Swapping engine parts.

OK, I'm going to throw this out to the wolves so I can get a bunch of opinions.

I have the Dead Beetle engine.

I have a 103,000 KM complete engine and transmission. This thing is ready to drop in the car after installing my Power steering pump.

But what is your opinion on installing new Vs old stuff?

Some facts:

I have a VR6/G60 setup in the box.

I will be upgrading the power eventually.

The turbo is (I think) the original, 175,000 mile turbo.

The 1998 injection pump was rebuilt by Diesel Fuel Injection Services 20,000 miles ago.

I will end up with an extra transmission and I have been giving thoughts to doing some custom gearing to it and installing it later.

Timing belt stuff is a given - it gets changed.

I don't like the thought of putting in this engine with Mods then having troubles and having to sort through if it was a Mod or a pre-existing problem.

Go ahead and give me your opinions, but I hope to hear a reason rather than just "Do it this way cuz I sed".

I'm listening.

The nozzles are easy to do later - 4 hour job or so with proper tools. Chip - no need to get one until you know all else is working.Turbo? VNT17 I assume - I would think it would be quicker to install with the engine out of the NB. That's probably the only thing I would do first, if it's on the agenda.

Good luck with this trip.

Is the Euro Engine still at PDX? Any hope for that?

Im thinking that in order to get the engine in the Jetta, I will need to remove the Turbo and intake, so it will already be off. Intake gets cleaned fer sure, but I'm not sure about this turbo. I know the high mileage one is clean.

And I have found that workingo n the back side of the Beetle isn't really hard at all. Put it on ramps and remove the piece below the window and just lay across the top of the engine. On the Jetta, it's a reach to get back there. The Beetle is more ergonomic for me.

What is new or newer?
I'd install the newest items first.
The G60 is your call. Since your going for mods in the near future I'd put it in.
The 20,000 mile rebuilt IP would be the way to go unless the other is not an issue.

My thinking is that you should find the best of the parts and use those. You could also install what the engine came with and make sure all is well then install the best stuff one item at a time to be sure they won't cause a problem. Then move on to the next item.

What do you want to do?

What do I want to do? Well, there's this long-legged Red-head I saw the other day, but that's a little off topic.

The thing about the IP is that it's a 98 and it seems that they were prone to that hot hard start problem. Was that taken care of for the long term with the rebuild? I don't know. This may become a test bed for different stuff. Or I may run the parts from the new engine to verify they work well, then Swap in the original parts and once they have proven themselves, sell the new parts.

I dunno. I'm just looking for some outside the box thinking.

Do the turbo. Clean everything first. Definitely the uprated clutch setup.

I would probably put new seals/gaskets on everything (except head) since they're cheap. Definitely new thermostat while it's out. Ditto new coolant temp sensor. Get the DG kit and kill the EGR cooler. Repack the CV joints while they're out.

paramedick said:

Do the turbo. Clean everything first. Definitely the uprated clutch setup.

I would probably put new seals/gaskets on everything (except head) since they're cheap. Definitely new thermostat while it's out. Ditto new coolant temp sensor. Get the DG kit and kill the EGR cooler. Repack the CV joints while they're out.

Click to expand...

Y, y, y?

The engine is 103 KM, so I'm not too worried about main seals and such.

I don't like changing thermostats. Usually they don't solve anything, rarely fail and give a warning without destroying the engine.

I want to do the EGR delete, but not until after I have run it for awhile to be sure it runs fine in stock trim.

CV Joints... Good idea. I can do that now.

Thermostat because it's a PITA to change with the engine in the car.

Seals I'm mostly concerned about are the coolant seals. Those O rings can shrink a bit if they are dried out.

If the engine is freshly out of the car, disregard oil seals.

The kit I'm talking about deletes the EGR cooler, but retains the EGR function. Long flex tube, and replacement heater hoses to replace the ones for the EGR cooler. Works like a charm, really cleans up the engine compartment. You can sell that pipe later and get 1/2-2/3 of your money back.

Coolant temp sensor on the old car is probably the black one. It's gonna fail, just a question of when. If it's green, disregard.

paramedick said:

Thermostat because it's a PITA to change with the engine in the car.

Seals I'm mostly concerned about are the coolant seals. Those O rings can shrink a bit if they are dried out.

If the engine is freshly out of the car, disregard oil seals.

The kit I'm talking about deletes the EGR cooler, but retains the EGR function. Long flex tube, and replacement heater hoses to replace the ones for the EGR cooler. Works like a charm, really cleans up the engine compartment. You can sell that pipe later and get 1/2-2/3 of your money back.

Coolant temp sensor on the old car is probably the black one. It's gonna fail, just a question of when. If it's green, disregard.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification. Replaceing the coolant seals sounds like a good idea and I'll check the color of the sensor.

The EGR? I'm going to keep it stock until I can give it a good shake down.

But, I have two EGRs and two intakes. I guess that's a toss-up and doesn't really matter.

Which Transmission to install? The old one has the correct linkage already on it, but it is higher mileage, so more wear on it.

Well, I just sold my 5th gear on Vortex--it had 215,000 miles on it but the professional that looked at it said it looked like it just came from the factory. As long as the thing hasn't been abused, I wouldn't worry about a higher mileage tranny--change the oil in it and go!
Thanks for the call btw, sorry I had to cut it short, but it made my day! Now...I need some of the attractive female species to do the same thing!
-BB

BB, I think I shocked a few folks today calling them out of blue. I hope OP is warm, wherever he is.

A cruise on the Caribbean sounds like fun right now...

BleachedBora said:

A cruise on the Caribbean sounds like fun right now...

Click to expand...

More fun than a trip to a hot place that someone else is visiting now.

Ugh--I can only imagine...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3k3slITLAI

BleachedBora said:

Ugh--I can only imagine...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3k3slITLAI

Click to expand...

The Mormons were the correct answer... LOLOLL!!!

rdkern said:

The nozzles are easy to do later - 4 hour job or so with proper tools.

Click to expand...

wow that's with a few beer I assume as it's usually an hour and a half to do that job

OK - you're much faster than I am.

mind you with the engine cool down yeah would be about that, done it with not to long of a wait and yep was a little toasty