Transmission lift mount is finished / What clutch?

Tonight I finally got the transmission lift mount welded in place. I had to lift the transmission 2" to get the engine high enough to clear the oil pan. I hope it doesn't cause issues with the front driveshaft angle, but we'll deal with that if it becomes a problem. Next step is to test fit the engine again to see if I have enough clearance. I think so, but it will be close. If the oil pan clears the differential, it will be time to start fabricating the engine mounts.

If anyone has a suggestion on what clutch to run, please talk to me! In order to get a clutch that will handle the torque of this engine, it will have to nearly be a race clutch. That's not ideal for a daily driver, which is what I'm hoping to have with this vehicle. Any ideas?

Removed V6 Toyota Engine

Early June, 2012 - I created a video of the old engine running before I pulled it out of the vehicle. The plan was to sell it on Craigslist to someone needing parts. As it turned out, that's exactly what happened - I sold the whole engine and all accessories for $125. Got them out of my way, better money than the scrap metal yard, and it helped someone else out.

Purchased 1990 Toyota 4Runner

May 17th, 2012 - Another Craigslist find - a 1990 Toyota 4Runner, 4WD, V6, 5sd manual transmission with a bad engine. Perfect! That was exactly the vehicle configuration I needed for this project. It had a bad engine with some internal damage. Not sure exactly what was wrong, nor did I care. Had to put it in 4 low just to have enough power to drive it on the trailer. It's about a 30 footer - not pretty and needs some body work and paint, but I'll worry about that once the new diesel drivetrain is working properly.

Assembling the Engine

March 2012 - After throughly inspecting and cleaning each component of the TDI engine, I started reassembling. I found a used complete cylinder head in good condition on a VW forum for a good price. Of course, I used new gaskets everywhere. Assembly was pretty straightforward; no surprises. Still have a few minor things to do later, but it is 80% ready to go. I did not seal the oil pan as I was worried about clearance issues in the 4Runner. I later confirmed my suspicions - the oil pan does his the front differential. This will be addressed in a future post.

Purchased a used TDI Engine

January of 2012 - I was doing my near-daily search on Craigslist for interesting stuff. I happened to see an ad for a VW TDI ALH engine from a wrecked car. I wasn't planning on starting this project any time soon as I had just purchased a business 3 months prior. Anyway, I scored the complete engine minus turbo plus the wiring harness and ECM for $900! It was only 1.5 hours away, so didn't take too long to pick up.

The engine was not ready to fire up, though. It had around 215k miles on it. Not sure why, but the engine had cylinder head problems. Appeared to have overheated a few times, but hard to say. Several of the lifters were cracked and damaged. One lifter had more or less disintegrated and severely damaged the lifter bore and camshaft. This engine would need a new cylinder head. 

Project Scope & Purpose

From 2006 to 2011, I was an ASE certified technician and spent over half of that time at a Volkswagen dealer in Memphis. I have always liked diesel engines, but even more so after working on them and learning more about them. Around 2008, I purchased a used 2003 VW diesel Jetta with the 1.9 TDI (ALH) engine. Very comfortable car and got 48-51 mpg! Hard to beat.

I was aware of Suzuki Samurai TDI conversions on the Internet, and also some Toyota pickup TDI conversions. I wanted to build either a TDI Jeep Cherokee or a TDI Toyota 4Runner. Because Acme Adapters has a production adapter kit for the 5 speed manual Toyota transmission to the TDI engine, I decided to go with the 4Runner. It will easily meet my needs of an adventure vehicle & bike, gear, & dog hauler.

This blog will be a progress log and documentary of my conversion project.