Diesel (AAZ) into a Westy...

[BejamminR]

A friend of Giles' and mine is interested in putting a 1.9AAZ engine into an '84 -'85 "Water boxer" Westy. He's curious as to what he's going to need to do in order to make it fit. As far as people who have done a conversion before, is there anything exotic to be done, or should this be a more-or-less direct bolt up?

This is an "I've always wanted to do it, and I will definitely do it, but I don't know for sure when" project for this guy. He's looking at some Westfalias out in California and stuff, and just trying to get a handle on how much work he'll have to put into making it his dream vehicle.

If there are any particularly unusual design considerations, could you let me know?

Thanks!

[Quantum TD]

My dad just did this swap into a 1.6 diesel van. It was pretty strightforward for him, but you obviously will need all the Vanagon diesel specific stuff like:

Flywheel and clutch
Bell housing
gas tank(?)
carrier bars
oil pan and filler/dipstick tube
coolant hoses and reservoir

That's about it (I'm sure I'm missin some small things). The diesel bell housing bolts right up to the gasser gearbox. Just about everything is bolt and go. The only real 'mods' that you'll have to consider are:

Fabbing an exhaust
Fabbing an intake/filter box
Modifying the rear engine mount to accomdate the turbo
Modding the 5 wires that make the diesel start/stop

He'll also have to cut a section out of the engine cover if you use the stock AAZ injection pump with stock throttle control, as the lid wont' clear it otherwise. With Giles in the fray(?), I'm sure he can come up with a solution for the throttle lever so that you don't have to cut out the lid. If you all do come up with a solution, I'd like to see it, so that I might solve the problem for my dad's van.

As far as the filter box, I found one of those canister-style filters used on the Old Mercedees (I actually used one from a V6 Mitsubishi Montero). It fits perfectly into the tray on the driver's rear, and it's metal, so you can weld mounting brackets onto it.

The upside to having a later (post 1983) gasser wasserbox, is that you don't have to find the extremely rare and expensive diesel radiator, should your rad give out, and you'll already have a good trans gear ratio to take advantage of the increased power/torque of the 1.9 (versus using a stock 1.6 diesel geared trans).

I see the kits to convert on ebay all the time. They may not have a complete kit all at once, but you should be able to find the carrier bars as a kit, the hoses as a kit, and the bell housing as a kit. Don't buy the whole diesel trans, as shipping will be silly, and you don't want that gear ratio anyways. All in all, the conversion kit(s) will run you about $300-700. It seems like there's a guy in Germany who sells the diesel Vanagon parts on ebay from time to time (they were more popular there).

Good Luck.

[BejamminR]

Excellent. Just the info I needed. Thanks very much, Quantum TD. I'll relay this to the fellow and see what he thinks. As always, when the project starts, it'll be posted here.

[bridgetroll13]

You can lower the engine for clearance purposes by putting spacers between the bars and the frame in front and re-drilling the plates on the back ends of the bars to mount them lower. I used a fiberglass engine cover and routed a hole above where the IP lives. I riveted a piece of aluminum to the top of the cover and caulked the gaps closed.

Two important items: the earlier style mounting bars, which can be identified by the rubber bushing mountings at the ends, position the engine further toward the front of the vehicle. I'm not sure but there may be an early vs late version of the transmission mount. Use of the latter style bars allowed me to use a 5 speed tranny.

Also, when you are swapping out the gasser bell housing for the diesel, if there is still gear oil in the tranny it will pur out all over the ground (ask me how I know.

[dokarex]

It would be even easier if you could find a Diesel Westy/Van instead of a water boxer and a gas tranny. Then all you would have to switch is the bell housing and the engine mounts coolant hoses and wiring would all be there.
 I just did this to my 87 1.6na Doka and it only took 9 hours. It's posted on here as It's alive!!!. The only thing is the gearing is to high(low?) and I will probably switch to a gasser trans some time soon.

But if you can find a wrecked Diesel van then get the bell housing, input shaft, coolant hoses,engine mounts, wiring,etc.

[Baxter]

Okay.
We do lots of these.
Now, a bit of drivvel..

In a T3, the position of the engine changed when the design of the gearbox changed.
Now, you lot only got the 1.6l "CS" engine right?
well, the early ones used the same style gearbox as the aircoolers.
When VW changed the design of the tansaxle in 83-84 ish they moved the whole engine and trans further towards the front of the van.
What we are finding is that when doing conversions on earlier vans the exhaust downpipe gets really close to the left hand rear arm and damper.

All I am thinking is that if you happen to come accross the conversion bits, engine mounting bars, bell housing, sump, pick up pipe etc, if you try to *ahem* mount it into a later van you may find that the engine mountings don't line up.
It's reasonably easy for us as we tend to take a blown 1.6TD out and replace it with AAZ so we don't have to think about your predicament.

European 1.6 TD's (JX code) came with an auxilliary water pump that clicks on at 104°c, sender in water outlet on head. A friend of mine run his without on his single cab syncro that produces silly amounts of power.

TD has a different sump, with oil return from turbo going in horizontally right at the bottom of the sump.

European 1.6TD's came with a different cab floor, much higher to accomodate a much larger radiator cooling fan, 500W

We find that the early radiator (2 switches at the top instead of 1 3 pin switch towards the bottom) don't cool enough, so it's a case of swapping to later radiator including mounting panel, rubber hoses and plastic front to rear coolant pipes. plastic pipes will fit in an early van with a bit of work, not much.

Link to brick-yard seems dead, which is worrying as i run that site! eek, but I think it points to a thread with my throttle levers and lid cover kit, which I will be adding to www.brickwerks.co.uk in the not too distant future.

Any Q's feel free to ask as I feel I'm probably more help than most on this subject!!
 

[Baxter]

Oh, another gotcha, the breather.
We have a problem of fast right hand corners and the oil making it's way through the breather into the turbo inlet, then setting off very fast and making very loud rattling noises for about 30 seconds!
 :lol:
Catch tank!! or angle the rocker cover breather such that it is difficult for the oil to get from the flying sourcer thing and out back into the turbo inlet.

[Baxter]

Okay, no pictures yet in the shop but I just uploaded some blurb about these levers I now stock.
Clicky

[Tintin]

In this moment I am making this conversion in a westfalia 1982 with a TDI AHU, but It's the same as other have mentioned in the post.

And if you need 3rd and 4th gear uppgrade, here the place that I bought my gear uppgrade to hold the TDI power and make a lower cruising RPM: http://www.longenterprises.com/

[Quantum TD]

Okay, no pictures yet in the shop but I just uploaded some blurb about these levers I now stock.
Clicky

Good points all. I guess I forgot the all-important oil sump. I have a few questions myself for the other posters here ( I don't hang out too much on the diesel vanagon forum).

For Mr. Brickyard:
1) Do you happen to have a pic of that accelerator lever mounted to a pump? I'm intrigued, as my father's solution is not the best. I encouranged him to use the throttle lever off the original Vanagon 1.6 NA, and slopes down. I guess he took both pumps (the AAZ and the 1.6NA) to his pump rebuilder, who claimed that the 1.6 lever would not work. Anyway, a pic of it mounted would be sweet. I just want to get an idea of how low is sits, and how easy it would be to put on (I'd be the one installing it, and I'm marginally concerned about resetting the springs and marking the lever for install).

2) I'm concerned about the heat factor with the original 1982 1.6NA DIesel radiator. My dad just had the whole thing reworked, rather than buy a gasser radiator and the mounting plate. Is the difference that profound?

3) So no permanent and proven solution to the breather problem?


For Andrew (libbybapa):

1) I recall reading somewhere (probably dieselparts forum) about clocking the turbo, and the return line in one of your posts. As it stands now, my dad has the turbo in the stock position, and the oil return line is the OEM one that routes back to the block (the pan was from a 1.6 NA).

 My dad basically got the van up and running, and has taken it on a few quick jaunts, but has not taken it on any long trips. Unfortunately, a throwout bearing issue has it back on the lift.  Since he put alot of work into the van, I'd hate to see him have motor issues on the road. My big question is, how crucial do you think these concerns are, and how easy are they to do? Perhaps a link to that post (I think it was yours).

I understand for the oil line, I'd have to drill and weld in a fitting for the return line, and find an oil line that worked (perhaps Brickyards). But I'm unfamiliar with clocking the turbo.

Responses appreciated.

[Baxter]

Dunno why this is in black and white? but it is!



Please note the levers here were my trial ones, I made in the workshop with very little pro tooling, I'm not geared up for fabrication, repair really so they aren't as tidy as they could be, but the ones I have commisioned as you can see from the other photo are kinda tidy looking.



here is what we have done with a few breathers with good results, just lift it up a bit and angle the breather towards the centre of the engine bay a bit, seems to work okay, but this is using JX parts, remember we got TD's in Europe so I tried to angle my earlier post for the US/Canada.



This is one we did on a Bluestar, general engine shot with OE TD air box nestling away in it's correct position as we carefully ported the JX inlet manifold to suit the AAZ head, you have to be very careful as there is not a lot of meat around that area and if you go mad with a 1.6 manifold you will end up with boost leaks..





Couple of shots of the engine lid cover and how tidy the job can be made!

I am guilty of doing some untoward things to a engine lid, but some of the others beggar beliefe! I have seen them warmed with a gas axe then pummeled upwards! wooden boxes, bits of plastic, biscuit tins!!

Anyway, that lid cover of mine is a bit bigger than it should be but it also gives clearance for levers.

Fitting the windage tray makes fitting the engine to the gearbox "interesting" due to the increased thickness of the gasket, not impossible, just, interesting.

there is a considerable difference between radiators. I have done them in the past, and they work but they do get a bit toasty and that is in our piss poor climate! Very difficult to get a stable temp gauge needle, it does float about somewhat under load.
I try to put people off doing it to really early vans, unless the van can warrant the money being spent on it.
Remember due to our aforementioned piss poor climate and once yearly safety tests (MOT) then most of the early Diesel vans are kerfurtled by now, ready for the knackers yard, so they don't warrant spending that mush money on, we do get the odd tidy one but not very often.

[Baxter]

just another few pointers.
The european "JX" uses a Quantum exhaust manifold and K14 turbo, then a 1.6TD inlet manifold but with the inlet above and across from the inlet ports if that makes sense.
this puts the inlet on the turbo really close to the engine mount, this is where VW used a weird stepped inlet adapter thingy, this connects to a plastic pipe that goes upwards and towards the rear and connects with the air box.

[Baxter]

In this moment I am making this conversion in a westfalia 1982 with a TDI AHU, but It's the same as other have mentioned in the post.

And if you need 3rd and 4th gear uppgrade, here the place that I bought my gear uppgrade to hold the TDI power and make a lower cruising RPM: http://www.longenterprises.com/

There are several companies that sell longer final drives.

They seem to be manufactured by Albins transmissions in Australia and sold by Weddle in the US, but there are several sources in germany for the longer gears and final drives.

Winkler, Buschmede and Mr Jaeger all sell them.

[Baxter]

What I think happens.

On a worn engine that breathes a little, as you go around a sharp right hander, oil pools on the left of the rocker cover, then up into the UFO thing, now if the engine is tired and breathes more than it should I think the flow of air from the crank case breather by the vac pump blows the oil in the UFO out towards the turbo, if that makes sense, hecne us angling the UFO towards the centre of the van, to make the flow of oil out a little harder.

Theres a great picture of one of our friends in a Syncro Doko AAZ with smoke pouring out the exhaust and it knocking its nads off!



shhh, don't say owt, but thats harryMann from this very forum... sshhh

Taken from this album

It's bad news on a syncro!

[Baxter]

More on breathers..



That is a JX rocker cover, it has a gauze and is angled.




Right, that is a AAZ that we were about to fit into a T3 Westy California a couple of weeks ago, incidentaly it has a Oettinger charge cooler set up on it, but thats another story.. anyway see where the breather exits the rocker cover? no angled section and no gauze, I think this is also something to do with the problem.