VW TDI Transplant

[Peter60]

ON THE ROAD

Well I've been able to drive it a little. First was around the farm and then on the road.

Around the farm it seems to go well. I don't travel very far or fast so the real test in on the road.

These drives are spread out over days and in some cases weeks. I don't always have time available!

DRIVE 1

I headed out the gate and got about 50 metres! Limp Mode. Software was complaining about the accelerator. It is electronic and has two circuits.

I redid the wiring, making sure all the joins were OK.

Accelerator seemed too be fixed.

DRIVE 2

80Km drive to my house and back. It was a rather embarrassing drive as the TDI belched black smoke. So much so that if there was a car behind me, it wasn't visible !!!!

Problem was a split in the intercooler pipe.

Intercooler pipe fixed. Went for a 16kms drive. Fantastic. No smoke Turbo was working and it was very responsive.

I drove to my shed and stopped the G60. Loaded tools and planned to take it home (40Kms). I jumped in to start it, But it was a no start.

After 4 days of trying everything I knew I reached out to a TDI Forum. I reported my symptoms and some guy said he had a similar experience and his cause was out of fuel. I had at least 40 litres of fuel but decided to run a tube from a jerry can to the electric fuel pump. 5 minutes later it was going. So not sure what was the real cause but I was out of time and I'll return in a few days to continue the testing.

In chasing down this error the software reported two other errors - but neither of these should have stopped it starting.

Error 1. Complaining about the accelerator again. So I need to get a new accelerator pedal. I find this hard to believe as it worked on the Jetta.

Error 2. Crankshaft sensor faulty. The TDI has both a crankshaft sensor and camshaft sensor. This model TDI will still run if either are faulty but limits RPM to about 3000. To sort out this error I may need to pull the engine out to get to the sensor - I don't kook forward to that. I did put in a new sensor before I installed the TDI in the G60, so I'm hoping it is the wiring - but that is still difficult to get at.


DRIVE 3 -

Watch this space ....

[Esteban]

Fantastic Peter! Congratulations!

Very entertaining to follow your progress.

[RiverPatrol]

Great progress and results. Congratulations!

[L60Boerne]

Thanks Peter. Your close now.

Your tribulations remind me of when I bought a computer driven Buick v-6 into the Chinese Jeep about 10 years ago. A great TV mechanic finally tuned the computer and it to run. Field testing revealed that the radiator was too small to keep it cool and there was no room for a bigger radiator. I was never so ready to get back to basic motors.

Having said that....your efforts are most appreciated because someday some Patrols will need a suitable modern motor. Plus fuel injection at high altitude or acute angles is so important....then low end torque....the trifecta is upon us!

Go Peter Go!
L60Boerne

[Peter60]

Just a quick update.

In had hoped to be able to report on driving the TDI by now, but no.

I still can't get it started. While it initially looked like fuel it turns out to be more deviant!

Its starts once in say 200 tries! So totally random.

Various support I have had was fuel (I spent 5 days looking at pumps, lines, flows etc) then injectors (4 days so far replacing several injectors) yet still no start.

Very frustrating but on the positive side I'm learning a lot about the TDI and diesels.

I'm planning to go on a 6 day trip early May with the G60 guys and I have a 5000 kms (3000 miles) scheduled for late May.

So I'm under a bit of pressure - although at this stage it looks like I'll be taking my other G60 (red midi softop).

[Peter60]

Another update of a positive note.

TDI start issue solved (I hope!).

After spending several hundred hours chasing down why the TDI wouldn’t start I traced the problem to a faulty fuse block.

The TDI ECU requires 3 power wires (on my model TDI). The main wire goes to pin 3/5/6, the second wire goes to pin 86 and the final wire goes to pin 18.

Pin 18 turns the ECU on. I use the wire that went to the G60 distributor for pin 18.

Pins 3/5/6 and 86 I used power from the battery via a fuse block.
If pin 3/5/6 doesn’t have power then nothing works including the ODB port which I use all the time to monitor the TDI.
Pin 86 does what – I’m not sure.

The fuse block for pin 86 was flaky/faulty. It had loose connections internally to the power source. When tested with a test light or voltmeter across the fuse would read OK (had power both sides). However, I eventually worked out if you wiggled the fuse block and/or pin 86 fuse pin 86 would loose power then regain power. The ECU didn’t like the drop of power and refused to start.

Changing the fuse block looks like my non start issue has been resolved.

A $10 part cost me hours However its all part of the TDI learning curve.

However time will tell if I am correct

[RiverPatrol]

Fuse block issues are always perplexing. Good that you finally tracked it down.

[Peter60]

Another quick update on the TDI project

I seemed to get the TDI running but decided it starting after 8-10 cranks wasn't acceptable. I was worried about battery drain if it stopped on the highway and wouldn't restart. So I decided to bite the bullet and replace the crank sensor wheel on the back of the crank. I really should have done this some time ago.

In order to get to the crank sensor wheel I need to pull the engine, disassemble the transfer, gearbox, clutch, bell housing and the interface plates.

I managed with some help to pull the engine in under a day. Disassemble the components and get to the crank sensor wheel. The real name for the crank sensor wheel is crankshaft rear seal (and it incorporates a metal sensor wheel that is used by the crank sensor to work out the crank position). The old seal metal wheel was worn - so that was the issue and it was nothing to do with the adaptor plates that I was suspicious of interfering with the ring.

How hard could it be to change a seal. Easy! Famous last words!!

Without going into the process I ended up ruining the first seal, the second seal was not correct for my model TDI, although all the literature said it was fine. In pulling the second seal off I noticed it was not on correctly anyway and leaking oil.

Crank Seal.jpg

Crank Seal Tool.jpg

The third seal I hope is correct. You can't see the actual seal. I have started the TDI on the floor and it looks like it starts after about two cranks - so hopefully problem solved, but not sure about oil leaks yet.

I also purchased a new radiator and intercooler. Both a little less wide than the Jetta ones, and the inlets/outlets are on the correct side and position. This should make the intercooler more reliable and the hoses in a more direct line.

All the above took about two weeks, mainly waiting for parts.

I've since been away for a couple of weeks and head off on Saturday for about a month so I won't get back to the TDI project until November. Hopefully I will have it running by Christmas - a year late!!!!

However progress still the same

[RiverPatrol]

After seeing what is required I can't say that I blame you for procrastinating. Congrats for finally tackling the problem.

[Peter60]

Another brief update.

I have pulled the TDI out and swapped the P engine back in

I have done this because I need to take my G60 on a trip in May with other G60s. Its about 3,000Kms and sounds like tough 4WDing with potential paint scrapes/body damage. My other Red G60 was too good to take on such a trip.

However I haven't given up on the TDI!

I have had the TDI running and fully installed. I've always had starting issues and thought I had found the problem, so I embarked on a few final tuning tasks. This resulted in what I believe is blowing up the TDI.

Long story short. The TDI is a duel cam engine - one inlet, one outlet, The cams are driven by sprockets and the timing belt. You can adjust each cam 'a little' by adjusting each sprocket. Using software you can measure the angle of each cam's adjustment. It should be around zero but can be say plus or minus 5 degrees. The software for the inlet cam reported zero, however if its too far out of range it reports zero So it goes, say, 0,1,2,3,4,5,6 then zero, zero, zero! So although mine was zero it was out of adjustment. Making several adjustments I eventually got it to report 5 then 4 the true zero. It started on first crank! Success.

I then started working on the exhaust cam. Trying varying adjustments and then SMOKE. The engine was pushing oil into the turbo and then out the exhaust. Clouds of white smoke. I thought the turbo was blown so I replaced it. Still SMOKE.

I think what had happened was the exhaust cam has always been one tooth out of timing. I have always been suspicious of its angle, but didn't know for sure.

So when I started to adjust the cam, the valves hit the pistons, and causes increased crankcase pressure which blew oil out the turbo. I know more when I strip it down.

So in the meantime I searching for another TDI engine after I return from my trip with the G60 boys in May