What are the chances of swapping a TDI into a Tiguan?

[redbarron55]

What are the chances of swapping a TDI into a Tiguan?
With Dieselgate and the buyback parts and pieces might become available and I would like to have a TDI Tiguan, but alas, they are not available in the US.
How hard would it be to drop one in the Tiguan?
Personally I would want the TDI with DSG from a 2010 + TDI into a fairly late Tiguan.
I envision lots of computer problems.
Would anyone have any ideas as to what is involved?

 

[Henrick]

Wouldn't it be simplier to import one from Europe?

You will need the engine itself, gearbox, starter, engine wiring harness, instrument cluster, probably drive shafts too, fuel tank, exhaust system.

 

[raider929]

Wouldn't it be simplier to import one from Europe?

You will need the engine itself, gearbox, starter, engine wiring harness, instrument cluster, probably drive shafts too, fuel tank, exhaust system.

Unfortunately we can't just import vehicles into the US due to regulations. It only really becomes an option once they're at least 25 years old. He can probably import Euro parts to make the swap a little easier, but an entire car isn't really possible.

 

[redbarron55]

I don't want the AWD just a tall sportwagen which is what it is.

 

[Henrick]

Unfortunately we can't just import vehicles into the US due to regulations. It only really becomes an option once they're at least 25 years old. He can probably import Euro parts to make the swap a little easier, but an entire car isn't really possible.

What are the regulations?
Can you import them as a "scrap"? E.g. import the body seaparately from engine/gearbox. Then import the gearbox. After that - the engine. If engine import is still a problem, then split it to cylinder head and the block. When everything is on your side of the pond, just assemble it back. This would be much easier than doing a gas to diesel conversion.

 

[raider929]

What are the regulations?
Can you import them as a "scrap"? E.g. import the body seaparately from engine/gearbox. Then import the gearbox. After that - the engine. If engine import is still a problem, then split it to cylinder head and the block. When everything is on your side of the pond, just assemble it back. This would be much easier than doing a gas to diesel conversion.

Getting the parts here isn't the problem, registering it as a road worthy vehicle is. We have "grey market" imports with people bringing in Land Rovers and Nissan Skylines. Those cars get rounded up and crushed by the federal government when they get found out.

If you live in a state with really lax registration requirements (Florida and Texas are the most common) you could probably get away with it for a while. The constant threat of having your car crushed with no compensation wouldn't be appealing to me though.

The basic gist of the regulations is this: if the car wasn't sold by the manufacturer in the US market, you can't import it until it is 25 years old. There are minor exceptions to this (show cars), but for something you want to drive on the road, that's what we're dealing with.

 

[N41EF]

Isn't the Tiguan based on a Golf platform? I know the interior dash and such look identical. Assuming you have a clean Tiguan with a bad motor, and a Late TDI that got rear ended I would think it shouldn't be anything that a couple of hundred hours of labor wouldn't fix. Assuming you live in a non-smog state you wouldn't have to worry about inspections.

You'd need to transplant the fuel system, ECU, engine harness, engine , trans, cluster, re-key/immobilizer, and drive axels. You could do a delete on the exhaust as well.

Don't know if I'd want to take it on, but it would be really cool.

 

[Henrick]

Well, assuming you have a full donor, then sure, it's doable.
However, I wouldn't be so sure that the trans,ECU wiring and drive axles will bolt straight on as Tiguan is quite different from Golf. It might be more similar to Golf Plus rather than the classic Golf.

 

[redbarron55]

I assume as much.
My worry would not be the mechanicals as much as the marrying of all of the electronics in the car.
Does the Euro TDI Tiguan use the DSG or the slushbox auto like we get with the 2.0 gas engine here in the US?

 

[Henrick]

I don't think conventional "automatic" still is being produced by VW here.
All of them should be DSGs.

 

[piper109]

I have a UK relative with a two or three year old TDI Tiguan. It has a 2 litre common rail engine mated to dsg, 4x4 . Really nice vehicle and I wish I could get one like it. The new Tiguan model to be released in spring in UK is superbe also.

 

[m4ttj00]

Put bigger springs on a TDI JSW if you don't care about AWD. It's been well documented in these forums.

 

[redbarron55]

I really don't care to raise the JSW so much as to have a platform designed "designed" to tow and my wife kinda likes the higher car.
Of course the JSWs I have are setup to tow now.
I am looking forward a little for after Dieselgate if the 2009 JSW were bought back.
I guess it is more of a curiosity more than a hot burning project.