My engine failed failed catastrophically this evening – ended up picking bits of sump and gudgeon pin off the hard shoulder before getting towed. The car is a 2008 Passat in otherwise very nice condition, so I’m pretty gutted. I’m tempted to get a 2nd had engine put in, but I’ve no idea if this is likely to give decent value for money. Probably pushing £1.5-2k to have it supplied and fitted I expect. Yesterday I expect it was worth about £3500, so I’m not ready to write it off yet. Has anyone got experience of secondhand engines? Are they are more likely to go wrong? What about insurance – does it count as a modification? I’d be grateful for any advice or experiences.

Cheers!

Is there much mileage and wear and tear on other parts of the car? If so I’m no sure I would bother.

Time to scrap the car I would think.

Friend had a golf tdi that blew the engine,he had a second hand (supposedly reconditioned) engine fitted but it turned out to be very worn out,and he sold the car on shortly after.

If you can guarantee the condition of the replacement engine and the rest of the car is ok,it could be worthwhile though

Its not just another engine though
If its out the car you would be mad not to put a cambelt kit and water pump on at the same time. Then there is a clutch and dual mass.
If it were me, I would get a few mates round who are handy with the spanners and swap it out myslef.
As soon as you are paying a garage the cost doubles
If you could find a good engine on ebay, still in the car , thats had a rear ender and is being broken , then that might fly.
But you are still facing issues with modern engines electronics being coded and refusing to talk to each other without being told by a techy with a laptop ,moar dosh.

Might be best to sell it on ebay as is and start looking for a new car.

What single-track mind says.

I’d do it my self over a weekend.

I’d not pay someone else to do it.

I swapped my non running golf for a Vauxhall frontera with 11 months MOT rather than swap the engine.

Best trade ever !

The electrical side of things is what put me off attempting it myself. I’ve one mate who’s offered a help, but I doubt there’s a Haynes manual for engine swaps! Might try calling in a few favours to have a go though.

Cheers,

Buy this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2003-VOLKSWAGEN-PASSAT-2-0-SPORT-20V-MOT-JUST-EXPIRED-SPARES-REPAIR-DRIVES-FINE-/152407433424?hash=item237c30e0d0:g:cIgAAOSwHMJYCKvc

spend the weekend swapping the engines over.Unless your is a diesel….

Of course there is a Haynes Manual for engine swaps. There will be 8 pages on it. It wont be 100% factually correct but it be close.
However, th fact that you do not know there is a chapter in removing the engine in a Haynes manual leads further down the road of ebay removal and replacement

no offence – winky smiley thing..

Sadly the VAG 2.0 PDENGINES are prone to this and it’s quite common. We are in the same predicament with a 2.0 Touran but have decided to cut our losses and get rid.

Hello there,I have a West Yorkshire based car breakers if you let me know your three letter engine code I will give you a price for a second hand engine removed from an accident damaged vehicle.As a rough guide we have just supplied and fitted a 2.0tdi engine into a 2008 A3 for £1500,including belt kit.

That’s sounds more like it. It’s a Passat TDi 1.9 105. If I’m having a new lump it’d be good to have a bit more oomph though. Will be in touch. Car is in Sheffield at the moment.

Sadly the VAG 2.0 PDENGINES are prone to this and it’s quite common.

The myth of VAG reliability! An 8 year old engine just blowing up and it’s a common problem? Not fit for purpose really.

My BiL had a Golf that had 2 replacement engines under warranty in the first 2 years.

There are alot of variables over 8 years that could lead to it blowing up and it being perfectly fit for purpose.

How ever I’m with you on vw reliability being an expensive myth 🙂

There are alot of variables over 8 years that could lead to it blowing up and it being perfectly fit for purpose.

Agreed. However, that doesn’t really stand up if it’s a “common” problem.

Check your engine code. I’m pretty sure that you will find it is a BXE otherwise known as a UXB. They tend to explode in spectacular fashion on a fairly regular basis.
Loads of reports of this problem in VW group cars for example

One of the main problems is not using the correct oil and not checking/changing it often enough.The fella we just fitted the A3 engine for said I will supply my own oil as he thought the vw pd oil was too expensive,£30,so he turned up with Asda’s own brand which is not pd specific.We had to tell him we would not guarantee the engine without the correct oil.Mr Rockhopper the Passat in your ad is a B5 model the posters car is a B6,the only parts that are the same are the wheel nuts.

A problem with the 2.0 tdi VAG engine from 2004 to 2009 is the oil pump drive,it is a short hexagonal rod which drives the oil pump from the counter balance unit,when it wears in its holes you loose drive to the oil pump,job over.

the Passat in your ad is a B5 model the posters car is a B6,the only parts that are the same are the wheel nuts

😀

As Matt24k says, you’ll probably have a BXE unit.

Junkyard Dog’s price seems pretty good, if thats supplied and fitted with a warranty.

For more power, just get the engine in, belt swapped, remap. Job done.

Always used the correct oil and kept it topped up. It’s almost certainly that BXE problem linked above which sounds like cheap inferior conrods. These are the bits I scooped up last night.

Junkyard Dog, what’s your email or phone number?

Hang on a minute
I may be wrong but the 1.9 is the PD ( pump deuse ) engine requiring special oil because of the poor oil spray around the lifters and the high shear in the PD lobes.
The B6 ran both Pd 1.9 and CR ( common rail ) 2.0 engines. Most are CR which should not need PD specific oil, just Fully Synthentic.
Plus sticking a 140CR into a car with a 105 ECU might not work straight away. Might be prefectly fine and dandy . Might need the ECU.
Modern cars. . . .. what was really wrong with a set of 40DCOE’s and a dizzy?

Has anyone got experience of secondhand engines? Are they are more likely to go wrong?

It just depends on how well it’s been looked after. If it’s out of an accident-damaged car – as above – it’ll likely be no better or worse than what you had, but it’s a bit of a lottery. Ideally you want to see it running before you buy it and fit the thing.

The myth of VAG reliability! An 8 year old engine just blowing up and it’s a common problem? Not fit for purpose really.

No better or worse than most other manufacturers, though it always helps if you use the right oil and filters, change them regularly, avoid short journeys and don’t thrash it until it’s properly warmed up.

You have to think that the combination of numerous short, cold engine supermarket outings and increasingly extended service intervals isn’t going to end well in a lot of cases.

True. This one’s had an easy life though and generally only motorway miles, serviced yearly even though it says it’s ok every two years. That Audi forum link above is interesting reading and it seems like a design fault – though mine has lasted a lot longer than those being discussed.

You will need the ECU from the donor car as well as the engine.

The oil.pump issue is well documented, Google it. Doesnt affect all cars and is a case of if it was going to fail it would already have failed by now. And t didn’t cause the engine to explode. And it was on BKP engines.

Sounds like something else.

BKP is PD.

Could’ve hoovered the carpet!

What was the engine mileage?

Of course there is a Haynes Manual for engine removal. There will be 8 pages on it. It wont be 100% factually correct but it be close. Putting it back in will consist of one line “refitting is the reversal of removing”

Ftfy.

You don’t need an entire engine and ecu, you just need a “short” engine.

get one from a breakers, strip off all the bits you can take from your existing engine, and throw it in the hole! You’ll probably need to hire and engine crane, but everything else is a simple unplug/unbolt job. Might as well throw a new cambelt and clutch at it before you put the new engine in. Should be back on you way for less than £1K DIY

You don’t need an entire engine and ecu, you just need a “short” engine

Off an engine that’s had a piston go wandering around inside? Madness.

You might as well buy a full engine; you will realise you need the other bits once you crack the top off.

Id have thought a long block minimum if hes brought home bits of engine insides in a bucket.

More so if he doesnt know what hes looking for when he cracks it open….

What about insurance – does it count as a modification?

your supposed to tell them about engine swaps even a like for like unless done at a dealer.

Real world – if its a like for like – you bought it like that and werent told 😉

I told them about mine as i changed engines to a different type.

When we were 19 a mate of mine told his insurance about his replacement engine of exactly the same type in his fiat brava…. boom the car became uninsurable by him.

Of course there is a Haynes Manual for engine swaps. There will be 8 pages on it. It wont be 100% factually correct but it be close.
However, th fact that you do not know there is a chapter in removing the engine in a Haynes manual leads further down the road of ebay removal and replacement

no offence – winky smiley thing..

+1

Although recent haynes manuals are crap in comparison to older ones. They just don’t expect people to be tearing down engines anymore (which is maybe fair enough). Instead it’s things like eight pages of how to repair the seat tilt mechanism.

Sorry about the delay,been out pedalling.Our phone number is 01924 827594,email parts4carsuk@btconnect.com.All B6 passat’s fitted with the 1.9 tdi engines,of which there are lots are pd engines and must use pd specific oil,the 2.0 tdi also uses the same oil as the 1.9 tdi.we are open Monday to Friday 8-30 till 5-00.

505 01 if its a Non DPF PD.
507 if its DPF equipped model.

Just source a 1.9 tdi 105. Change the water pump and cambelt. There are 100’s of these engines about. Junkyard should be able to source an accident damaged one with a good engine. Take lots of photos as you unplug or unbolt stuff. If you haven’t done this before get a quote from JY. Most mark II Skoda’s had the 105 engine. I’m not 100% sure but the 105 wasn’t a Dpf engine.

if the rest of the car is good then I’d fix it but only if you want to keep it a while

Lots of vw forums for guides and advice

I had a similar experience recently with my Subaru Legacy worth a similar amount but it stopped short of blowing up.

I looked around for a replacement engine but couldn’t find one from a trustworthy source so it going up for spares / repair today 🙁

Good luck!

Bummer. I was thinking about a Legacy as a replacement if I get rid of the Passat. Can’t quite bring myself to get an Avensis, so the Legacy seemed like a good choice for Japanese reliability.

If you want one without an engine but nice leather seats… you know where to come 🙂

The car was fine. They drink oil though and I hadn’t topped it up for 2 – 3 months then it died on the way to work one morning (yes without a warning light).

I looked around for spares as did a couple of garages but the only places we could find either wanted nearly 2K for the engine or were not places I was prepared to give cash to.

Companies house on-line was useful because one place said they had the part but when you googled them the directors had a string of similar businesses either in liquidation or closed down and decent list of previous client complaints about wrong parts and huge amounts of difficulty in sorting out their situations.

hence… “good luck” 🙂

Update

Garage suggests £1500 minimum to replace, or £1900 to replace and do the timing belt and water pump at the same time. Given that trade-in would get me less than £2k, and there’s still a risk it wouldn’t actually work after spending £2k, it’s just not worth it. Shame as it’s a beautiful car – almost identical to this one.

Scrappers have offered £700 for it in it’s current condition which seems like the least worst option. I am toying with the idea of taking the engine out myself, and depending on how difficult I find that, possibly try putting in a replacement. If it turns out too daunting I can still scrap it for the £700. I suppose even if the replacement engine doesn’t work I could flog that separately without losing too much.

In the meantime, it’s back to bangernomics unfortunately. Colleague is looking to shift a Focus for £500 which ought to keep me going for a little while.

As long as youv got the time, space and potentially somewhere dry or someone to hold an umbrella give it a go. I did the clutch and high pressure fuel pump on my old 307 hdi on the drive with just a trolley jack and a few planks of wood. Just take notes, label wires and walk away if it’s not going to plan.
Engine hoist will help as well.
Good luck and post some pics