9a to abf

[dubnut 10]

hi all.

during my engine swap 9a to better 9a

i have seen a abf quite local on fleabay

have searched but can't find a definitive fitting

guide.

is it a pretty easy job and what extras do i need

[james153 0]

Depends weather you want to continue to run the KE jet injection or weather you want to change it to the digital one on the ABF..?

 

If you're happy to continue to run the KE jet, )which I personally think is quite good) then it should just be a case of changing the block and head over and keeping all of the 9a ancillaries.

 

Hope this helps.

[davidwort 0]

Look at the abf into a MK 2 guide on club gti forum

[dubnut 10]

thanks

will abf run on 9a ecu

will look at club gti

[Yandards 0]

Short answer, no.

 

ABF is much more complex than a 9A in engine management terms, think it as being close to a VR in the way it works.

[davidwort 0]

Well it will if you fit the 9a inlet,throttle body and injection system, the block and head is basically the same as a 9a but longer rods and improved valve gear and ports

[Yandards 0]

Well it will if you fit the 9a inlet,throttle body and injection system, the block and head is basically the same as a 9a but longer rods and improved valve gear and ports

 

Which makes it not an ABF anymore and ignores the fact that you can get a lot more power and torque out of an ABF with a bit of ECU MAP tweaking/megasquirting than you can from a 9A due to better engine management.

[davidwort 0]

True, but the abf is better suited to higher revving (rod angles) and has a better flowing head and higher lift and longer duration cams than even a kr engine, it's mechanically the best version of the 16v engine, so for ease of fitment just drop it in place of the original lump. It would be a better swap for a kr though as the 2.0 ke-jet would really need a remap to get the best out of the abf.

Abf on its proper efi injection is good though, most of these cars are virtually the same power as the 2.8 golfs, vw was just conservative with the figures otherwise it would have made the vr look bad :)

[Yandards 0]

True, but the abf is better suited to higher revving (rod angles) and has a better flowing head and higher lift and longer duration cams than even a kr engine, it's mechanically the best version of the 16v engine, so for ease of fitment just drop it in place of the original lump. It would be a better swap for a kr though as the 2.0 ke-jet would really need a remap to get the best out of the abf.

Abf on its proper efi injection is good though, most of these cars are virtually the same power as the 2.8 golfs, vw was just conservative with the figures otherwise it would have made the vr look bad :)

 

Exactly, very good engine with the right amount of extra sensors on it to enable an ECU to delivery what the driver wants in the best possible way.

[dubnut 10]

thanks for the food for thought lol

[Roger Blassberg 0]

What David says about the ABF I can support. I have a B4 Passat with the ABF engine and it really is very spritely despite hauling a big estate car and having covered over 230,000 miles. I recently drove a VR6 Passat (AAA engine) and it didn't feel any faster; although there is more low revs torque it is blunted a bit by higher gearing in the VR6. The ABF is a very fine engine, quite likely to be turning out significantly more than the quoted 150 PS/110kW. Matt (on UKPassats forum) reckons on 170 PS/125 kW from his.

 

Best wishes

 

RB

[Lufbramatt 0]

Yep it's a good lump the ABF. Mine's not quite standard though- P+P'ed head, decat, optimised airbox (see the "how to make your ABF breath on a budget" thread on clubgti) and a few other bits and bobs. Mine's up on 238000 miles now and still pulls really well, doesn't burn any oil and will see over 40mpg easy on a run. When I did the swap about 4 years ago it would edge in front of a mini cooper S up to silly speeds no problem and would hang on to a 2.5 boxster up to about 70. However, the lumps are getting old now (think the last ones were 98/99 in seat ibiza cupras) and can suffer from dieing sensors and niggly oil leaks- the classic one is the dizzy oil seal. If any of the sensors is a giving a duff reading it will put the ECU into batch fire mode and you'll lose about 5-10mpg and a bit of performance. When you do the swap I'd advise to replace at least the crank position sensor, coolant temp sensor and check and repair all the wiring loom as they get brittle with age.

[Roger Blassberg 0]

Well there's a surprise to find you lurking here too Matt.....................

 

RB

[dubnut 10]

so need to find..

engine more complete the better

ecu

loom

can i use existing rad...coil and which

gearbox is best

[davidwort 0]

I looked into the gearbox ratios a while back, the 1.8 Corrado has the lowest ratios, agc gearbox, that car had the highest red line, in fact I'm pretty sure it has the same ratios as the mk2 16v, will see 60 in second though with the 7,200 red line, what I have on my 16v.

the box on the 9a Corrado 2L 16v is next, with the mk3 16v box being the longest legged.

corrado 8v or 16v rad will be fine, cools my breathed on 2L well (genuine rad only mind, Denso Marsden brand).

Edited March 19, 2013 by davidwort

[Roger Blassberg 0]

I have the original gearbox from my 16V ABF Passat (either CTM or CTN can't remember off the top of my head,) sitting in the garage. It has very low 1st 2nd and 3rd with a final drive set up for 15" wheels.

 

Best wishes

 

RB

[Lufbramatt 0]

One annoying thing with a mk3 golf sourced ABF is the lighting loom is bunched in with the engine loom so you'll need to separate that out.

 

Lightened flywheel is a good mod makes it rev much more happily (equivalent to loosing 120+kg off the weight of the car in low gears).Tried a golf that had one in, makes it feel like a revvy 1.4 in a small lightweight car if you see what I mean, much more responsive. Got mine from hotgolf on clubgti ready for when I swap out my dieing gearbox in the summer.

 

Yep agree with Roger the passat boxes has silly short 1st-3rd, probably to help with towing? means that 2nd is only good for about 50mph and you have to change up before you get to 60. Although it does mean that 3rd is epic for b-road overtaking, puts you right in the powerband at 50-70mph.

[dubnut 10]

thanks for all the info :-)

think i found one approx 80,000 complete

engine..ecu and loom..i am to remove tomorrow possibly

how do i tell if its got a immobilizer and how hard is it to bypass

[Lufbramatt 0]

thanks for all the info :-)

think i found one approx 80,000 complete

engine..ecu and loom..i am to remove tomorrow possibly

how do i tell if its got a immobilizer and how hard is it to bypass

 

when i did mine I got the steering lock housing and ignition barrel+key off the donor car, then swapped that in too, so I use the ignition key from the donor car to start the car. So as well as the ECU, you need the transponder coil, key, immobiliser box and some of the loom from the fusebox to the column. Easiest way to bypass them is to remove the chip from the key, superglue it to the transponder coil and hide it up behind the dash, so it will be permanently un-immobilised. I think you can get them coded out but it involves taking the ecu to someone that can do ecu voodoo.

[dubnut 10]

right got one....

complete with all ancillaries

loom ready to go

fuse board if needed

ecu

i have changed engine mount bracket

and engine is ready to go in.

is it better to do loom first and do i remove

the alternator power leads etc

also what about existing alarm/immobilizer