1.9 TDI into 90q: resurrection and for sale

[audios]

AND 40+ mpg AND quattro AND a stickshift.

Geez.

that is what im looking for as well....although probably not 40 but id be happy with the upper 30 if i can stay out of it

[dana]

40s should be no issue with a good tune. Rich has gotten over 50, I dont expect that from mine, but 40s should be achievable.

[scubagli]

I don't buy it. There's a substantial diesel market overseas. Maybe one of the most ubiquitous engines in the passenger car world is a 4 cyl diesel. Now i get that there may not be as many who are interested in tuning/playing with a small displacement diesel. Where's the standalone software for the tuning of the "alh ecu?"

No but the alh is very simple to tune with cheap software, and is probably easier to wire then vems or megasquirt...3 wires need power to make an alh run, you need to wire up a bit more to make it perform correctly but install is snap.

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[scubagli]

I expect to break things with the 4k, I'm really shooting for the moon. If I can ever get back to working on it...

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[PRA4WX]

I don't buy it. There's a substantial diesel market overseas. Maybe one of the most ubiquitous engines in the passenger car world is a 4 cyl diesel. Now i get that there may not be as many who are interested in tuning/playing with a small displacement diesel. Where's the standalone software for the tuning of the "alh ecu?"

No but the alh is very simple to tune with cheap software, and is probably easier to wire then vems or megasquirt...3 wires need power to make an alh run, you need to wire up a bit more to make it perform correctly but install is snap.

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I hear ya, know how simple the rotory tdi' are...exactly why i say why no viable standalone. If there's a cost effective standalone out there setup to run one-i want one!

[Foscora]

For what it's worth, I've seen many "heavy" TDI around here, I know a few guys running some 140-180hp ones that are somehow reliable.

Never heard about the ALH being a better engine (than 1Z or AHU) for tuning but I may be wrong (I only have poor knowledge/memories of stuff being said by the guys mentioned above).


The thing is, you got to be careful with numbers, I don't know on your side the of Atlantic, but around here, there's some kind of "fashion" which consists in throwing a huge turbo in a "fresh grandma's TDI", run shitty settings (mostly a evrymod-like) and bring it to a meeting in order to [I make it quick] blow the engine.

I saw this "live", a 1Z dyno'ed @230hp. Obviously the guys blew his engine, got his "pricy stuff" back and left the car rotting on the camp site ..

[dana]

I think the TDI crowd here in the USA has a bit of the opposite problem, where people are very cautious about pushing the engine. There are some people doing it, but not many.

I have no need for big numbers of any kind, over 150-180 would be great, and should be very doable. It seems like above that level gets really expensive and not worth the costs to me. TDI's don't deliver very impressive numbers, but they are still fun to drive.

As far as potential, I believe the ALH and AHU have essentially the same internal strength even though most parts are actually different. The 1z has weaker pistons with smaller ring lands, and is considered the weakest of the bunch.

I think my engine with ARP head studs will be able to take up to 30 psi from the holset with supporting fuel and tuning. I don't know how well the 10mm injection pump with work, but I will try it and find out. I will plan to swap to an 11mm if need be. I may also consider a cam once I get things up and running.

I want the car to be reliable, I plan to drive it across the USA and back next October, so it has to be pretty dialed in for that. I would like to not blow the engine up, but it really is about the least expensive part of this whole swap!

[dana]

making some excellent progress on the turbo fitting front. Could not make the stock oil drain location in the block work to my liking, so I had to order some more fittings to be able to use the 1.8t oil pan drain location. This means I will lose my factory audi oil temp sensor location. Oh well.

Also, Finally got the turbo clocked and the wastegate reworked to fit. The turbo outlet hit the exhaust manifold with the factory holset orientation. Its very tight, but I wanted to 1)keep the stock airbox still, 2) have the wastegate rod as straight as possible and close to factory orientation as possible 3) have the compressor outlet a safe distance from the exhaust manifold.

After much trial and error and a couple revisions I made this little alumimum offset bit and tweaked the actuator rod some. The simplicity of this part does not reflect the amount of time I spend doing it, but I am super pleased with it.

I also ported the turbo inlet some since it didnt line up perfectly with the manifold outlet. Bonus, the holset threads and manifold threads are the same as the VW exhaust manifold studs so I was able to USE OEM VW exhaust hardware all around.













also harvested a turbo outlet flange from this cast bit. Came out decent, going to try and mig weld a stainless downpipe to this with 309 wire and Solar Flux Type B shielding.

[dana]

Finished my nice stainless downpipe and finished clocking and messing with the turbo. Fired it up this weekend to make sure my oil drain was copacetic. Zero signs of oil from either side of the turbo after running for 45 mins or so.

Also installed my injectors and the chips. Lots of smoke in neutral, hard to say what it will be like driving, but the harness is completely just laying in the bay with a few things not hooked up, so its hard to say.

After driving and wiring complete, I may need to adjust the IQ or adjust the tune. Either way, its nice to hear that holset and the engine again.

Holset did make 5 psi of boost in neutral on stock injectors with a bunch of missing hose clamps and a couple open ports, so that is a good sign.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPDUtMcx5eU[/youtube]

[dana]

downpipe made from 14 ga stainless. Welded with 309 MIG wire and Solar Flux B in lieu of backpurging, which works alright. Its a little tricky, and of course my prettiest welds are in places where they cant be seen. I ended up polishing the whole top of the thing smooth which took way too long.




turbo outlet is a strange shape, this required much fuckery, but came out well. I used my porting tool to make this transition decentish. You can sort of see the backside of a weld at the top, the Solar Flux is cool. It gets hot and turns into inert gas, effectively backpurging as you go. The backsides of these welds came out nice and clean, not that it much matters on an exhaust pipe.


EGT probe added


oil drain


overpriced fluids, brakes and clutch all working well now.

[88a5tq]

Very cool. Are you concerned about that 90° elbow on the drain line tho? Other one looks like a 45

[dana]

i was cautious, but testing the car with very cold starts a few times and zero oil leaking past is good enough for me. Its pretty much necessary because of the b3 motor mounts, and the turbo has a lot of fall to the point where it enters the oil pan.

Basically, new oil cold engine and revving it up fairly high would be the time it would have an issue, and it didnt.

[88a5tq]

That makes me feel better about the 2 x 45° fittings I ordered for the drain line

[dana]

I think you will be ok, especially since you can use the block drain presumably which is way above the oil level.

The 1.8t oil pan drain is WAAY low and below the oil line, even with engine running. The holset manual says this is a no-go. I tapped into the pan just below the flange with a fuel cell bulkhead fititng and plugged the 1.8t drain hole with the factory 90 oil temp sensor. This location gets it just above the oil line when the engine is running and pulling oil up into the galleys.

[alxdgr8]

Saw these over on QW, would look great in this car and they only work with TDI. Sadly km/hr though

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tachoscheiben-S ... rmvSB=true

[dana]

finished the exhaust, left room for a resonator or small muffler. Not sure yet if I will want one. Its a bit hard to tell loudness from just a free rev.

The exhaust is all stainless, and i used 309 wire in my MIG welder with solar flux type b in lieu of backpurging. It kind of sucked. I was only able to lay down a few welds that looked good. They did appear to be nice and solid, not porous though, overall Im pleased with the finished product.

I made my own tip from just cutting and welding a mandrel bent 180 in 14 gauge polished stainless. Used that factory hangers. The hangers are made out of 3/4" x 1/8" stainless flat bar.















injectors back from being balanced and flow tested.


new glow plugs


put it on the winter wheels and drove it around the yard. That felt shockingly awesome. Everything seems copecetic. Still running wiring just sitting in the engine bay, and no throttle control from the cabin, so just idleing. It was amazing to see it out in the sun. Its been couped up for 3 years in my shop. The engine bay looks so good in sunlight. I cant wait to repair the little paint issues, replace the trim, put on my new wheels and clean it up.










the red barn in the background is my shop where it has lived for 3 years.

[DE80q]

Looking great Dana! Exhaust looks very tidy and clean! Can't wait to see it in person at Carlisle!

[dana]

straight pipe test, might need a resonator.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=visG7zLbUEM[/youtube]

[DE80q]

Wow! That thing rolls coal like a boss!

[dana]

Wow! That thing rolls coal like a boss!

yes it does. I have no way to hook my VAGCOM up to it yet to see where the injection quantity is, but its likely that i will need to adjust it some and roll a bit less coal. Also, there is no coolant sensor hooked to the ECU, so that will cause some excessive fuel too.

[oil_me]

Best update yet!

[DE80q]

With it running at what -30° wth no coolant temp sensor, I'm sure it will throw in a lot of fuel.

[dana]

the sensor is plugged in, but sitting in ambient air, so its off by some, but not that much. I'm sure its going to smoke either way, don't think it can be avoided with this setup. As long as its not too obnoxious, I'll be happy.

[WOMBAT]

That does NOT need a resonator, hahahahah! AWESOME!!!

[dana]

That does NOT need a resonator, hahahahah! AWESOME!!!

i am planning on a 7000 miles trip with it this year....might want to no be droning.