Engine rebuild saga

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thenomadcat
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Engine rebuild saga

Post by thenomadcat »

Hi guys,

I was speeding on the highway at an amazing 80km/h when a strange and loud sound came from the rear of the car. A smoke cloud followed. By the time I managed to get on the emergency lane the engine was stuck. Long story short, a valve snapped, rotated and the piston nailed it through the cylinder head. I now have a 9 valve engine. My beloved 1.7D KY was dead.

This happened 2 month before my planned trip to Greece. I had another 1.7D KY engine (or so I thought) sitting around waiting to be rebuild. No time for that now, get the broke one out, put the "new" one in. Well, after way to much money spent on this new engine and 1 full month of investigating I gave up. This new engine is boiling like there is no tomorrow. Don't ask about the oil pressure. And don't ask how a 1.6D cylinder head ended up on the 1.7D cylinder block.

Based on the above I decided to postpone the trip to Greece (not true actually, I'll just use a "modern" car) and fully rebuild the engine. New cylinder head, new pistons, new everything that I can get my hands on.

I love cruising at 80km/h and the small and odd KY is perfect for this. I've also heard it's a fairly solid engine and pretty indestructible (is it now?). So I was 100% sure I wanted a new and shiny KY. However, while I was about to start ordering parts, someone showed me a setup that's strange and sounds to good to be true.

1.7D cylinder block
1.9D cylinder head
1.7D camshaft
1.9 TDI turbo
1.6TD JX injection pump together with nozzels
oil cooler in front

My friend has this engine working and the cruising speed is around 100km/h@3500rpm with a top speed of 130km/h.

That sounds really, really nice. But I have like a million questions.

I know the 1.7D is turbo ready, but isn't the compression way to high? If I remember correctly, TD engines have a smaller compression than D engines.
Again, what will happen with the compression if I'm going to use the 1.9D cylinder head?

Has anyone ever seen or heard about this type of conversion? Do you see anything wrong with the setup?

What I really want is a proper reliable engine. But the extra hp sounds very nice.
This is a cry for help (lots of weeping will follow). The project will become very expensive and I don't want to mess things up (not to mention I got an ultimatum from the wife).

Sorry for the long post.

Thanks,
Andrei

ash1293
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Re: Engine rebuild saga

Post by ash1293 »

Why not keep it simple and use the stock 1.6td pump and turbo on a complete 1.9 block/head combo? Fair enough if you want to go down the full rebuild route but with plenty of fairly decent 1.9 donor cars out there that could be your cheaper and simpler alternative.
RPM for a given road speed will not be any different no matter what engine as this is governed by gearbox/final drive and tyre size.
1990 1.9DG 34DAT carb Leisuredrive hightop

thenomadcat
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Re: Engine rebuild saga

Post by thenomadcat »

I need to keep the 1.7D block due to legal constraints. I can put on the car only engines that originally came from the manufacturer. It's easy to swap a 1.7D with another 1.7D, just need to change the serial number on the papers. Putting a 1.6D or TD is a little more difficult but still possible. Changing from diesel to petrol or to another engine that did not came from factory, out of the question.

The 1.9D head will help, I believe, with the cooling.

The initial idea was to use a JX turbo, but I was told the 1.9 works at lower rpms and it's more durable.

ash1293
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Joined: 27 Jun 2016, 10:49
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Location: York

Re: Engine rebuild saga

Post by ash1293 »

I'd still be tempted to put in a 1.9 as externally very little difference to the 1.7 iirc.
1990 1.9DG 34DAT carb Leisuredrive hightop

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