Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2008 15:58:40 -0500
Reply-To: Poppie Jagersand <poppie.jagersand@YAHOO.CA>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Poppie Jagersand <poppie.jagersand@YAHOO.CA>
Subject: Re: Vanagon Turbo Diesel Conversion
In-Reply-To: <938982.37289.qm@web52502.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
"Chris S." <mrpolak@YAHOO.COM> wrote: Can anyone comment on this engine conversion? It's not a TDI, but a 1.9L TD. What kind of power, torque and MPG could I expect?
I did my own 1.9TD conversion in 1998, and now 10 years later have
only good things to say about it. The specific efficiency for the 1.9TD
is the same as for the 1.6D (about 250g Diesel/kWh), so milage at
equal speeds is about the same. At legal speeds (100-110km/h / 65Mph)
my westy uses around 8l/100km (26MPG?). At higher speeds it uses more,
up to maybe 10-12l. City driving is also where a Diesel excels. The
1.9TD '82 westy gets around town at 8-9l/100km, while the '94
Eurovan Westy with an I5 gas engine uses 15l in summer and up to
20 in winter. Subjectively, the '82 with 1.9TD feels stronger when driving
in the Rocky mountains here, while the '94 with I5 is more pleasant
for long flat highway drives.
Taking a peek at the web page you linked to it is not entirely clear
which engine they offer. (Or maybe they can give you exactly the
combination you want if you ask. There are also many other outfits
offering similar conversions)
There is the stock completely mechanical 1.9TD, as it was installed in
European VW cars and vans and Canadian cars.
However the webpage mentions "similar to the TDI but without the electronic
fuel injection pump". This could mean a hybrid of one would think at
least a TDI head and pistons, and a 1.9TD or similar pump, (or maybe
an entire TDI block).
The different design of the TDI head and pistons improves efficiency and
thereby milage with up to 25%. However, it is well known that it is more
difficult to make a direct injection engine quiet and vibration free.
VW obviously thought that an electronic injection pump was useful to
more precisely control timing and fuel quantity.
Over the years I have seen many posts about people offering mechanical
pumps (much simpler to install and use), but I haven't seen an
authoritative and complete comparison between this approach and
the two VW stock alternatives (1.9TD and TDI). I'd be curious if
anyone on the list has any web links or more insight.
Cheers,
Martin ('82 and '94 Westies in Canada, '85 Westy in Europe)
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