16v Jetta engine into 16v Corrado as head gasket solution?

[snattrass 0]

Hi,

 

 

I think my heads starting to go (so to speak)! I've had the water pump and the expansion cap replaced and it's still loosing water. The head gasket emissions test on the expansion test registered 15 which I was informed is about borderline. It hasn't been overheating at all and all the hoses have been checked OK.

 

 

The engine now in it is not the original and has never been as sweet and free running as the original so rather than tackle the head gasket I thought I would take the opportunity to source another engine from a donor car.

 

 

I've seen a couple of 16v Jettas on ebay which could provide me with the replacement engine one of which comes on a car with FSH. It seems prudent to me to solve the head problem by fitting a better condition / less worn engine in one foul swoop. Is this the case or am I missing something? If I can get the car for £100 or so it seems like it could be cheaper too than getting head done which I understand costs about £500? Is this correct?

 

 

The cars I'm thinking about are:

Jetta 1:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... &rd=1&rd=1

 

Jetta 2:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... &rd=1&rd=1

 

 

Any thoughts welcome.

 

 

Thank you,

 

Simon.

[steveo29 0]

who's to say a £100 ebay car will have a better engine? chances are it will need some new bits n bobs anyway

 

how many miles has your engine done

[vr6storm 0]

have you budgetted for the engine swap labour cost too?,you should be able to get a 16v HG done for just over £200

[snattrass 0]

Well I'm hoping that by checking out the car and the owner and documentary evidence of the cars mileage that I can get an idea of the mileage and condition of the engine from the donor car. For example one of the cars has full service history.

 

 

That's just it - I don't know how many miles my engine had on it when I got it. It was delivered from a breakers so all I was told was that it came from a 89/90 Golf. I just know it's no where near as sweet as the one I unfortunately had to replace. Also as a broad generalisation I think Golfs are probably more likely to be horsed than Jettas, although at the end of the day that obviously comes down to the individual car.

 

 

What do we think the labour cost of replacing the engine would be?

[vr6storm 0]

well how long is a piece of string.........afterall while they are swapping an engine out your as well doing the clutch,so thats another £60-ish in parts for a start,not to mention any other issues there is with the donor engine,regardless of how much service history it has

[Rustynuts 0]

I would say that you will be going to a lot of effort for an engine that might be no better than yours.

 

Did you ever get the current engine set up properly after install, it is poss timing is a bit out and fueling needs correcting.

[snattrass 0]

Sorry see below!

 

Thanks.

[snattrass 0]

Yes my engine, which has been in the car for about 5 years now, has been krypton tuned and I'm sure properly set up probably a few times now over the years. The place I take it to here in Carlisle has a rolling road and is well know for being the best around for fine tuning.

 

 

It's just ever since I've had it, it's never been as sweet as the one I had to replace and I thought now could be an ideal opportunity to address that and get a FSH one or a decent one anyway. I mean you can tell when you rev the engine up how sweet it is and whether or not it's worn and this one revs harsher and feels under more protest when you rev it than the previous one the car had.

 

 

Not only that but the exhaust fumes are quite noxious, I mean more than normal you know. I feel it's more than that. Doesn't that indicate worn valve seals or something (as you can tell I don't know much about these things)!

 

 

Thanks.

[snattrass 0]

Plus how come I can get a HG done for just over £200? The garage told me £500! And others seem to say similar...

 

 

Thanks.

[steveo29 0]

£200 is more like diy /mates rates

 

i dont think its gona be cheap to pay a garage to remove two engines and refit one along with new clutch, waterpump, cam belt etc

[samg60 0]

might be worth swapping the engines over especially if you can either do it yourself or get it done cheaply, I have driven many 16v engines and they do tend to be either very sweet or not, I think this has a lot to do with the engines care over the years and also how hard it was driven when new, I think a lot of the faster ones have been thrashed from new, seems to be what frees these engines up.

you might spend a few hundred on a HG and still feel like a bit of a slug, worth swapping if you can find a decent one.

[vr6storm 0]

Plus how come I can get a HG done for just over £200? The garage told me £500! And others seem to say similar...

 

 

Thanks.

 

 

well sorry more like just under £300,you just need to put it in a normal garage thats got a good reputation,obviously it depends on their hourly rate too

[snattrass 0]

I'll ask my man at the garage I've been using for the last ages years. I suspect he'll say one second hand engines as good as another. He's not a fan of used parts. I am a fan where prudent only as a result of my financial neediness.