2.0TD into 1987 VW Quantum Syncro Wagon

[Nevadan]

Originally Posted by v8volvo

Congratulations! How does the gearing feel so far?

I ran it at 70mph for a few miles and it was very smooth but I have no idea what the rpm's are. These engines are so much smoother than the 4 cylinder 1.6's it's hard to tell by feel. There's still plenty of pedal left so I know it will go a lot faster. I can tell it's a little under-geared when shifting up to get to 5th, again, not terribly but definitely noticeable.

I'm also still purging and cleaning the cooling system and will do more of this tomorrow, I'll then take another run and see what it feels like at 80 mph.

The car feels real stable and solid traveling at 70mph, I'm happy so far.

It's been over 100F when I'm making my test runs and the cooling system seems adequate. These runs are all on flat ground out in farm country, away from any authorities (knock on wood) since I don't have it registered yet. Once registered I'll bring it back to Reno and climb some mountains.

What's interesting about these IDI engines, specifically my 1.6TD, is how they run so much cooler when the air temp is below 70F. The cooling system can handle full throttle, 9-10psi boost, runs well but if the air temp is at or near 100F they run hot, not overheating, just near 220F.

Since my intended use for this car is winter driving to local ski areas I think it will do just fine. There's absolutely no room for a A/C condenser, A/C compressor or intercooler but I pretty much knew this going in. I also did not install that supplementary radiator which was shown early on in this thread. That 70 amp Audi fan is doing the job.

[v8volvo]

Sounds like a great runner, and maybe the shorter gearing is a good thing if it will be traveling mainly in mountains loaded up with ski gear. Long cruising gears are nice on flat freeways, but shorter and closer ratios maybe would be better for the mountains and back roads down there in the Sierras. Plus the IDI engines have their nice wide power band to use the short ratios.

100F with no AC sounds like a challenge for the driver as well as the car! The IDI engines do seem to kick out a lot of heat when working hard.

[Nevadan]

To alleviate the engine running hot I relocated the waxstat coolant supply hose by splicing into the upper radiator hose much lower than I originally had it using a very short T off a mid 90's Mercedes and a silicone hose from Prothe (Hans Auto. He gets hammered online but has some good stuff.) I was hoping to prevent air from being drawn into the waxstat lines. It did help but didn't completely solve the problem.



While draining the coolant, and I've done this about 10 times to get rid of the oxidized material, I found a kink in the line from the lower radiator to the thermostat. I placed another piece of hose around the kink and it now flows perfectly, doesn't overheat and there's no sucking steam sound. Problem solved. I'll re-plumb this with a pieced together hose.

[Nevadan]

Since there was a 70 amp fuse on the Audi I assumed it was a 70 amp fan but it's a 500 watt fan so only 40+ amps. Turns out the fuse on the ground side was not a stock fuse. It's still extremely powerful and sufficient to cool the engine even on the 100F days I've been testing it. I don't think it's even run on high yet, but I also haven't climbed any hills.

Following the cooling system fixes it ran real strong yesterday. I'm still flushing the oxidation out and will continue to do so until I get clear water out.

I ran it up to 75 mph and could tell it's revving pretty high but still runs smooth and strong. I'm going to experiment with a tach from a spare Mk2 cluster and see if I can get it to work.

[v8volvo]

Sounds like you are getting close! Will be fun for us to see a video once you are all done.

A Mk2 diesel tach? I bet that would at least confirm that your W terminal is working on your alternator. If that tach powers up and registers some kind of reasonable reading then you at least know you have a good signal you can work with.

[19misha72]

Добрый день. Отличная работа ! Поздравляю !

[Nevadan]

Here's a video of the engine installed and running. I'm very happy with the power and "feel" of the engine. I did an RPM calculation and I think it's turning 3400 rpm's at 70mph.

https://youtu.be/FpEFiwPF5Ok

I've got a tachometer from a 1985 TD Jetta that I'm going to install which should work with the W terminal on the Audi alternator. I'll test it prior to installation.

[Nevadan]

Originally Posted by 19misha72

Добрый день. Отличная работа ! Поздравляю !

Thank you!

What do you want me to see in the picture?