have a 2.0 to swap, but from an 04 beetle? need help...

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yotadriver7
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Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2010 1:12 am
What year is your cabby?: 1990
Do you own a Cabriolet?: Yes

have a 2.0 to swap, but from an 04 beetle? need help...

Post by yotadriver7 »

okay so ive got a 1990 cabby with the 2H 1.8L Digi, and i have a donor engine a 2.0L 8v from a 2004 Beetle... the sticker on the timing cover says BEV ? i dont have the car as a donor car just the engine... will it bolt right in? any changes to motor mounts? what about the computer and stuff... ive never done anything this substantial before... but the 2.0 only has 66k on it whereas my 1.9 has 190k. can i use my original 5 speed? the new engine does have a trans. im trying to include pics of the new engine, and my engine and everything below. please help me out... i have a friend who has a shop, but i need to know what to expect and what i has to go to the junk yards for.

it only let me post 3 pics, ill try to add more in the reply
Attachments
here is the 04 Beetle with the 2.0 dropped out
here is the 04 Beetle with the 2.0 dropped out
1990 VW Cabriolet 012.jpg (635.69 KiB) Viewed 4964 times
here she is, the 90 cabby... ignore the front... im working on repairing her after my accident
here she is, the 90 cabby... ignore the front... im working on repairing her after my accident
1990 VW Cabriolet 011.jpg (743.65 KiB) Viewed 4964 times
this is my engine and engine bay, 1.8L in the 90 cabby
this is my engine and engine bay, 1.8L in the 90 cabby
1990 VW Cabriolet 015.jpg (778.63 KiB) Viewed 4964 times
yotadriver7
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2010 1:12 am
What year is your cabby?: 1990
Do you own a Cabriolet?: Yes

Re: have a 2.0 to swap, but from an 04 beetle? need help...

Post by yotadriver7 »

here are more pics, i hope this works...
Attachments
close up of the new 2.0L, ignore the trans i dont have it, it was an auto anyways
close up of the new 2.0L, ignore the trans i dont have it, it was an auto anyways
1990 VW Cabriolet 007.jpg (841.18 KiB) Viewed 4963 times
heres the sticker from the timing cover, it says BEV something?
heres the sticker from the timing cover, it says BEV something?
1990 VW Cabriolet 003.jpg (603.72 KiB) Viewed 4963 times
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Briano1234
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Re: have a 2.0 to swap, but from an 04 beetle? need help...

Post by Briano1234 »

You are probably going to have to make a set of Motor mounts, as it may be the same size,'
but you are going to need the entire fuel delivery system, that is Fuel pumps, Fuse Block, ECU's for engine and transmission
Wiring harnesses as it isn't a direct swap. Possibly the Steering rack as there are differences between the
mk4 and mk1 transmissions.

Your old system is CIS, and the newer is Digifant on steroids.
Briano

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yotadriver7
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2010 1:12 am
What year is your cabby?: 1990
Do you own a Cabriolet?: Yes

Re: have a 2.0 to swap, but from an 04 beetle? need help...

Post by yotadriver7 »

well my cabby is a 1990, so it has the 2H Digifant engine... i have the car as my daily driver, only car i have.... so i know that everything runs fine on it... i actually dont have any isues with it right now, other then only the defrost works. But i have the original 2 fuel pumps and most everything else on the car is OEM... will i really have to swap out the fuel pumps? i thought i would most likely have to get a new ecu etc... ... howcome the jetta 2.0 is a direct swap but the beetle isnt??
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Briano1234
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Re: have a 2.0 to swap, but from an 04 beetle? need help...

Post by Briano1234 »

I think it will require the pumps
but not certain

the easiest would be to check the part numbers of the 92 and the 04 on napa, same number same pumps.
Briano

Yes as matter of fact, I have the Luck o'the Irish...everything I touch turns to fertilizer of the bovine variety.
You can lead a user to a link, but you can't make him Click.... :screwy:
yotadriver7
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2010 1:12 am
What year is your cabby?: 1990
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Re: have a 2.0 to swap, but from an 04 beetle? need help...

Post by yotadriver7 »

okay cool, thanks bud... as far as the mount go, of course i would buy new mounts... but do they bolt up in the same location? and will my original 5 speed bolt right on to the 2.0? and is there anything like the OBD2 system that was in the bug that ill have to get and put in my cabby? or no?
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Briano1234
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Re: have a 2.0 to swap, but from an 04 beetle? need help...

Post by Briano1234 »

Nothing is going to be a direct fit you will have to manufacture/weld a pit.
Briano

Yes as matter of fact, I have the Luck o'the Irish...everything I touch turns to fertilizer of the bovine variety.
You can lead a user to a link, but you can't make him Click.... :screwy:
eric4321
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Re: have a 2.0 to swap, but from an 04 beetle? need help...

Post by eric4321 »

I thought I read somwhere that the head from a 2.0 will bolt to a 1.8. You may want to look into it. If your car is running well why do the swap? I have heard of the 1.8 going 300,000 plus with just preventive maintainance.
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yotadriver7
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Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2010 1:12 am
What year is your cabby?: 1990
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Re: have a 2.0 to swap, but from an 04 beetle? need help...

Post by yotadriver7 »

Well I do want more power, I can't even keep up with a civic lol, but I'm at 190k and it burns some oil, has some oil pressure issues but nothing major, and this 2.0 only has 66k on it. It's mostly just wanting a faster engine with less miles and less to worry about mechanically.
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kamzcab86
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Re: have a 2.0 to swap, but from an 04 beetle? need help...

Post by kamzcab86 »

That 2.0L 8V from the Beetle is an engine that runs a Motronic fuel system with OBD-II diagnostics. Anything is possible, but you'd be a whole lot better off swapping in a 1.8L or 2.0L 16V, or rebuilding/modifying the original engine. The most common 2.0L swap is the ABA engine, but it too requires a bit of work. If you're back East, contact Nothing Leaves Stock; they're quite familiar with Mk1 swaps.
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gull
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Re: have a 2.0 to swap, but from an 04 beetle? need help...

Post by gull »

If you're looking for "less to worry about" then you probably don't want to do this swap. Swaps that aren't straight across from the same chassis type are complex projects that almost always result in bugs that need to work out. At first the reliability of the car will probably go down, not up. Once you put together a configuration VW didn't make, you're the engineer in charge, and mechanics may not be sure how to troubleshoot your creation.

I don't mean to be too harsh, 'cause it looks like a neat project, but I sense you may be getting in over your head. If you really want to swap in a more powerful engine, there are much easier swaps than this one.
VW fan who fell to the Honda side of the force
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