Engine swap options 125TDI Passat (BMR)

[nermal]

The oil pump balance shaft module needs replacing on our 2008 125TDI Passat. There was no other engine damage, but VW pricing for that part (03G 103 295 AK) is almost as much as the car's value! (fail VW...) - I can get the part from overseas for less than ~1/3 of the price, but it involves long wait times...

It seems this is an engineering fault and common problem on the BMR engines within 130,000-200,000 kms.. It's likely to be cheaper just to do an engine swap, but it's proving impossible to find a 2nd hand BMR engine with low kms.

So, does anyone know if there are compatible engine codes out there that would be suitable for a swap?

It looks like a CBBB engine is often listed alongside the BMR - would this be an option for an engine swap?

We have a replacement car (Tiguan) arriving in a couple of months, so open to ideas...

[kamold]

You're going from a PD to a common rail there. So you'd need the ECU for a start, that would either need to be made immo off, or immo matched to your CCM.
Then you'll need all the engine side wiring harness, and there may also be wiring changes needed back to the body (would need to carefully study the wiring diagrams of both.)
If you're looking for an easy cheap swap I would guess this might not be it.
That's without doing any checks on the wiring etc, just thoughts.
If it's something you really want to do I'm sure it's possible but before buying anything I'd be spending some time checking over the wiring diagrams.

[nermal]

Yeah, I'm thinking the car is essentially scap now.

It's really disappointing to buy a new VW, take great care of it, spending loads of cash each year on genuine parts/maintenance, just to have the engine die at only 160k...

The car is essentially "written off" because VW want over $6K (+$3K labour) for an oil pump shaft that failed due to poor engineering... oil pumps should outlast most engine components - TBH it makes me question the confidence I had (and would share) in VW engineering...

Anyhow, rant over... probably a lesson that VWs don't last and to replace them before they get too old. If you were cynical, you might think that they are designed that way to generate maximum profits...

[kamold]

Bws swap it

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[nermal]

Bws swap it

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What's a BWS swap?

[kamold]

R36 motor

[nermal]

R36 motor

Oh, that would be cool. Probably more trouble/cost than it's worth on an old 125TDi I'm guessing.

[Lucas_R]

You can buy the balance shaft locally for $1800. This place says they have one in stock although id be calling and checking if that is accurate. Balance Shaft Module / Oil Pump for 2.0TDI - 03G103295AK – Boosted Autosports PTY LTD

VAGParts in Sydney can supply them but it says up to a 4 week lead time: Balance Shaft Module / Oil Pump for Volkswagen & Audi 2.0 TDI - 03G103
– VAGPARTS Australia

[nermal]

You can buy the balance shaft locally for $1800. This place says they have one in stock although id be calling and checking if that is accurate. Balance Shaft Module / Oil Pump for 2.0TDI - 03G103295AK – Boosted Autosports PTY LTD

VAGParts in Sydney can supply them but it says up to a 4 week lead time: Balance Shaft Module / Oil Pump for Volkswagen & Audi 2.0 TDI - 03G103
– VAGPARTS Australia

Thanks Lucas_R =)

I tried contacting Boosted Friday, but haven't received a response (web and facebook, couldn't find a phone number). There are a couple of genuine options on eBay from Germany and Hungary too, shipping takes ~4 weeks (hopefully).

This may be an option. The part costs $1,800 (or ~$1,100 w/ shipping internationally), one dealer said $1,500 labour and another $3,000.

So $2,600 to $4,800 approx.. at $2,600 it's worth it, at $4,800 it's questionable (not sure what I'd get from the wreckers, but probably not much)..

While we're working this one out (could take weeks), we're down to 2 cars, so I'm looking for a replacement anyway. Test drove a 2nd hand Arteon today, more sedate than my R36 (same performance on paper), but much more comfortable/modern.

[Lucas_R]

Seeing you are in Brisbane, id be giving Alba European a call. He has a very good reputation for all things VW/Audi.

He might have a contact for sourcing the part and can no doubt give you info and/or a quote on the installation side of things:
Alba European - Home

[nermal]

Seeing you are in Brisbane, id be giving Alba European a call. He has a very good reputation for all things VW/Audi.

He might have a contact for sourcing the part and can no doubt give you info and/or a quote on the installation side of things:
Alba European - Home

Thanks, I left a message.

[nermal]

After speaking with Alba European, it appears the oil pump module consists of separate parts with their own part numbers (oil pump, balancing shaft, hex carrier etc) - some are available genuine and others aftermarket. VW only wanted to replace the whole (very expensive) module.

I've ordered ~$200-300 in parts from the UK, which are due to arrive next week. I'll update this thread with details in case anyone else finds themselves in the same situation.

[nermal]

Parts have arrived. Ordered a replacement pump, but also a "balance shaft repair kit" just in case.

Went to VW to check the worn parts and it turned out that the pump is fine, but the hex carrier pin and hex key/hole in the balance-shaft itself are rounded out (so just free spins). Wish I had the presence of mind to take a photo while talking to th engineer.

Luckily, I ordered the repair kit as these ~$10 worth of parts are what should solve the issue... the new hex key/hole needs to be precision machine tapped into the worn balance shaft and the worn key removed with the new one.

Should only be a few hundred for the machining and up to 4 hours labour to fit everything back together. Should hopefully have it up and running again this week. Crank bearings etc all still looking good - only limped it briefly after the alarm came on.

Here's a photo of the repair kit (14mm hex bolt and hex carrier pin that slides inside):

[nermal]

The repair kit seems to be working with good oil pressure now. Only problem is that the turbo is cooked due to running briefly without oil pressure. Ordered an aftermarket replacement turbo and waiting for it to arrive. It's a new one with upgraded internals for ~$900

I just hope it's the right part, the turbo shop looked up the car's rego, but it seems to be for the CBBB engine (rather than BMR) so hopefully that's compatible - exhaust manifold looks the same, but the intake fitting(s) may need adaption (or a silicon replacement perhaps).

Plenty of turbo options from Europe if it doesn't work out, will just take some extra time to arrive.

[nermal]

Ok, just to close this thread out - the car is back on the road!

So, the turbo was indeed incorrect (I now have a spare CBB* turbo with upgraded internals to try get rid of).. Fortunately, I was able to pick a used one for $600 (has 100K kms on it and is working well). The alternate option was to source a new one from Europe for a little extra, but would have taken weeks to arrive.

All up, costed under $1K in parts, plus ~$2.5K in labour, including the original diagnostic tear-down and precision machining required for the balancer shaft repair.

OEM parts replacement quote was ~$11K (balancer shaft module ~$6.5K and turbo ~$4.5K), which was pretty extreme, and more than the car is worth.

Big thanks to Jimmy at Alba European for his help and advice in finding a repair pathway. Also, the VW dealership was very helpful and patient in trying options (and storing my car for weeks/months!), and they also took very good care of me on the labour side of things .

Shame on VW AU (parts) for committing extortion by over-charging on parts to fix the VW engineering flaw - idealistically, they would have fixed/recalled (or at least notified of) this in the first place.

I hope this helps someone out in the future.