goaticus

So, I really wanted to do the OM617 swap on my 3.slow '89 Runner. But, here in the CA regime, the motor has to be same or newer by the rules and there is no US, '89 OM617. BUT, the OM602 in '90 is allegedly as or more bullet proof and a bit more modern. Unfortunately, It doesn't sound like I could use the same adaptor plate. Wanted to throw this out and see what others thought or if they new anything about this motor at all. I talked to my mech and he just can't see why I don't TDI, but said he could indeed make the plate. This is the only reference I've seen so far http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic=87041.0 and is not how I would want to go about it (although trimming the bell housing might be better than new drive shaft).

c0ugar69

more than likely you will have to shorten the driveline to move the motor back. i want a turbo diesel. tdi may be the way to go. and there is adapters available.

goaticus

but it's not as bullet proof. TDI is a short life motor, especially once you start turning it up to push a truck around. Ive read good things about the 602. Theres actually a guy with a halfway done TDI 4Runner swap near me that is trying to sell it on CL.

technojunkie

Where can I find info supporting this? Is this more applicabe to certain TDI models#? The BRM in my 05 Jetta is still cranking along beautifully at 250k Miles and I've personally looked at many 2000-2006 TDIs well on their way to 300k.

Also I realize the gearing in the transmission is different, but a Jetta or a Passat weigh pretty close to a mid 90's extended cab pickup. So how much tuning is really required to run the pickup vs. satisfying the seat dyno?

goaticus

Im sure there are lots of accounts of them going further. I'm just going off what my mech told me, and I doubt it's very bias considering the loves them and wants to swap them into everything. But he said basically don't expect too much more than 200k on the bottom end.