Club 80-90 Forums

So my vans done almost 200,000 miles and the body work is in good condition. Im sure the engine must be pretty tired by now.

What are the options for getting another engine put in? Its a 2.1 petrol fuel injected automatic.
I'm just forward thinking and planning for when the time comes!!

So much to say on this subject, so, to be brief (starting at the cheapest) :-

A used engine (pref off here, or Ebay if you're brave) = ~£400 - £700

A repaired (they call it a recon, but it ain't) engine from the likes of Elite VW etc = ~£1000 (a bit of a lottery, a fairly high percentage have "issues" soon after fitting)

A "recon" engine from other companies (JK / Vege / Remtec etc) = up to ~£2000 (again, imho, too many folk report problems)

Pay an experienced "proper" engineer to recon yours properly = ~£2000 to ~£4000 (there are only two or three people I am aware of that can / will do this)

Convert it to a more modern 4 cylinder in line 4, petrol or Diesel engine. The 2Ltr Golf / Passat Petrol and the 1.9TDi Diesels are good. = ~£1500 to ~£3000

Fit a Subaru flat 4 petrol engine. More power, but expensive conversion (and not vw ) not sure on costs here, but likely around ~£2500 - ~£3000

Is yours tired? Does it use oil or make funny noises? Does it leak and oil, or more importantly, water (from the join between the heads and the block)?

If not, I suggest getting a compression test done as that tells you a lot about the state of your engine. If that comes out good, you may well have years of life left in your engine

Don't forget that a number of the options above don't include fitting costs - they're just for the cost of the actual engine. If you can't do the work to change the engine over yourself then you'll need to include extra for that in your budget.

Yes, get your engine checked out, if its OK then stick with it. If its showing signs of tiredness and you want to stay as automatic then I would go for a quality rebuild of your existing engine, most conversions to an alternative engine are cheaper and better engineered with a manual gearbox.

Thank you for your replies - I have no experience in how much engines cost other than the very quick bit of research I've done on the internet. The only experience I have is that I had a recon engine dropped into an LDV once which cost £500 but then that was a Ford banana engine, so popular and easy to come by! And that price was including labour!!

So if I went to the garage and asked for a compression test that would tell me most of what I'd need to know in order to make some sort of informed decision?
I don't really know why Im thinking about it so much, but I think it's because I'm currently converting it into a campervan and I'm wondering how much actual money to spend on the interior, when I know that the engine is coming up to the 200,000 mark!
It DOES leak oil slightly and has had a lot spent on it by the previous owners ( I have the paperwork) - I know its had a new starter motor that i got fitted a few months back, a new head gasket, a new water pump, etc that the previous people had done.
I don't know what a rebuild would consist of - for example does that consist of having new head gaskets, manifolds,alternator, starter? or other things that Im unaware of?

Keep throwing ideas at me, because I'm ill equipped!
Thank you

Some good info here on a past thread...... https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... 80&start=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It actually popped up on google when I searched for http://www.marcomansiperformance.com/products.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
He knows his way around an engine, but apparently he's moved to the USofA, so delivery may be a tad expensive.

Emma&Al wrote:I know that the engine is coming up to the 200,000 mark!

Do you know it's origional?

A rebuilt/recon engine is just the engine with heads fitted and oil pump, nothing else is included, starter motor, alternator, distributor, water pump, cooling system pipes, thermostat housing, exhaust, injection system, inlet manufold, flywheel, clutch, crank pulley,oil breather tower, push rod tin shields, engine mounts, fuel pump, oil filler tube, oil cooler is all extra if it's broken when removed or needs replacing.



I would get a compression test and oil pressure test done which are good indicators of condition, then see where the oil leak is coming from usually fixable.

Itchyfeet - oh God, no I don't know if it's original! - how do I find that out? :-/

Emma&Al wrote:Itchyfeet - oh God, no I don't know if it's original! - how do I find that out? :-/

Honest answer is ... you don't.

Possibly there is a different engine number in the van than the V5 ... or the owner may have fastidiously informed the DVLA

There are any number of things that may have been changed in and out over the years ... speedo heads for example ... so unless you have ALL the old MOT certificates or a really detailed service history you really have no idea what any of these almost 30 year old vans have really done.

My advice ... have the oil leak fixed and enjoy your camper

Ian

in line 4 cylinder or other swap is not so easy on an automatic!

Thanks Ian sounds like a good plan!!!