850 tdi upgrade project
 

Thought I would put a few build pics up as the engine work is just about finished now. My goal is to reach 230-240 bhp and somewhere in the region of 360 ft/lb of torque. I'm still putting a few miles on it before I go all out but my ar5e dyno says it's not far off!

Anyway the build:

All the front end removed ready for the big intercooler. It seems there is even less space than a T5 to wedge a 3" one in but it is possible minus air con.
http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/...h/DSC_0490.jpg

Manifolds removed to make way for the 16t.http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/...h/DSC_0495.jpg

After some swear words the 16t fits a treat. A custom bracket for the actuator had to be made due to the turbo being rotated.http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/...h/DSC_0491.jpg

http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/...h/DSC_0492.jpg

The oil feed and return lines needed modifying and I was quite surprised how much smaller the diameter of the c70 return line is compared to the tdi one. Going to see how I get on without water lines to start with, I have read up on it and asked several experts their opinion and they think it will be fine as a diesel runs a lot cooler.

I will get more pics up over the weekend.

Found some more pics..

The modified manifold ready to take a td04 16t, next to old k14 housing.http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/...h/DSC_0438.jpg

It is surprising how restrictive the standard one is really. With the poorly designed wastegate setup of the standard k14 too its not surprising 200+bhp isn't really possible, believe me I tried!! Exhaust manifold pressure is huge due to the restrictions, so much so the exhaust valves cannot seat properly due to the back pressure.

This is the manifold with the 16t on.http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/...h/DSC_0437.jpg

I have used the old egr port to place a fitting for monitoring emp.

Been waiting for this for a while, looks like she'll be a monster!

Never looked down into the exhaust manifold but can see why its not so ideal.

She feels a monster lol. Once I've done some miles I will get the final mapping done and the engine work should be finished.........for now!

I've been driving an 850 T5 saloon whilst mine has been off the road and I can honestly say my diesel has a lot more pull. It may not be as fast (ie top speed) but is certainly quicker on the road.

Update at last! Ace. I cannot believe how ridiculously restrictive the original manifold is? In your opinion is it possible to open it up a bit quite easily or is it on the limits?

I've opened mine up a bit but you definitely wouldn't get any gains if your sticking with the standard turbo. A bigger turbo is a must to get any descent or worthy gains.

The big intercooler was a tight fit but managed to go in with minimal trimming to the front panel. I know people will wonder why I haven't relocated the horns or trimmed the centre piece out for 'increased' air flow, but i wanted a completely standard look so they are staying where they are.
http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/...s/DSC_0502.jpg

Nice shot of the turbo all plumbed in. The copper coil is to disapate heat from the exhaust gas before it gets to the guage to monitor emp.http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/...s/DSC_0508.jpg

General overview of the engine bay now it's all back together. I'm going to paint the shiny pipe black as it's not 'factory' enough for me.
http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/...s/DSC_0503.jpg

http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/...s/DSC_0504.jpg

http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/...s/DSC_0507.jpg

The pipe work from the turbo to intercooler had to be changed due to the outlet on the intercooler coming out of the side not the front/back where the original one is. The hardest part was replacing the stupid twisty factory bottom pipe, what a crap design that is! Anyway all 2.5" now and nicely routed. Couldn't get great pics of it but you'll get the idea.

http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/...h/DSC_0500.jpg

http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/...h/DSC_0501.jpg

Can you spot what's missing here?? http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/...h/DSC_0509.jpg

Give you a clue it weighs about 15kgs and is the size of a suit case lol.

Straight pipe, or have you moved silencers to aft of rear axle ah la AWD?

Always fancied fitting the twin pipe setup from an R, as Im a sucker for a wagon with twin pipes, petrol or diesel, just looks right.

Also how fecking clean is your sump!

Yeah my engine seems to defy the rule that these things leak no matter what lol.

I have a small (302mm long) resonator just behind the rear axle. I had my tail pipe chopped off and connected to this to keep it looking original.

This is turning into a weapon of mass coal production :car-smiley-004:

There will be no 'rollin coal' if i have my way lol! I prefer to keep it clean.

A weapon it will be though..

Liking this a lot!
Would love to progress mine to something like this :thumbs_up:

Can we change the thread title to "TDI Porn" perhaps ?

I went for a test run today and all seems well. The intercooler is awesome, the top pipe and inlet manifold were icy cold so plenty of dense air. After a chat with the mapper we are going to up the fuel a bit more as at the moment I have no smoke at all so obviously more than enough air. It certainly pulls well and unlike before it just keeps on pulling, holding a steady 24psi right through to 4500 rpm. I'm going to connect a guage up to monitor emp and see if I can't up the boost even more, and you know what that means.....more fuel.......more power!!

A solid 24psi right off the batt is hefty, does it spool ok for normal driving, always worried about petrol engine orientated turbines on diesel not spooling early enough to be of any use.

I have noticed no difference in spool up time at all. Just it's ability to hold higher boost pressure at high rpm, purely down to the reduced emp from removing the restrictive standard turbo.

I love stuff like this! Hats off to you guys that have the knowledge and skill to modify and make parts like this :) Makes me well jel! :D
Out of curiosity , and I don't mean to put a dampener on things , but who do you insure through ? I'm so sick of places like Admiral ripping me off for the slightest mod!

Steve

Flux, knott and that Welsh sounding one, all mods only add about £70 for me and I'm in my 20s but 9 years ncb

Yep flux.

How much boost are you making at 70/80mph cruise on flats road? Mine used to make 2-4psi, then after cleaning intake manifold and mbc I was seeing 3-6psi, now after rin box (but no maf adjustment) I'm getting 7-9psi which feels like a lot! No other adjustments made so not sure why the increase in boost is being seen.

Is yours an auto?

Manual.

Got other problems too, I'm talking with ron about it, so easy enough to sort. Basically no matter the maf setting with power anything over 50/60% and even very light throttle (less than 7% pedal) you get a serious surge at 1400/1500rpm depending on maf value, which in 4th 5 the is notable but not a problem, 1st 2nd the engine pretty much self drives itself, dicey on ice!

Interesting, at 75 I'm using a whole 1 psi.

I used to get that with my box, I figured it was just receiving the signal to turn on and then increasing the fuel hence the noticeable surge.

Little update.

Things were going very well with the new setup, good power with a nice delivery aimed at reducing low down torque (to save the flywheel), but as with all tuning a few issues have come to light!

The biggest issue being the fact I'm lifting the head off the block at high boost pressure (~26psi). This causes a rush of gas into the coolant system and a rapid overflow of the expansion tank due to the high pressure. Under normal driving (low boost) conditions everything is fine, so to begin with I'm going to just replace the standard 10.9 grade head bolts with stronger 12.9 items. They will be torqued down higher than usual too. If It continues to leak then the head gasket may be damaged so I will replace it as it's not a difficult job.

On a plus note as we were using the rolling road at the time we could react immediately so minimal damage has been done, so a simple bolt change and re-torque should be fine.
I did get a some power figures before the lift and things are looking promising!

The t4 guys and previous folk have mentioned head bolts and rod bolts being an issue with higher states of tune being reached. Hopefully that's all!

Heads lifting!! Just shows how strong the bottom end on these AEL's are (With uprated Mains bolts!)! I think you've got a great project going there, Ace to read about diesel tuning, Keep it up mate.

The good folks over on D24T.com seemed to rate ARP stud kits for keeping the heads snug when running oodles of boost.

A quick gander at the website suggests they come in at ~$145.

Rod bolts are ok, it's the main bolts that hold the crank in that are the problem. Again they are only 10.9 class as standard but easily changed to 12.9's by removing the sump (hence my shiney sump!) and changing them one at a time.

:err:

How in the hell is the head "lifting" ??? That thing is bolted down with stupid amounts of torque isn't it ? You don't mean to say the head is flexing right ?

Love this thread btw.

P.S. You REALLY need to give us a video of this beast, hope I've not missed one ?

They are good but I wanted to still use a proper 'stretch bolt' rather than the arp's. Main reason is to still keep a kind of fail safe incase I push things to far. I'd rather it lift the head again than completely sh1t itself!

Haha all in good time!

It only has to lift I miniscule amount and pressure is released into the coolant system. The term head lift is a bit dramatic really, but in essence it is whats happening.

B00TS will be able to tell you about it after a little ride on Saturday.

Ha Ha! I wanted to shout 'chicken' but on reflection, your reasoning sounds very wise!

Video it, please... you cant keep us waiting any longer !

Aye, I can do cameraman if asked...

Well I can't go full beans until I fit the new bolts so it will have to wait a little longer! And I want to reach my target power (reliably) before I brag about it lol.

Magical 300 ?

EDIT: Actually no, come to think about it, that would take some serious work.

No not that high, yet. That may come next year as it will require a bigger turbo (again!), injectors, fuel pump mods and a better clutch / flywheel set up.

I will be happy with ~240bhp and 550nm with this setup.

The TDI already rapes the front tyres as it is, i'd dread to think what that thing will be like.

Can't wait... another thing to look forward to this year...

It does indeed, 10k is deemed as very low for most cars bit in looking at the edges of my tyres being cooked after just 8k. So much weight! Needs more camber I think and meat on the shoulders to counter it.

Depends what tyres you go for really. If you want longevity your not going to get grip as the compound is too hard. I use a pretty soft compound usually, with extra camber and I get ~6k miles but very good grip with minimal wheelspin.