Club 80-90 Forums

Ok currently got a very reliable 1.6 diesel but as you well know lacks power in a big way. Fed up being overtaken by lorries & caravans on long drawn out hills. Thinking of upgrading the engine to a JX 1.6 turbo diesel or 1.9tdi. I know diddly squat about engines & will be relying on a mechanic mate to do the work on my behalf
I'm after opinions on which is the better option? Ease of swapping? Difference in performance? Fuel economy?

Cheers
Jiffies

The 1.9tdi is in a different league to the JX in almost every way, however the conversion is proportionally more difficult, time consuming and expensive. There are several build threads on this forum detailing different ways of overcoming the various challenges. My advice is to spend a good few hours reading before making a decision. If this seems too much like hard work then definitely go down the JX route. Good luck with whatever you decide

Or of course the middle ground is a 1.9TD e.g an AAZ. The easiest conversion of them all from a non-turbo 1.6 diesel is a 1.9 non-turbo diesel 1Y (from a golf or similar), which will stop you being overtaken by lorries on hills, apart from the very steep ones.

If you have the ability or the money to do it, the tdi with a modified gearbox is the perfect solution.

ZsZ wrote:If you have the ability or the money to do it, the tdi with a modified gearbox is the perfect solution.

Yep, meant to add - it would be silly putting a TDI on a standard diesel T25 gearbox, which is far too low geared

Another factor must be what type of use are you wanting from it as a daily or a 2 week trip in the summer will surely affect your decision but the more difficult and expensive the conversion the better the end result should be

Thanks all
I think I have a few hours reading ahead of me tonight. For your info, Had a new gearbox fitted recently which is a 3H which should certainly be fine with the JX not sure about 1.9tdi?
Decisions decisions!

jiffies wrote: For your info, Had a new gearbox fitted recently which is a 3H which should certainly be fine with the JX not sure about 1.9tdi?

According to this chart http://rjes.com/html/gearbox_types.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, on standard wheels/tyres you will be at 3119 RPM at 60mph, so it should be fine for cruising at 60mph on a tdi, but you would be over-revving it if you want to cruise at a higher speeds. To take advantage of a tdi and get decent fuel economy, you could have the gearbox modified to have a taller final drive.

For what it's worth, I currently have a 1Y in mine, which has adequate performance, but am planning another swap because it's burning shedloads of oil. I spent a lot of time deliberating whether to get another 1Y, as they are so simple and reliable, but i've decided to go for a Tdi, initially on a petrol 4-speed box, but then having the gearbox modified at a later date when I can afford to, to take advantage of the power. My goal initially will just be to be able to cruise up steep devon hills at "car speeds" fully laden, and sit on motorway inlines at 60 - 65 fully laden.

Crickey my head is spinning! Just spent the last 3 hours reading various articles. I think the tdi conversion is going to end up being too pricey & time consuming so its down to the JX or 1.9 non turbo. The AAZ seems like the easier of the non turbo options but is only very slightly more bhp than the JX. So thought the JX was the way to go. But then I read this on a thread on Volkszone

"Its only 5hp more than a 1.6TD, but you wouldn't believe it if you drove the 2."

So I'm back to square one. Anybody driven both the JX & the AAZ that has any comments would be appreciated

cheers

Jiffies

Aaz has a turbo.

jiffies wrote:Crickey my head is spinning! Just spent the last 3 hours reading various articles. I think the tdi conversion is going to end up being too pricey & time consuming so its down to the JX or 1.9 non turbo. The AAZ seems like the easier of the non turbo options but is only very slightly more bhp than the JX. So thought the JX was the way to go. But then I read this on a thread on Volkszone

"Its only 5hp more than a 1.6TD, but you wouldn't believe it if you drove the 2."

So I'm back to square one. Anybody driven both the JX & the AAZ that has any comments would be appreciated

I haven't driven either, but BHP certainly isn't the whole story, the two engines will have different torque characteristics. Lack of torque is what causes your 1.6d to slow down on long inclines, and I believe the AAZ has plenty of torque. The AAZ can also be tuned if you want more bhp.

I have no experience of the 1.9tdi.
I do have the 1.6jx td. 5spd. In a 1990 Atlantic pop top.
The gearbox was replace some years ago. I assumed a standard ( Ill try and find out).
What is modified is ... Lowered, oil cooler, fat alloys.
I'm sure the lowering helps regarding buffeting and under chassis turbulence.
The cooler does exactly what it should.
Alloys - cosmetic + should slow me down.
According to Tom Tom , On a really long punishing motorway hill , I'm down to 45.
A steep Italian hairpin mountain pass? I'm down to 1st ( like everybody else!)
Normal average stuff. 60 on A roads. Motorways, at 70-75. If I cruise 75-80 ( Europe ) it'll use a bit of oil. Under that, none.
We've just done 2500 Euro miles and achieved a 36 mpg average
0-60? Now I'd not have bought a T3 whatever engine would I?
It does us nicely thanks.

I was very happy with my jx for a little over 4 years....tdi costs a fair amount....but it completely transforms the whole experience.
Only problem is now that you know you can do things to make it go even faster....its very tempting.

Tdi conversion does future-proof the van to some extent as the engines are cheap and plentiful

If you have a 1.6CS then swapping to a 1.91Y is the easiest,cheapest option, also most economic of the replacement engines & its plug & play.
Even on a TDI you will be lucky to get the economy you get from the frugal 1.6n/a.

The difference between 1.6JX and AAZ is only 5bhp but the difference in the engines is quite a lot, much more torque on the AAZ, so it doesn't struggle as much.

Mines an AAZ and I drove a JX a couple of weeks back, both Syncros, and even with my BFG's (bigger wheels /higher gearing) I was pulling up a hill that the JX was struggling on.
Rob.

i have always prefered petrol engined vehicles but due to fuel prices a few years ago i bought a t3 camper with the 1.600cc turbo engine it was absolutely gutless so i sold it , then i bought a aaz engines van the performance was again nothing to write home about even in a empty van , so i went back to petrol powered , i have never owned a tdi engined van but i have test driven my friends van converted by bernard jaeger in germany the difference was like chalk n cheese if i ever was to buy another diesel t3 it would have to be a tdi engined van