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1.8 swap into VW Mexican van

1K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  bajagrant 
#1 ·
I own a 91 VW van and it had a factory 1.8 carbed 8 valve in the van.

I swapped a 1.8T into it this last year. I used a donor car, 2000 Jetta, so I rebuilt the motor, n the swap has the same computer and wiring harness.

The motor is running and so far, so good, but a few hickups to get strightened out.

First. I threw a inline fuel pump with a fuel pressure regulator on it. The pump is so noisy. Is that normal? I am building a new gas tank and thinking of using the original fuel pump. Any ideas? I was wondering if I could just hook up pos n neg to the jetta pump n turn it on with the ignition?

Another thing. When I am on hte highway, and go for 20 to 30 minutes, I stop and then the car goes to idle and then does not want to push the car. It runs but dies wghemn you put the pedal down. If I wait a few minutes, it starts right back up and goes normal again.

The last hickup is when I stop at lights or stop sign, the motor stalls. It starts right back up, and runs great until I stop again. I checked the vacuum leaks but I am only running vacuum to the POV and the fuel pressure regulator. The motor is basic, no smog lines, as I live in Mexico, and not required.

As you can tell, I am not a mechanic. I do love my combi and would like to try to get these things fixed.
 
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#2 ·
Try to fix the fuel pump system first then see if other problem goes away. You can damage the engine if not getting correct volume and pressure of fuel.
You only need to have one pressure regulator and the one on the injector rail should work good if the lines are not reversed.
You need to have a fuel return line from the fuel rail back to the fuel tank just like was on the jetta, try to model the van system from the jetta system.
I would run the fuel pump with the ECU and relay, you can take the relay bracket out from jetta and mount it in the van.
I don't know much about the van and I am not a big 1.8T guy but its very good swap and worth it.
If you need more help try to put some pics or link to youtube videos so we can see what you are working with.
The other problems sound like bad MAF sensor or unmetered air leak between MAF and throttle body.
We can get into ecu fault codes after you fix the fuel system.
But fix one thing at a time to see if change is good.:thumbup:
 
#3 ·
Will work on fuel pump

Thanks, I will work on the fuel pump manana, and will send photos. I have 50 lbs of fuel pressure from the regulator, and have the return line from the regulator going back to the tank.

I will be finished glassing the custom gas tank later this week, and I put a new original jetta fuel pump in it. Thinking this will be a lot quieter than the external in line pump.

I wonder if the inline pump is cavitaiving? I have 1/4 inch fuel lines going into it.
 
#4 ·
Your online pump should not have a regulator on it. Your fuel rail has one that will ramp up pressure as needed. This may be contributing to your issue.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 
#5 ·
fuel regulator

Thanks, about the regulator, it's coming off tomorrow. It looks like a cheap foreign thing. All black n red, but its the only one I could find here in Mexico.

I had both regulators on it. The vacuum one on the rail n the cheap one. I put the regulator on because the pump will put out about 100 psi. With the regulator, I knocked it down to 50 psi.
 
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