tditoyota

Just bought an 81 pickup last Sunday for my VW 1.9 TDI project that I'm going to do slowly within the next few years. The engine ran strong, and there was no rust through anything, so I couldn't pass her up:


Phase 1 will include restoring the body and frame, and rebuilding the axles and putting a lift kit on.

Right now I'm just going to deal with the very basic problems I'm having which are an engine oil leak, both differentials leaking pea soup, and an exhaust system leaking like a sieve and an exhaust manifold leak which makes me mildly sleepy,hehe.

For the Diffs I already bought new breathers(which I think is the cause of the leaks), and a new front knuckle service kit with wheel bearings which I won't get too until at least spring break(march 22-31). I did tons of searching on here and found that it's fairly common for 30 year old diff breathers to fail and leak nasty ass greenish fluid. Also, the rear diff has been launching fluid up into the underside of the bed and the spare tire, but seems to be coming from the drain plug. What do you guys think?





The engine leak, which is more like a mist or spray, is the strange thing. The engine was spotless a week ago, but after a few hundred miles I've ended up with this weird spray on the front of the engine. I'm thinking valve cover gasket, or water pump gasket, which I've concluded after reading a lot of threads on here. Here is a picture, any ideas?

tditoyota

Also my blinkers, hazards and horn don't work. First thing I did was check the fuses and change the flasher, still a no go. I guess it's time for some fun wiring troubleshooting.

tditoyota

Well, just got done tearing down my combination switch, and cleaning every single contact, and still no blinkers, hazards or horn. Don't know what to do next. I have an old school 70-88 chiltons that I found on Amazon for $5 coming in the mail soon, hopefully that will help me out.

slacker

iTrader: (1)

looking forward to your TDI work ..

.

moroza

Subscribed. I plan on doing the exact same thing - 1Z or preferably AHU swap, almost certainly mTDI. What's your intention regarding engine control, are you going to swap over all the VW electronics?

I'm sure you've seen the couple of OM617 swaps done on 1st gens. What makes you lean towards a TDI?

Since you're rebuilding the axles, what's your plan regarding gearing?

tditoyota

Thanks slacker.

Yeah Gedrven, I'm going to do a 2000-01 TDI with all of the fun wiring. I plan on sending the ecm into a company and having them delete the immobilizers and putting in a performance chip. I have seen the OM617 swap, but my love of all things TDI has taken me that route. I just love the mileage, dependability and power that the 1.9 TDIs have. I know I'm in for some fun times when I start the wiring, but that won't be for at least a year, if not 2. Right now I am a broke college student, so my plan is just to get this truck running smooth while I slowly clean everything up. She's my daily driver so I can't start tearing it completely apart, yet. My plan is to buy a 2000-01 VW TDI Jetta once I graduate and get a job, and after a while, put that engine in this truck. As for gearing, since it will be a while until I put the TDI in, I'm just going to keep her stock(3.90).

moroza

That would be an ALH engine, right? I thought those were considered unsuitable for longitudinal swaps due to a vacuum pump on the back of the head?

So you've got some experience with TDI's? I hear good things about the engines, but I've had trouble being able to separate that from my generally bad experiences working on other VW products. And most of the people telling me these good things, what's their frame of reference? A Jeep driver telling me car X "handles great" doesn't mean the same as a Porsche driver saying the same thing; someone who's used to headaches and scraped knuckles from working on fussy, overcomplex German engineering, telling me that engine X is "great" and "reliable" doesn't count the same as the owner of an old Toyota saying that.

tditoyota

Yep, you are correct, it is an ALH. The vacuum pump is going to be a problem, but where there's a will, there's a way,hehe.

I don't have any personal experience with owning TDIs, but I do see them all the time at work, and my manager has one also. I've done a good amount of research, and have decided that the VW 1.9 TDI is for me, good weight/power ratio. To each there own though. Here's a good thread with some pertinent info: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=776335

tditoyota

Well, just got done cleaning every ground I could find, and every turn signal/hazard contact I could locate. I think I've possibly found a good spot to work on. One of the previous owners installed trailer lighting, and it looks like a 4th grader probably did the wiring.

If there is a bad connection for the rear turn signals, would that cut the whole turn signal circuit out?

There is power into the fuse panel at the hazard/horn and signal fuses, so I don't think that could be the problem. I'm just going to redo every connection in the back, and hopefully that does it.

moroza

Entirely possible. I've brought a few iffy-maintained old trucks with 4th-grader wiring (subsequently chewed up by rats) back from the dead; my general policy is to look at the wiring diagrams, and if anything looks out of place, just rebuild that section of wiring from scratch and don't look back. The actual labor of wiring is pretty easy with how few trim pieces (and electrics overall) these old pickups have, and rebuilding is often less time than trying to figure out what the PO was smoking/thinking with their "custom" work.

Leviticus6432

100% agree with Gedrven just don't be "that guy" and wing it when you rebuild it

Rollz79

Nice to see another 1st gen on rolling around this area. I wouldn't mind seeing this truck when finished.

tditoyota

Thanks for the info guys, much appreciated. I bought some butt splices today on break, and plan on redoing every connection in the rear and just taking that trailer wiring box right out. There is also no side marker light with the wire just hanging out not attached to anything, I'm sure that could possibly be the culprit as well. We'll find out this weekend when I have time to tear it all apart.

tditoyota

For sure Rollz79. Nice truck you got there. We'll have to go out sometime when I'm confident of my ride.

tditoyota

Mission Accomplished. I took the trailer wiring kit out and soldered up the connections. After that I got a buzzing at the flasher. The battery terminal connections looked kinda sketchy as well, so I replaced them, then I noticed my headlights weren't working, but the rest of the lights worked besides the turn signals.

I checked the fusible links and noticed that my headlights would turn on when I moved the single wire fusible link, which when moved would also make the flasher buzz again(i left the hazards on). I moved it to a good spot where it would work all of the time, but I plan on just putting a new connector on that guy. When I went to turn the hazards on again, they mysteriously started flashing, but still no blinkers. I decided to look at the turn signal fuse again and really went to town on it with some awesome cleaner and some sandpaper, which seemed to do the trick.

I can now drive and use my blinkers instead of sticking my arm out the window. Sorry about the long reply, but I'm sure someone can learn something from this post someday.

ConSeann3ry

Aww yeah, another beautiful Oregon first gen

tdi yota

I just bought a 92 4 runner I will doing a tdi swap on as well. I am using a european pd150 its 150hp stock. I hope to have mine around 200-225hp.
I work on tdi's so I got lots of spare parts and go fast stuff.

What year motor are you using? You have a good tuner just across the canadian boarder that can do imo delete on the ecu if your using a newer tdi. www.malonetuning.com

tditoyota

Sounds like an awesome project, don't know too much about those pd150s, but I do like the numbers. I plan on using a 2000ish alh. Right now though I'm just fixing up the little things on the truck like the surface rust and axle seals and bearings.

My TDI conversion won't start for a good year or two at least. I plan on buying a 2000ish TDI Jetta and driving that around for a year or so, then buying a newer one so that I can tear the older one apart and use that engine. I work for a biofuels company part time, so I'm into biofuels big time, especially biodiesel.

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

TDIToyta: i will be following your project. Luckily for you I don't think Eugene as to mess with DEQ, maybe you do. As you get further along with this project it would be cool to check out, I am up in Portland.

Trimet runs biodiesel in their buses...I know it is good for the enviroment, I just wish it smelled a little better when I get stuck behind them

tditoyota

Nope dropzone, no deq test for me. Yeah the smell isn't the greatest, but I think it smells better than our regular B5 diesel, way cleaner too. Yeah, when I get further along in the project, I might pick your brain a little bit.

Just have to deal with these damn axle leaks now. I bought new diff breathers, which I think will do the trick, but I think the rear axle pinion seal is out also since it's spraying something up by the spare tire.