1.6L TD in a Dodge Caravan

[arb]

The flu is almost gone, so I got a little time in, with my hunting heater helping defrost the cold steel a bit.

The trans mound it on the assembly now.

I cut a rail to extend the right side engine mount rearward by a few inches just in case..

I started to weld the extra 12mm I need on 2 sides of the corner of the down pipe flange so I can clock the down pipe.

I had to stop welding because my fancy Miller helmet with auto darkening stopped working !! It had been inside for too long without seeing the sun. The cold freeze likely also pushed it over the edge. Yesterday I put in out in the direct sun for a few hours, and now it works.

[arb]

The sun was kind to my auto-helmet and I was able to finish the welding to the down pipe flange so I could finish clocking it 70 degrees.

Here is a of the 2 pieces I welded on.

Here's the second piece welded on. Notice I also added a little bit of metal to the inside curve of the flange.

Here is the polished flange, ready to drill.

Minor clearance problem with the stress collar I made around the pipe to carry loads to the flange. Now that it is clocked, one of the bolts in squarely under the collar.

I drilled the lower half of the collar in the drill press and used a die grander with a 1/2" round bit to finish the contouring of the clearance for the bolt. I was so excited about being almost done, I didn't take a photo. here is the down pipe flange ready for ceramic paint with flex joint attached. Tonight we will put the engine in the car for the 3rd and I hope final time.

[stewardc]

If the world economy completely collapses and we are thrust into a global apocalypse, I want you in my tribe  :lol: .

I presently have 3 gyrocopters like this, if you're interested.

[arb]

Sweet !  1600 cc VW's ?  I wounder what I need to add it to my Private SEL license so I could count the time?  How much do they go for ?

[stewardc]

Sweet !  1600 cc VW's ?  I wounder what I need to add it to my Private SEL license so I could count the time?  How much do they go for ?

One has an original mcCullogh 2-stroke 4 cylinder at 65 horsepower. The other two have Subaru EA82s. They are considered an ultralight, so no license is needed and they go for around $6000 with a good set of rotors.

[arb]

It was cold, snowing, and windy when I got home. My very skinny wife was not too excited about pushing a van in the snow to drop an engine in. Today it is bright and sunny, so the wait is better.

So, I thought I would attach the down pipe to the turbo. I wanted to use the very high temp silicone RTV. It was almost frozen, so I heated it and the paint on my trusty hunting heater.

Before I closed the turbo, I thought I would share my experience with a "new" $299 turbo I bought from one of the guys here who's business it is for cheep parts for VW diesels. I did not see the "open letter" to him until it was already closed, so I did not chime in there. The both the box nor web site  shows where the turbo was made. I though it was Law in American so label the country of manufacture. Humm.  Notice the end of my exhaust turbine. They balanced it by grinding much of the nut and shaft. Not good. When I bought it last year, I was under-employed and collecting unemployment insurance most of the time, so I could not have spend much more than that for it... I hope I can get a few years out if it.


I test fit the flange to the turbo - see the problem now ?


A few of the holes were not quite large enough, but there is a much larger problem !! See it?

The waste gate arm now would hit the flange as the clocking did not take this into account. I need to grind that way and make enlarge a couple holes. This created a stress riser and I did not want to re-lap the plate, so I de-burred them. Here is the stress raiser.


All mounted !!! I blasted the grinding with some more ceramic paint after I mounted it. Its ready to drop in now. Glad I did this out of the car. I would not have noticed the waste gate arm problem. Also, inside the housing the down pipe the waste gate is restricted a little. It will only swing about 30 - 40 degrees now before it comes into contact with the plate. With a boost gauge and the BOV I'm not too worried about over boost or over speeding the turbo. I did this turbo for an Eco-Diesel, not for high HP.

[blackdogvan]

Humm. Notice the end of my exhaust turbine. They balanced it by grinding much of the nut and shaft. Not good.

Wow...  :shock:

[Vincent Waldon]

Now *that* is some of the best evidence of "if it seems too good to be true it just might be" pricing that I've seen in a while... thanks for posting !!

[arb]

Yeah, I really wished I had seen the "Who is this Prothe fellow? " post as I did not know about the quality issue. But, it is water under the bridge.

[zukgod1]

That looks like pretty crude balancing but at least it's balanced I guess.

I still don't think I would hesitate to buy one from him if I was in a bind and needed a turbo ASAP.

[arb]

That's why I didn't send it back. I could not find a "new" turbo for $300. I had bought a used turbo & manifold first from a guy in Texas. The turbo was carbon fowled even though he claimed it was in good condition. He would not take it back, so I craigslisted it as a core to cut my losses.

[arb]

WOW !!  The engine is in !! I had the pleasure to shift through the gears and actuate the clutch last night just before I hit the hay !  Here's how I got there:

First obstacle, I woke up Saturday to see my pontoon boat frozen in the lake ! I was counting on the forecast of upper 30's here all this week. We had this, but the over night lows were quite cold. I tried to use the 9,000 # winch on the front of my Rubicon. But, the motor was locked up. Beware the Harbor Freight crap from China.

The motor has permanent magnets and an interesting commutator design.

We used a long chain and the cable from the winch, and backed the Jeep up in the 4:1 low with the front and rear air lockers spooled.

OK, now we could drop the engine in :-) First thing, the down pipe appeared to be in the wrong location AGAIN !! At closer inspection, the engine was tilted back about 15 degrees because of the location of my support chain. We released all the weight from the hoist, but it did not swing back enough.

So, we lifted it and I added another tab to the right side mount so the engine could be tilted level.

Back down again.. I has lucky to have my friend Christian help me. He retired in France as a diesel mechanic for Caterpillar. Now he works part time as the diesel mechanic for the dinner train.

ITS IN !!!

Notice there is a slight difference in the front to back alignment on both sides ? We accepted this as when we had it perfect, the shifter cable that moves in in-out would be directly in the center of the steering shaft, or the down pipe would be in contact with the firewall, or there would be no room in front of the engine for the alternator.

Slipping the flex joint on, we saw we are in good shape now.

Now to start hooking everything up. First the shift linkage. The one that moves the shifter in-out was first. It had to be routed around the steering shaft.

Next I tried to put the shift cable on that rotates the shifter, but the Chrysler has them opposite each other - one has a larger diameter end, so it has a slotted mount, the other was not.

I used a 3" cut-off wheel to make the slot, then mounted the shifter. It shifts very smoothly, but I have what appears to me a 4 speed with the 1st gear missing. I looked under the trans, and its a FF 10030 trans. Humm, it is a 5 speed OD with a final drive of 3.89:1 and a 0.76 OD gear. Maybe its sticking because the engine is not spinning. I'll need to dump the fluid and put the Mobil 1 full synthetic 80w90 gear lube in.

Now for the clutch. The VW and Chrysler are almost the same. I just had to cut off the rubber tab on the side of the Chrysler, and clean the aluminum hole it fits through.

Here's my clutch lever compression tool. Worked great.

Now I have a great feeling clutch. Much better than the Chrysler. Here's some of the junk I get to remove - the ECM for the gasser injection system. Ebay time :-)

[arb]

I had to cut my block last night !!! I lifted the car to inspect the drive shaft clearances. Driver side looked perfect :
The tie rod end was tight -

But the brakes looked toasted. No problem as I bought new 15" wheel hubs for the front and I will need new brakes as they are a different size.

Passenger side quite another story... the tab at the bottom of the block in interfering with the shaft.

I thought of moving the engine forward an inch, but it would mean cutting the sheet metal in front of the engine for clearance of the alternator, and the down pipe would no longer be in the correct location. I'm not taking the engine out again if there is any other way.

The tab has a 5/8" hole in it. What's it for ? The manufacturing process ?  OK, its got to go. I love this cut off wheel.

The passenger tie rod was not tight and the rack & pinion boot was not secure. Had to fix this.

Here's the cut off tab - lots of room now.

See ?

Now to the drive shafts. I had to clean off the bench and put every tool back in the box. It gets to be a disaster at some point when you spend more time looking for a tool than using it. See how I am going to telescope them ? A small sleeve at 2 spots on the shafts will keep them centered while I weld them.

Here's the other side.

Quick diversion to fix the winch. I've never used it to recover my Jeep, but with the snow here now, I'm sure I'll need it if its not working. A little 600 grit wet paper and green scotch bright worked great.

[arb]

Tonight was axel shaft night... after all, I told my wife I would not go hunting until the diesel was mobil. :-)  I want bambi !!!

Here is my triming of the shaft to the correct size for the drivers side.

Next I measured the difference in the ID and ID - 1/4" !!  Can you immagine ? My welding rods are 1/8" so I chose to wrap the shaft.


Very close fit ready to weld after I check the run-out with the dial indicator.

Now I measure the passenger side. Only 1/4" total gap. I used all of my normal 1/16" rod - the normal size, so I'm SOL... I need to find another way.

[theman53]

If you didn't already why not put in a block heater? I always love having one even if it isn't needed it is nice to have a warm vehicle.