I know it most likely is possible but ppl ive asked are stumped. I have a 97 a4 with a blown 1.8t. My friend has a 2.8 engine with 60k. My question is will it fit with my manual 5 speed trans? he has the ecu for it as well. Thanks!

 

The proper question is whether it can be done for or under a certain amount of money, or whether it can be done by you based on your mechanical skills and tools (which you have to specify). It can be done. An R8 swap can be done...given the right ability and financial situation.

You don't mention the transmission in the 2.8 donor car. If it's a manual also, that simplifies things. Your trans likely will work but you're better off with the 2.8 trans because the gear ratios are matched better to the engine's torque curve. If the donor is an automatic, you can do it - provided you replace the crank with one from a manual car so you can bolt the flywheel up. You need to be adept at wiring too - you'll likely have to do some repinning on the ECU connector - I highly doubt that all the sensors and inputs will be in the same connector locations on the two cars. You'll also need Vagcom to flash the gauge cluster to the new engine so it'll work properly. And you'll need a whole bunch of other stuff that I'm not even thinking of right now.

 

Yeah its definitely possible, but why would you wanna do that? You're gonna be really disappointed with a 30v 2.8 after having a 1.8t with the mods in your sig. How much does your buddy want for the motor? If money is an issue in this situation, I can understand that, but for a few hundred bucks you can pick up a used 1.8t and swap that with a whole lot less effort.

 

Well I doubt he will be disappointed by how many fewer problems his new engine will have...

 

Thanks for the replys guys! Actually it is a money situation I lost my job and i really dont want to get rid of my audi i recently sold my jetta to have the funds to fix the a4, Im from michigan and im having a hell of a time finding a complete 1.8t or just the head around here. Nearly impossible, my buddy has the 2.8 listed for $850 but said hed sell it to me for $650. It was in a manual trans car too. I think its a fair deal. Im pretty good with engine work, Ive done all the maintainace to my car by myself. One thing tho, I do not have a vag com, I dont know if thats going to be a problem or not.

 

You can get a new head from a part-out, including shipping, plus all the timing components and related parts you'd need to replace, for less than $650, and face a lot less work, not to mention you'd keep your setup and be driving a car with a known engine rather than relying on someone else's account of their maintenance practices, friend or not. Check the ads here, on Audizine, and on VWVortex. You can definitely score a head and save money, time, and effort.

 

You're just jealous of how pretty my CEL looks all the time and the frequency with which it accompanies me on road trips

Even though he's a smart *** he's right about this ^

 

What's wrong with your cars head? You said blown motor

 

I'm guessing TB failure

 

Is that necessarily a head issue or blown motor?