VW TDI into a 99 XJ

Sorry guys. I have been a bit delinquent on updates.

I haven't worked on the Cherokee in a while. The mechanic only has every other saturday off and my wife has rotating weekends to work. Add to that I have been working my ass off trying to finish a 51 Willys restoration and.. well.. the Cherokee has taken the back seat.

However. I believe the 21st is going to be the day that the twain shall meet (engine and body).

At the moment the engine (TDI) is on the floor at his shop waiting to meet it's new friend. The Cherokee is engineless in the garage at my house.. awaiting a trip to the shop.

I assure you, it's painful for me to be this close! Fear not, the result will be worth it! Well.. for me at least. ;)
 
The Willys I am working on today is a '51 M38. 99% the same as a CJ3a. I have a '50 also that is too rough to restore but I'll be able to make a high quality driver out of it. That's my next next project.
 
Sounds like you have as many projects around as I do... only diesel I have was converted from a gasser by the military decades ago though!
 
PROGRESS!

Finally after a little recess in work there has been some progress! The motor is tentatively mounted in my Cherokee.

The VW guy and I spent the better part of Saturday getting the motor mounted in to the Cherokee bay. Ironically there were some relatively minor clearance issues. For what ever reason the guy who originally built the adapter plate felt the need to put in a moderately significant rotation to the motor which caused a vacuum pump on the back of the motor to interefere with the bump out on the firewall where the HVAC stuff sits. So it took a little creativity to get around that.

So at the moment the motor is in the engine bay awaiting the wiring and fuel to be sorted. That shouldn't be wildly difficult as technically the only thing the VW motor needs is 12v. But cleaning up the mess takes a certain amount of effort of course.

In an effort to fit the gigantic turbo I bought (but haven't yet recieved) I suspect that I will need a custom exhaust manifold, but that is somewhat expected. We also need to figure out a torque strut for the motor. Which I knew about in the back of my mind, but hadn't put much thought in to until the motor was mounted.

I have a handful of pictures that I'll post when I find the camera. They aren't terribly exciting. ;)
 
SanDiegoOverland said:
I"m almost positive this wouldn't work in Cali with our smog laws, but I love the idea, nonetheless. :)
Click to expand...
if the motor is the same age or newer than the xj, and all the original smog equipment is in tact from the donor vehicle, then yes, it would work.
 
mcguyver_xj said:
congrats on your project and fyi i get more updates then this site does cause i work with your "VW guy" everyday...lol
Click to expand...

Cool. Tell him the kids will grow up with out his help and he needs to hurry his :):):) up! :)

hahaha. No, I am not upset with him at all! With out Mike's help I'd still be so far behind the curve. I have such a bad habit of working slowly and staring into the abyss instead of working.. a lot.
 
Vanimal said:
if the motor is the same age or newer than the xj, and all the original smog equipment is in tact from the donor vehicle, then yes, it would work.
Click to expand...

In Massachusetts we follow California's rules. At least in theory. The rule here, were I to follow the rules to the letter is roughly (as I understand it) that I need to pass emissions for the motor or chassis that is newer. In this case the body is a 99 and the motor is a '00. But the emissions rules for the motor are much more lenient for the motor, which is sort of funny.

Frankly, I am doing the swap and worrying about how to make it legal afterwards.
 
take it to the right station and they won't even notice. I don't recall ever even having the hood popped on my jeep when it was in for inspection.

We use Cali/NY grade OE emissions equipment, but that doesn't mean we have smog checkups, fortunately.
 
well that's not CA rules then, half the inspection is visual here. they make sure every little piece is OEM or has a C.A.R.B. EO# on it, then they run that number to make sure it's for that vehicle. you guys have it easy if they don't do that.
 
Vanimal said:
well that's not CA rules then, half the inspection is visual here. they make sure every little piece is OEM or has a C.A.R.B. EO# on it, then they run that number to make sure it's for that vehicle. you guys have it easy if they don't do that.
Click to expand...

Or have your vehicle registered in a country that only requires smog upon change of ownership.
 
we don't have it easy, you have it stupid. Cali sucks.
 
depends on how you look at it. it's smart for the beurocratic douchebags who came up with it :)

tell me how much it sucks here in about 4 months
 
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