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Diesel motor transplant, 1990 Subaru Loyale Wagon


TravisD
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good luck.

 

a few things to consider:

 

adapter

wiring

 

 

and you are limited on length i dont think even an inline four would fit between the trans and radiator, did vw make a h4 diesel back in the day mabey or is there any such thing as a v4 diesel?

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good luck.

 

a few things to consider:

 

adapter

wiring

 

 

and you are limited on length i dont think even an inline four would fit between the trans and radiator, did vw make a h4 diesel back in the day mabey or is there any such thing as a v4 diesel?

 

 

They did, but I think it was only military... as subaru has the first Boxer diesel for passenger cars.

 

-Daniel

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  • 2 weeks later...

A guy in DC was going to put a Jetta TDI motor in his GL-10, even made the adapter plate for the trans and everything...

 

Concluded that in order for it to fit, the car would need a 6" lift as well as a fairly hi cowl-induction style hood, or some other way to make the hood close. This he did not want.

 

The other thing, the gears in Subaru trans are so low compared to the TDI gears, that he would have to run 31" tires just to get a semi-reasonable gear ratio back. TDI motors rev to like 4000 RPM redline or something like that, and for an old Subie, thats just the halfway mark... Perfect if you want to do this for off-roading though, tons of torque, low speeds, great crawling.

 

Here's the thread, idk if any of the links/pics are still good, but its a good read and might be able to ask him some questions

 

http://ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=94908&highlight=diesel

 

-Bill

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  • 2 weeks later...
as subaru has the first Boxer diesel for passenger cars.

 

-Daniel

 

Not quite. Every thing has been done before if you look back far enought.

I know of a make of car that was fitted with diesel flat twin in aprox 1930.

It was a little saloon fitted with a conventry diesel flat twin instead of the 7hp petrol flat twin it had in it. :)

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3.9L/4BT

 

The 3.9L/4BT Cummins is an engine in the same family as the 5.9L Cummins turbodiesels. The 3.9L/4B is an inline four-cylinder turbodiesel that was popular for many step van applications including bread vans and other commercial vehicles. This engine is also used in various industrial and construction applications. With a cylinder bore of 4.02 inches (102 mm) and a piston stroke of 4.72 inches (120 mm), the engine had a wet weight of 745 pounds (338 kg). In recent years it produced 130 hp (97 kW) and 355 lb·ft (481 N·m) of torque. The 4BT today is also popular as a conversion engine among many light-duty pickup trucks that were originally equipped with gasoline engines. This is due to its high fuel efficiency while producing power comparable to the original light-duty gasoline engine. The 4BT engines have the same pistons, connecting rods, valve train components, and injectors as their 6BT counterparts.

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Your best bet would be to source one of the new Suby diesel engines.

 

It wont be cheap though.

 

Unless your an expert machinets and technician, this would not be an easy conversion. the entire system is multiplexed and there are no manuals out for them yet.

 

 

 

nipper

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I made some steps towards putting a TDI in an EA82 wagon and found that the body needed about 6" to be able to close the hood. I wasn't after a lifted, offroad only rig or some huge "power buldge" in the hood so I didn't pursue it.

 

The 4bt is tall engine, taller then the TDI by several inches. Most of the vehicles (land cruisers, international scouts, etc.) do a spring over axle conversion to get any kind of ground clearance and those vehicles are already higher up then a subaru starting out.

 

Not to mention the power supplied by a 4bt is going to be more then the drive train can take which would mean doing a solid axle conversion, which means putting in a frame.

 

Of course anything can be accomplished with time and money, but unless you have plenty of both...

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Yea, the inline diesel would be an eye sore sticking out of the hood. My friend thought of that (he has had cummins for about 10 years). He figured that if you were going to put that engine in, then it would not be for street use....or at least a very loud DD with a massive hood scoop or cowl hood.

 

As much as I would hate to say it....the best thing to do is maybe make some contacts over in Europe and start saving your money for a used boxer diesel. but again, with the diesel over their making 253tq at 1800rpm....get ready for some power.

 

Personaly I can not wait for the diesel to come out in america. I show my buddy (diesel maniac) the stats on it and he had a rather big smile. He said that with his help, that he could get an extra 100hp and 100tq out of that little boxer. Just give him a month with the engine and he can do it.

 

But I say go for the TDI conversion. at least there are plenty of parts and forums out there to help you along the way. And who knows.

 

Personaly I will be waiting for the boxer diesel.

 

GL!

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  • 5 years later...

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