2.0TD into 1987 VW Quantum Syncro Wagon - Page 12

Nevadan · #**111** 07-16-2020, 08:41 AM

Because of predrilling the tabs it went back in fairly easy.

Nevadan · #**112** 07-16-2020, 08:54 AM

The most impressive thing is, because of using such oversized wiring on everything I've put in, is how fast the starter turns over and how fast the glow plugs heat up, also the 70amp fan runs perfect and all that wiring stays cool. Despite all the hassle of putting that in it was well worth it.

The engine runs very smooth but I won't know for sure until I get it under a load. It smokes quite a bit when backing off from mid throttle but I'm not concerned about it yet.

I still need to install the waxstat and readjust the timing, I've just had a very hard time getting hot water to flow through the unit. You can see the mess of plumbing I have in place now. I do have a reducing elbow coming which should simplify the routing and get the hot water into the waxstat. I'll put the 1" T in the line from the head much closer to the head.

v8volvo · #**113** 07-16-2020, 11:30 AM

I think that suppressor is probably something intended to protect fragile gasoline fuel injection system electronic control components, not needed on the diesel engine. If it's labeled "W" then I would suspect it is a real W terminal so you are in luck there! You can probably discard the suppressor and just connect your tach to that freed up W terminal.

I wonder if a Jetta TD regular diesel tach would swap into the Quantum dash and be fed by that W terminal. Though as you mentioned the ratio of pulley sizes might not be quite right and through the reading off so you would need to adjust the frequency with a signal converter anyway. At that point, maybe just using one of those Dakota boxes to do it all and hook right up to the stock gas tach might be easiest.

Looking great, will be fun to see the first maiden voyage on the road.

Nevadan · #**114** 07-19-2020, 12:45 PM

I got it on the road yesterday to test the cooling system, engine power, etc. Once all the gunk burned out of it it ran very well. I couldn't go to long since it was running pretty hot, not overheating just hot. I re-plumbed the waxstat supply and will test it again this week. I could hear steam in the system somewhere and have been fiddling with it for a few days. I had to raise the overflow bottle/reservoir about an inch to make sure the coolant level was above the tubes in the radiator. I think all should be well after I do a few Cascade dish detergent flushes to clean out the radiator, there's a lot of rust colored water coming out each time I flush and refill. I know there was quite a bit in the head so want to get it real clean.

The power is similar to the 2.4, very smooth, not like the 1.6 so I'm very impressed with that.

The oil cooler thermostat seems to be working fine, the temperature at the cooler after a wide open throttle run was 197F. The cooling fan seems to be working correctly. I also added a heat-sink for the Audi resistor when the fan is running on low speed and it was an absolutely necessary item.

More updates once I get the cooling system complete.

Still haven't figured out where to connect the W terminal from the alternator to get the tach working but I'll do some interneting to see what's up.

v8volvo · #**115** 07-20-2020, 06:06 AM

Congratulations! How does the gearing feel so far?

Nevadan · #**116** 07-22-2020, 12:12 PM

Quote:

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 · #**117** 07-22-2020, 08:39 PM

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 · #**118** 07-24-2020, 08:44 AM

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 · #**119** 07-24-2020, 09:51 AM

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 · #**120** 07-27-2020, 08:51 PM

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.