Glad to know that someone is working on the problem. I might be interested in swapping from the 4 speed auto to something more modern (assuming its not more problematic). I wanted to go to the 5 or modified 6 speed manual gearbox for the 2001 VR6 that we have, but it seems like the gearbox has issues working with the ESP system. Is it possible to get MK60 ESP system to replace the existing module? I've read about people retrofitting the MK60 (which I believe is in the VW MK5 and later BMW e46 cars) in the e36 and early e46 cars; I'm curious if its possible to get it to work in the van.
I've got the motor in/hanging on its own motor mounts now, and I just finished taking apart the Passat BHW wiring harness. I've got some inner T5 CV joints coming from Poland, supposedly
, and I'm hoping that they will be able to get me started on the axles. I'm still mired deep in the wiring nonsense right now, but I think I'll be able to swap the Passat's ABS pump/computer in place of the EV one so the ECU accepts it. And I'll have to pare down a bunch of the wires since the EV ESP controller/ABS computer is 88 pins vs the 42ish for the Passat. Yay for wiring diagrams.
One thing I didn't count on is the shift box I got from the Audi TT has the same left/right cable movement, but the fore/aft movement is reversed on the T5 box. I can't decide if I want to make a small level system at the gearbox end to reverse the current fore/aft throw, or if I want to get a shifter from a T5 and try to retrofit it in. The T5 shifters are mounted on the dash though, and I'm not so keen on the idea of having to make a new console for it to fit.
I was able to also swap over the in tank lift pump from the Passat after dropping/draining the EV tank. I'll be interested to see how it fits/works, the EV pump is a slightly different design that the Passat's is, and the float arm is on a different side. I
think I've been able to rotate it around and adjust it appropriately, but I won't know until I'm able to run a few tanks of diesel through and calculate mileages. I decided to cut a small access hatch in the carpet though so it will be fairly easy to access the lift pump in the future. I plan on getting some rubber mat to cover the carpet up front anyways, so I'm not worried about the two cuts in the carpet.
Dang, so much still left to do, but I feel like I've made a ton of progress this past week with just the tank and wiring. I'm hoping that once the wiring gets sorted, the rest will just start falling into place.
Some messy pictures from my 1.5 car garage, pardon the disaster esque look of the place.
Firewall clearance. I'm going to have to reposition the turbo vacuum acuator slightly to clear the fire wall. I didn't want to use the BFH too much, but I bet I could have made it fit.
Swapped the BHW exhaust manifold for one from a B4 passat. Lost the EGT port on the BHW manifold, but I think I've got it figured out how to get it back inline. I had to make an adapter plate to spin the turbo about 30* too since it was at a different angle in the Passat. Here is the Passat exhaust manifold, you can see how the turbo is angled back to fit the starter and AC compressor on that side of the engine in the longitudinal configuration.
Here are the two fuel pumps side by side, the Passat pump doesn't have the floating top section and doesn't need the locking ring on the bottom of the tank either. But since the EV tank is slightly angled under the lift pump hole I couldn't get the Passat's pump to spin all the way around to where I wanted it for the fuel level float. We'll see how off it actually is.
Next time I don't even think I'll need to take the E-brake cover off.
And the beginning of the mess...
Just to try and clean up the floor a little all the wiring for the engine plugs is laying up here now. I think I'll have connections from the EV and can get rid of the Passat side for a lot of these guys. Plus I can get rid of all the VR6 side of the wiring once I figure out what is needed and what isn't. I'm going to try and use the EV fuse block, I haven't quite figured out where I am going to put all the relays for the TDI yet. But I just went through and disconnected everything that was hooked up in the engine compartment and went through the firewall. It makes it kind of a mess for now, but once I'm able to weed through/out the things like the lights and wipers, HVAC and double connections I should be good to go. I have the entire CANBUS wiring for the Passat as well, but the EV has a much neater/nicer system with the block that all the CANBUS cables connect into on the right side of the fuse block. They're all just factory soldered/sealed in the Passat. Bush league, ha.
So anyways, onward and upward. I think once I'm able to get power back to the ECU and can start pruning pieces out of the EV wiring harness that aren't needed I'll feel better about all of this.