Engine SWAPs
Yepp, I've seen that thread and read carefully through it all and I realize that it won't be upto my technical skills to handle all that work. But I'm not implying that I want to try to do it on myself. I'd rather higher a PhD to do that
. I was thinking that a swap would be handled professionally by trusted mechanics. Buying an entire TDI car in Europe and shipping it over is not a problem. It will clear the customs as long as the duties are paid. It should be imported as a parts car though. There is a company in Baltimore that is specialized in importing non-US exotic cars and reworking them and legalizing them and registering etc. I believe they will be able to import the car for parts purposes only. I know I researched this issue when enthusiastic about importing an Evolution II 16v-er but the $19-21K quote from that company chilled my spirits. Most of that bill was documentation fees and retrofitting. In this case none of that will be required. B5.5 TDIs in good or salvage shape feasible for the transplant are not that expensive and if lucky one might get one with the MFD navi and the Recaro interior
Retrofitting an existent US B5.5 diesel might be even more fesible from emmissions/registration persective.
As for the difficulty, if I remember correctly sorting out all the harness issues was probably a pia because the US car was an old pre-CAN bus car wheres the donor car had a CAN bus wiring. If two cars are equipped with CAN-bus wiring everything that is needed is only the engine harness and re-programming of the ECU. Not sure if the new ECU would be even needed, but you're right, I have to complete the undergraduate degree prior to taking on these postulates
Also, if the donor car has all the goodies like FIS, power seats, folding mirrors, self-dim mirror, Climatronic, etc. and the US car does not have them as most of the the standard US B5.5 diesels did not, then yes the entire interior harness will have to be swapped as well. But that is exactly why I'm considering a W8 passat that has EVERYTHING in it and a CAN bus that allows for reprogramming and recoding of everything. For instance, w8 passat FIS clusters from 2004 (later version) can be reprogrammed for TDIs (TDI gauge faces will be required though
"All" I'll be needing will be a Passat 4-motion Euro engine, the engine harness, possibly transmission and drivetrain. If I remember correctly, in the pics of the swap we've mentioned, Eric has dismantled the entire car completely including stripping the entire interior which would be needed if you're swapping interiors too and/or switching the car to a CAN-bus, again not sure though since I cannot find the details on that swap. I'm trying to contact that brave hero who's done it already for some insight. We'll see ...
Pat Dolan said:
manics01:
I admire your enthusiasm and optimism, but I suspect you are a little short on experience - just a guess.
What you are proposing is about the PhD level of engine swaps. I think you shoud complete an undergraduate degree and do a bunch more research before trying to write your thesis.
Now, IF you still want to go in that direction: you said the magic word (to me): ALLROAD. The way to do it is to buy a complete car here, and also buy a complete donor car in Europe that came with the 2.5 V6. Take EVERYTHING from the donor and ship it here. You might want to be on hand when it is disassembled to get a feel for where things are. It would be nice to get a copy of ETKA (the VW worldwide parts reference) but, since it is proprietary........and then use everything that is different between the countries/models/gas-to-diesel otherwise identical cars.
The same thing would work with a W8 wagon: buy one over here and a TDI AWD car over there and let the craziness begin.
There is a member here who did a Passat wagon conversion to TDI/4 motion, and you should see what went into the detail! For a VERY experienced technician, I think it was a good year's work.