240 AW/M46 gas to diesel swap: Which Clutch Cable???

Grubby · #1 05-30-2010, 05:23 AM

Does anyone know which clutch cable I have to use for an auto to manual/gas to D24T swap in a 240? The diesel cable is different from the gas. There is a difference in the connectors at the pedal: one is split, the other is a "T" cable end....I have a clutch pedal from a gas 240, which takes the split one. Is there a length or strength difference for some reason??
Thanks for any input...

Jason · #2 05-30-2010, 06:19 AM

I don't think there would be a difference in strength, and for length it would have to be the same as the transmission is in the same position relative to the car. Granted the mount on the bellhousing may be slightly different, but the cable is adjustable. If you have the cable that goes with the pedal you have, you should be set. I'm not sure if the end at the clutch release arm is the same on the gas and diesel bellhousing though.

Jason

Grubby · #3 05-30-2010, 06:39 AM

Thanks Jason. Your thoughts are in line with mine: it would have to do with the position of the tranny relative to the firewall. Since everything in my d24t/240 swap lines up like a 240 in a gas configuration (intake, eng. mounts, oil pan, all have been modified to fit the D24T into a 240 correctly) I should be able to use the gas cable, which is what fits my pedal. I have already swapped bell housings, and it looks like everything is the same except the housing shape and the bolt holes. By the way, how's that T5 swap doing? Solid, I bet. I will probably put one in if this M46 doesn't hold up...
Thanks,
Abe

Jason · #4 05-30-2010, 07:58 AM

Its done, take a look in the garage section. I put up the rest of the pics of the swap.

The trans has to be in the same place, since he shifter obviously has to still come up through the tunnel in the same hole. I think you should be fine.

I wish I would have done the T-5 swap in the first place, since the longevity of the M46 was pretty crappy (3 days worth of abuse and it blew lunch!!). Part of the reason I didn't do it right off was the lack of clear info on the internet. I'm going to make a new thread that I'll make into a sticky with all the pertinent info and pics, and stick it up in the performance/aftermarket section. Honestly its a cheap swap, the transmissions are cheap, strong, and readily available. I sure as hell wouldn't install another M46 if yours blows up, unless the car is just a stock cruiser... But what fun would that be?!

Jason

Grubby · #5 06-01-2010, 05:02 PM

Congrats on the swap.
The motor I am putting in is NOT stock. It was built by a volvo tech who also built dragster motors, and had pictures in his shop of drag raced volvos! It was a serendipitous find...just waiting for me in the back of his garage next to a bunch of sweet looking 16Valves. This is his 3rd D24T build that he has modified to fit in a 240. He likes the 240s like I do. We'll see how long the M46 lasts behind it...I will be looking for that T5 swap sticky. How are the ratios in the T5 when coupled with our motors? I hope 1st is longer. BY THE WAY:::::do you know if the clutch release fork is the same for gas and diesel M46s? The bearings are different. Thanks again for your help and this great site!

Jason · #6 06-01-2010, 07:16 PM

I'm not sure about the fork, according to the listings at work, the bearing is the same though. I would expect the fork is the same as long as its for a cable clutch. The ratios of the T-5 are better, 1st gear is taller, the spread between gears is good, and the 3rd to 4th gear rpm drop is only about 600rpm so its really right there for the "top end" pull. 5th gear is f'in awesome. With the automatic rear end in my car (3.70 axle ratio) I cruise at 2500rpm doing 65mph. Its only doing 3100 or so at 80! The redblock guys over on T-bricks bitch about how tall the 5th gear is, but thats becuase their sissy ass red blocks don't have any low end torque. 2500 is purring for our engines... It cruises at that rpm easily.

What does your engine have done to it? Any head work, NA cam? There isn't a whole hell of a lot you can do to the engine itself, but I would be interested to know what he did. My "built" engine is going to be with a ported and polished head, NA cam, and arp engine hardware...

Jason

Grubby · #7 06-05-2010, 07:47 AM

I believe he used the non turbo head (maybe?), and had a custom cam made for it: the lobes are quite sharp. I plan on using racing oil in it for this reason. What do you think? I'm pretty sure he ported and polished the head, and used performance engine hardware, because he built this thing himself and he was serious about it. He estimated he had $9K in the motor with parts and labor. All I can remember is that he said that he used performance parts, chamfered out the oil passages, maybe cooling too; he increased the boost, and had the pump adjusted to match it by a bosch pump specialty shop. I think he said the boost was 18psi, but I'm not sure. I will post a pic of the motor and detail of the cam if you want. I don't have much more info on it, but I am going to bring it to him once its in the car, to refresh the t-belts (so I can learn how to do them myself), and for the first start up, and I plan to ask more questions then. He has blueprints, but couldn't find them at the time, but he did have some other technical data on it. If he got into modifying oiling and cooling passages, he would have had to have blueprinted the thing. It was kind of a quick sale...he needed the cash. I came out sweet with it. He has since said he regrets selling it. Can't wait to get it on the road. I'm guessing I'll need a T5 pretty soon, so I'm going to keep my eyes open for a good one. Lots of 5.0 'stangs down here in the south! With a t5, it will be supersweetbadasss. I'm going to run it on vegetable oil too, by the way. Don't cringe yet, I have 8 years of experience doing it successfully with the MB om617 motors, which although different in setup, are also pre-chamber (ID) motors. The only thing I'm concerned about is the high performance nature of this motor. I will need to be real careful, and only switch over to vegoil when the thing is good and hot and ready for good (more complete) combustion. I will be changing crankcase oil early and religiously. I'll do cc oil analysis quarterly for the first year to see how often I need to change it. I have a bosch shop locally, and if the pump seals start to leak from the vegoil, I will have them put viton seals in it. Be interested to hear your thoughts on running these on vegoil. It is peanut oil that I use.
Abe

Grubby · #8 06-05-2010, 07:52 AM

There is a generic one on ebay that is about $150. I don't want to spend $500 on a fancy one. Its just an air radiator, after all. I can't bring myself to use the stock one--especially behind the condenser and radiator. That's like putting a fan in front if a fireplace and expecting the fan to cool you off....

Jason · #9 06-05-2010, 07:29 PM

I didn't spend nearly that much on mine. Its the "delta fin" type which is supposed to be better, its a 25"x7"x3" inlet/outlet. I think I spent about 75 bucks on it. The stock one is junk (comming out of a gas engine) they are huge and look like they would work great, but I have heard they blow the ends off with boost much higher than stock.

For oil I would run sythetic 5w-40 Rotella or Castrol. Rotella is usually cheapest of the two, Wal-mart has it by the gallon for 19.99.

Veg oil is all fine if its heated/filtered etc... I don't think you are going to get the performance from it though. It will run yes, but lots of fuel/boost and you are going to need the injectors to spray just right, and the oil even when hot is still thick compaired to diesel. Probably ok for cruising around to save some $$, but if your running the shit outa it, I would run it on diesel.

9k sounds pretty steep, I don't see how you could possibly spend that much on one of these engines even with all new parts... It would have to have H-beam rods in it or something to be that costly of a build. Does it have head studs? 18lbs of boost isn't all that much, you are gonna want more boost if you want some real power! I know there is a guy on the vwdiesel.net forum that can regrind the diesel cams to a performance profile, and has done a couple d24 cams. However, it only works on the hydrolic heads according to him, which our engines didn't get while they were sold here in the states. I supppose you could stack some kind of shim under the lifter to help make up the difference of base cirle. Even with the performance profile, the gains he was advartising weren't all that exciting... Only a few % increase in power.

Jason

Grubby · #10 06-21-2010, 04:13 AM

"I didn't spend nearly that much on mine. Its the "delta fin" type which is supposed to be better, its a 25"x7"x3" inlet/outlet. I think I spent about 75 bucks on it. The stock one is junk (comming out of a gas engine) they are huge and look like they would work great, but I have heard they blow the ends off with boost much higher than stock."

where did you get yours?

"For oil I would run sythetic 5w-40 Rotella or Castrol. Rotella is usually cheapest of the two, Wal-mart has it by the gallon for 19.99."

I run that Rotella in my TDI. good stuff.

"Veg oil is all fine if its heated/filtered etc... I don't think you are going to get the performance from it though. It will run yes, but lots of fuel/boost and you are going to need the injectors to spray just right, and the oil even when hot is still thick compaired to diesel. Probably ok for cruising around to save some $$, but if your running the shit outa it, I would run it on diesel."

I agree. I filter and heat and use a vegoil return system rather than the "looped" system. I will be using the car for my driving job because i get paid .50 a mile, so it becomes a profit machine. when I want performance, i will switch to Diesel. hell yeah.

"9k sounds pretty steep, I don't see how you could possibly spend that much on one of these engines even with all new parts... It would have to have H-beam rods in it or something to be that costly of a build. Does it have head studs? 18lbs of boost isn't all that much, you are gonna want more boost if you want some real power! I know there is a guy on the vwdiesel.net forum that can regrind the diesel cams to a performance profile, and has done a couple d24 cams. However, it only works on the hydrolic heads according to him, which our engines didn't get while they were sold here in the states. I supppose you could stack some kind of shim under the lifter to help make up the difference of base cirle. Even with the performance profile, the gains he was advartising weren't all that exciting... Only a few % increase in power."

I agree that the guy was most likely exaggerating. he kind of does that. but he can build engines, for sure. maybe he was paying himself $150/ hour labor.

...don't know if it has H rods or head studs. How do I check to see if it has studs? what is stock? My mechanical skills are to the level of a timing belt, and then I'm out of my league. I understand the parts you're talking about, but wouldn't know how to differentiate. If I ever pull the pan, I'll look at the rods if I can.

Please give me hint on that intercooler.
Thanks,
Abe