A New Turbo Was Needed...

After having some troubles with the stock turbo ( it basically exploded...), I was looking for a replacement for the stock Garett VNT 15. I decided to go with a VNT 17/22 from Garett again, nothing crazy here but just bit bigger for higher EGR. I also installed a Pyro Gauge to monitor the EGR and see when I have to slow down, if I need to...

Those are some of the mistakes I have made when I first did the conversion, I wanted to save time so I skipped the Pyro Gauge and to save some money I decided to "try" the stock turbo.
In the end I spent more money and more time that way.

                               The new VNT 17/22 just out of the box and the old still on the engine.
Here's a good view of the 270 degree 2.5"exhaust pipe.

Quick Mods.

The 31 inches tires were rubbing on the bottom of the front fenders. A quick fix was to use the grinder, cut the bottom of the fender. Then use a pop-top seal to finish it, that would also protect the paint. As the van should be repainted this winter I don't have to worry too much about the rust.

The New Syncro Story

7000km is a long test ride but I know it's all good now. We are ready for the summer. The picture were taken in the same spot, Mount 7 in Golden BC. We still miss our first Syncro...

At least we have some good photos.

Almost Done

Here is a few pictures of the conversion before I take it for a road test. Everything should be all right... but we never know.

TDI Conversion

The converted oil pan is a combo of an 1.8T oil pan and the bottom part was fabricated and welded by a machine shop in Calgary. Even if it look really good on the photo, this is the only thing that I would do differently. As soon as I have installed it on the engine on my first conversion it started leaking, the problem is that the welds are porous and so the oil slowly make it's way thru the aluminum. Hard to believe but true, so I removed the pan and used some gasket maker from Permatex that is specific for oil pans. It did help a lot but it's still leaking a bit, and that really bugs me...


To suport the engine and transmission I'm using the 2 transmission mount at one end and the Jetta mount at the other but that is not enough to secure the transmission and the engine together and stop some of the vibrations/movement while driving the van. I'm not trying to "Fast-Foward" this part of the conversion. To solve the problem I have made these 2 motor mounts that are bolted to the bell housing, engine and tranny. I'm using the WBX rubber mounts and also the modified WBX bar that used to be at the back of the engine. The bar will be put in place at the same time as the skid plate.

TDI Conversion

I have installed the ECU and the TDI fuse box inside the van on the left side, that way they will be away from the elements. To make sure the van doesn't become too noisy because of the hole I made these 2 plates of Richlite to seal the compartment, the top one is bolted to the bottom one that is threaded. A piece of under mat is sandwiched between to seal the whole thing.

TDI Conversion

There will be 2 oil switches, one for the ECU and the other one for the instrument cluster. The adapter can be found at California Imports in Vancouver.