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VW TDi Engine Swap

n1ywb

n1ywb

NAXJA Forum User
Location
The Green Mountains
Has anybody swapped a VW 1.9L TDi into an XJ? I searched on google and couldn't find anything. It seems like an ideal engine for a diesel swap; compact, great torque, acceptable power, fairly common, parts are available. Mating it to a tranny might be interesting though...
 
I would think the 1.9TDI VW engine is a bit lightweight for a XJ. Yes, they give good torque, but nothing like the 4.0l or 2.5 TD engines that were available from the factory.
 
Here's an outfit making adapter kits for a toy 22r tranny, so now I guess the problem is mainly how to interface to the t-case

http://www.acmeadapters.com/index.php?sound=Y

I don't think performance is why you would want to do a diesel swap. True the TDi from the factory isn't as ballsy as the 4.0L but it can be built up significantly.

Any cost savings on fuel are probably negated by the cost of the swap.

I think the main reason for me to go diesel is range, on diesel you can go 2-3x as far in Baja without filling up. Or carry 1/2 to 1/3 the weight in fuel, depending on how you look at it.
 
n1ywb said:
Has anybody swapped a VW 1.9L TDi into an XJ? I searched on google and couldn't find anything. It seems like an ideal engine for a diesel swap; compact, great torque, acceptable power, fairly common, parts are available. Mating it to a tranny might be interesting though...
Click to expand...

I just puked in my mouth
 
Cummins makes a 3.9L I6 ( 3.9L/4BT )
130 hp (97 kW) and 355 ft·lbf (481 N·m) of torque.
I'm sure with a good exhaust and maybe a boost upgrade could get it to 150HP and 370ft/lbs with your eyes closed.
Its not even intercooled yet. This....would....be..... pure...sex.

Cummins_4BTA_used_left.jpg
 
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looks a little bit too tall for an XJ engine bay... nothing a rediculous 1 foot cowl cant cover (and add like 400 horsepower too...).

That would be hawt though.

Slap on a nice flowing 3 inch exhaust set up... (like those super duty's). gawd damn.
 
posted on another forum.. don't want any " My E-peen is bigger issues" so pic only..

Commanche engine bay..
enginebay.jpg


"the truck made 162.4 RWHP @2374 and 393.4 RWTQ @1841. This is stock injectors and stock IP timing and 30 PSI max boost. "
 
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I hate it when my computer freezes up. My bad.
 
WPG98XJ said:
Cummins makes a 3.9L I6 ( 3.9L/4BT )
130 hp (97 kW) and 355 ft·lbf (481 N·m) of torque.
I'm sure with a good exhaust and maybe a boost upgrade could get it to 150HP and 370ft/lbs with your eyes closed.
Its not even intercooled yet. This....would....be..... pure...sex.

Cummins_4BTA_used_left.jpg
Click to expand...

correction young grass hopper, that is a 4 cyl Diesel :cheers:
A guy on another Canuck board just swaped one into his TJ

Picture013.jpg
 
Yeah, but at 5k for the engine you could:
Go to Europe and drink wine until you are secure enough to eat french cheese
Put a lift kit 31's on the minivan, wreck it, and still have money to buy a decent XJ
Invest half and take the rest on a Las Vegas bender
Buy a quality XJ and use high-quality components to modify every last inch of it
Do something sensible with it.
Five grand for the engine alone? Rediculous. If you want the power, swap in a built 5.2 and spend a few hundred on it. If you want fuel economy - you better have that engine a million miles to even BEGIN to recoup the initial cost...
 
WPG98XJ said:
posted on another forum.. don't want any " My E-peen is bigger issues" so pic only..



"the truck made 162.4 RWHP @2374 and 393.4 RWTQ @1841. This is stock injectors and stock IP timing and 30 PSI max boost. "
Click to expand...

Yes - link to a writeup, please. Even if I never end up doing the mod, I'd still like to know how it was done (kinda like that engineer at Stanford who put a jet engine in a new Beetle...)
 
i'm not gonna argue price point, I was trying to sway buddy from putting in a mouse/wheel VW engine in his XJ and gave a nice alternitive :)

PS: 5K new maybe... decent rebuilt for 2K.
 
WPG98XJ said:
i'm not gonna argue price point, I was trying to sway buddy from putting in a mouse/wheel VW engine in his XJ and gave a nice alternitive :)

PS: 5K new maybe... decent rebuilt for 2K.
Click to expand...

Consider the amount of money some of us have into rigs here. Do you honestly think you can make a rational argument against doing something based on price alone?:laugh3: Not gonna happen...

Frankly, I like the idea of the Cummins swap (or perhaps a Detroit?) but the vertical room in the engine bay isn't there. Be easier to run without a hood if I were going to go that route...
 
Ive been working for vw for a few years now. I could go on for days about tdi's. You don't want a vw tdi motor in an xj. They really aren't suited for an xj. A 4bt or a euro market diesel out of an xj or anyother 4cyl diesel designed for a truck would suit it much much better.
 
Heres the link, Ive been toying around with the idea for awhile and i know in some of the old Frito lay trucks(and some other delivery vans) they had the 4bt with a Th400 transmission and you can get them for about 3000-5000 dollars and then make some of it back scraping out the aluminium on the truck

http://www.4btswaps.com/forum/showthread.php?t=585
you have to be a member to see the pics, theres only 3 or 4 though

and heres another about an XJ
http://www.4btswaps.com/forum/showthread.php?t=222
 
gorman said:
I would think the 1.9TDI VW engine is a bit lightweight for a XJ. Yes, they give good torque, but nothing like the 4.0l or 2.5 TD engines that were available from the factory.
Click to expand...


Actually, you can make huge torque with a VW TDi engine.. A good buddy of mine swapped one into a rabbit truck that made close to 400 lb/ft and averages over 50 mpg on bio-diesel. Bigger turbo, injectors, intercooler, and a chip was all that was needed. Lots of wiring fun though.
 
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