Former VWDieselParts.com Forum

The keyway on the TDIs is a flat spot on one side.
It's D shaped,.. the part number actually ends in D.
The keyway on the AAZ is the same as the older Rabbits, that little angled notch on the end of the crank.
Crank bolt gets loose, some say because the sepentine belt grabs the crank and the alternator puts a backspin on it when slowing down.
Alternator actually drives the crank.
The V belts don't seem to grab the crank and run it but I have seen several 1.6s, with the same style keyway, give up
and the timing gear let loose of the crank.

All the TDI's have the deeper keyway. Right from 96. 2000 is a different block but also has the deep keyway. The Passat was the first TDI in North America in 96. I've never seen one in Canada.

Well my 92 Eco had that issue as well as spitting the Dampner pully off the crank!
So the difference between the 1.6/1.9 timing gear? But the TDI is better?

I really haven't heard too many problems with the 1.6 key but the AZZ does have a bit of a design flaw. I'm thinking that it just takes a little more hp to drive the high capacity pump. There could be other factors as well. The AZZ is really like the 1.6 with longer throws on the crank. So I'm think that it makes torque at lower rpm which probably adds to the load on the key as well.

Ok but to put the tdi timing gear on its just a matter of grinding out the keyway on the crank?

I think it has to be professionally milled. There's people out there that will come to your house or take it to a shop. Unless you have a very very steady hand.

Grinding a flat spot near the end; can/has been done by hand with patience.
But a machine shop can do it if you bring them a D sprocket to match it to.

I would use a bridge port and an end mill.

KCCats wrote:So what makes the AZZ better than the 1.6?

The AAZ has much more torque than the 1.6, but is a bit noisier, particularly when fully built like mine. This is the last of the IDI engines, and uses the same 020 transmission as the 1.6. It's basically a bolt-in in a Mk 1. The TDIs all went to a cable-shifted, hydraulically actuated clutch 02A transmission. A swap is a LOT of work. Iwent simple in my caddy, and am getting 147 horsepower and 255 ft lbs of torque.It's a handfull on a wet day

Oh, and I used an early TDI crankshaft. It has the D shaped nose, so problems cured. It's a direct bolt-in.