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Originally posted by 88Jetta350That’s what I was looking for….more trouble than it’s worth right now.
If I changed the final drive, wouldn’t I need to change it in the rear diff as well?
No, as you are only changing the crown wheel & pinion (the 2wd final drive) the transfer box (front/rear drive splitter) sits after this in the drive train. [
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I was thinking of doing the same with my mk2.
I put a 1.6td motor from a passat in a Audi 80 Quattro a few years ago as vag never made a diesel 4wd car in the 1980’s.
My main troubles were, the exhaust as this had to be made to fit, but as the engine was the other way round (facing forward) it was quite easy. I sure a good s/steel exhaust manufacturer would sort the down pipe for you if you dont have the welding patience.
The 1.6td engine (inter cooled) was good for 80bhp and around the same tourqe as the 1.8 petrols.
The 1.9td were 75bhp with no improvements in torque, this engine was built for better emissions so had less power.
I loved my Audi, i used it for towing and what a fu@@ing great tool,
45mpg, 4wd, stuck to the road and I ran it on 100% veg oil[
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You may ask why did i get rid of it ?
Well the steering was sh@t, it had no power steering but that wasnt the issue i could deal with heavy parking but the rack was so slow
and lifeless. She was great to dive on a long run but twisty a,b roads took a lot of effort. I still miss her tho. I even named her Suzy after Suzy Quattro [
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As Chris had said the gear ratio will be (a bit off for a diesel)
but dont let this put you off. As long as you arent after hiting 100mph all the time. I use the same gear box and ratio on the Audi and it was ok utill you get to 80-90mph when the engine was doing 4500 revs which doesnt sound good after a few hours of driving.
So i guess it depends on what you are wanting to use the car for, daily driver and tow car-fine, or something to tear up the autobhann-change the gears.
From my experince the we 1.6td were good, easy tunned ,economical,very reliable etc BUT- they are easy to over-heat as the turbo and oil gets hot, if you use the 1.6s fit a massive oil cooler to make it last[] Also the cylinder heads are a bit of a weak point.
If I were to do the convertion to my Mk2 I would stick a 1.9 norm asperated (1y engine) in, they may only have 67bhp but I recon they are one of the most rebust and reliable engines vw made.
Pump it with nitros ox for some fun []
You could go for a tdi engine but then you could also go and buy a A3 quattro tdi and give you hard erned money to a dealer to fix the elctrical injector pump which will go tits up.[!]
Good luck
Why not buy a mk3 tdi syncro from europe and fit the engine and gearbox in your MK2 if you prefer that shape.
My left hooker mk 3 syncro has an amazing gearbox, I cruise to work between 140 and 150kms an hour and it still gives me 43mpg, at 135km it’s doing 3000 revs and when I take it easy i’ll get around 60mpg.
The rubbish gear ratio in my mk2 is the only reason I stopped driving it, I’ll be getting a gearbox from a tdi from europe and hopefully mate it up to my 1.8 8v engine, which will then get a supercharger and fuel injection[]
actually, vw DID make 4×4 and diesel/turbo diesel 
but it was the T3 bus/vans who got it
a friend of mine had a T3 double cabin with a 1.6TD engine even had manual diff locks
