VW 1.9 TDI from car to boat

Monique

Monique

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My Seat Ibiza is very rusty but technically, its still very reliable. Purchased a new car already.

Is it a reasonable proposition to keep the engine and wiring loom and eventually install in my boat. Could not find a component list to perform a conversion.

It would be a smaller, lighter and more accessible installation than my present Volvo TDM22. 79 HP vs 130 HP too... not that it matters much.

Thoughts?:D
 
Vw were doing marine engines.... But a flogged out tdi may be more jasper than it's worth, once you get all the marination bits...
 
As Photogog says there were VW marinised engines produced , based on the VW Golf as I recall.
The 1.9 has been around for ages in various forms and is usually very reliable and economical.
As you know newer engines are dependent upon engine management systems and sensors, which work well in a car but are not by-passable if they fail.

Remember too the VW engines like the "dedicated" oil so make sure you carry some spare with you.
On ballance I would go for it.
 
Monique said:
My Seat Ibiza is very rusty but technically, its still very reliable. Purchased a new car already.

Is it a reasonable proposition to keep the engine and wiring loom and eventually install in my boat. Could not find a component list to perform a conversion.

It would be a smaller, lighter and more accessible installation than my present Volvo TDM22. 79 HP vs 130 HP too... not that it matters much.

Thoughts?:D
Click to expand...

VW engine blocs (especially the 1.9 l TDI are marinized by CMD (Cummins Mercruiser Diesel)
 
My citroen Berlingo 2 litre HDi recently got written off-thank goodness-why-because the HDi engine approaching 150k miles was nothing but trouble.
Same with any HDi engine which whilst mechanically great as was mine sensors and the engine management computer began to misbehave-if I had wanted my horn to work properly or my radio it would have been £2000 for a new unit.
Whilst management units are used on modern marine diesels they are purpose designed.
There are plenty of traditional indirect diesels available to marinise-everything Ford ever produced;trad.VW;Leyland;Perkins etc.
I would leave HDi engines well alone as when they go wrong they go wrong in a big way!-injectors £200 each ;High pressure fuel pump about £600;impossible to DIY fix(important on a boat I think)Oh and they do not like anything other than totally clean fuel.
I would not be given one even new in a boat.
 
Monique said:
My Seat Ibiza is very rusty but technically, its still very reliable. Purchased a new car already.

Is it a reasonable proposition to keep the engine and wiring loom and eventually install in my boat. Could not find a component list to perform a conversion.

It would be a smaller, lighter and more accessible installation than my present Volvo TDM22. 79 HP vs 130 HP too... not that it matters much.

Thoughts?:D
Click to expand...

Feaseable.........Not sure, Bowman did or may still do heat exchanger manifold for the four jug 1.5 from which the 1.9 was derived, so ports may line up, putting turbo on the NA flange may involve some welding mods, however the the tube stack in the Bowman manifold will never cool more than about 50 Hp.

The wiring is a no brainer, the immobiliser in in the instrument cluster not the ECU, all you need to do is bung an emulator on, and engine will think it is attached to instrument cluster. Electronics are the easy bit

Adaptor plates MAY be available.

Fully dressed 1.9 TDI comes out around 135 Kg (Dry), Fully marinised TMD22 with nasty MS2 gearbox is under 240 Kg (dry). Doubt if you will gain very much at all once you have marinised the TDI motor.

Final point is that the Volvo TMD22 is actually the old Perkins Prima which was a real nice motor in its time, a bit of a rough diamond, but lives forever. Other than gaining some refinement you will gain little else. Fuel consumption will be awash.

I would file this one under feaseable but not pratical.
 
You can use a remote mounted heat exchanger and hand it on the bulkhead but you will need to get the water-cooled manifold made up. Not expensive as any half decent machine shop will turn one out for a couple of hundred quid. Oil cooler, again no problem or drive connections. All easily made up. Lancing will probably be able to advise on what sensors are needed.
There are still hundreds of engines being marinised to save money so using common rail diesels is going to be the norm' before long.
Go for it!
 
There is a 1930's Gentleman's fast motor yacht in Burnham - its gorgeous.
The owner (his Grandfather had the boat built) ditched the aging petrol for a 150BHP 1.9 Golf GT TDi motor.
It goes like a sodding rocket.

The layout was fairly basic, and I will get photos of the layout and talk to him about cost and bits availability if you like.
 
My old TDI is from 2001 so it is too noisy to be an HDI type engine. ECU is quite basic ... in my opinion.

I guess I'll drop the idea.... too much time involved.

As mentioned by Sybarite, VW diesels are marinised by Cummins and available through Cummins network of dealers. Nice looking kit too.
 
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I have used the 1.9 TDI engine in a number of applications, nice engine certainly quieter than the Perkins Prima, however what you already have is far better widgit than any home brew.

Looking at the general standard of DIY marinisations I shudder, particularly about being able to make a properly designed and engineered water cooled exhaust manifold for turbocharged engine for a few hundred pounds, or remote mounting the HX, all plain nasty with loads of potential in service issues. As I mentioned before forget the electronics that is no brainer.

As to cam belt prejudice, plain nuts, the Perkins has cam belt just like the VW, from a modern engineering persective cam belts are good, chains are BAD. Ask any Ford or Mercedes dealer about chains jumping a sprocket on Duratorque engines in Transits and smashing up cylinder heads, or Mercedes engines with chain tensioners slow to pump up after a lube service and jumping a tooth all ending in tears as soon as motor given some tight wire! Unless you have a proper diesel engine with gear driven cam, it it is belt drive every time.

Yes I DO have a prejudice over the use of Garret swing vane VG turbochargers in marine applications which I suspect the OP's donor engine has. Before anybody mentions the fact that VW marine engines have them along with Volvo D3's Yanmar BY etc etc, let me put my neck on the line and say that they are simply hopeless for marine applications unless engine is subject to regular pedal to the metal operation. Constant low speed operation in displacement vessels results in the swing vane back plate sooting up causing the vanes to stick, once throttle is opened overboost is sensed and engine protection cuts in...

I have seen a few decent Lancing conversions, however I have seen many more horror boxes, one poster way back was complaining about oil sheen from the exhaust, when I was sent the pictures the turbo orientation was all wrong causing the seals be overwhelmed and flood the compressor side with oil. The exhaust riser set up advised by Lancing was an accident waiting to happen.

Stick with what you have, and remember words are cheap unless they come from somebody who has actually performed a decent marinisation.
 
VW 1.9 diesels were made without the turbo, and in that form produced about 69bhp. To replace the present boat engine the non turbo version would probably be better. onversion is probably not on as itt is not just a case of removing the turbo, as the non turbo engine had different ECU and higher compression ratio, and probably lots of other differences as well.
 
Ask any Ford or Mercedes dealer about chains jumping a sprocket on Duratorque engines in Transits and smashing up cylinder heads, or Mercedes engines with chain tensioners slow to pump up after a lube service and jumping a tooth all ending in tears as soon as motor given some tight wire! Unless you have a proper diesel engine with gear driven cam, it it is belt drive every time.

my 35 year old engine has done ok on its chain. How many cam belts would I have got through by now. I wouldn't want any cam belted engine in my boat - access is not good enough IMHO - Can't speak re OP boat
 
EuanMcKenzie said:
engine has a cam belt - don't want one of them on marine diesel either

try setting it up lying in the bilge
Click to expand...
The MD22 has a cam belt, dead easy to change, lift the steps and it is looking at you, bit of a differnce from in a car, scraping your hand down the side of the wing!
Stu
 
Monique said:
My Seat Ibiza is very rusty but technically, its still very reliable. Purchased a new car already.

Is it a reasonable proposition to keep the engine and wiring loom and eventually install in my boat. Could not find a component list to perform a conversion.

It would be a smaller, lighter and more accessible installation than my present Volvo TDM22. 79 HP vs 130 HP too... not that it matters much.

Thoughts?:D
Click to expand...

What are you going to do with the 130 horses - current gearbox probably not up to it and will have wrong ratio, ditto engine beds, shaft etc. What prop will you need, how does the torque band equate?

The turbo will last nanoseconds, I suspect, in a marine environment and the cost of marinisation wont be worth the potential unreliability - in my uneducated view
 
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