...and a Happy New Year...

In't Christmas Brilliant!

By the Sunday after Christmas I was bored of the Eat, Drink, TV, PS4. Repeat... so I shuffled into work to get on with getting the  AFN in the back of my T3...

Putting it in was obviously not going to be as straightforward as pulling it out (fnarr fnarr), but by "teatime" it was in the hole, piped up and looking the part.

Not much to report here really... I fitted the bell housing to the engine first as I knew it would need a slight but of tickling with the grinder to clear the Dual Mass Flywheel.
In Reality its a tiny amount on the metalwork near the timing mark, and on the other side on the raised by that the release arm passes through.
I just fitted the bell housing and turned the engine by hand until it locked up, the removed, ground away, and refitted. It took 3 goes before I had just enough to spin the engine without it touching.

Then, simply a case of refitting the bell housing to the gearbox, and refitting the engine.
Oh... oil pump and sump were fitted before i put the engine in.

Pipework is exactly as the AAZ that came out. Ive changed the top coolant flange to lose the connection to the header tank on the Sharan, but thats about it. 

In the centre of the image above you can see the Starter Motor Adaptor.

This bolts to the bell housing and allows you to use the TDI starter motor matched to the flyweel.

The added advantage of this patented German design is that the TDI starter is more powerful than the original... bonus.

I had a mental list of jobs to do before tackling the wiring, and it was getting shorter and shorter...

Drill and tap for the EGT probe into the turbo adapter...tick

Oil Return line... this was going to need a little "bodging" to get it going, so I made one out of part of the AFN oil return and part of the JX. Joined with some oil hoses and it will do the job to get it running. I'll then take it off and have one made up... tick... ish

Its a bit "pikey" and its not the kind of thing I'd be happy with in the long term, but to get it running and tested, it'll do.

Lastly, I blanked the Oil Filler point on the sump with a Blanking Plate. I can fill the oil from the rocker cover, but I would like to refit the standard oil filler a some point. For the time being the power steering pipe onto the Sharan pump fouls it, so this is the simplest short term solution...

Now I'd done a lot of work on the loom when I took it out of the Sharan. Id removed most of the excess wiring and was left with pretty much the engine loom. I had about 12 wires not connected to anything so I set about figuring out where they all went.

Now I have 2 wiring diagrams for the Sharan ECU, one from ElsaWin and one from Autodata.
Both are slightly different, neither is exactly right, but it all makes sense once you start plugging stuff in.

I was left with some earths, connections to the ECU power relay, oil pressure sender wiring, coolant temp, glow plug light, and a couple of others I cant remember.

I figured the best way to tackle this was connect everthing up, check it starts and runs and then tidy the loom up. So I set about splicing stuff into the T3 loom. This is actually a lot simpler than you may think. VW are pretty clever with wiring and a lot of the wiring colours are the same. Theres a few "gotchas" but on the whole its obvious where stuff goes to. All the wiring connections can be made in the "black box" in the engine bay. Having said that, for the time being theyre connected to the original wiring for the sake of getting it running. I'll then work through the connections joining them in the Black Box and getting rid of the original T3 engine wiring from the engine bay.

The exception is the ECU relay, which obviously doesnt have an equivalent on the original vehicle, so ive mounted the relay and run fresh wiring.

Sounds easy when you type it quickly, but its actually quite time consuming and I'd say 4-5 hours were spent checking wiring, making connections, and double checking with a multimeter. So by 2pm, i was almost ready to fire up... I was just waiting on Yodel with a delivery of silicone hoses to join the air intake to the MAF and air box... tired of waiting I did what anybody would do and joined it all together with gaffa tape....

I plugged the immobilser unit in... with the chip from the key tie wrapped to the coil for the time being... thats for another day... and connected the battery.
No smoke, no flames, no explosions. Which is always a good thing...

So i put the key in the ignition, and turned it on. Glow plug light on, then off... flicked the starter and it burst into life!

A couple of coughs as the air found its way out of the system and then it settled down to a fast idle.

At the moment... it runs.

No exhaust, No N75 valve connected, and no intake air temp sensor. Pedal is in the engine bay, and the loom is still spread across the engine... No OBD port connected so I cant read the fault codes (which there will be lots), but it starts on the first touch of the key and idles nicely. Which considering its over a year since it last ran is pretty good.

It'll be the New Year before I see the silicone hoses now, as for some reason its still at the Yodel depot due to "bad weather"! So for the moment its running with gaffa tape and a "bad boy" noisy filter.

Next job is to sort the intake, tidy and hide the loom, and plumb the N75 in.
I'll then run some wires to the front for the pedal and the OBD port and read some fault codes.

And hopefully then go for a drive...

Merry Christmas...

Early finish on Christmas Eve, and nothing in at work until January means Simon has allowed me to use the ramp and pull the engine.

At Midday on Christmas Eve I still had a running Bluestar...

and by 2pm it looked like this:

Engine out, mounts, sump, manifolds stripped off and everything bolted up to the AFN read to go in.

Ive also pulled off the bell housing and swapped the input shaft for one to suit the DMF fitted to the AFN. This took me up to 4pm so time to go home and do Christmas.

TDI Input shaft fitted - Note the South African Oiling plates fitted when I had the box rebuilt a couple of years ago.

AFN all together and ready to go in. Im Leaving the dipstick in the engine bay for the time being, I may rethink that later...

And the AAZ minus the Diesel bits I need for the AFN

Turbo continued...

Spun the compressor side of the turbo to match the alignment of the K14 on the AAZ, so now the turbo is pretty much in position.

Also made up an oil feed pipe temporarily by straightening out the original one from the Sharan and shortening it. Route is pretty much right, its just a bit wibbly wobbly in places...

Thats pretty much as much as I can do with the engine out, so the next step is to pull the AAZ, swap the engine mounts, sump and a few other bits and pieces over... then chuck the AFN in,

Turbo..

Turbo...
Im using a VNT from a Passat mated to a 1.6TD (JX) manifold using turbo adaptors from Ultimate Engineering.
My aim is to use as many off the shelf parts as possible, so in the future if something breaks I can just buy one and bolt it on... and this way I can use a standard exhaust instead of fabricating something, and everything will bolt together.

Once attached to the manifold the oil feed and return points on this turbo are almost horizontal in a T3 due to the angle of the engine, so no use at all as the oil wont drain from the turbo.

So, the turbo has to be indexed to suit the position in the engine. This was one of the only things I was a bit concerned about, but its really not a big thing...

It involves splitting the turbine housing (exhaust side) from the centre housing, and rotating it until things are where you want them. Obviously its not that simple. Turbos tend to be rusty dirty things, so getting it apart can be a challenge... and cleaning it a bit messy.

Things are a little more complicated with the VNT (Variable Nozzle Turbo) as it has a plate in the turbine housing (exhaust side) with a number of "vanes" that change position depending on engine speed. This helps the turbo spool up quicker and reduce lag... clever stuff.
On the outside of this plate is a moving ring that connects all the vanes together. On the outside of the turbo is a vacuum operated actuator which moves this plate and in turn moves all the vanes together.
This actuator connects to the plate with the vanes on it in one position only (see image).
So change the orientation of the centre housing in relation to the turbine housing we need to move the plate.
Its held to the turbine housing with 3 screws which luckily for us are evenly spaced. So that gives us 3 positions it can be in its simply a case of finding the best one.

In the image below, on the left is the original orientation. The red X shows the position of the actuator connection before and after moving the plate. You'll see its moved anticlockwise by 120 degrees. Effectively moving the centre housing around 120degrees anticlockwise too... which puts our oil feed and return right where we need it.

Its then a case of putting the turbo back together and moving the actuator around the body to put it in the correct position.

Its worth noting that before you remove the actuator to check its adjustment. They are adjustable on a small wheel and locknut. Check how much the arm is away from its stop with the actuator at rest, as you'll need to set it back to this position once youve moved the actuator...

The actuator attaches to a bracket on 2 of the 5 bolts which hold the centre housing to the turbine. In an ideal world you'd just use a different two, but as you can see theyre not evenly spaced so my bracket now bolts to the (unused) turbo mounting hole (top right) and the small hole next to it.
This puts the vacuum connection close to the block, but I think it should be okay...

So, here it is bolted up. You can just see the oil return connection in the middle, and whilst it looks as though its pointing sideways, the engine of upright in the photo. Once its tilted over in the back of a T3 it will be almost vertical.

Here you can see the actuator close to the block. The vacuum connection is on the right of the canister in pointing towards the block.
The compressor housing can now be loosened and turned to point wherever I need it, so i'll adjust that once fitted to line up with the existing chargecooler pipework.

Day Off... and a little progress

Spent the morning buying beer for Christmas. That left me with the afternoon to put my AFN together.
Easing into it, I was tired of oil dripping from the Sharan turbo oil return point in the sump, so fitted a Block Bung. As the oil will return to standard T3 oil return point in the sump, this is no longer needed.

Next I have the issue of the clutch and flywheel to sort. I'm going for a Dual Mass Flywheel rather than going for the standard JX flywheel and clutch setup. Simply because I dont believe the JX setup will handle the power and torque of the AFN.
This means changing the input shaft in the gearbox to one specifically made for the TDI but it also introduces another complication... that of the TDC (Top Dead Centre) marking...

Because the DMF is designed to go in a different vehicle the TDC marks necessary to set the timing are in a diffent place to the T3 location. To get around this Ive fitted the standard JX flywheel, fitted the timing belt using the original timing marks. Used a tool which bolts to the engine to bell housing bolt holes to take a reference point from the original marks on the JX flywheel... then fitted the DMF and transferred the mark.
A bit of a faff, and whilst I could have not worried about the mark this means that the next time I do the timing belt I wont have the hassle of finding TDC. I can just line the marks up...

Original timing mark on the JX Clutch

New marking in the DMF

Before torquing the flywheel bolts down, ive fitted a Spigot Shaft Bearing.
This supports the end of the input shaft on the T3. The Sharan doesnt have one, so theres nothing to remove. It goes in the end of the crank before fitting the Flywheel.

I also fitted the Flywheel Cover Plates or "Shit Plates" as theyre known. These are necessary because the Diesel bell housing isnt the same shape as the Diesel engine... so it covers the gaps.
You can see this in the next photo... once the Sump is fitted there is another piece that covers the bottom of the bell housing to stop any crud or small mammals getting in.

Next up, the fit of the TDI Input Shaft is checked. Here its located into the splines on the Friction Plate and supported by the spigot shaft bearing... The shaft will be fitted to my existing gearbox once Ive removed the AAZ engine thats in there. I'll also need to clearance the bell housing very slightly for the slightly larger DMF:

Ive also modified the power steering bracket to clear the connection of the hose to the water pump.
Ive used the original Alternator bracket from the Sharan, new waterpump obviously as it would be crazy to refit the engine with the original Sharan pump for the sake of a few quid! Also new thermostat and a thermostat cover that will line the connection up with the T3 hoses.
This meant removing the rear support on the power steering pump bracket and refitting the threaded boss into the end of the alternator bracket. You can see where Ive cut it off below:

Lastly for today, ive fitted the inlet manifold. This is an original JX inlet manifold which has been welded and match ported to the AFN cylinder head. Tidier and more "standard" looking that using the AFN manifold and means my exsisting Charge Cooler setup will connect up to it and make fitting the AFN simpler. It also means I can use the standard Air Box and add provision for the MAF (Mass Air Flow meter)

Oh... refitted the rocker cover and timing belt covers and measured up for the auxilliary belt.
Then went home and drank some Bradfields Belgian Blue Beer... purchased this morning...
No, I dont know why its red???

Whilst I remember... Loom and ECU removal

Just a few notes on removing the ECU and Loom from the Sharan whilst I remember the details... Someone is bound to ask so i figured i'll just post it here...

First thing... Inside the car, spend 10 minutes removing all the plastics from the dash, vents, radio, centre console, steering column shrouds. Everything. It'll make it loads easier.

The Sharan AFN ECU is located behind the clocks. To get access you need to remove the 2 screws holding the clock surround in place (at the top) and then remove the clocks themselves. A few screws and then tilt the entire clock assembly forward and draw it out. You should be able to get the plugs off the back.

You'll see the ECU attached to a steel plate behind the dashboard under some sound proofing carpet stuff.

First you need to disconnect the multiplug on the left. You do this by sliding the retaining clip all the way out and simply unplugging... except its not really that simple.
You should see a vaccum pipe connection to the ECU. Pull this off. This is the direction you need to slide the clip towards. However, there is a metal plate attached to the ECU with an anti tamper screw (torx with a pin in the centre) which you'll need to remove before you can slide the clip out.

You'll also need to disconnect the plugs from the immobiliser box which is mounted underneath the metal plate. theyre easy though, just squeeze and pull.

There are 3 nuts/bolts holding the plate to the car, 2 nearest the steering wheel which you can access from underneath, and one towards the front accessed from above. You may need a ratchet spanner for the front one as its a little tight.
Once loose, you just need to wiggle it around so its loose and guide it around all the "stuff" under there to freedom. Its a bit fiddly, and you may need to loosen the 2 bolts that hold the brace from the front of the dashboard towards the rear to make a bit more room, but its not impossible.

Loom... right. This is a pain....Disconnect everything in the engine bay. Everything.
Some stuff you can cut if you prefer... ABS wiring, lights etc. But all the engine stuff you'll need. And theres a lot of wire there.

Back inside...
Pull out the fuse box. There are 2 white plastic tabs that slide up/out, then lever the fuse box out from the bottom and lift it off the pegs. Unplug everything. At this point I discovered that part of the fuse box in my car had melted (heater blower fuse was a bit "special", and this is why!) so i chopped all the wires off that go to the fuses. Nothing there that cant be replicated in the T3 so I figured i was safe chopping them.

Likewise, all the wiring to the rear of the car down the drivers side. I just cut through them all.
There are then a load of wires that run to the passenger side of the car through the dashboard. I spent ages trying to check if any of this was needed but i couldnt find anything in there that I needed except the red/white 12v feed to the OBD port. So I chopped these too. I figure that the time I might have to spend adding a couple of wires at a later date wont be anywhere near the time it would take to remove all that side of the loom. You can chop the radio and heater control wiring off, there is a branch of the loom that goes to the airbag controller which you dont need, and the wiring down to the OBD port under the ashtray

Wowzers.... doesnt time fly!

Over a year since I bought that tired Sharan and yanked its engine out!

So... lets get up to date before we continue.

Sharan stripped, eventually disposed of after selling all the easily removed stuff on Ebay.
Basically I have a free engine and all the bits I need and even a few spares left over.

The engine has been sat on an engine stand at work for the last year.
Basically because there is nothing wrong with the engine thats in my T3 I've had no reason to crack on with the conversion.
So, a summers use for holidays and camping trips and all of a sudden its Autumn again!

Ive realised that if I dont do it now it will likely be next winter before I think about it again....



Soooo.... the last couple of evenings Ive scrubbed and stripped the engine.
Ive also bought the Dual Mass Flywheel Clutch Kit and the TDI Input Shaft that allows me to mate the engine and clutch to my existing gearbox.

I had planned to at least pull the cylinder head off and have a poke and prod inside, even if it was just to clean the head up and remove 114k miles of "EGR gunk", but ive decided I'll leave as is, clean the ports as much as I can and just run it. I figure if i'm pulling it apart I may as well do everything and AFN's are still easy enough to find for rebuild... so thats something for the future.

Next step is to put some timing marks on the DMF to allow me to time it up with the timing port on the T3. This means I'll need to loosely fit a standard flywheel, and make some marks on the block then fit the DMF and transfer the marks onto the edge of the flywheel.
After that, i'll do the timing belt and tensioners as its much easier out of the car...
Then build up as much as  I can - new water pump, oil pump and gaskets as it would be crazy not to when the engine is stripped to this level.
Then I'll have to bite the bullet and pull my AAZ engine and Gearbox out to make way for this...