The Official VR6 Engine Swap (Page 27/73)
bmwguru MAY 27, 07:22 PM

quote
Originally posted by Faster7:

Very nice!


Wiring isn't that hard as you know... but there is also a shop that makes hybrid pumps to run a TDI motor with just a single wire, like how the older VW diesels were. Dug for the shop info with no luck so far, but found this thread:

http://www.vwdiesel.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=6427




Wiring and making harnesses is one of my specialities. My main shop talent is hard diagnosis. I've even had new car dealers send me cars they couldn't figure out.
I'm curious about the tdi aftermarket wiring...I know that you need to be able to read the start of injection pump timing and that needs to be adjusted mechanically while watching the readings on the laptop...but if there is a simple way to do it...maybe that is the way to go. I always seem to overcomplicate things and not stop until I am 110% satisfied.
Dave
bmwguru JUN 07, 12:26 PM
Just figured I'd update the progress....
I've been having a bad month. I broke one of my knuckles, one of my employees left at the beginning of our busy season and I've been working 14 hour days to just keep up with the workflow. So, needless to say, I'll be taking a few weeks off any side projects, which sucks because the car is so close to completion. At least it runs!!!
Dave
shawnhalolush JUN 08, 12:12 AM
That's rough Guru, you should look into some help around the shop so you can focus on the important things (ie the VR6)....lol
Austrian Import JUN 16, 03:28 AM
Sorry to hear about your knuckle. What's the prognosis?

[This message has been edited by Austrian Import (edited 06-16-2008).]

atleastitruns JUN 16, 03:29 AM

quote
Originally posted by bmwguru:
So, needless to say, I'll be taking a few weeks off any side projects, which sucks because the car is so close to completion. At least it runs!!!
Dave



no... I'm atleastitruns!

^.^ hehe?
bmwguru JUN 16, 06:43 AM
I should be back on the VR6 this week. I was working from 7:30am-9:30pm almost every night on just customer's cars. The profits were great, but I'd rather have my sanity back. I hired another tech to help out, so things should be back to normal soon. My knuckle is healing and I even went bowling for Father's Day with the wife and kids. I had to bowl with just my thumb in the ball, and I did pretty well like that, so I might start bowling in my new style from now on.
I'm really hoping to have te car finished by the end of July and then start the testing procedure.
Dave
ps....Atleastit runs....hee hee hee!

[This message has been edited by bmwguru (edited 06-16-2008).]

bmwguru JUN 24, 10:35 PM
We have more progress...
I finally put my foot down and decided to work on the Fiero swap this evening and let the customer's cars wait until tomorrow. I also hired a fellow Fiero enthusiest to work at my shop, so now I have more manpower on the German imports during the day and my shop transforms into a Fiero shop at night. I counted three Fieros on my lifts after closing tonight.
Anyway, the auto repair industry had one of the worst winters in the past ten years this last year. Fifteen import shops closed their doors in NJ between April and May. The good news is that is seems that our shop is making up for the winter right now. I have more than double the normal amount of business and there is no end in sight, but I am not complaining.
.
.
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Tonight I made the gas pedal mount for the fly by wire throttle. I had to use the VW as pedal and make it work with the Fiero's mounting surface. It was actually quite simple. I used a piece of 3/16" steel and drilled the holes where they needed to be. Then I welded in 7mm studs to mount the gas pedal to. The plate bolts up where the original pedal bolted up. It feels just like it was put there from the factory.
Here are some pics...




Looking back on this, I really could have made this a lot easier, but I'm certain that I can make all the emissions components work from the VW in the Fiero and meet 2000 Jetta OBDII specs. Everyone asked me thus far as to why I haven't just run a stand alone and be done with it in four hours. I wanted it to be just like a VW. I wanted to see if it could be done this way.
Dave

[This message has been edited by bmwguru (edited 06-24-2008).]

bmwguru JUL 04, 08:51 PM
I snuck down to the shop this morning to play around with the VR6. I left the bay doors closed and the calls forwarded to the voicemail. Amaingly, the phone was ringing and I did see people come by the shop on the camera, but I was elusive and wanted total privacy.
Anyway, I fitted the VW shifter into the Fiero and made some slight mods to have it fit. Then I made access holes into the rear of the shifter housing to allow the cables to exit the rear of the shifter instead of the front. A few test fits and it fit rather well. I then started making the bracket for the transmission end. It came out looking great, but I had to scrap it because the cables interfered with each other when shifting to reverse. So, back to the drawing board.
My wife is planning another one of her crazy road trips this upcoming week, so I'll hopefully have a few nights to spend getting the final stages of this swap done. (I'm already planning the next swap in my third Fiero). Then the car is off to the body shop for fresh paint (my gold one is there now getting the paint done before the swap).
Here are two pics from today. I didn't include pics of the transmission cable bracket because it was not usable.
Dave
Richjk21 JUL 04, 09:08 PM
Hey Dave ....Not to Hijack, but I have a road trip coming up this weekend too ... My Daughter and I are leaving Sunday morning at O'dark thrity we're going from Portland Oregon to Buffalo NY.... but I can't keep up with your wifes driving stamina... for us aggressive is doing the trip in 3 - 13 hour driving days. Then I leave the Truck/Camper/Daughter/Dogs all at the in-laws, and fly back out here Wednesday night. Then I get to make the trip again in a week..... in a rental truck trailering the Fiero, and caravaning with my wife in her car, and my son driving our other car... woohoo


Rich

[This message has been edited by Richjk21 (edited 07-04-2008).]

bmwguru JUL 04, 09:31 PM
yeah, I love her trips. Not to get off topic, but she is once again taking my Benz, three of our kids and three other kids (cousins), while towing a stock trailer full of stuff to be delivered to Louisiana. I gave the Benz a once over yesterday and it passed 100%. An hour later, I got into the truck to go home and the throttle had failed. it is an electric fly by wire throttle and as I pulled into traffic, I lost all throttle function. Needless to say, I was not happy. I pulled the truck back into the shop and replaced the throttle sensor and air mass meter and reprogrammed the throttle stop. All fixed.
I'm glad this happened now and not on Wednesday.
Dave