Updates to Axis Power Installation Guide:

These tid-bits were brought to our attention either during further research and installations in our shop or by our customers.

We encourage all customers to report any questions or problems with their installation, so we can all learn. Some of these items are not verified by us. Caveat emptor.


Fuel bypass lines on diesels spewing fuel.

There is a little plastic check valve on the return fuel line going to the tank. It is near where the fuel filter used to be (assuming you removed it). This check valve, if plugged, stops the flow of fuel from the injector return lines to the tank. If this happens, the lines will build up pressure and pop off of the injector connector and spew fuel around.

The simple solution is to remove the check valve. Replace it with a piece of steel line, or a longer rubber line. If you use rubber line, make sure it is for fuel. If not that will cause trouble in the future. Thank you Hugh for bringing this to our attention. Sorry about the mess. Good thing diesel cleans up easy with a garden hose.


Cooling fan alternative

We have heard that an electric cooling fan from an 88 Eagle Premier fits. It is a 16" fan and apparently thin enough to fit. Peter, who reported this to us is building a 1.8 gas powered vehicle in Canada. I don't know if the Canadian Eagle is different from the US one or if the Gas engine installation allows this fit, but a diesel would not. If you find this works well, please let us know. Thanks, Peter, for bringing this one to us.


Rad hoses alternative

One customer installed his radiator using 1 1/4" "Bellows-Flex" line instead of the copper tubing. It is supposed to be: larger diameter and could allow better flow; less expensive; easier to install.

We are not familiar with this exact material, and haven't tried it yet. We also like the look of the copper. But if it appeals to you, try it. Hugh reported this one too, and he likes it! You might want to try it too.


Heavy Duty Radiator

We have long been sensitive to the radiator capacity of the Samurai radiator with a larger engine. To date, we have had no problems running 1.6 NA and 1.6 TD in the summer heat, in Houston TX (DAMN HOT this summer!) and on the highway. (Even all the way to Moab in April).

We have heard of some installations that have cooling problems. Some are due to non typical installations (not the way we designed it) some are due to higher heat engines. For whatever reason, we have designed a new radiator.

Please see the Other Automotive section for details.


1.6 Turbo Air Intake Adapter improvement.

The Turbo Air Intake Adapter shipped from KELTEC up thru Spring 2000 was attached to the turbo using a push on fit with an O-Ring. This works fine. Well, for a while. We have found that occasionally the plastic adapter will "relax" and the tight fit necessary to ensure air tight fit won't be maintained.

We have a new part that uses a rubber tube and hose clamps (you supply) to connect the turbo to a different size plastic adapter. It utilizes the same air tubes as the old part.

These new parts are in all new 1.6TD kits and are available free to all current 1.6TD customers. Please call us if you would like this part sent to you.

The Installation guide will reflect the old style adapter. The new one (with the above information) should be very easy to install.


Water outlet housing alternative part(s).

If the recommend part, PN 068-121-133S, is unavailable, here is another set of parts that will work every bit as well. Old VW Rabbits had a similar outlet housing except that it did not have a hole for the temp gauge sender. It is PN 068-121-133B.


Fuel Pump.

We recommended using an auxiliary electric fuel pump with the diesel installations. The recommended PN from JC Whitney is no longer available. Substitute part numbers are:

We haven't tried the second one, but have one on order. It looks like it should work well. It is a Walbro brand, in-line design. It is designed for systems with fuel return lines, so this should only be used for priming the fuel filter, not steady running. It is probably designed to be cooled by a constant flow of fuel.

Here's a comment from one of our customers, that may help, Thanks, Wayne:

I asked some friends, and the Suzuki list about a good cheap low pressure fuel pump, and one of the suggestions was to check out the early 80's Subaru's fuel pump. While I was at the local parts house, I checked on it, and it looks like it was designed to fit in the fuel filter bracket. Even comes with a small filter and adapting hardware for running hard lines or rubber to it. $27 with a lifetime guarantee. At that was at the more expensive parts place. Not bad considering Fram wants almost $50 for their aftermarket unit with no guarantee.


Oil Cooler:

We didn't mention the oil cooler in the installation guide. VW used an "oil cooler" in some gas models and most Turbo Diesels. The oil cooler is an aluminum heat exchanger that is bolted between the oil filter housing and the oil filter. It has two water hoses going to it. There is an argument amongst VW folks as to weather this thing is really an oil cooler or an oil heater. There is a bigger argument as to weather it is useful at all. We installed one in our prototype vehicle, mainly because it was already on the engine.

If you live in severe climates, you will probably want to use one. I think in moderate climates, it may be more trouble than it is worth. You decide. If you decide to run without one, you may want to have some extra gauges (like oil temp and maybe a secondary water temp gauge) to provide controls to your experimentation.


Oil Filter Adapter - 1.9L

The 1.9L engine uses a different oil filter adapter than the 1.6. You still need the one that is swept back 15 degrees, but the one from the 1.6 will not work. One customer reported that he uses a remote oil filter / cooler arrangement and it worked well.


Older Diesel Anomalies:

Some VW engines had a big (2 ½" dia) steel and rubber motor mount on the front of the engine. On the diesel engines, this motor mount is on the front, passenger side (as it will sit in the Samurai) and is attached to the injection pump mounting bracket. It is right next to two bolts that hold the mounting plate onto the block.

This motor mount is typically found on older vintage - ’84 and before – transverse (east/west) installations. We know it is on the diesel engines and maybe some gas engines as well.

This motor mount must be removed in order to mount the alternator adjuster adapter (the aluminum part that holds the alternator adjustment arm).

This part can be removed with a body grinder or a circular saw with a steel cutting blade on it. I don’t think I’d use a torch on it, as the rubber will STINK when it burns, but use whatever tools you have access to.


1.9L block anomalies:

The 1.9 block requires some special considerations.

  1. There is a small "nub" on the block were the alternator goes. this will have to be ground off.
  2. The 1.9L block is taller than a 1.6 L block and you may need a minimum of 1/2" body lift. We recommend a 3/4" body lift for safety. The problem is that the turbo will hit the inside of the hood. A hood scoop is another (tho less convenient) option.
  3. The 1.9 requires a special oil filter adapter. This is VW PN 048-115-417A, and it must be modified (drill and tap) to accommodate a turbo oil feed line.
  4. The oil cooler (on turbo 1.9) will be a tight fit for connecting the water cooling hoses up. It is possible to do, but you will probably want to tell the kids to leave the room, elsewise they will learn some new words.


Throttle adjustment:

Check to see if you have full travel on your throttle. If not, try these steps:

  1. Adjust or completely remove the throttle stop below the throttle pedal This is a 10mm (wrench size) bolt and nut, in a little bracket welded to the floor. As you screw the bolt in, the pedal goes down further.
  2. Move the ball stud on the injector pump actuator lever (the one the cable hooks to) in toward the pump. This will cause the pump to open more with the same amount of throttle pedal travel. You will probably need to adjust the cable tension (two nuts on the outer cable where it attaches to the bracket on the injector pump).


Transmission Adapter plate:

In some cases the transmission adapter plate may not fit around the oil pan, and may need a little "persuasion" to fit. Check it for fit. If there is interference (usually at the driver side corner where the pan meets the engine), grind the plate to fit. We are modifying our cutting pattern slightly on future runs.

In some cases the depth of the counter sink holes isn't deep enough and the modified bolts may stick up above the surface of the plate. Check the fit. If the bolt heads stick up slightly, grind the head of the bolt down slightly so that it is flush with the plate.

Once you install the Transmission Adapter plate, you will not be able to remove the oil pan. The good news: the clutch will stay dry and clean due to this tight fit. The bad news: you can't take the pan off if you decide it needs to come off at some future time, without pulling the trans off. Your input as to the best way to modify this is welcome. Most customers (so far) have said they like it as is. Keeping muck out of the clutch is more important than easy removal of the pan.

One customer cut the plate - just below the two lower stud holes - the cut was made at the flat on the inner D hole, just cut outward from that . Seems to be working fine, they used the original Samurai inspection cover to cover the hole in the bottom of the transmission in front of the clutch. We are considering modifying this plate in the future.


Clutch Disk:

The "Extra Parts" list shows several vintages of Mitsubishi clutch that should work. The best one to ask for is an '88 - 97 Mitsubishi Mirage, 1.5L. While the others may work, they apparently used other clutches under some conditions, which do not work.

Also you can use these part numbers:


Pressure plate:

The pressure plate is a stock VW Quantum diesel pressure plate. The specific part number that may help is Beck Arnley 064-7443


Fan belts:

The fan belt for the AC pump is 15355.

The best alternator fan belt is a 13250 (13/32" wd x 25" long). The stock Samurai AC belt is a 15255 or 11AV065. It will work This is actually a little long, but will do for a while.


Right Side (Passenger side) motor mount:

1.9L modification - if you are installing a 1.9, the motor mount will have to be cut and welded. The flange that sticks out and goes in toward the engine goes in too far for the 1.9. You can use a hacksaw to cut and fit it then take it to a local welding shop for welding. If you have access to your own welder and grinder, this is much easier.

Due to manufacturing variations, the mount may not fit well. The same flange that sticks out and goes toward the block may not be quite square or may not fit flush with the block. Grinding is the easiest way to square it up and use of washers to shim it to proper fit to the block may be necessary.

We have redesigned this part to fit all 1.9s and 1.6s as well as to improve manufacturing quality.


Wiring Harness:

We have several comments on the Wiring harness:

  1. Occasionally the glow plug indicator light won't work. We haven't figured out why, but a simple "work around" is to wire the light directly to the glow plug circuit. The glow plug indicator light wire is the very small (22 ga) speaker wire or black and white wire set (molded together like an extension cord). Cut the wire where it goes into the glow plug relay socket, crimp on an "eye" connector (size 10 screw, 22 ga wire) and connect it to one of the fuse screws on the fuse block.
    Another test and modification that may fix this condition, is to swap the medium size white and black wires (at connector locations 4 and 6.
    In either case, TEST THE CIRCUIT to ensure your glow plugs are cycling on and off at the appropriate times. You don't want the glow plugs to stay on all the time. Kills them quick!

  2. We changed the color of some wires. This is done for manufacturing reasons (original wire color not available or for upgrades in design).

  3. All wiring harnesses have a 12 ga white wire that leads from the Fan Relay to the auxiliary fan that you purchase. The fan we recommend is the 16" fan from AutoZone (similar one available from JC Whitney). These come with a fuse. We recommend installing the fuse - one end at the end of the white wire, the other end of the fuse on the wire that goes to the fan motor.


Starter Motor:

The best starter motor part numbers are:
Isuzu - 8943444722
Nippon Denso - 128000-7122 12V
Lester 17204

These numbers are for the same part, just different part number formats for each manufacturer. We have found that some Geo Storm starters don't fit. Some do, some don't. We don't yet know the difference.

Your local junk yard might know it as a Lester - 17204. Lester numbers are standardized numbers for after market auto parts.


Oil Pan drain bolt:

The oil pan drain bolt required for the kit (once you install the oil drain nut on the VW pan) is the same drain bolt the Samurai uses. If your old one is in good shape, just use it!


Power Steering Mount:

The Power Steering mount is for a Toyota Corolla. The pump is readily available at junk yards and has both remote and on-pump mounted reservoirs. Please note that use of this bracket requires some modification to your power steering system. The fit is VERY tight and you may need to modify the biscuit (rubber piece between the steering shaft and the steering box) and its related parts. You will also have to obtain the SMALLEST Toyota PS pulley (~3.5") to make this fit. If you have a 3/4" bracket to mount your steering box, this may need to be machined down or to be replaced with a 1/2" plate.


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