Done!

I finished the install and spent a lot of time on the wiring. It was very complicated as the process involves numerous relays, fuses and there is a small onboard computer that controls the system What is left is to program the computer with my purge cycles and get my dash back in place. I hope you enjoyed following this install. Thanks, Chris

Compleated the plumbing and am working on the electrical connections

Spent the day under the car bolting up the skid plate and re-installing the wheel well liners. Then I moved on to start the wiring process. It is quite complicated as the entire process is controlled by a small computer that receives signals from the coolant and grease lines so it knows when to switch from diesel to grease and back. Everything has to be grounded and the wires have to pass through the fire wall and into the dash of the car. To do this I removed the underside of the dash and located a hole in the fire wall that I could pass the wire harness through and make all my connections in the engine. Good connections are essential.

Fuel cell

I had difficulty on my first cell and I did with this one as well. Stripped out two bolts trying to bolt it to the floor of my car, damn stainless steel. Ever drill holes in your car? It helps knowing where you are drilling, ie not into your muffler. Also have a location that doesn't require long bolts. I managed Ok. Here are some pictures of the fuel cell with hot fox and sending unit in place.

Minor difficulty with plumbing

Today I ran into some problems with my valve location. I have an automatic tranmission and Marty has a manual. He had a nice location for his valves to the left of the fuel pump and filter, I coundn't do this as I have an an extra hose that is in the way. I installed the filter and fuel pump for the SVO tank, to the left side of them and up a bit to clear the extra hose I installed the valves. The picture that is posted last is of the valves and filter unit in place and the smaller battery.
The second to last picture is the fuel pump and filter installed on a metal plate and bolted to the battery box.
The first picture is the coolant hose that goes to the heater in the car. I cut it and installed a 5/8" T so I can send coolant to the filter and SVO tank.

Pump and filter

Installed the pump and filter today and it was difficult. On the Jetta I installed the filter in the trunk. On this conversion I am fitting it in next to the battery. To do this I replaced the oversized stock battery with a Optima battery that is 1/3 as large as the stock battery. I also built a metal plate that is bolted beneath the battery to support the pump which pulls fuel from the SVO tank and the filter. Next is installing the valves.

Build it slow, build it well

Spent the entire day Monday building my skid plate. It is difficult because it is made from stainless steel, has to fit right and it requires a 1 inch bend along the long edge. It is essentially the same as the one I made for my Jetta. I also received the fuel cell from my welder and have posted pictures of it. The other pictures are of the fuel and coolant lines passing through my fire wall and wheel well. Note how they are well insulated, and protected from damage. Well insulated lines will help the system switch from diesel to SVO faster as heat will not be lost from cold air passing over unprotected fuel and coolant lines.

Burgers, grease and skid plates

Started the day out with cutting the hole through the firewall and running the three 3/8 inch fuel/coolant lines through the hole and into the front wheel well. I also lined the hole I cut with a rubber gasket to protect the fuel/coolant lines and insulated the lines. I then cut a hole in the rear wheel well into the back seat area where it comes out under the plastic covering in the car. There is a space that you may run the lines up over the wheel well and into the back cargo area in the Golf. Real easy to do. Presently I am eating dinner of burgers and beer with Marty and his friend Adrienne, two of my latest followers. More later, back to work!

We were up til midnight working on the cars (Kat is at work mom). Marty is replacing his struts and break master cylinder. I began to make my stainless steel skid plate. I have seen pictures many conversions, but none with a skid plate to protect the fuel line and coolant lines as they run beneath the car. I grabbed a pic of a conversion with the lines exposed, It is the bottom picture. The coolant lines are the black hoses and the fuel line is blue on the right side of the picture. On a large car like the Mercedes this may be OK, but on a TDI there is very little clearance and exposed fuel/coolant lines present a problem, especially in winter. Here is a picture of my stainless steel skid plate on my Jetta. The plate runs from wheel well to wheel well and all the lines are under it proteced and insulated.

The project begins!

I have received enough of my materials allowing me to begin the conversion. My conversion will take a while as I have another car to use and I want this conversion to perform better than my first and to look more professional. My Jetta came out just fine, but I did change a few things that caused problems. One was poor electrical connections. I used spade connectors for example and one came loose as I was driving causing the system to act up, well it began to dump grease into my diesel tank. Not fun as I had to pump out the diesel tank to correct the contamination. I now soldier all connections.
I am doing the conversion at Marty's house. Here is his picture with our cars. He has a heated garage, and I am able to check a few things on his Golf that are different from my Jetta so that if I need I can simple look and see how he did his conversion. This is very helpful when you begin to cut fuel line and drill holes in the fire wall of your car. I will list what I completed:
1- changed the oil, it was time and seemed like a good first thing to do.
2- created a mount for the Vegtherm, the high hot heater for the SVO (straight vegetabl oil). I have included picture of mount and one of an installed vegtherm. The last picture is the mount, the second is the vegtherm. Look in the front of the car for the silver tube with orange gaskets holding it in place.
3- began to cut the hole in my fire wall to allow me to run the 3/8" hoses for the coolant and SVO. My SVO is in my trunk and thus I need to get the lines from the trunk to the enging.