I have a 2001 A4 2.8 Liter 30 valve engine that the water pump seized on. I may be able to get a full car 96 A4 2.8 L 12 valve. That's just missing a transmission. My question with the whole car at my disposal can I swap the 12 valve from the 96 to my 2001 car and get a working car. I know the bottom end of the engines are the exact same but would it work and how hard would it be? Thanks all!

 

It's honestly not worth it, you'll have to swap over everything to make your DBW car DBC, and then you'll end up with a 12v V6 which nobody wants for good reason.

 

So would it not run very well? because what I'm trying to figure out is if can I for 1/6 the price I could have a working vehicle the has 25 less horse power shouldn't I do it ? If I would have to spend a lot more money or if I'll just run into issue after issue it's not worth it. I can get the 96 for dirt cheap because of circumstances, so please if you have any more input it is appreciated !! also what do the terms DBW and DBC mean?

 

Well here's the thing. If you have the massive amount of time it would take and all you want is reliability then I would say go for it. Personally, I don't think it's worth it. I think you'll need The ECU from the '96 as well as the wiring harness. DBW is drive by wire and DBC is drive by cable. The difference is that DBW cars electronic throttle bodies while DBC cars have mechanical throttle bodies so you'll need to route and cable from your gas pedal to your throttle body now, which I'm not even sure will accept a cable so you might need to swap gas peddle assemblies too.

 

Yes, the pedals have to be swapped too. You'll also have to integrate the 30v engine harness into the 12v engine harness and ECU (read - re-pin the ECU). There's a LOT of work that goes into an engine swap. I'd think from a part-out you could get another DBC 30v and drop it directly in for little money and relatively little hassle.

 

Awesome ! well thanks again guys!! I think I got my question answered to where I can make an educated decision. I appreciate all the help Let me know if you have any tips/advice on how or where I'd look to find an engine .

 

craigslist: los angeles classifieds for jobs, apartments, personals, for sale, services, community, and events is a good place to start. Also, this forum's classifieds are good too.