Engine replacement

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Bikergonebald
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Posts: 43
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2019 8:03 pm
Drives: 2004 1.2 Twist
Location: Midlands

Engine replacement

Post by Bikergonebald »

Hi guys,

My 2004 1.4 petrol has a significant engine piston knock, I’ve lived with it for 3 years and 15,000 miles but now it needs a clutch. The car has only done 45,000 miles and has no rust and a great interior so I want to save it.
I’ve done engine removal on RWD cars and rebuilt engines before.
I would be doing the job on axle stands so I would prefer to split the engine and gearbox and lift the engine out of the top. Is that possible? Is there enough room to get the gearbox input shaft clear of the clutch without having to remove a driveshaft and move the gearbox?

Thanks
Kevin
littlepolo
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Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2011 9:47 pm

Re: Engine replacement

Post by littlepolo »

Is it really that bad? Does it quiet down after warm up?

I've read that VW's can survive the annoying piston knock.

Almost did a full engine swap myself and found a video on YT. It looked like it might be possible to move the engine out via the front (though not sure if the front beam can be unbolted). Otherwise it should easily come out via the top (lifting hooks on the block/head?).

As for clearance, not sure. You might be able to pull the hub assembly and move g/b over, else angle the engine enough on lifting.

PS, after swapping out tappets for new I'm pretty sure what I thought was tappet noise cannot be. It's like a half-speed knock worse when cold but never really goes away. I thought it cannot be piston slap due to the speed of knocking. All belt pulleys etc were changed so no idea what causes it.
Bikergonebald
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Posts: 43
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2019 8:03 pm
Drives: 2004 1.2 Twist
Location: Midlands

Re: Engine replacement

Post by Bikergonebald »

When my wife comes home I hear the knock before the engine. It’s definitely not tappets because it gets louder under load.

It needs a clutch so I have to decide whether to spend the money on that or not, I can use it with a knock but not without a clutch.

Today I’m leaning towards selling it on eBay (with the fault described) then taking my chance on buying another cheap car. Tomorrow I might be back to the idea of fixing it.
Bikergonebald
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Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2019 8:03 pm
Drives: 2004 1.2 Twist
Location: Midlands

Re: Engine replacement

Post by Bikergonebald »

I’ve just been outside studying it and there is no way on this 4 cylinder engine that there is enough space for it to separate from the gearbox in the car and the Haynes manual says bring the engine and gearbox out complete.

I did see that I will have to disconnect the air con pipes to the radiator and compressor so do I need to get the gas extracted?
RUM4MO
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Re: Engine replacement

Post by RUM4MO »

Yes you do need to get the fridge gas charge recovered from the system - that is if there is still enough to let the AC work, if not, you could consider that all the gas charge or most of it has already escaped so very little will get discharged if/when you open up the system.

It is considered an offence to deliberately dump the gas charge out into the atmosphere, so assess that system and see if you do need to get it recovered professionally.
CarbonChaos
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Drives: 2015 6C GTI DSG Oryx white 3 door.
Location: South west uk

Re: Engine replacement

Post by CarbonChaos »

You are correct in thinking the engine and gearbox should be removed as one unit, it’s the best way.

Remove the front bumper then the lights ,crash bar etc, this gives access to the radiator support,remove this completely.
You are now looking at the engine and gearbox once the front is removed, you can do this job at home if your good with the tools no problem

You just have to bite the bullet and remove the radiator support aka core support,use an engine crane to remove the engine and box.
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D0CDFB3D-000F-4914-9CE1-F0D47D6E74E0.jpeg (639.42 KiB) Viewed 535 times
Mk7 Golf R but basically the same process
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