Gearstix

I'm planning on doing an engine swap in my truck.
However it is not a Toyota, but I figured you guys could help me out.
I have a 96 S10.
I'm getting a 1987 Volkswagen Jetta with the 1.6L turbo diesel.
there is 268,000kms on the car (166,000 miles), it still runs good although I may rebuild it at some point.

I've been thinking about using the Acme Adapters kit or some other kit to mate the VW diesel to the Toyota trans. I was also considering the Geo auto trans, but I was told it was weak.

I've got no issues with fabricating stuff up and making the trans and the engine fit, its just I'd prefer to have an automatic. I'm not sure how to get the transmission to work correctly with the diesel.

I was told the Toyota automatics that came behind the 22Rs, like I need, were computer controlled. I don't think it is though, my buddy who has a few Toyota trucks says they just have a kickdown cable.

How do you adapt the cable so it works with the diesel engine?

Using the GM automatic transmatic is too much of a hassle.

ZOOKY

Here is my buildup using a 1.6TD and toyota automatic:

http://bbs.zuwharrie.com/content/topic,48503.0.html

Gearstix

Seems okay.
How did you get the kickdown cable to fit onto the VW engine? Is there any pics of that?
I'm planning on doing a bit of stuff with the engine to try to recouperate some of the power I'm loosing with an auto.

Did you think the problem of the vibration was the motor mounts?

Could the torque cause these problems? I know diesels usually use lower stall speed although I'm not sure with the VW.

ZOOKY

I couldnt find a pic of the kick down but it was easy. It was attached to the other side of the fuel lever on the injector pump, opposite the "throttle cable". I made an arm that bolted to the fuel lever that the cable was mounted to so when you stepped on the throttle it pulled the cable. I would have had to play with the length of the arm to fine tune the kick down.

I rebuilt the engine and used Total Seal rings to retain the boost, I also did a stage 1 port and polish of the head. I had a performance rebuild of the injector pump done by Giles up in Canada. I also rebuilt the turbo but havent messed with the boost yet. Power was ok, I just didnt trust the transmission to not downshift out of overdrive on the highway. I think the transmission could have been fine tuned to get rid of that concern, it was all about getting that kick down cable adjusted right.

I know I dont have the optimum motor mount setup, could have taken the time to use the hydraulic motor mounts. I think my setup is ok, I dont think it was the cause of the vibration ('shake' was a better way to discribe it). I dont think it was the torque, Ive seen people start up these engines while they were hanging from a cherry picker and they didnt move around. To me it seemed like the torque converter was not full of fluid and out of balance, like a washing machine, but ran smooth in 'PARK'. Wierd

EDIT: dont use the Geo transmission, its not as robust as the Toyota and there is no overdrive. The Toyota transmission only has the kick down cable. No computer, wires, or vacuum to deal with.

Gearstix

I'm sort of worried now, I don't want my truck to rattle apart.

I'm in Canada.

What transmission did you use? What year toyota? My truck is 2wd, not sure if I mentioned that.

ZOOKY

Its an '86 2wd and I used the stock transmission that came in the truck. You might not have the same shake issue I had, something wasn't right with my setup, I just didn't want to take the time to figure it out

Gearstix

Did different option packages have different transmissions or were they all the same?

Do you know any more years that would interchange?