.
i should mention though that i am running 100% on recycled veg oil bio fuel that a mate produces. i love it and dont intend to go back to fossil fuel if i can help it.

my options are to rebuild the gearbox as is and keep my very sluggish but reliable and 30mpg 1y (but it is really gutless. I almost got stuck the other day when i turned around in a lan by reversing down a bank and it almost didnt have enough energy to pull me back up. i though i was going to have to get pulled out by a landrover! some welly and a bit of clutch slipping was only just enough)
or rebuild the gearbox as is and still get a td/i (td or tdi ) and hope that the gearing is fine as is,
or whilst it is out and being done, get the longer 3rd and 4th gears put in ( my preferred option )and somehow get a better engine.

how will my 1y perform with longer 3rd and 4th gears? even worse i suppose ( or not at all after 2nd?? )

it is a question of doing things in the most economical order.

i have asked aidan what gear ratios i have so i can start trying to get my head around the maths but is there anyone on here who has a 112i 16" and is now running a td/i ? there is presumably a tried and tested formula. if i read the posts there seem to be a million options. its like trying to choose a mobile phone contract.
my brain works with pictures, i cant get my head around the numbers.

donor engine choice wise, is there a year before which i should be looking for for the most painless engine conversion.

and does anyone know the definitive answer to my turbo 1y question?

[syncropaddy]

i should mention though that i am running 100% on recycled veg oil bio fuel that a mate produces. i love it and dont intend to go back to fossil fuel if i can help it.

From what Im told WV PD diesel engines wont run on anything other than diesel. IF that is the case then you are limited to running an AAZ or 1Z engine as those engines dont have the high pressure PD fuel system setup. I remember seeing a warning in a Passat owners handbook about biofuels and PD engines

As regards turboing a 1Y engine, the answer is yes you can but its not a simple matter of bolting on a turbo as there are some internal differences as well - like pistons and inlet valves. Im sure some have done it but VW didnt!

[hotpod]

cool. so its a 1z then by the looks of things.
now to find out what vehicles they might be found in.
thanks

[syncropaddy]

I just sold a 1Z

Golf, Passat, Vento all around '93 - '95 is where you'll find them but dont forget the loom and pedal as well

[ELVIS]

1Z or AHU.

Chap on 'other channel' sells ready made Tdi looms for a T3, not overly cheap but from what ove heard pretty well/professioanlly done and 'fit and forget'.

[syncropaddy]

And who might this be? I have a job for him .......

[lloydy]

mazz i think, on BY