AAZ - Root beer Syncro Vanagon

[JimEG]

Hi. New to the forum. New to the idea of a diesel Vanagon.

I recently picked up a "complete" 80k AAZ Turbo Tiico kit that was pulled from another Syncro for a 2.5 Suby swap. Included with the kit were an extra Sabb IC, extra good KO3, extra rebuildable KO3, new clutch and a bunch of other bits and pieces. I did not perform a compression or leak down test prior to removal(it had been pulled in the week prior to the sale). The PO sent me a video of it run - sounded "OK", but I am no diesel expert. The shop that did the swap said it seemed to run fine. At this point I am taking the PO word for it that the engine ran good and no issues. Anything I can or should do at this point to verify engine health?

The engine set up consists of this -

Tiico? adapter plate and starter adapter - powder coated white(I also have KEP adapter I could use, if I should)
Factory carries bars
AAZ
Sabb intercooler(with long plumbing to the passenger side vent)
New KO3 turbo
LDA? injection pump
Empi oil cooler w/fan
"bigger" injectors(should I verify anything?) I also have the stock injectors.

So now. Here I have this hulk of oil, steel and diesel hanging outside my shop.  What now?

I'd like to get your opinions and experience on what I should do prior to install(within a reasonable budget). I'd like to have it live long and provide as much power as it can without sacrificing longevity. I've spent many hours reading builds here and on Samba. I don't want to tear the engine down if I don't have to. I want to run it. I'm thinking bolt on improvements - new or different IC? Giles or other pump build? FAS carrier and exhaust? different turbo? water injection? or should I get out while I still can?

The obvious things I plan to do(thanks FAQ section) -
Clean and paint
Clutch pulley on alternator
Investigate crank/pulley syndrome
New seals and gaskets as needed
New belts
Gee Bee hoses
Gauges
I would also like to eliminate the AC compressor. How do I do this?
Vince Waldon glow plug pimp

SO WHAT WOULD YOU DO? THANKS!!! And I welcome PM's or input/proposals from any vendors or anyone in the diesel tuning business.

















 

[Gizmoman]

No expert here, but I've been building my AAZ (2WD Westy) for over a year and this site has helped me through a lot of it.
Hard to tell from the photos but I'd start by removing the mounts and cutting off the weird stuff someone welded on to them.

As for the turbo, I've been told that the K14 is a better fit for the van but the K03 may be fine if your doing a lot of off-roading as I hear it spools almost instantly. Besides, it's new.

I also believe that "bigger injectors" are not necessarily better with the IDI engine. The pre-chamber is designed for what the stock injectors pattern is and messing with that is not recommended.

Welcome to the forum, lots of good heads here.

[Toby]

FWIW the motor hardly looks like it has just 80K miles on it. You will love the AAZ in a Vanagon. I have a friend with a 1.6TD Westphalia and it is a very nice rig to drive. He built a box on top of the engine hatch to clear the LDA. I have heard that there was a special pump with an LDA that would fit under the hatch, but I have never even seen a picture of one.

Forget the GP "pimp". Its just a bunch of high school silliness. At most the 4 wire bit is asking for trouble and would, at most, save you 20 minutes troubleshooting a bad GP. The system is dead reliable. It doesn't need to be fixed. It would be good, however, to transfer the load to a Ford starter solenoid. Just have the GP wire energize it.

Good luck on your swap. You will love it.

[theman53]

Toby, you are an expert mechanic and can service the 4 GP in 20 minutes, some of us aren't. There are some of us like me that cannot even begin to get the hood open and look at the GPs in 20 minutes, especially in the cold. While you may think it silliness, for me it is not. I cannot even get my hand behind the injection pump to get the nuts off the GPs as my hand is way too big, unless I loosen it or take it off, but that requires retiming the engine/pump. I usually have my wife thread the GP on/off to save time or just let the nuts fall and get new if I cannot find them. Even though the system does an OK job I think sometimes for people like me there is an equivalent or better way. I have had the fuse in the stock system fail several times, so just getting rid of that and adding one per plug is a benefit to me.

To the OP: it is not absolutely needed to change it, but when it fails then you can switch it like I did, if you want to save the time now.

[JimEG]

Thanks for the replies. Most of the oil is from sloppy filter removal and a poor connection at the power steering pump, and i think the OP did some regular gravel road driving - maybe home. The engine came from Northern Idaho. At this point, while the motor is out I would like to do any work that will make my life easier down the road by doing so now.

Does anyone know about eliminating the ac? Is there another bracket I need to use, or part?

Is reusing the Sabb IC a good idea, or is there something much better now? Unless there is a big benefit, I'd rather not deal with a WAIC.
This IC install looks pretty good. Yes?
https://billwildenberg.shutterfly.com/vwvanagon/63

Is it worth sending the IP to Giles or the like, or is using the tuning method in the FAQ section sufficient?

See the oily banjo connection at the block for the turbo drain? Think that is the fitting or the copper washes leaking?

Any other tuning advice is appreciated. Thanks.

[JimEG]

FWIW the motor hardly looks like it has just 80K miles on it. You will love the AAZ in a Vanagon. I have a friend with a 1.6TD Westphalia and it is a very nice rig to drive. He built a box on top of the engine hatch to clear the LDA. I have heard that there was a special pump with an LDA that would fit under the hatch, but I have never even seen a picture of one.

Forget the GP "pimp". Its just a bunch of high school silliness. At most the 4 wire bit is asking for trouble and would, at most, save you 20 minutes troubleshooting a bad GP. The system is dead reliable. It doesn't need to be fixed. It would be good, however, to transfer the load to a Ford starter solenoid. Just have the GP wire energize it.

Good luck on your swap. You will love it.

Thanks. Is that not an LDA on top of my pump?

[vanbcguy]

It is an LDA, but it isn't the special one that will fit under the hatch without modifying the hatch...

Actually I'm wondering if someone modified the engine mounts to drop it down slightly, as there isn't usually room for IC tubing over the top of the engine as shown in your first pic there...

[bbob203]

definitely an lda top!

[vanbcguy]

Oh re: removing the AC: You can get a VR6 water pump pulley.  The result is the water pump will be driven by the serpentine belt rather than the V-belt.  You will need a shorter serpentine belt and a shorter v-belt for the power steering pump naturally.

[JimEG]

Oh re: removing the AC: You can get a VR6 water pump pulley.  The result is the water pump will be driven by the serpentine belt rather than the V-belt.  You will need a shorter serpentine belt and a shorter v-belt for the power steering pump naturally.

Excellent.

[JimEG]

It is an LDA, but it isn't the special one that will fit under the hatch without modifying the hatch...

Actually I'm wondering if someone modified the engine mounts to drop it down slightly, as there isn't usually room for IC tubing over the top of the engine as shown in your first pic there...

Is it because I have a Syncro? I believe the engine sits lower in a 4wd.

[CRSMP5]

fyi... syncro engine sits lower then non syncro... so lda issue it lacks....

libby and giz are your sources... due to syncro id look at how libby did his auto tdi-m... as i do not think normal diesel bolts right up.. with out mods at least...

[Gizmoman]

Thanks. Is that not an LDA on top of my pump?

FWIW, My AAZ has an LDA and fits under the lid no problem. My engine is at 50* and there are 1/2" spacers between the plates at the ends of the mount bars where it attaches to the frame rails.

Also, my pump is a 1.6 but it's been gone through by Giles and he said it will do just fine on the 1.9.

[JimEG]

Thanks. Is that not an LDA on top of my pump?

FWIW, My AAZ has an LDA and fits under the lid no problem. My engine is at 50* and there are 1/2" spacers between the plates at the ends of the mount bars where it attaches to the frame rails.

Also, my pump is a 1.6 but it's been gone through by Giles and he said it will do just fine on the 1.9.

Ok. Do you think the Giles tune on an already healthy pump is worth the money?

[libbydiesel]

FWIW, swapping out an AAZ to install a 2.5 Subaru engine sounds like a downgrade to me.  I haven't driven the 2.5 but I've driven a 2.2 Subaru and my tuned 1.6TD did better.  In stock form, tho, the AAZ is de-tuned fairly significantly.  

The syncro drive train sits 1-1/2" lower than the 2WD.  Regardless, even with 100% stock diesel mount geometry on a 2WD Vanagon, the aneroid on the injection pump does not protrude above the tops of the ribs of the engine lid.  

Here is a pic of the engine lid of an AAZ conversion that I did to a 2WD Vanagon:



I cut out a rectangular section of the lid and used a piece of sheet metal to cover the rectangle.  The sheet metal is resting right on top of the ribs and so raises the lid the thickness of the sheet metal (<1/16").  On a syncro there would be enough extra space to add another 3/4" of sound insulation to the bottom of the stock lid before there was any interference...  

As far as bolting up to a Syncro, yes, using the tiico adapter plate (or the diesel vanagon bell housing on the syncro trans) it will bolt up fine @ 50°.  I'm not particularly familiar with the Tiico adapter so I can't comment on whether or not it is better than the KEP.  I'd be tempted to go to the stock diesel-vanagon bell housing.  I'm also not familiar with the starter that comes with the Tiico kit.  Will it crank over the AAZ (400psi+ compression) fast enough?

Get rid of the long plumbing of the Saab intercooler.  Why did they place it on the passenger side?  That long run adds lag with no benefit.  It's better to locate the air filter to the passenger side because you would not be adding lag on a long run from the air filter.  You'd just need large enough diameter tubing to be sure it wasn't restrictive.  If you go with a d-pillar air-to-air system, don't vent it into the wheel well area like that.  Everyone who I have talked to who has done it that way has had mediocre results at best.  The d-pillar vent and wheel well area are both high pressure areas and so opening the d-pillar to the wheel well effectively stops airflow through the d-pillar.  The engine compartment, on the other hand, is low pressure and so venting the air into the engine compartment results in better airflow and a more effective air-to-air install.  





You might consider an air-to-water intercooler instead in order to keep the oil cooler on the pass side d-piller and the air cleaner on the driver's side d-pillar.  A well balanced air-to-water system will do a better job cooling the charge air and will add less intake volume (less lag).  It does add some cost and complexity, tho.

The pics show factory carrier bars, but the left one has been cut and welded.  It looks like that cut and weld on the DS would raise the engine.  

K03 turbo is very small.  It becomes an exhaust restriction at higher rpms even at stock boost pressures.  15 psi on a K14 is noticeably more power.  On the good side, tho, it is insta-boost and so gives decent off-the-line performance which might be more desirable in a syncro than top-end performance.