Hey folks, I sold off my 88 Formula years ago, it just wasn't a great vehicle for a young family. But, my wife pointed out a fiero on the market just down the road. An 88 notch back base model, no frills, and the original iron duke engine on an izuzu 5 speed. So I picked it up! My old car was an automatic and I swapped to a 3.4l, so jumping into an iron duke with highway gears (1600 rpm at 60mph!?!?) was almost painful. So an engine swap is definitely in it's future. I also have a 2006' golf TDI (turbo, exhaust, clutch, chip) pushing 300ft-lbs. So grabbing another BEW 1.9l TDI is an option, and I know it's been done before. I'm curious though, has anyone done a 2.0l swap from a Passat? There's a totalled one coming up on copart locally, so I might be able to snag a full donor car, but if folks have already tried and found it not to fit, I'll look for a 1.9 instead.
My plan would be to run the 2.0l and DSG transmission, curious if anyone has any lessons learned from such a swap?
I am only aware of the TDI swap done a few years ago by (I believe ) BMW Guru who used to post here. He was out of New Jersey I believe
Great engine, but other than the "cool" factor- I am not sure it is really worth the huge amount of work to swap?
If you want good fuel economy and decent performance, why not use an Ecotec with matching 5 speed trans? I would guess that it would be a simpler swap, still a great upgrade to the lawmower engine thta is currently in your car?
Originally posted by ThatRickGuy: So an engine swap is definitely in it's future. I also have a 2006' golf TDI (turbo, exhaust, clutch, chip) pushing 300ft-lbs. So grabbing another BEW 1.9l TDI is an option, and I know it's been done before. I'm curious though, has anyone done a 2.0l swap from a Passat? There's a totalled one coming up on copart locally, so I might be able to snag a full donor car, but if folks have already tried and found it not to fit, I'll look for a 1.9 instead.
My plan would be to run the 2.0l and DSG transmission, curious if anyone has any lessons learned from such a swap?
The 2.0 has 4 valves per cylinder, the 1.9 has 2 valves per cylinder. The 1.9 has better fuel economy and considered more reliable. Size wise I don't know if they are the same size engine. My 1.9 fits in the Fiero engine bay pretty good, there's not much room for a wider engine, due to the ducting for the inner-cooler.
I am only aware of the TDI swap done a few years ago by (I believe ) BMW Guru who used to post here. He was out of New Jersey I believe
Great engine, but other than the "cool" factor- I am not sure it is really worth the huge amount of work to swap?
Yes, BMW Guru did my TDIFiero swap. I've owned the car for 10 years now. It's been doing great. I love this setup, it is quieter than the V6 at cruising speeds.
Best MPG has been 57.3 at 75 mph w/ cruise & a/c running - that's with the 4 speed automatic.
The swap was well worth it to me, I've owned two other VW diesels in the past. Jetta & a Rabbit, both were non turbo w/ manual trans.
I'd to the Swap CoolBlue has. The 1.9L ALH is one solid engine. Mechanical injection, it's NUTS! reliable. I've had a lot of customers with that engine ( Jetta's) through the years, Do the Timing belt / water pump when recommended, a new Turbo when it needs it and they will run for a million miles and more.
That engine reacts well with a tune, When I do the EGR delete I always get a stage one tune ( Malone tuning) on them and the customers are surprised how much stronger it is. No it won't be a rocket but it will Pull.
For Fuel economy, to quote one of my customers who bought one new in 2000, after a year I asked him just how good was it on fuel. His reply ' I don't know I haven't put any fuel in it yet!' LOL
[This message has been edited by jelly2m8 (edited 11-20-2023).]
