Suzuki Samurai VW diesel swap

Diesel Sammy

Looks sweet:Cheer:My brother and I did a diesel conversion on his sammy about 10 years ago. We used an izuzu/chevette moter and 5 speed with a custom turbo and intercooler set up.When he moved he pulled his chev 6.2 4x4 on a car trailer with the sammy and the truck fully loaded 580 miles!!!:badidea: With 33 swampers also. Needless to say he got alot of looks with it on the freeway:hehe:. About 4 years after that I helped a friend do the same conversion on his, only he used a chevy luv 4x4 trans and transfercase along with the sammy one. You could put it in double low range and 1rst gear and let the clutch out at an idle and stand on the brakes while it spun the rear tires. Plus the thing was scary fast for a sammy. Tons of fun! We also put Cat emblems and painted the engines cat yellow. Niether of them had any problems with the stock axles and they both ran 33s for years. Good luck and enjoy all the fun your gonna have! Brian.
 
cool build up!!!
little late now but they have a BIG 36mm oil pump for these engines..might be worth looking in to.


Nice job:Cheer:
 
Yep a little late now. :lol: But I can still drop the pan without having to pull the engine since it's got a SPOA lift.

Well this weekend wasn't as progressive as I had hoped. Getting the belts right was a PITA! I could have used the stock setup, had I not went with power steering. But with 33" tires I thought it'd be for the best. So all the factory bracketing was worthless since it'd place everything right where my steering shaft leads. Anyhow here's what I completed.

Got all the accessories and belts installed. Got the timing belt guard/cover installed and modified. Got the alt. bracket built and installed as well with the alt.
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I began working on the radiator today. I had to modify the radiator a bit since I'm flipping it. (Filled in one port, and added a new nipple to the top for the resv. return) I had to cut the fender well on the passenger side to allow enough room for it to fit.
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Tomorrow I plan on building my radiator cradle and getting it installed/plumbed. I also ordered a 160F thermostat today. I'm going to have to work a bit on getting the rest of the plumbing done as there's a lot of hoses.
 
A little more work today. Got the radiator cradle made.

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Welded in.
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Radiator sat in place. Also picked up a electric fan for it.
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If time allows tomorrow, I'll get radiator fully mounted and plumbed.
 
Sorry for the delay. Been busy. But I've got a bit done.

First of all I addressed the high pressure side of the power steering. I went around but no one could build me a custom one. So I used the sidekick's steering box factory line with the end cut off. I then found a fitting in the help section at the parts store with the right fitting. I used a 3/8's compression fitting. But to make it work I had to turn down the OD of the sidekick tubing. I put it in my lathe and held the end of the hose and turned it down. Worked great. Just slow.
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Here are some of the plumbing fittings that I used. I tried to use the 180 turn to work on the lower radiator hose. But it just leaked when I tried to clamp a hose on it. Instead I hacked up another hose to get the bend I needed with a splice kit. The cross is for the split off from the water pump for the heater core, overfill tank, and oil cooler. There's also another tee in the engine bay off the other port that leads to the head and oil cooler. The other 90deg elbow is an adapter for the rear of the head to the heater core. If anyone ever asks you to help plumb up one of these. Run away. Run far far away!

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I had a local shop weld up a plug for the factory blow off valve as it's about useless. (I've not bought a TIG welder yet) Besides I'll be running boost and EGT gauges to keep an eye on things.

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They also made me a custom oil feed line out of my mangled stock one. It's very nice!
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Here's a shot of the engine bay now.
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Radiator fan is mounted, but not wired yet.
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I used the stock VW overflow/fill tank along with the stock radiator. I had to plastic weld off the original air bleed port and drill and install a new nipple for the new "top" of the radiator. I managed to use the stock VW mount tabs to hold everything in place with a pair of simple brackets.

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I also installed the injectors, feed and return lines.
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I've filled the coolant as well. I also installed my ground cable. This weekend will be wiring and fuel plumbing. Also have to build my exhaust too. Getting closer!
 
haloman said:
Any ETA on when you might fire it up?
Click to expand...

I'm thinking I might get around to firing it up next weekend. If I don't run into any unseen issues. This weekend will be fuel plumbing/filter/pump. Wiring pumps, glow plugs, starter, alt, and building exhaust.

Once I get it running though, it's not moving for a bit. I've got a good bit of work on the brakes, steering, and lighting to attend to.
 
Only minor progress over the weekend. Didn't get to work much. I did get the power steering plumbed up. Along with the fuel pump. And I built brackets to hang the fuel filter and power steering pump resv. off of. For giggles I threw the battery in it to see if it'd respond. I've got headlights, so that's a good sign. I've got a lock set I'll be installing this week. I've also started on the exhaust flange. I'm just going to run a straight pipe on in. So I'll be able to do the exhaust here at home. Maybe next weekend we'll hear it start up. I'll make sure to make a video.

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It lives!!!!!!!!!!

I started it today for the first time. Sounds good! I even tried it in gear and moved it an inch forward and reverse. (So it techincally moved under its own power) Unfortunately I've got two leaks to tend with. My heater core is bad. And the valve cover gasket they sent was questionable (deformed). So I've got an oil leak. After that it's installing the rest of the gauges, a little bit more of plumbing and wiring. Connect all the steering linkages on the chassis. Fix the brakes. And a good bit of interior work. Getting closer!

http://www.youtube.com/v/ANu99QfqnK0
 
Guess I should update this. It's been running on the road for a while now, but I'm not all that impressed with the top end power.

I put a 2" downpipe leading into a 2.5" exhaust with no muffler. Love hearing the turbo spool up on it. It's stout rolling through 1-2 gears. I built a bumpers for it as well.

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The rear is also 2x4" 3/8"wall tubing. The plate is 1/2". It's stout. I've also wired up quick connects and have a 10K winch I can put on it either front or rear.

Right now I've installed a boost elbow as well. I think to solve my lack of top end power I need to crank it down more, and perhaps turn up the fuel on the pump. I only run about 8-10psi at 60+mph 3Krpms. EGT's are 900F. I think the engine is lugging too hard.
 
I wonder if the gearing is too tall? Either way try turning the fuel up a little and see. You may have to step up to some air/fuel mods. Chris
 
If anything it needs to be taller. At 60mph I'm turning 3K rpm. Seems the boost elbow is way out. I've turned it 2 turns in with minial affect on the boost. I'm going to crank it down and see what it does now. I recall backing it out when the stock clutch was slipping. Now that I installed a centerforce clutch it should handle it.
 
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