The Official VR6 Engine Swap (Page 5/73)
AkursedX DEC 26, 05:13 PM
My daily driver is an '07 Fahrenheit GTI and prior to that was an '05 GLI so I've been around VW's for a few years now. I have learned alot from Vortex and have made some cool friends on MichiganVW.org. I've learned quite a bit about VW's in a this short time and I find this swap really intriguing. I have mentioned it to a bunch of fellow dubbers and they were really intrigued by the idea. As for myself, I think this is an awesome swap! I had dreamt about a 1.8t in my Fiero, or now, the 2.0t with a DSG tranny in a Fiero! But I know I would never have the know-how or ability. I kinda wish it would have been a 24v VR6 from an R32. That is the sexiest sounding passenger vehicle motor on the planet, but I do understand why the 12v would be a better idea.

Anyways, I will be keeping a close eye on this swap, who knows, if I decide on another Fiero, I might have to consider this swap! Oh, and as for the 12v VR6, www.autotech.com has a huge sale that lasts through the end of the year (20-30% off of everything!)

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'88 GT- 257rwhp 319rwft/lbs 12.95@106.1mph

Philphine DEC 26, 05:53 PM
don't remember reading it, but are you gonna weight the drivetrain once you have it out? just wondering how it compares to the other swaps.
bmwguru DEC 26, 06:53 PM
I priced out just a R32 drivetrain-engine, six speed trans and wiring with ecu.....$8,000 used no warranty. Trust me...that was my engine of choice. The 24v from a '03 Jetta....the mods are way too expensive. The AAA VR6 is just too old school for me. Very cheap to come by, and definitely a good budget swap, but I really like the APF engine.
My plans are to take the car for a dyno run when it is all done in the Phase 1 stage. At the same time, I'll see if I can twist my friend's arm into bringing his stock VR6 2000 Jetta 5 speed along to compare runs. The donor car is an identical match to his. I want to see the slight mods I am doing to see the gains.
I'm not sure of what the weight of The VR6 is, but I can lift a fully assembled engine with accessories off the ground a few inches. It is a cast iron block, though.
Dave
ps.....if all goes well, I might have something to update tomorrow after work.
bmwguru DEC 27, 05:37 PM
We have progress.
I removed the drivetrain from the Jetta today. I also set the Fiero in the shop to be ready for the drivetrain removal.




Upon removal of the transmission, I found that someone was "in here". I found a $480.00 5.5lb aluminum flywheel and brand new clutch. I wanted to use a 10lb flywheel for the turbo, but I'll see how the 5.5lb one is at first. Worst case, I can swap in out in a few hours. The stock flywheel weighs in at 20lbs.

Also, someone had replaced the front crank damper with a lightweight pulley.


The plan for today was to inspect and prep the transmission. Tomorrow, I will check out the timing chains. I'm assuming that they are new being that the cylinder head is new and the flywheel is new. The timing chains are behind the flywheel.
Here are some before and after shots of the transmission.
bmwguru DEC 27, 05:41 PM
Here is a tally sheet thus far...
Donor car $2550.00
Fuel/tolls $200.00
Chemicals/paint $10.00
Invested labor 4.5 hours
.
Dave
AutoTech DEC 27, 06:11 PM
Holy cow! 5.5lbs, thats light! You must have gotten a little excited seeing these cool parts on it already, I know I would have.

What did you use to clean the trans? Looks very nice.
bmwguru DEC 27, 06:26 PM

quote
Originally posted by AutoTech:

Holy cow! 5.5lbs, thats light! You must have gotten a little excited seeing these cool parts on it already, I know I would have.

What did you use to clean the trans? Looks very nice.



yeah, I was very happy. It saved me a few days for the flywheel ordering. As for the trans....I used parts washer and a brush and cleaned it with Brakeleen and shop air. Aluminum engine paint to finish. All trans seals looked good, so they were left alone.
Dave
Saxman DEC 27, 11:11 PM
That's a good job for one day! Dayum, the trans looks good! The first thing I thought when I saw the upgraded parts was, "Did the previous owner thrash it?"

I sure wish I were closer to learn some things from the guru...
bmwguru DEC 28, 11:12 AM
Here is a little lunch update. I removed the timing covers only to discover that the engine has brand new timing chains and rails....even new camshaft gears.

The only thing replaced at this point was the upper timing chain tensioner....I didn't think that the one installed met my level of standards. Also the valve cover gasket and rear crankshaft seal was replaced at this time. After lunch, I'm going to reinstall the transmission and swap on the correct oil pan. The engine has the oil pan from a 1998 GTI AAA VR6. I don't know why, but I'd rather have the aluminum pan from the AFP engine and I have an extra one here.
Here are some shots of my "VR6 specialist" working on her Fiero's soon to be engine.




and a butt shot.....
AkursedX DEC 28, 12:27 PM

quote
Originally posted by bmwguru:

The engine has the oil pan from a 1998 GTI AAA VR6. I don't know why, but I'd rather have the aluminum pan from the AFP engine and I have an extra one here.



Actually, from the pictures, the pan you have on looks like an all-steel pan. I believe this pan was considered to be superior to the aluminum pan due the aluminum pan being very brittle and breaking alot. I have seen a good number of VW's with broken pans. That being said, I don't see a switch back to the aluminum pan being that much of an issue due to being swapped into a Fiero.