Michael,
this is indeed a difficult problem, and one that all of us will have
to face most likely sooner rather than later, if not already!
I think it is important to stress Joaquin's point that each of us
will have different uses and importantly, preferences. Often, when
one has a difficult choice to make between 2 possibilities, the final
decision is made on preference. Nothing wrong with that in my opinion.
I have spent some considerable time over the last 3 or 4 years
researching what engine I wouwant to put in to our bus, and I will
run over the choices that I considered, if I can remember them all!
The VW in line 4 cylinder conversion is, or more correctly was
popular in Europe and the US. The one great advantage of this is that
the whole conversion can be done with VW parts and therefore happily
serviced by VW mechanics. There is no loss in ground clearance. I
dimissed this conversion on the basis of: little improvement in
torque, HP and top engine rpms. I believe this engine will happily
push our buses at 110kph all day though.
The VW (also Audi, Seat etc) inline 4 cylinder turbo diesel. The
1.6TD is a waste of time. I have had one! I replaced it with an AAZ
1.9 TD, brand new. This is a very common conversion and has really
good pulling power but it does run out of steam (revs) too quickly
for my liking. Mine was in a 2WD camper with standard 14" wheels and
I think the engine had plenty enough torque to handle a big jump in
tyre/wheel size, therefore increasing vehicle speed vs. engine rpm,
without losing much of that valuable torque. Again, for the purists,
this is a completely VW conversion. This engine has mechanical
injection and no 'complicated' electronics.
The VW 1.9TDI has many of the same advantages/disadvantages of the
mechnical injection type above. Has more torque and power, better
economy is quieter and smoother. It is a 'fly by wire' engine so is
somewhat complicated by comparison to the AAZ etc. Comes in 2 types,
a 110HP version and a 90HP version. Both rare in Australia, in fact I
believe there were only a couple of dozen of the 110HP cars imported
to Austraia. A company in Brisbane quoted me $15000 for one!
There are also many other VW(derived) engines that could be
considered eg 1.8 turbo and the T4 2.0. Also the Audi 2.3 and 2.5 5
cylinder as fitted to the late 1990's South African T3's.
The VW 2.5TDi 4 cylinder is fairly common in Europe but as rare as
hens teeth in Aus. A great conversion I believe and this is what
Bernd Jaeger has in his bus I think. This would be a hard to beat
conversion in Europe but with parts almost always a trip from Germany
away, not ideal in Australia in my opinion. I think Bernd sells a
mechanical injection unit for all these 'electronic' diesels but
$$$$$ are needed.
The VW 2.5 TDi 5 cylinder out of the T4. I'm not sure if this has
been done yet but I know there are a few considering it. I've heard
this is a great engine and I'd love to see it in a T3. The South
African 2.5 5 cylinder (petrol) bell housing will directly mount this
engine to our transmission. Some people have told me they think this
engine will not fit in to a T3 but I am not convinced. Where there is
a will, there is a way etc.
All the above need either a raised portion made above the engine, or
need to have the engine laid to the side (54 deg??) as VW did with
the factory supplied TD's. The AAZ and TDi engine are fairly readily
available in Europe and UK.
I was really keen on one of these for quite a while. I wanted to run
it on a LPG bio diesel mix but in the end, amongst other things I
decided it was too much work.
Subaru: as you may know, this is the project I am in the middle of.
The engines are common here so parts will not be a problem. The EJ22
is very reliable, has much better torque than the waterboxer, is
cheap and the conversion is now well documented. I have elected to go
for the later EJ25 SOHC engine as it has (IMO) a better, flatter
torque curve and of course, the engine has less kms. on it. There
have been reports of the dreaded head gasket problem being an issue
with some (mostly earlier) EJ25's but at least there is no problem
with corroding studs, as with the wbxer. The SOHC EJ25 is 120KW and
210 NM. The sump on the Subaru engine is an issue, although I have
bought a sump that will reduce this issue significantly. I am not
sure of what difference there will be between this and with the
original engine. I'll let you know in a couple of months. I estimate
a loss of 10 to 20 mm in clearnce max, maybe less. These engines have
counterweighted cranks and rev to 6500 rpm. This was a real winner
when it came to my choice making. They are alo flat 4, horizontally
opposed and I love the balance of flat 4's. They light and look like
they're made to fit our busses too. Many parts are available 'off the
shelf' and there are a number of internet forums where help is
available.
I run my wbxer on LPG and will also run the Soobie engine on it for
what I hope will be very cheap motoring.
Then ther is the choice of rebuilding the original engine. I looked
in to having this done with work to the heads to increse the air flow
and I believe they can pull a reasonable amount of additional
torque/power with this, a cam, a chip and better exhausts. A great
idea for thos who want to stay 'original' but really, they are a
mixture of 1930's and 1990's technology, and you'll never get away
from the head stud issue.
Other engines I briefly considered were: Holden 3.8 V6 ( heavier,
ground clearance issues(??) and really, too much power(!!)
I looked at the old Leyland V8 too but it is quite old now and a
little lairy for me. Also it wouldn't like sitting at 4000+ rpm on
the highway. An engine that would be great if it could be done would
be the Land Rover 2.5 TDi. It has great low down torque and is
mechanical injection. Some one fancy pioneering a conversion?
I'm sure I have left a lot of info out here, so please ask if you
have another question, either off or on list. I can put links up to
many of the related forums if people want, but maybe most are aware
of them anyway?
As I said above, these are my opinions and I am more than happy to
DISCUSS the merits or otherwise of various conversions but I have no
intention of dismissing anyone elses ideas and thoughts as wrong or
not worthy. Each to their own.
Sorry for the length of this!!
Regards,
Andy.
this is indeed a difficult problem, and one that all of us will have
to face most likely sooner rather than later, if not already!
I think it is important to stress Joaquin's point that each of us
will have different uses and importantly, preferences. Often, when
one has a difficult choice to make between 2 possibilities, the final
decision is made on preference. Nothing wrong with that in my opinion.
I have spent some considerable time over the last 3 or 4 years
researching what engine I wouwant to put in to our bus, and I will
run over the choices that I considered, if I can remember them all!
The VW in line 4 cylinder conversion is, or more correctly was
popular in Europe and the US. The one great advantage of this is that
the whole conversion can be done with VW parts and therefore happily
serviced by VW mechanics. There is no loss in ground clearance. I
dimissed this conversion on the basis of: little improvement in
torque, HP and top engine rpms. I believe this engine will happily
push our buses at 110kph all day though.
The VW (also Audi, Seat etc) inline 4 cylinder turbo diesel. The
1.6TD is a waste of time. I have had one! I replaced it with an AAZ
1.9 TD, brand new. This is a very common conversion and has really
good pulling power but it does run out of steam (revs) too quickly
for my liking. Mine was in a 2WD camper with standard 14" wheels and
I think the engine had plenty enough torque to handle a big jump in
tyre/wheel size, therefore increasing vehicle speed vs. engine rpm,
without losing much of that valuable torque. Again, for the purists,
this is a completely VW conversion. This engine has mechanical
injection and no 'complicated' electronics.
The VW 1.9TDI has many of the same advantages/disadvantages of the
mechnical injection type above. Has more torque and power, better
economy is quieter and smoother. It is a 'fly by wire' engine so is
somewhat complicated by comparison to the AAZ etc. Comes in 2 types,
a 110HP version and a 90HP version. Both rare in Australia, in fact I
believe there were only a couple of dozen of the 110HP cars imported
to Austraia. A company in Brisbane quoted me $15000 for one!
There are also many other VW(derived) engines that could be
considered eg 1.8 turbo and the T4 2.0. Also the Audi 2.3 and 2.5 5
cylinder as fitted to the late 1990's South African T3's.
The VW 2.5TDi 4 cylinder is fairly common in Europe but as rare as
hens teeth in Aus. A great conversion I believe and this is what
Bernd Jaeger has in his bus I think. This would be a hard to beat
conversion in Europe but with parts almost always a trip from Germany
away, not ideal in Australia in my opinion. I think Bernd sells a
mechanical injection unit for all these 'electronic' diesels but
$$$$$ are needed.
The VW 2.5 TDi 5 cylinder out of the T4. I'm not sure if this has
been done yet but I know there are a few considering it. I've heard
this is a great engine and I'd love to see it in a T3. The South
African 2.5 5 cylinder (petrol) bell housing will directly mount this
engine to our transmission. Some people have told me they think this
engine will not fit in to a T3 but I am not convinced. Where there is
a will, there is a way etc.
All the above need either a raised portion made above the engine, or
need to have the engine laid to the side (54 deg??) as VW did with
the factory supplied TD's. The AAZ and TDi engine are fairly readily
available in Europe and UK.
I was really keen on one of these for quite a while. I wanted to run
it on a LPG bio diesel mix but in the end, amongst other things I
decided it was too much work.
Subaru: as you may know, this is the project I am in the middle of.
The engines are common here so parts will not be a problem. The EJ22
is very reliable, has much better torque than the waterboxer, is
cheap and the conversion is now well documented. I have elected to go
for the later EJ25 SOHC engine as it has (IMO) a better, flatter
torque curve and of course, the engine has less kms. on it. There
have been reports of the dreaded head gasket problem being an issue
with some (mostly earlier) EJ25's but at least there is no problem
with corroding studs, as with the wbxer. The SOHC EJ25 is 120KW and
210 NM. The sump on the Subaru engine is an issue, although I have
bought a sump that will reduce this issue significantly. I am not
sure of what difference there will be between this and with the
original engine. I'll let you know in a couple of months. I estimate
a loss of 10 to 20 mm in clearnce max, maybe less. These engines have
counterweighted cranks and rev to 6500 rpm. This was a real winner
when it came to my choice making. They are alo flat 4, horizontally
opposed and I love the balance of flat 4's. They light and look like
they're made to fit our busses too. Many parts are available 'off the
shelf' and there are a number of internet forums where help is
available.
I run my wbxer on LPG and will also run the Soobie engine on it for
what I hope will be very cheap motoring.
Then ther is the choice of rebuilding the original engine. I looked
in to having this done with work to the heads to increse the air flow
and I believe they can pull a reasonable amount of additional
torque/power with this, a cam, a chip and better exhausts. A great
idea for thos who want to stay 'original' but really, they are a
mixture of 1930's and 1990's technology, and you'll never get away
from the head stud issue.
Other engines I briefly considered were: Holden 3.8 V6 ( heavier,
ground clearance issues(??) and really, too much power(!!)
I looked at the old Leyland V8 too but it is quite old now and a
little lairy for me. Also it wouldn't like sitting at 4000+ rpm on
the highway. An engine that would be great if it could be done would
be the Land Rover 2.5 TDi. It has great low down torque and is
mechanical injection. Some one fancy pioneering a conversion?
I'm sure I have left a lot of info out here, so please ask if you
have another question, either off or on list. I can put links up to
many of the related forums if people want, but maybe most are aware
of them anyway?
As I said above, these are my opinions and I am more than happy to
DISCUSS the merits or otherwise of various conversions but I have no
intention of dismissing anyone elses ideas and thoughts as wrong or
not worthy. Each to their own.
Sorry for the length of this!!
Regards,
Andy.