Engine mount for TDI is done!

This weekend's project was to fabricate the engine mounts for the TDI. I ended up changing my plans some as I went along, but it turned out great - I am very happy with the results! 

I welded a 2" box tube between the frame rails to hold the motor mounts. I am using the factory VW B5 Passat 2.8 V6 hydraulic mounts. They are affordable and should do a good job. Time will tell how well they work, but by moving the engine around by hand, they feel similar to stock VW TDI mounts in a Jetta.

I connected the mounts to the engine by making a brace. It's a similar idea to a motor plate in a race car. I bolted the brace to the existing factory VW bracket on the front of the engine. The round pipe you see in the pictures below is some left over roll cage tubing from my previous Mustang project. This mount/brace is probably overbuilt, but that's better than being inadequate.

In other news, my clutch should be here either tomorrow or Tuesday. I ordered an F1 Racing Stage 2 clutch. The next level up was a 6 puck ceramic clutch, which I do not want for a daily driver. I did not find anything better, so I'll give this a try and hope for the best. 

I also ordered a 1/2 thick laser cut exhaust manifold flange; soon I will be ready to start fabricating the log manifold.

My welding isn't as good as it used to be - I haven't welded in the last 2 years, so I'm a bit out of practice. It'll come back to me soon, though.

First VW TDI test fit in the Toyota 4Runner

Since I finished the transmission lift mount yesterday, I decided to go ahead and do a test fit with the engine. Took a while to get the angles just right for the adapter plate dowel pins to drop into the bellhousing, but it finally dropped into place. I secured it temporarily with 2 bolts. After moving the engine around a bit and measuring to center the engine, it appears there will be enough room all around to fabricate the necessary parts. The oil pan clears the front differential by 0.75" and I can even bolt on the facotory VW AC compressor (will have to trim a corner off the old motor mount plate). Next to do is fabricate the engine mounts. I have a plan ready to go for that, just need to get a bit more material to work with.

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.