[Vwdiesel] Gas to Diesel conversion?

[Sandy Cameron]

At 10:47 PM 4/26/03 -0500, you wrote:
>Hello,
>
>Not many diesels in my area. Has anyone converted a gas car to diesel.
>Would the diesel bolt to the same transmissions as the gas engine? With
>diesel engine mounts would it be a direct bolt in? Just neet to change
>flywheel, clutch, wiring? There is an early 80's jetta with a manual and
>gas engine for sale for $500. Thinking of buying it if it is decent and
>putting a 1.6 turbo diesel in it at a latter date.

I'm doing just that right now, replacing the gas engine in an 87 jetta with
a NA diesel. Every hole in the gas block is the same in the diesel, so you
use the same mounts (85-92) the mounts in pre-85 are all rabbit mounts, and
are different from the 85-92 cars.
Tge 80-84 jetta has the rabbit mount on the front (pulley) end of the
engine, whereas the after-85 cars had it behind the engine under the
manifold. The 80-85 jettas were available with the 1.6 NA diesel, and the
turbo diesel.

Unless you want to do engine mount surgery, you should select an engin of
the appropriate age group.

All 020 transmissions, gas&diesel, are physically interchangeable with
either engine, however, the clutches are different.

The diesel flywheel has 6 bolts, where the gas has 12.

The diesel engine you get, if from a parts yard, would probably come
complete with the clutch and flywheel, and the tranny will just plug into
it, and the bolt holes are all in the right places.

If the diesel engine comes without a flywheel, you probably should get a
diesel flywheel and clutch assembly for it.

I have carefully examined the clutch and flywheel from my gas engine, and
although it is a 210mm, as opposed to the 200mm diesel clutch, I can see no
reason why the gas clutch would not work on the diesel as far as bolt-up is
concerned.

I don't know yet if the diesel flywheel is heavier than the gass one, but I
would not be surprised. (have to sneak the bathroom scale out to the garage)

A heavier flywheel might help reduce the vibration of the diesel engine.

More on that later.