A.H.

Hello everyone!

I have a ‘97 Audi A4 2.8L 12v (170K miles) that I totaled in 2004. It has been sitting in my garage ever since. The engine and transmission are still good.

I just bought another ‘97 Audi A4 2.8L 12v (240K miles) that’s in great condition other than the bad engine due to a broken timing belt (the water pump is also broken, I don’t know if the two events were related). I was told when I bought it that the seller could have paid $1500 to have two of the heads and water pump replaced.

I want to do an engine swap. I have plenty of space and I’ve replaced components and worked on cars for my own personal edification throughout my life. I have never replaced an entire engine.

I could just swap out the heads but the good engine has significantly less miles on it so I think I will swap the entire engine.

Other than the usual maintenance manuals (Haynes, Chilton), what resources are available to assist in the swap? A particularly helpful forum?

I’m looking for some positive reinforcement – I know it’s a big job but I feel it’s not terribly complex. Even so, with some quality literature (or friendly online assistance) I feel I can overcome those complexities. Thanks!

AH

waspie

no literature here but why don't you consider "freshening" the engine up first? since you have it out it wouldn't be much trouble to do a quick tear-down. do a quicky rehone on the cylinders, replace the rings and main bearings and put it back together.

an engine swap is usually straight forward kind of thing. disconnect anything holding the engine and and take it out, voila! (hopefully someone else will chime in with actual useful info)

A.H.

Thanks Waspie. That's a good point - once I have the whole thing out it'd be a good idea rehaul the internals. I was thinking more about just getting the thing in a working vehicle - but all that stuff that I've never done before becomes possible and relatively easy when it's on a crane.

AudiMick

Haynes and Chilton manuals are pretty much useless for this kind of thing (way too general IMHO). You need a factory Bentley manual, preferably a paper version ( the CD is OK but doesn't search well). The manuals are not cheap but worth it, you can always resell them on E-bay when you sell the car.

I sold my beat up one well used one for $40.

http://www.bentleypublishers.com/aud...ir-Manual.html

twentysevenlitres

I reckon a B5 would be pretty easy to swap the engine. Pull the front end apart like you were to do the timing belt and go from there.

You'll need an engine crane (or two!) and maybe an engine stand if you want to work on the good one first. You can hire them.

As the loom will be staying on the car, it'll get pretty messy really quickly. Try labelling parts of the loom using masking tape & a pen. Perhaps use a different colour (you can get green from auto shops for painting) for any parts of the loom which are difficult to get at until you move the engine forward. This way you'll know to plug them in first!

That coolant tube which crosses the back of the engine is sealed onto the block with O-rings I think - good idea to replace them (& maybe the coolant sensor's o-ring too) while its out. Never get a better oportunity for the sake of 50c parts!

While your swapping the engine, I would definately replace the clutch (if its a manual) and engine mounts. Easier to do then at any other time.
As the old engine's been sitting a long time, I wouldn't trust the water pump, thermostat or timing belt as far as I could throw them either - actually that's not a very good analogy as they're all pretty light...

Cheers

Marty

A.H.

I might be psyching myself out as far as difficulty (or maybe just time) goes. It really doesn't seem like the year long project I had in mind - especially after breaking it down into tasks.

I might pick up a crane and a stand this weekend (they're on sale, quite convenient). That's good stuff twentyseven, it's time to start buyin' some brand new parts (any particularly good online sources in the US?)

I'm certainly going to snap some photos pre-disassembly and I'll be sure to label the loom.

I'm going to try and keep this thread going as I'll be coming back to ask questions I'm sure. Thanks for the help guys.

AH

twentysevenlitres

Ha! All the good sources are in the US!!

Here's who I deal with (although my consideration normally extends to freight for Australia!):

ECStuning - a lot of businesses would envy their reputation
http://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B5_A4-Quattro-V6_12v/

Rock Auto - Excellent Catalogue. Have been very helpful and came to the party after a joint mistake
http://www.rockauto.com/

Blauparts - Excellent Catalogue. Deal in OEM brands too.
http://www.blauparts.com/

Wholesale Audi Parts - Never tried this mob, but I like their site!
http://www.audiwholesaleparts.com/pa...?siteid=215295

You'll have to get your O-rings from a stealership probably - they'll cost less than the fuel to get there anyway! Rock Auto or ECS might list them...

Marty

waspie

you wanna see a bitch job i'll show you the 98 aurora i'm working on right now. this thing so far (in my experience) is pretty nice to work on. don't think much of taking an engine apart. its kinda fun really

Pete@ECSTuning

If you've got everything out of the car things should be much more easy to work on. Feel free to PM me any parts requests or questions you may have. I've pretty much done everything there is to do to the 12v save rebuilding the bottom end.

A.H.

Finally! I've gotten everything ready to begin work. Before I begin work I have a few questions.

Would it be easiest to remove the engine and transmission together (still attached)? If so, can I do it with the radiator support panel in the service position (maybe remove fan and radiator as well) or do I need to remove it entirely? Can I detach the AC compressor from the motor and leave it connected to the evaporator via hose (to not have to worry about evacuating/recharging), or would that just get in the way of everything?

Thanks for all your help fellas!

AH