engine swap opinion

[stevef182 0]

OK..slight change of plan re my engine swap..having spoken to a few people today it looks like the 1.8 T swop might be a little out of my price range, in fact very out of my price range..so..

 

spoke to a mechanic who reckons i should get a 2.0 16v lump with uprated cams, tune it, gas flow the head and so on and stick that in!! he said because of the 1.8s engine managment system, it would be much more tuneable then just starting from scratch (i.e buying 2.0 corrado and tuning it) and if i did this i could get some decent power, round the 170 bhp + mark..but if this is wrong/pointless PLEASE tell me!!

[stevef182 0]

:( somebody must have an opinion, anybody??

[Crasher 3]

I have done so many of these I have lost count. I am just doing two on Golf 2's at the moment and gave one back last week so it is popular. Presumably the car is a 1.8 KR? A 9A Corrado bottom end will slot straight under your KR head and give you a reliable 150PS. If the second hand 9A you find is worn out, you can exchange the bottom end for a genuine VW unit for just under £1K from any dealer. It’s a lovely conversion especially when topped off with a stage 1 gas flowed head and standard KR cams, well a KR inlet cam as the KR and 9A exhaust cams are the same.

[Henny 0]

if you do go with Crashers advice (and it's good advice in my eyes) consider getting a CNC ported head (G-werks is a retailer)... Rick Wood racing who does the CNC heads has a normally aspirated 16V KR engine running one of these heads with just fuelling and cam mods pulling 219BHP! clicky!

[stevef182 0]

why is not good advice? id do the same but the only thing is that the bottom end of my KR is dying and has lots of issues which is the main reason for the swap! (other than the obvious want of more power) so a 9A bottom end is kinda my only option as my finances are quite limited!

[Walesy 0]

if you do go with Crashers advice (and it's good advice in my eyes)

 

 

why is not good advice?

 

 

 

Skim reading ? :lol:

[stevef182 0]

ah yes!! i see your point!! haha..oops, sorry!

[stevef182 0]

right the decision has been made, im doing it..but im doing it with the whole 9A engine as the heads off the 2 are fairly similar ive been told and cant i be dealing with gas flowing the head out of my 1.8 as it will render me carless for too long!! and as for the CNC head it sounds good but i dont think i will be able to afford it but if the finance situation changes then maybe a 9A bottom end with CNC head! eyes peeled for any 9A engines please!

[Henny 0]

8) Good luck! 8)

[stevef182 0]

thanks! :)

[mrbeige 0]

There seems to be quite a substantial difference between the KR head and the 9a AFAIK. Apparently the KR head has far more open ports! I'd be tempted to just use you existing KR head on a 9a bottom end. It would probably be worth rebuilding the head at the same time. I've done this and as long as you have spring compressor, it isn't difficult to do, just replace the stem seals and cam followers! (might be worth polishing up the ports at the same time!)

[neil20vtc 0]

my old 9a engine is at psi tuning in stoke from when i had my conversion done and is for sale well i think it is i aint spoken to andy in a bit but sure he would have informed me if he had sold it! its only done 70'000 miles has a kr inlet cam already fitted and new timing chain when that was done just had a new dizzy as well drop me a pm if your interested

[kerrly 0]

The easest option if you are on a limited budget would be to buy a complete 2.0l 9A engine block an head fit it as one unit and get it running.

 

Then run the car about for a short while to make sure the engine is sound an whilst your are doing that get the KR head off your old engine have it reworked port polish/rebuild or whatever you decide on and then at a later stage put it onto the 9A bottom end. Also gives you the opportunity to replace head gaskets/leaky seal etc etc.

 

Just a suggestion, its the way i completed a similar swap. was able to buy a decent 75k 9a out of a passat for 250 quid an head work on 1.8 is in region of 250-300 an you should be seeing a decent 170BHP or maybe a lil more + lots more torque :-)

[Mike Edwards 0]

If your KR engine is still okay (did I miss something?), just go with - say - Kent GF 1602R cams.

 

Less than £200 and gave my old 16v over 150bhp.

[stevef182 0]

Mike Edwards, unfortunately its burning oil and making funny noises..i wish i was an expert so i could diagnose the problem but im not..my mechanic (who i do trust) recommended considering an engine swap! argh, so many options!

[stevef182 0]

kerrly, now thats a good idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! plus i think i have found an engine! BUT it already has a KR inlet cam so would i still benefit from having the KR head or would a 9A head with that cam be as good?

[davidwort 0]

kerrly, now thats a good idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! plus i think i have found an engine! BUT it already has a KR inlet cam so would i still benefit from having the KR head or would a 9A head with that cam be as good?

 

If the head's on the engine and running sound then leave well alone, the minor differences between the ports on the 1.8 and 2L won't make much power difference if any, it's even possible the 9A head will even be very slightly better for low end torque.

[stevef182 0]

davidwort, thats just what i wanted to hear!! but people keep telling me different things!! but the guy who is gonna do the work for me suggested that too!

[Rustynuts 0]

What are these strange noises? Worth bearing in mind that if it sounds like a loud wirring it is more likely to be the water pump bearings grinding happily against each other.

[stevef182 0]

Rustynuts, as i said, i dont know!! it only seems to happen in 3rd and 4th gear when i accelarate hard! :(

[stevef182 0]

how can i find out? :?

[Rustynuts 0]

If it only happens in 3rd and 4th gear it could be the gearbox rather than the engine. Under load the engine would do it in all gears and not just 3rd and 4th.

 

Also, if you have loose exhaust heatshields that would sound terrible.

 

Discount the water pump, that would be noticable all the time.

[stevef182 0]

i had a good listen today, and its not 3rd and 4th, its all the gears! it doesnt sound terrible, it just sounds like a light whirl/rattle, and gets louder when i accelerate!