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combo van 1.7td swap

3K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  ron30 
#1 ·
hi i am from Portugal and i own a 1997 combo b van
originally mounted with an athmospheric 1.7d engine (isuzo)
the engine had completed more than 400000 km's!! always pedal to the metal and the van most of the times loads from 500 to 1000 kgs, so it's a very resistant engine, although a bit slow.

i decided it was time for an upgrade and fitted a turbcharged engine from a Vectra.

here in Portugal, engines and mechanical stuff are very expensive, 1.7td engines range from 600 to 900€
i was lucky to found this one in a small village junkyard for 400€


so the process was the following:

1 remove the old engine and gearbox as a unit
2 separate the gearbox/clutch and flywheel to fit on the new engine
3 clean the new engine thoroughly
4 camshaft and crankshaft seals replaced
5 complete timing kit fitted (much easier with engine outside the car)
6 new valve cover gasket and other minor things
7 the fuel pump bracket needed to be replaced as it hits the steering rack
8 the block needed to be grinded so i could fit the gear linkage
9 the left engine mount was different and i placed my old one
10 all coolant piping was inspected and replaced as needed
11 engine + gearbox were fitted as a unit (removing and fitting were made from beneath the car)
12 exhaust was fabricated from the original vectra exhaust to fit my exhaust at the cat zone, cat was removed
13 as this is a work van and carries lots of heavy stuff i did not mess up with the boost and i did not put an IC, because too much piping means more turbo lag, especially when loaded and on hills.



i am not having any temperature issues, temperature never passes 90ºC, except in traffic as i removed the thermostat, engine seems very reliable, it's not so easy cold-starting as the atmospheric version, maybe because of the lower compresion ratio. I was a bit disappointed with the turbo lag when the van is loaded..but when the turbo starts to spin it has plenty more power than the old one....i am thinking on fitting a supercharger instead of the turbo, maybe from a vw G40 or so...has anyone done that??
 
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#5 ·
ron30:
the only problem with the supercharger might be the lack of space under the bonnet..the supercharger replaces the turbo, it's belt driven instead of being driven by the exhaust gases..it's less efficient then a turbo but it has no lagging problems and provides more low-end torque (ideal for a cargo van)
i was hooping to find someone who had done a similar thing in one of these engines so i could "copy" the project :)

mine is a bit nasty too on cold starts..i mean, it starts well... but not so well when compared to the amazing cold starts that the old 1.7d engine did...sometimes the thing would start with less then a complete turn of the crank and always without feathering the throttle at all, even in a 0ºC morning.

hsrchevette:
the 1.7td flywheel is heavier and bigger and doesn't fit in the f13 gearbox
i changed the starter because my 1.7d starter was almost brand new but the 1.7td starter will almost certainly fit. i think the 1.7d hitachi starter is the best because i think it's geared (not a direct drive starter), it cranks fast and has a lot of strenght, it´s also the smallest.

BOYA:
if you need any advise i'm here to help

i will post some pics of the van tomorrow, i recently put it some 15 inch wheels and 195 tires and it made a LOT of difference in rainy weather.the old tires were 165 80 13, very tall and narrow tires..not good for cornering and i have blown a couple of them when running heavy-loaded. here in Portugal the 15 inch wheels are illegal, but i prefer taking the chance of getting a ticket than putting back the 13 inch wheels especcially now on winter, it seems that the police don´t really care about the tires if we have insurance and all the taxes up to date.

cheers to all
:)
 
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