93 Explorer TDI Swap

[timtimtimajim]

This is making me excited to get my engine back from the shop.

I need more diesel goodness outside of my own!

 

[Josh P]

I need more diesel goodness outside of my own!

Diesel is addictive.

 

[410Fortune]

diesel is the way to go
I have 3ea, 7.3's, 3ea yanmars and a Case/ international 3 cyl
I wish everything was diesel

 

[Josh P]

Yanmar makes good engines

 

[timtimtimajim]

Got the transmission crossmember setup to shift the engine forward two inches. This is the crossmember that came with the JD lift kit. Since it uses 2" square tube for the main part, all I needed to do was cut the mount plate off and weld it to the other side of the crossmember. I added a couple extra gussets for strength. Don't think it will be going anywhere.

I've now got the engine hanging about where I need it to be and everything clears perfect! About all I need to make sure I do when I build mounts is to pull the engine about an inch towards the passenger side.

Speaking of engine mounts... my last update I had mentioned the possibility of not having enough height for the OEM VW hydraulic mounts. I confirmed today that they will definitely not work. Was looking at the poly mounts available from TD Conversions and it doesn't look like those will work either. So, taking inspiration from LS swaps, I will be building engine mounts similar to what is used there. I placed an order today with Ruffstuff for the parts I need. The only downside is those parts I ordered "may take up to seven days to ship". A little disappointed because I am on vacation for a week and a half and the parts probably won't be here until after vacation is over. I'm kind of at a standstill right now. I have a few small things I can do (fuel pump, some wiring, etc.) but I can't really start mocking up any intake, exhaust, or cooling system stuff until I know for sure the engine is in its final resting spot. Hoping the parts will be quicker than what they say.

New transmission mount on crossmember. Will grind, clean, and paint this before final assembly.

New resting spot for engine. Fortunately I can keep the stock style filter/oil cooler assembly as it easily clears the engine crossmember.

 

[410Fortune]

Wicked good news

Here’s to ruffstuff shipping those quickly!!

 

[timtimtimajim]

Well the parts from RuffStuff showed up back on the 17th. Progress has been slow as I only have had the evenings to work on this. But, I got the engine mounts tacked together and tacked to the frame! Need to pull the motor out now to final weld both frame side and block side mounts. I was able to reuse parts of the block side mounts that came with the motor. Made it a bit easier. Once final welding is done I can drop the motor back in to work on everything else!

Passenger side

Driver side

 

[timtimtimajim]

Lots of progress today! Pulled the motor and trans out to final weld engine mounts.

Passenger side

Driver side

Also pulled the VW oil filter/cooler assembly off to prepare for a remote oil filter adapter.

Swapped out the VW coolant flange for the low profile flange.

While I was welding the mounts to the frame FedEx dropped off a new Red Head steering box. Went ahead and put that in.

Motor went back in without the transmission and is sitting on it’s own weight. Unlike the V6, the TDI does not need the transmission to stay level because of how I built the engine mounts. Now I can start working on the cooling system, intake/intercooler, VW to Ford wiring, and fuel lines. While the transmission is out I need to modify the bellhousing. Once the transmission goes back in I can build the exhaust.

 

[Rick]

I love how tiny the TDI is in the engine compartment.

 

[Mbrooks420]

I love how tiny the TDI is in the engine compartment.

So much room for activities. Second battery. Compressor. Toaster oven.

 

[Josh P]

Toaster oven.

Just like the straight arrow van from the movie, the van

 

[BKennedy]

That engine fits very nice in the engine bay. I am following this swap thinking I might go this route versus a 3800 GM V6. This appears like it would clear my shock hoops with no modifications to them. That would be nice to not have to redo the suspension.

I also found this adaptor for the 60 degree GM bellhousing of my 700R4 transmission.

VW 1.9 2.0L TDI to Chevy 2.8L V6 Transmission Adapter Kit

This adapter plate kit allows you to replace your Chevy/GM 2.8L 60-degree V6 engine with any 4 cylinder Volkswagen/Audi engine. The most commonly used engine is the VW TDI (ALH, BEW, BHW, CJAA). All VW/Audi 4 cylinder engines have the same bellhousing bolt pattern and crank hub. This means you...

tdconversions.com

Please be as detailed as possible with the wiring.

 

[timtimtimajim]

So much room for activities. Second battery. Compressor. Toaster oven.

Now you’ve got me thinking… frozen pizzas on the trail would be pretty sweet!

 

[timtimtimajim]

That engine fits very nice in the engine bay. I am following this swap thinking I might go this route versus a 3800 GM V6. This appears like it would clear my shock hoops with no modifications to them. That would be nice to not have to redo the suspension.

I also found this adaptor for the 60 degree GM bellhousing of my 700R4 transmission.

VW 1.9 2.0L TDI to Chevy 2.8L V6 Transmission Adapter Kit

This adapter plate kit allows you to replace your Chevy/GM 2.8L 60-degree V6 engine with any 4 cylinder Volkswagen/Audi engine. The most commonly used engine is the VW TDI (ALH, BEW, BHW, CJAA). All VW/Audi 4 cylinder engines have the same bellhousing bolt pattern and crank hub. This means you...

tdconversions.com

Please be as detailed as possible with the wiring.

Same place I got my adapter from!

The TDI would definitely work well with the shocks hoops you’ve got. There’s so much room to work with.

I’ve been keeping track of all of the wiring very meticulously. Once I know it works I’ll be sure to post it here. Planning to draw as built wiring diagrams once it’s all done so that anyone else that does this swap has something to work off of.


Last big part I’ve been waiting for, the remote oil filter adapter, showed up. Plus a bunch of other oddball stuff. Plan is to pull the motor back out this weekend, bolt the remote oil adapter, trans adapter, and clutch on. Reseal the oil pan. Then drop it back in. If all goes well there’s a chance I could be able to start it the first time in the next week or two.

 

[BKennedy]

As builts would sure take any guesswork out for the next guy.

How much horse power and torque do you think your engine has?
Is it going to have AC?

 

[Mbrooks420]

That engine fits very nice in the engine bay. I am following this swap thinking I might go this route versus a 3800 GM V6. This appears like it would clear my shock hoops with no modifications to them. That would be nice to not have to redo the suspension.

I also found this adaptor for the 60 degree GM bellhousing of my 700R4 transmission.

VW 1.9 2.0L TDI to Chevy 2.8L V6 Transmission Adapter Kit

This adapter plate kit allows you to replace your Chevy/GM 2.8L 60-degree V6 engine with any 4 cylinder Volkswagen/Audi engine. The most commonly used engine is the VW TDI (ALH, BEW, BHW, CJAA). All VW/Audi 4 cylinder engines have the same bellhousing bolt pattern and crank hub. This means you...

tdconversions.com

Please be as detailed as possible with the wiring.

As much as I’m against cross brand swaps, I’ve always had a soft spot for the 3800.

 

[timtimtimajim]

As builts would sure take any guesswork out for the next guy.

How much horse power and torque do you think your engine has?
Is it going to have AC?

When the engine came out of the 4Runner I bought it out of it was making 160hp and 260lb ft at the tires. Should be about the same here. Not totally sure what it’s putting out at the crank but it’s definitely way more than the 4.0.

No A/C. I took it all out a while back as it had been non functional for years. Plenty of room to add it back if I wanted. Only clearance issue would be with the VW coolant manifold and the blower box. Would need to reroute the manifold to get around it.

 

[BKennedy]

As much as I’m against cross brand swaps, I’ve always had a soft spot for the 3800.

Don't want to mess up this thread, but I like GM engines. The 3800 is a great engine, especially the supercharged versions. I actually have one on standby at a car builder/ranch hand/fix whatever needs fixing, friend's place. He has three of them in his shop he's pulled from wrecks, says I can have my pick.

 

[timtimtimajim]

Well the engine won’t be back in this weekend, but still lots of progress.

Got the trans adapter torqued together with the new clutch installed. Sure do like installing clutches on the bench. Way easier!

Also got the remote oil filter adapter installed to the block. When the engine goes back in I’ll find a place for the filter and build lines.

Also on the list was to reseal the injector harness and the oil pan as they were both leaking. No pictures of the injector harness but it was easy and no longer dripping diesel out of the head.

The oil pan is where we run into some small problems. The guy I bought the motor from knew it was leaking from the gasket when he delivered the engine but didn’t know why. I figured it was just a bad gasket so dropped the lower part of the two piece pan to reseal. I found the real reason it was leaking quickly. Last guy had to bash in a spot in the pan to clear his engine crossmember in the 4Runner. When he did this it warped the pan and caused the sealing surface to be U shaped. Rather than trying to build up enough RTV in the hopes of it sealing up, I opted to order a new oil pan. Unfortunately I was unable to order just the lower part, so now will have an extra upper oil pan piece. New pan will be in Friday.

Also got the rubber fuel lines attached to the hard lines. The rubber will get cut to length once the engine goes back in.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Going with a single filter or a bypass setup?