[TDvit]

I would first like to introduce myself, my name is justin. im new to zooks but not new to 4wd's. My first car i owned was a '94 Daihatsu Rocky, 2.8TD, IFS, etc. Every chance i got to, i always took that thing off-roading, now im kinda getting back into 4wd's, im kinda missing all the fun. As like alot of you, i dont have alot of money, so my next fourby im looking at is a '91 or '92 vitara. I know i can pick 1 of these up for relatively cheap.

Because itll be my work & play car, i need it to be quite good on fuel. Alot of the guys overseas seem to be dropping VW 1.6L TDs in there Vitaras/Geotrackers/sidekicks. Though this does seem like a good idea, i know not alot of vitaras over here have done the conversion. the more i read up on it, the more tempted i am to do a conversion. There is a kit you can get from ACME Adaptors thats allows the fitment of these to the stock gearbox & t-case & all the other bits needed for the conversion. I know the VW diesels make there power early in the rev range compared to zook motors. I also plan to fit the calmini 3" lift kit & 31/32" tyres.

This will also be my first engine im working on. Diesels seem fairly easy to fit & wire up, plus the acme kit comes with everything you need to know to fit it to your zook. I plan to get the 1.6TD out of an early model golf, still founding out what VW to source it from though. I also know theres a few tweaks you can do to them for a little more power ei. intercooler, more boost, govenor mod & a little turn on the injector pump (not too much though because i dislike the smoke too), & of course a new exhaust since itll have to be modified for a new fitment. I know i can go overboard with mods to this motor, but im sure these few mods will keep me quite happy.

In comparison to the diesel weighing more, because its the 1.6, i think itll come close to the 1.6 8v, maybe weighing a fraction heavier. The only thing im a little concerned about is getting it registered, i dont know if its legal in QLD to convert from petrol to diesel (turbo). Im on my opens so i honestly dont think ill have any problems.

So let me know what you guys think, im really keen to do the conversion & i know itll be a great learning experience for me. thanks for reading...

[Damo]

I think it's a great conversion, if you live in the US. I don't know if VW even released the same engines in Australia, and if they did there aren't enough of them around to make the swap a good thing.

TD Vitaras were never sold here, but they were in Japan. You might want to hit up some of the Jap import places and see if they can get you one. I'm pretty sure Asian Auto Spares at Slacks Creek has brought them in previous. The JDM TD Vits had a Mazda RF engine BTW.

[Scrawny]

I do like the idea of diesel. You will find the diesel is a lot heavier than the current petrol engine though, the diesel will be all cast iron as opposed to the all alloy Vit motor.
After you have tweaked and improved the diesel you may find it is no better on fuel than the current motor. Although it will be better for off road due to the low down torque it will suck the fuel around town. Before you go spending any money talk to an engineer, if it's not legal then it won't be worth it unless you want it for strictly off road use.
Good luck and keep us updated.

[joeblow]

firstly it will weigh a bucket load more than the 1.6 8 valve and secondly it has to be a diesel which was offered for sale in australia. if it wasn't it won't be legal. done one diesel and in no hurry to do another!

[want33s]

The VW diesel is a great conversion in the US but here in Australia we drive in the other side of the car.
Check out a few pics of a Samurai/Vitara with a VW motor and you'll see that if you fit one here you'll have to radically modify the inlet & exhaust manifolds or move the brake master/booster.

The exhaust is on the wrong side!

IMHO you'd be better off sticking with the 1.6 Petrol, maybe upgrade to MPFI if not already fitted.

Jas.

[royce]

mate my vit with 235's does 9l/100km, how much more economical do you think the Vw engine would be? even if that dropped to 7's factor in the higher cost of the fuel and the cost of the conversion your going to be driving for a long time to recover that money!!!!!

plus yes they are way heavy (you can lift a 1.6) all the stuff is ass about in the engine bay, they are going to be hopless to drive, small turbo diesels arent tourqey, they are peaky crap boxes designed to use no fuel at a constant speed like European highways

[felix]

My vit with the 8v does 9l/100km and i'm running 31" muddies. So, I don't think it would be worth it really. If anything, slap a baleno motor in it

[Damo]

want33s wrote:

The VW diesel is a great conversion in the US but here in Australia we drive in the other side of the car.
Check out a few pics of a Samurai/Vitara with a VW motor and you'll see that if you fit one here you'll have to radically modify the inlet & exhaust manifolds or move the brake master/booster.

The exhaust is on the wrong side!

IMHO you'd be better off sticking with the 1.6 Petrol, maybe upgrade to MPFI if not already fitted.

Jas.

Ha! that would make it suck even worse than I thought!

[kenn]

I tow a trady trailer around town with my 2.5v6 grand vit and i still get about 11L /100.

[Scrawny]

Maybe he brews his own fuel, they'd probably go quite well on chip oil.

[PhillT]

What Royce said, pretty much.

I have just gone from a 2.8 Diesel Hilux to a V6 Vitara, and I am miles in front fuel wise.

The price difference between Unleaded and Diesel is not likely to ever shrink.

For me in W.A. it worked out with the Hilux using 9.5 to 10 litres/100K, the break-even point using Unleaded was 13 litres/100K.
The vitara V6 at this stage (early days) looks like about 9 to 10 litres/100k so I am much better off.
Even if it blows out to 12l/100k I am still better off, and that figure is very very unlikely.

[TDvit]

http://www.zuwharrie.com/gallery/displa ... =753&pos=1

Its a 1.6TD, right hand drive, from the uk though...

[want33s]

You'll forget all about VW TDi once you add up all the costs involved for no increase in power or fuel cost saving.

[TDvit]

Fair enough guys, i appreiciate your responses.

Now i have been looking closely at the J20A engine. I know these were fitted to Vitaras 95+, i can either A) find a 95 2 door or B) source a front cut & change absolutely everything, motor mounts, g/box (cause i dont think the G series & J series bellhousings are the same). I know i would be able to do this conversion myself, & if you weigh it up, the J20A into a '92 would be much cheaper to achieve than buying a 95+.

I did search for pre 95 vit's with J20A conversions, but couldnt find any, maybe there's a reason?

[royce]

totally different chassis, the 2 litre ones are known as a wide body model, the chassis rails are further apart to accommodate teh bigger engine

[want33s]

TDvit wrote:

I did search for pre 95 vit's with J20A conversions, but couldnt find any, maybe there's a reason?

The J20A motor is nowhere near as bulletproof as a G16. A lot more expensive to fix too.
Just put a super/turbocharger on a G16 and be done with it.

[kenn]

By the time you spend all that money on swapping drive lines and numerous other things, you could bye the 2l V6 Vitara or a 98/99 2.5V6 Grand Vitara or the 2door 4pot baby Grand..just a suggestion .

[TDvit]

Ah, turbo the G16

T25 from an SR20 (8psi max)
Intercooler from an EJ20 (WRX)
J20A injectors
H25A fuel pump
Megasquirt I

All these components can be had for cheap. I know for sure there'd be alot of T25s around, & im definetly sure there's heaps of WRX top mount intercoolers.

[Damo]

TDvit wrote:

Ah, turbo the G16

T25 from an SR20 (8psi max)
Intercooler from an EJ20 (WRX)
J20A injectors
H25A fuel pump
Megasquirt I

All these components can be had for cheap. I know for sure there'd be alot of T25s around, & im definetly sure there's heaps of WRX top mount intercoolers.

If you want to do it a little cheaper you can try to find some WRX injectors. I can't remember exactly which year models but some of them do fit and would be a lot easier to find than J20 injectors.

Fuel pump similar story.

[TDvit]

Awesome thanks for the input, which fuel pump do you suggest i use though, a WRX pump? are there other easy to find & fit solutions to this?

I thought about using the J20 injectors and H25 fuel pump, cause they'd be an easier fitment coming all from suzuki i guessed.

[royce]

search around here for a thread I put up some details about teh stock pump, its already used in V6 magnas and suby Legacys from memory so is probably already big enough

I would go liberty water to air over the wrx intercooler, better for low speed

[TDvit]

Awesome, yeah i did do a bit of research on the water/air 'cooler, it does seem to have more advantages at lower speeds. but at first i would much rather give the top mount wrx 'cooler a go mounted in the front. If i do feel the air/air isnt doing much, i can always modify the wrx top mount to hold water, source a small car radiator & just buy a new water pump!

With the above mentioned setup, could i get away with just using stock ignition? the megasquirt I is a fuel only piggyback, i could go the more $$ megasquirt II, but trying to keep things to minimum $$.

[TDvit]

Ok guys, i changed the topic name, in case anyone is in a similar situation as me & can use some of this information. Found alot of useful info about turbo'ing tthe ole G16B

injectors from an MY03/04 WRX are a direct fit. ive also read that nissan pathfinder V6 (unsure which model) injectors are a direct swap aswell.

I see alot of the turbo guys run the stock ecu, stock ignition (thicker leads & new plugs but thats about it) larger pump, FMU (rise rate fuel press. regulator) & an AFC (apexi s-afc or afc neo). Ive also read that the stock ecu can handle injectors up to around 230cc size, anything larger the stock ecu cant control properly...