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.