Best way to source a VW Golf MK5 engine myself to save money after snapped cambelt?

audioblackout

Hi guys,

I own a VW Golf MK5 TDi 54 Reg. Last week my cambelt snapped. The car has done 200,000 miles and I was about to sell it anyway.

Rather than sell it for scrap, I thought the best thing would be to source an engine myself through perhaps a breakers? Maybe get it shipped from wherever I can find the cheapest to my local garage in Leeds and ask them to put it in. It actually needs a new gearbox too so I could get this all fixed and then sell it like I'd planned.

Would this be a good idea? Are there any cheap VW breakers you know of? Also, are all engines for a 54 TDi the same? Do I have to tell the breakers anything else? Are there any legal issues I need to deal with? Are there any other options you can think of?

Phew so many questions! Hope someone can help!

Mark

marlot

Might be cheaper to find a similar age car that's had a bump and buy the whole thing. If you have some storage space you can take the opportunity to save a few other useful spares at the same time (wheels/tyres, etc).

As well as the engine/gearbox, you may need the engine CPU and possibly the immobiliser. I don't know if they were coded to each other on golfs of that era.

Hintza

Better still buy a write off an transfer your body panels to it and then run the car

Here is one that looks OK

http://www.copart.co.uk/c2/homeSearch.html?_eventId=getLot&execution=e4s1&lotId=26215871&returnPage=SEARCH_RESULTS

If I wasnt keeping the car I would struggle to build up the enthusiasm to change the engine. How do you know the engine is any good, has the cambelt been one on the new engine etc.

Let someone else take the risk and just get shot of it.

TrickyWicky

If you're gonna sell it with that sort of mileage then the expense of putting in another engine might actually be more than you'll make from selling the car.

Its not a cheap thing to do replace an entire engine. You're looking at the engine and box (probably £250min -> £600), then the cost of getting it fitted, the fluids (oil, coolant, aircon gas if it has aircon), further engine testing time with the mechanic (they rarely start first time) etc. Then you may well have other consumables like a new cambelt, waterpump etc for that engine.

Might be easier just to get a replacement box and get the current engine repaired. If you're only looking to sell it then you probably want to keep your costs as low as possible unless you're actually an honest person who wants to sell someone a genuine car that will last.

Road_Hog

TrickyWicky wrote: »

If you're gonna sell it with that sort of mileage then the expense of putting in another engine might actually be more than you'll make from selling the car.

Its not a cheap thing to do replace an entire engine. You're looking at the engine and box (probably £250min -> £600),

And the rest.

I'd look at the cost of a new head first. But as you say, I'm not sure it's all going to be worth it.

audioblackout

Thank you very much for all the great advice everyone! This is all invaluable to me

atrixblue.-MFR-.

yes all VW engine have certain engine codes, youll need to have this code in order to buy just the engine and box for them to match exactly E.G AUG engine code must match AUG replacement engine, or it just wont fire up, youll require the immobiliser, ecu, wiring looms, key fob to switch fobs over with yours for immobiliser deactivation and ativation in order ot missmatch engine codes.

as per mileage, the cars a highmiles non runner not worth much as it stands, and still not worth much more with a replacement engine and box your efforts would be in vein to replace than engine to claw some cash back, ive not know a mk5 engine go for less than £450+ let alone one with a box attached to it also. swapping time are around 8 hours then theres possability of hidden problems there after.

CrazyRed

Having not long comp0leted such a swap as the OP has asked about, I can confirm the following:

1. As long as the engines are identical (engine code ideally to match) and you get the new engine completely "bare" of sensors, there will be no problems. Just make sure you get the loom with it - on some cars, this loom actually plugs in to the bulkhead, so swapping them all over is a relatively simple task.

The basic engines in all cars (what I call the "oily bits" are virtually all the same - it's the electronics that get coded to the immobiliser, etc., not the actual engine block so if ALL you change is the "oily bits" and transfer over your existing sensors, fuel pump, etc., then you'll be fine.

My friend and I have just done this with a Volvo V40 where we couldn't get a replacement engine of the correct type for love nor money at the time. In the end, we found a slightly different model of engine, from a much newer car, and swapped that over with it's loom, but the original engine's sensors and it was just fine. It started first time and ran perfectly.

If you do go ahead and do this job, allow plenty of time and, change the cambelt, tensioners and waterpump whilst the new lump's out of the car - it really makes the job much, much easier.

It'll be expensive and I'd question whether it's worth it. Best guess here, if you do it yourself with a knowledgeable mate (not the job to be attempted on the drive with a trolley jack and a set of market-bought spanners!) is you're going to end up spending £800-900 to do this properly - DIY. It's not just the engine you have to take into account - it's the cambelt, tensioners, waterpump, new coolant, all new filters (makes sense to do the car fuel filter at the same time) - in our case we spent the same again on the ancilliaries and fluids that we did on the replacement engine itself.

Don't even think of professional labour for this sort of job - you'd be looking at an easy 12-14 hours on a Golf. At professional labour rates that puts the labour cost alone at over the value of the car.

If you're looking to keep it and run it until it falls to pieces, then the above makes perfect sense - you won't be able to replace the Golf for what this repair will cost, certainly not with anything reliable for the significant mileage you seem to clock up, but spending that on it will give the old girl another lease of life and you another good few year's reliable motoring in a car you know and clearly trust.

vax2002

It must be worth getting the head taken off and the damage inspected, it may have just bent a few valves and can be re-built, if you can find a motor engineer with the experience.

forgotmyname

Sell as is or break it for spares and buy something else. Engine swaps these days can be a nightmare as
slightly different software maybe needed in the cars ECU for the engine you plan to fit.

You wont know until it runs like a bag of spanners. But by then youve spent a shedload of money on it.

vax2002

As said I would get the head stripped off, they are firms that supply fully reconditioned cylinder heads.
Often it does not do half as much damage as you think as cam followers are designed to snap first.