Help With 94 Jetta AAZ Rebuild

[TonyTDTruck]

I'm rebuilding my AAZ that is stock and in in excellent condition. It came with an KKK turbo.
I've been looking at a lot of posts here and now I'm not sure which way to go with a turbo change
and a Giles pump. I want more horse power to push my 91 Syncro VW Transporter around but can't figure out
what options to go with. I'm not sure what stock power the AAZ is. I'm looking for more power but not
some crazy number that will over power the engine and overheat the turbo. It sounds like the Giles pump
is one way to get more power, but what about the turbo and injectors? The turbo looks good as well with some rust
here and there. I have no experience with turbo motors. Originally this truck came with a 1.6TD motor that blow up
on the previous owner. Thanks for the help.
Tony

[libbydiesel]

Your turbo compressor wheel is ruined. 

IMO, K14 is the best bolt-on turbo for the Vanagon/Transporter/T3.  The K03/T2 are too small and restrictive and hurt high-end.  K24/T3 are too big with added lag and no benefit with when pushing less than 15 psi.

Add a charge cooler.  No need to swap injectors.

[410]

Your turbo compressor wheel is ruined. 

IMO, K14 is the best bolt-on turbo for the Vanagon/Transporter/T3.  The K03/T2 are too small and restrictive and hurt high-end.  K24/T3 are too big with added lag and no benefit with when pushing less than 15 psi.

Add a charge cooler.  No need to swap injectors.

I agree with libbydiesel.  The compressor does not look good.  The clearance between the blades and housing is way too big.  The k14 turbo is a good choice for a larger vehicle like your Transporter but for a second choice a k03 would also work very well.  I find reducing lag in a heavy vehicle to be more important than max power.  The injection pump can also be turned up a bit to get a few extra ponies.  The stock injectors can push more fuel than the motor can handle.  An intercooler and piping would be where I would spend my money.

[TonyTDTruck]

Excellent info fellas. I would have never guessed that the turbo was in need of repair. Where is the best place to do a turbo exchange?
Is staying with the stock pump and injectors the way to go instead of a Giles pump mod?
This truck is heavy and speed is not the factor as you guessed. Low end power and maintaining 65mph at 2,800 rpm is where I need to be
when doing moderate climbs. And what is the best inter cooler setup for this motor? Too many questions I know, but it's always best get to as
much info as I can. It's a costly project. The transmission is being geared to push 2,800 to 3,000 rpm at 65mph with 30.5" tires. It truly is
a brick going down the highway. What is a charge cooler?
I looked up charge cooler and came up with intercooler.
Thanks
Tony

[libbydiesel]

I agree that lag stinks in bigger vehicles and lag is even exacerbated where I live @ 7000' of elevation.  I do vanagon turbo diesel conversions as a significant part of my income now and have driven the same engine/vehicle w/ the k14 and the k03 and the overall performance of the k14 was way better.  The slight lag off the line was easily offset by the significant increase in power even at the same boost pressures.  I like to have my cake and eat it too and so I am the biggest proponent for the VNT turbos provided an adequate vane control is used.  I have perfected my own mechanical vane control and my own personal TD engines are both fitted with such.  The response and max power of a 1.6TD or 1.9TD with a properly controlled VNT is absolutely incredible compared to any of the stock turbo options.

[410]

Welcome back Libby...
Tonytdtruck, I suggest you look for a used k14 if that's the turbo you plan on running.  You can find them gently used between $100-200.  I also agree with Libbydiesel about the vnt turbos.  They spool so fast and are way more efficient period.  I had a k14 on a mechanically controlled TDI and it worked well.  I then installed a vnt15 and was blown away at the difference.  Setting up a vnt takes some effort but totally worth it in the end.  As far as the intercooler, find a place to put one and then find an intercooler that fits.  Any intercooler is better than no intercooler imo.  Maybe an intercooler from an mk3 TDI might work for you but I really don't have much experience with the Transporter.  I'm sure Libbydiesel can shed some light on this. 

[TonyTDTruck]

It looks like a vnt15 is the way to go. Not sure what vane control does so I will e-mail libby and get more on this vane control. As long as I don't have to hack up the manifold to bolt up this vnt15 I'm for it. It take a lot of patience to customize a set up especially when you're not familiar with it.
What about the Giles pump? I keep hearing 20 more hp and why does that sound good? $950 bucks doesn't sound good but the extra ponies are there at a snap!
Can Giles set up my pump to match my trucks needs? Torque at lower rpm....
So far
-vnt15 turbo.
-intercooler that will fit my truck somehow.
-Giles pump?

Thanks
Tony

-

[theman53]

Giles pumps can deliver whatever you need if it is possible for the pump to actually do it. I would say 20hp is low. With adding boost and his standard pump the 1.6 engine should easily be in the 120hp range. It came around 77hp stock TD from the factory. His pump will give you all this with the option for more and do it all with no smoke or very little. You want more port the head and add an intercooler. You will need and EGT gauge and probe. The only probe I recommend is the micro 1000. It can be bought for under 40.00 at aircraft spruce.com. Any gauge that will work with it *Ktype* should be ok. Torque at low rpm will generally be a turbo condition, a Giles pump will help spool anything but a turbo that spools quickly will help most as discussed above.
Another thing to consider. I had a k24 in an mk2 jetta. It would start building boost fairly quickly, but I have a Giles pump, ported head, and 3" exhaust from the turbo back no restrictions. I didn't have a tach when it was running but it would spool the turbo fairly quickly. As best as I can tell with the gear calculator vs engine rpm vs speed, I would start building boost at 1800 *like 1/2psi* and by 3400 ish I would have 22psi in pretty much every gear. I wished for more torque off bottom but once it started to spool it was fun. I guess it really depends on what you have now and where you would like to be with it. If you just want a bit more than what you have the easiest route with the most flexiblitly to add more would be a Giles pump.

BTW, He completely stands behind what he builds. No other pump guy I have ever heard of would take a pump back and fix it up like he did mine at no charge. I will never get another pump but his ever again for this reason alone. The power is amazing, but service it KING.

[Syncroincity]

The Giles pump is a great investment. The AAZ pump in stock form is very de-tuned, there's no boost fuel enrichment to speak of. Giles adds a real turbo LDA (the UFO-like top section of the pump) and does his mods to the rest of the pump according to what you tell him about your engine and power requirements. You'll want a good intercooler setup, and oil cooling as well, the AAZ puts a lot of heat into the oil when tuned.

Giles has 4 videos showing his test rig and the results of the mods, at idle, part & full fuel... nice setup.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKG_0pbzkrw&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

[Baron VonZeppelin]

The turbo upgrade to VNT and tuning via Libby is going to be your best primary option to get what you want out of the Transporter. Especially since you do need a new turbo anyway.

The Giles Inj Pump teamed with that, would be pure Transporter creme de la creme.

If your Inj Pump were bad, or Non-TD, then i would have suggested the Giles approach as first base.

Intercooled full range Boost is a greater power than Master Modified fueling - if you can only have one. If you can afford both - then by all means do so.

Libby has helped more folks than Bayer aspirin, don't let his new post count appear as a rookie contributor.

[TonyTDTruck]

Wow excellent information everybody. I have sent Libby a pm and I will be getting his help with setting up this vnt turbo. The videos of Giles and his shop are impressive. Good to see a pro at work modifying these pumps.
Syncroincity: With the engine way in the back, where would a cooler work best? This is also a challenge for the intercooler as well. I saw an intercooler with an electric fan that is used for a radiator. Does this work ok and a fan for the oil cooler as well? I can't imagine oil lines going to the front of the truck and back.
Baron: I'm not sure what this means ( Intercooled full range Boost is a greater power than Master Modified fueling ) but I'm sure I'll figure it out.
I have sent Giles a picture of the pump and some info about what I plan on doing as far as power. The main goal is torque at lower rpm, but hills around Oregon can present a problem when climbing at 3,000 to 4,000 rpm.
Libby: Where do you buy this vnt15 turbo?
I have been working on carrier bars for these Vans and trucks. Here is my add on Samba in case someone needs a set. You never know.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1253156

Thanks
Tony

[libbydiesel]

The stock integral manifold VNT15 from the ALH is an extreme interference with the driver's side mounting bracket and would need to be re-clocked for use in a vanagon.  Drainage would also be an issue with it mounted that low and the engine tipped to 50°.  I used the Euro separate manifold VNT15 on mine.  You might want the VNT17.  I've used both and the difference in spool time is negligible, but the VNT17 is less labored @ higher boost.  I built an spacer/adapter that fits between the trapezoidal manifold and the aforementioned turbo and mounts the turbo so there is no interference, drainage is maximized and the stock turbo is properly clocked.  I actually built a jig to reproduce that adapter.  Best bet on sourcing a turbo is German eBay.  Make sure they ship worldwide and accept Paypal. 

[TonyTDTruck]

You are correct about the interference libby with the turbo and the carrier bar. The turbo on the original 1.6TD is mounted to the rear of the engine, or towards the front of the truck giving it plenty of room for it to fit when tilted over at 50deg. With these issues in mind I'm thinking about the stock K14 that it came with. The Giles pump and some head porting should get me plenty of power to get this brick going down the road. Today I decided to go with a 4.86 R&P giving me 65mph at around 3,000 rpm. It sounds like a lot of rpm but not when you're pushing a loaded truck with camping gear and towing a small boat.

[Syncroincity]

Coolers are a source of much debate... Personally, I'm putting it up front, along with an air-water intercooler system. If you keep it in the rear, you need to  channel the air flow, and certainly include an electric fan. Many guys have opened up the platform behind the tail light and used the fan to force air thru a horizontal cooler and out the bottom. There's several good threads on thesamba.com about oil cooler placement...
 The guys at Brickwerks in the UK swear by front placement; no fan needed, just lots of hose to run. Makes changing the oil a little more challenging too.
 Whatever your preference, make sure you include an oil thermostat in the circuit to prevent over-cooling. I found all of the components for my system at Summit Racing. Permacool seems to be the most reasonably-priced stuff. I also am setting up a remote dual-filter oil filtration rig, to include the Amsoil 2-micron bypass filter. I reproduced their $300 remote bypass rig for about $50, using a cool little filter adapter I found on Ebay.  

EBAY LINKY

[R.O.R-2.0]

It looks like a vnt15 is the way to go. Not sure what vane control does so I will e-mail libby and get more on this vane control. As long as I don't have to hack up the manifold to bolt up this vnt15 I'm for it. It take a lot of patience to customize a set up especially when you're not familiar with it.
What about the Giles pump? I keep hearing 20 more hp and why does that sound good? $950 bucks doesn't sound good but the extra ponies are there at a snap!
Can Giles set up my pump to match my trucks needs? Torque at lower rpm....
So far
-vnt15 turbo.
-intercooler that will fit my truck somehow.
-Giles pump?

Thanks
Tony

-

if your going for performance, avoid a VNT..

ask me how i know.. i will supply you with pics of what happens when you ask too much of a VNT..