3384 TDI Swap

[JJ36]

Hey everyone. I'm extremely appreciative of all the content everyone has provided. I've learned so much from all your posts. For the last 11 years I've been making minor repairs and upgrades on my 2 owner DMC 12 (my grandfather was the original owner). I've been thinking about the right direction for my car, stock, built prv, ls, ecoboost, TDI?,for a long time. I'm finally in a position to dedicate time and money to my car. As appealing as a 600hp LS4 is (so awesome), I have a new obsession with diesels after completing a moderate build of my dream truck, 05 GMC 2500 Duramax. So today, as I lay on the couch with a dislocated rib, starts the research and development phase of my TDI DeLorean. Any and all help and encouragement/accountability is greatly appreciated.

[JBaker4981]

Reach out to Kolin Brown in Southern Indiana... He's in the local delorean club. He's been working on a TDI swap and I believe it is in the car already :)

[JJ36]

Reach out to Kolin Brown in Southern Indiana... He's in the local delorean club. He's been working on a TDI swap and I believe it is in the car already :) Thank you.

[Josh]

I helped Kolin with his TDI swap (still in progress)

We did fully develop an adapter and set of mounts. Sitting in the chassis it seems somewhat straight forward to make the necessary connections, compared to a LS swap.
No cutting to the frame or car at all, I was very excited about that.

Talk to Kolin or I and we can get you going in the right direction, sounds like you are within a few hours even.

https://i.imgur.com/Wxq3zeOh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/gVUuYyqh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/FDC6BkBh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/38YwriDh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/kyIDTdKh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/vsmkav9h.jpg

[Helirich]

This is the swap I would be interested in doing. Please do a build thread with lots of pics. It might be a pain to do, but the thread will be just as much an advantage to you as us. I built a custom truck and a complete build thread. Now that I?m driving it, I sometimes need to reference it to see how I did things. (I know you think you would never forget)

[kbrown84]

Haven't been on here in ages...when I get to my computer tomorrow I can share more info.

[JJ36]

Thanks guys. Greatly appreciate the response. Working on deciding on what TDI and transaxle. My car is currently and auto so I will have to make those adjustments as well. For the TDI I originally was going to go with the ALH but I've read some good things about the BHW and the hp/tq you can achieve. Transaxle, I'm not sure where to start. Sounds like a Porsche gear box will have to be my best bet.

[Helirich]

Have you ruled out the auto? The biggest complaints I?ve heard about the auto is it eats some of the limited power. I?m guessing the stock slush box can?t take 300 plus HP, but if you are looking at a more conservative figure of 200 or so, it might be a nice way to go.

[kbrown84]

Horsepower isn't as much of a concern with a diesel swap as much as torque. I kept the UN1, but installed the uprated input shaft coupler and obviously we would need a clutch that would handle things. I decided to go with an ALH due to its simplicity, and the availability of a mechanical injection pump (which was still ridiculously hard to source). Only a single wire is needed to control the fuel shut-off solenoid. It uses a boost reference line from the turbo to richen or lean the mixture on the fly. ECU tuning with a BEW is possible, but vastly more complicated. You'll need a custom tune to exclude the VW immobilizer, as well as any emissions deletes you plan to do (i suggest an EGR delete for sure). I plan on putting together an ECU driven system in the future, just so i can say I've done it, but as long as mechanical injection lives up to my expectations, I plan to keep it.

That being said, oil pan clearance was an issue. While I cant speak to the BEW (since it wasn't something i researched) most VW engines are fairly modular and parts are interchangeable. Josh was able to deduce that we could use the oil pan and pick-up from a 1.8T from a Passat, and trim some gussetting on the pan and it fit the crossmember very nicely.

Turbo usage was a concern as well, since VW diesels in their stock form use a vacuum actuated VNT turbo. With mechanical injection, I will be using an internally wastegated turbo, which also simplifies tuning.

If there is anything more specific you need me to expand on, just let me know.

[JJ36]

So ya, lots to take in there. I definitely will be reaching out soon. First, I need to take that information boom in lol. Thank you.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

[kbrown84]

So ya, lots to take in there.

That's the understatement of the day. lol
To be honest, I underestimated this project at first, thinking it would be easy. If I didn't have the help of Josh's mind and ability, it wouldn't have happened. If you are serious about it, set a budget, have realistic expectations, expect your car to be out of service for a long while, and be ready to solve problems you had no idea would exist.
But, have fun! This has been a very rewarding project for me personally...being able to achieve something (with the great help of others) has been the highlight of my DeLorean ownership thus far.

[JJ36]

Well it started sooner than I planned. Got a car and a spare drivetrain for 2k.

[Rhye]

2.5 V6 TDI would probably be interesting option (if not too heavy), but it's well known for realiability issues.

[Outwesty]

Wow, very cool to see a TDI in a DMC. I have swapped a 1st gen (AHU), 2nd gen (ALH) and 4th gen common rail into different Vanagons over the years. I still daily drive an ALH in a syncro that has a Garrett GTB2056 that really moves. Kbrown I'm curious which clutch and flywheel you used with that custom adapter. Does the set up use the stock UN1 input shaft or is it custom ?

I've had a dream about putting a VW 2.5 5 cylinder o7k engine (has same bolt pattern as all the 4 cyl VW's) into my DMC. They have such an exotic sound, are readily available and relatively easy to turbocharge. I'm not sure if there would be oil pan clearance issues with the frame or not as I haven't delved too far into this yet.

JJ36 I look forward to see progress on your BHW swap.

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