openinverter forum

I did a thing on the actual car and didn't take photos!

My excuse is my gloved hands were covered in diesel at the time.
I decided to empty the full fuel tank today as my other car (2008 Skoda Octavia Scout) will need refuelling soon. I decided to access the fuel by removing the pump sender unit in the tank. There are plenty of videos on YouTube showing the pump removal process, like this one:


Make sure you have a container to hand. On lifting the pump, raise it slowly and tip it a little. Fuel will start to drain from it, and continue draining for a while. When most of the fuel has drained back into the tank hoik it out quickly into a container and put to one side to continue draining.

To empty the tank I sacrificed a Whale Pump I had in stock. I've no idea what the diesel will do to it or if it could ever be used in water again.
This is a Whale Pump for those who don't know.


I put it in the fuel tank with a hose pipe attached and a 12V battery charger to power it. I filled two and a half 20 litre Jerry cans. At 10 litres per minute flow rate it didn't take long so be quick to switch the pump off. I just held the wire to the crocodile clip and let go when the can was full. No cheesy music was used in this process.

So 40 litres of diesel fuel in the other car and 10 litres or so spare in case I need a bit more diesel back in the tank to move the car around on the drive. I don't want to have to mess about with bleeding the fuel system just to move the car a dozen metres so that will go back in now. I can always drain it back out later given how easy it is.

If you get a chance can you weigh the car before and after conversion?

Kevin Sharpe wrote: ↑Thu Aug 20, 2020 2:32 pm If you get a chance can you weigh the car before and after conversion?

I'd love to, but I think it is more then my bathroom scale will manage.

Also on SORN so I can't get it to my local weighbridge either.

I'll see if there are ways to get a weight on it. From when I used to weigh in my scrap metal it used to come in at about 1400kg but it was also carrying a load of tools and random kit.

Edit to add:
I have just ordered a 1000kg crane scale from Ebay, It should be coming from the Czech Republic of China! No idea how long that will take but I should be able to lift each wheel of the car in turn, using my engine crane, to get a corner weight. If I can sort out a spreader bar I might be able to do axle weights.

Not the usual sort of Yak shaving one has to do before converting a car to electric but a couple of hours this afternoon, and a couple hours yesterday afternoon, got me a little more paving to work the engine crane and trolley jack on. It will also be cleaner and more comfortable to lie down on too.

Before: After: I only had six of the 600mm squares but I had two 600x900mm slabs so I used them in the middle to extend the 'comfy' zone.

Now I just need to find somewhere to stash this lot! There will be more actual car stuff soon, honest!

Given the expected rain didn't arrive, and Sunday means the street has a little less traffic, I took the chance to reorganise the driveway and move the Skoda Octavia up to the top end ready for surgery. I am hoping that the Chinese crane scale arrives in the next week or so, I can then weigh the car before I take anything off it.
Maybe I will make some sturdy wheel lift blocks to stand the car on so that it is level on the drive, and high enough to work under it safely.

Kevin Sharpe wrote: ↑Thu Aug 20, 2020 2:32 pm If you get a chance can you weigh the car before and after conversion?

I bought a 1000kg capacity crane scale to weigh the car with.
I also bought some proper rated lifting straps too, you know, just in case I want to use them for something else...
("Hello, my name is Alfred, and I have a winch addiction....")

Nearside rear: 336.5kg. Offside rear: 283.5kg. Nearside front: 360.5kg. Offside front: 497.5kg.
So total weight is 1478kg.
Front axle weight 858kg.
Rear axle weight 620kg.
That gives a 58/42 split.

Maker_of_Things wrote: ↑Thu Aug 27, 2020 3:05 pm So total weight is 1478kg.
Front axle weight 858kg.
Rear axle weight 620kg.
That gives a 58/42 split.

Fabulous... it will be interesting to see how the final electric drive conversion compares to the ICE version

One comment... can you post photos direct to the forum not via a third party website? We're trying to ensure that the forum is readable long into the future... many thanks.

There's going to be some error in those measurements as you have to load the suspension a bit extra to get the wheel all the way off the ground (as the wheel was originally compressed by the weight of the car). I wonder how much.

Or did you measure how much you lift the measured wheel, add the same amount of spacers under the wheel on the other side and then re-measure?

celeron55 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 27, 2020 6:44 pm There's going to be some error in those measurements as you have to load the suspension a bit extra to get the wheel all the way off the ground (as the wheel was originally compressed by the weight of the car). I wonder how much.

Or did you measure how much you lift the measured wheel, add the same amount of spacers under the wheel on the other side and then re-measure?

I didn't compensate, and might do it again to check.
The main difficulty was getting the engine crane into position. The car was too low at the front, and the cobbles and sets around the back made it hard work in the time I had to do it in. The crane is 120kg and quite a bit bigger then the standard Machine Mart crane I used to have.
Anyway, as the car is now on blocks I can find a suitable day and re-weigh it just to check.

Kevin Sharpe wrote: ↑Thu Aug 27, 2020 6:39 pm One comment... can you post photos direct to the forum not via a third party website? We're trying to ensure that the forum is readable long into the future... many thanks.

I didn't see how to do that at first. But found the 'attachments' tab now.

I have gone back and edited all the images to be attachments so they should all now be safe.

I think if you weigh the final car in exactly the same way, it should be good enough for a before and after comparison even if the individual weights aren't that accurate.

Maker_of_Things wrote: ↑Fri Aug 28, 2020 9:48 am I have gone back and edited all the images to be attachments so they should all now be safe.

Many thanks

I have started to dismember the car, after work today!

So many rusted screws and bolts on the nearside. Offside was fine.
Bumper off, cross-member loosened, I just want to video the engine start up and running so I can show it is a good unit when I sell it. Then I can drain the fluids and remove the front end, lights and radiator as a unit. That will give easier access to the engine to save lifting it over the front of the car.

This will be the last time this 1.9TDi engine will run in this car.


I am at the point of no return and the next stage will be draining fluids and removing the ICE components and ancillaries.

Not sure what I should keep, to keep the CANbus and computer happy, any advice would be most welcome.

I have had a look on EBay and there is very little value in engines with half the mileage and half the age so I am not sure how much effort to put into selling it. Maybe disassembly and recovering the metals will be a better option to reduce the number of diesels on the road. I don't know.

I keep thinking 'Oh, I could build a 'something' around it...' or 'I could use it to power a....' and have to stop myself as I would do that with an electric drive anyway.
Seems a shame given how good an engine it has been for me over 240,000 miles.
Polish it up and put it on a museum stand?

I started the disassembly today.
While draining the radiator I found out why the air con wasn't working.
That's quite a split in the hose crimp! I disconnected the radiator hoses and, with much frustration, disconnected the electrical connectors.
Why do they fit them so the release clip is impossible to see? It wouldn't have been possible to remove the radiator or fans in situ as the screw heads were so badly corroded.
It will all need cutting out I think. I also disconnected as much as I could of the rest of the wiring loom, gear shift cables, and the clutch cylinder. Then labelled as much of the loom as I could There is more write up in my blog, including the fun removing the front wheels!

Toyota and Skoda working CLOSELY together:) Picked up the driveshafts and adapters from the machine shop this morning. Talk about a tight fit! I'd need a feeler gauge to measure it but everything spins perfectly:)

Jack Bauer wrote: ↑Sat Sep 12, 2020 10:24 am Toyota and Skoda working CLOSELY together:) Picked up the driveshafts and adapters from the machine shop this morning. Talk about a tight fit! I'd need a feeler gauge to measure it but everything spins perfectly:)

They look great!
Only thing is, those are tripod joints, mine are ball and cage CV joints. Does that matter?

The engine came out today. It has been put in a builder's bulk bag, and on a tiny pallet. The engine bay needs a clean and tidy up. I will remove all the aircon plumbing, and other ICE related pipework. Also the clutch hydraulics, and exhaust pipe, too.
Then I can remove the gear selector cables, and gear stick, maybe, though that could become an interesting forward/neutral/reverse 'switch' maybe.
I guess I will need to have some sort of hot water for the heater so that demisting passes inspection.
And then there is all the electrics, and CANbus stuff that I still haven't managed to get my head around.
There is also rust on the front end of the chassis that needs sorting out.

Good progress!

Thank you.
I hadn't planned on it for today but I am pleased it happened. I can now get on with the actual conversion part now.

Nice progress!

Maker_of_Things wrote: ↑Mon Sep 14, 2020 5:48 pm I guess I will need to have some sort of hot water for the heater so that demisting passes inspection.

I managed to convince the inspector that the drive unit generates enough heat - with the addition of running non-torque producing current at stand still. He bought it

Maker_of_Things wrote: ↑Mon Sep 14, 2020 5:48 pm And then there is all the electrics, and CANbus stuff that I still haven't managed to get my head around.

This https://openinverter.org/wiki/Touran_Conversion and this https://github.com/jsphuebner/stm32-car will help (though I somehow assume you've come across it)

johu wrote: ↑Mon Sep 14, 2020 7:05 pm Nice progress!

Maker_of_Things wrote: ↑Mon Sep 14, 2020 5:48 pm I guess I will need to have some sort of hot water for the heater so that demisting passes inspection.

I managed to convince the inspector that the drive unit generates enough heat - with the addition of running non-torque producing current at stand still. He bought it

I think I will add something, anyway. I remember back in the old DC conversion days there was talk of using the inline heaters from dishwashers, plumbed into a short loop of coolant hose and a tiny reservoir, run off the pack DC voltage. Does that still work? I don't fancy removing all the interior to change the heater matrix for an electric ceramic heater, which was the other option back then.

johu wrote: ↑Mon Sep 14, 2020 7:05 pm

Maker_of_Things wrote: ↑Mon Sep 14, 2020 5:48 pm And then there is all the electrics, and CANbus stuff that I still haven't managed to get my head around.

This https://openinverter.org/wiki/Touran_Conversion and this https://github.com/jsphuebner/stm32-car will help (though I somehow assume you've come across it)

Thank you.
I have had a look but it is 'whoosh' straight over my head. I suppose I could explain to a lay person how CANbus works but, in the same way as explaining how computers work using binary, I can't understand how to actually make it work in real life. I am very much not a techy, IT, coding, electronics person at all.
I will persist and see if I can make some sense of it, and then ask for help.

Today I decided to split the engine and transmission. It make them smaller lumps to stash on the drive, and I would sell them separately anyway.
Also there is the option to use the transmission with a motor for a conversion.

Anyway, I remembered I have a crane scale! So that is a 221kg oily lump removed from the car.

Pallet of bits to fill that empty space you just made:)

Jack Bauer wrote: ↑Thu Sep 17, 2020 6:55 pm Pallet of bits to fill that empty space you just made:)

Brilliant, thank you so much, Damien.

Hopefully the courier, next Wednesday, will be able to collect it without too much trouble.