Club 80-90 Forums

Christ what a ballache. Not the conversion itself, with so many great tips both here and elsewhere (Br*ckw*rx!!) to be had. But, I tell you, when you do this engine swap - get someone to help. Took me the whole day, employing all manner of pulleys, levers, swearing, and philosophical wonderings to get the AAZ in.

Anyway. It's in now. Just got to see if it actually runs. No, really - the engine is a bit of an unknown.

Is there a suicide smiley?

Here ya go..

I feel your pain man. Took me ages to get mine working. The head gasket was gone when we did get it started at first so head had to come off and get skimmed. Sweet as a nut now though and well worth it!

They're heavy lumps arn't they. I swapped one in the street last year on my own. Had swapped a fair few car engines in my youth including a few without the help of a hoist but with the TDI one I could hardly lift the block of the scrap engine up unaided. In the end knocked out the pistons, removed the flywheel and stuck a trolley jack handle through a cylinder to use as a carrying handle. Fitted the replacement with the help of a wheeled trolley to push it under van and an engine crane to lift it from there.

My god, that's something. Pretty much the same here, no-one to help with the muscle and doing it in the street (albeit in a parking bay type thing). I made a trolley from 18mm ply with some heavy duty castors from screwfix, and then jacked the van up high enough to boule it under. Dropped the gearbox down to meet the engine, and then spent almost the entire day trolley-jacking, improvising hoists with nylon rope, etc etc. I tell you, it should be an event in the olympics.

All in now, though, and I've had it running - although only on EasyStart so far, for a couple of secs. I think I have a problem with the injection pump not doing what it should be, as I'm getting no diesel being drawn through. I've put up a new post about this.