18 replies to this topic

[laird]

I am now looking at dropping my 01 LPT engine into the 95 NA wagon I bought. My son is taking this car as a project and we are brainstorming the Turbo swap. The car is a 95 NA M56 with the Bosch ECU.
I know we would need exhaust plumbing, intercooler, intercooler plumbing, some type of plumbing to the turbo, maybe just the short ram would do, injectors and a tune. Would a Turbo ECU from a 95 be essentially plug and play? There is a RICA manual tune for sale now and I thought that might be cool. Probably going to use my 19T on the motor (20G going on my R).
Just need to bounce this around before we get too excited about it.

[bergmjs]

Did you see NA-Game's turbo conversion thread? Lots of good info in there.

Dont forget oil cooler lines and the turbo harness, not too savvy on everything else involved, but I'd say NA-game would know the most on the subject.

[Smithwicks]

Build thread that N/A-Game (Daniel) made for his. He was pretty close to making it work but didnt have the time in the end.

http://volvospeed.co...d/page__st__200

[ARD - Lucky]

95 is LH3.2 I believe so you'll either have to plan on doing some harness splicing or get a M4.3 harness for the motor.

[lookforjoe]

Need to modify the fuel delivery/return lines as well. Probably should replace the fuel pump with turbo higher flow version.

[careboy]

Build thread that N/A-Game (Daniel) made for his.

[laird]

Thanks for the input. Lucky, how do I identify the LH3.2 vs. 4.3? There are two Bosch boxes under the lid, I'd have to look again but I think they say (206) on them. Can anything be done, from your side I mean, to 3.2 if that is the case? I would love to use ARD but don't have a manual ECU other than the stocker.
Oil cooler is done with the 01 engine by way of the newer oil pan design.

[(n)A-GAME]

For starters, using the "RN" block will open you up to a whole host of issues. The engine mounts are different, and you'll have to notch out the timing belt cover with a dremel to accommodate the 98-style accessories and serp belt. That is unless you switch over to 99+ style accessories too, which you'd have to source.

I've thought about it, and while I'd like to blame a lot of the issues I had with this project on the "RN" or 99+ style motor as opposed to an older HPT motor, truth is most of the headache had nothing to do with that. It's the little stuff - like having to completely re-do the fuel system, custom IC piping, new exhaust, swapping out wire harnesses, figuring out that you need different engine mounts, the list goes on - that really made it a pain. On paper it should all work out - the cars should be the same, or at least close enough to make it possible - that's what I thought, and that's where I found out it really wasn't true.

Don't get me wrong, it is absolutely possible to do a turbo swap and have it work out. For the 5 miles I had my turbo motor actually working before it overheated, it was a real rush hearing that turbo spooling up and feeling pinned back in my seat. That said don't expect it to be simple, cheap, or a fast job. Whatever you expect it to cost, multiply that number by 3 and then you'll get a more realistic number. However long you expect it to take, double that amount of time too.

If your son can afford to have this car off the road for a significant amount of time, and money is not an object, I say go for it. Doing a project like this is a great way to learn how to do pretty much any job on these cars that will ever need to get done, and a presents a good opportunity to freshen up other areas (suspension, etc) while the car is off the road anyways. That said, as the cost of these cars has come down so much in the past couple of years, it is MUCH more cost effective to find an 850 or 70-series turbo and start from there.

If you have specific questions you can PM me.

Cliff's Notes:

• Don't do it.
• If you must do it, expect it to take much longer and cost 3X as much as you plan, and get ready for a world of frustration.

[laird]

More good info, thanks.
In working on my 98 NA wagon, it looks like the wiring harness is set up for turbo stuff, does this ring true? Really at this point I have more engines than cars and am just trying to find the best way to use them. My son ( who is now on here as ReubS4 ) will be following and posting too. His daily driver is an 01 S4 so the wagon is a project that can take some time.

[C30T5*36]

If you need a place in utah that has IC and turbo plumbing i would check out a place called motorsport in SLC. they are a local operation and the guys are porsche turbo enthusiasts. They have a pretty unorganized place but the selection of silicone piping and and turbo supplies is huge!!. any length and bend.

they are at 2128 South Richard Street in salt lake. here are there numbers listed on google. (801) 487-6733   (801) 573-2943   (801) 699-6542 (Mobile) ‎I would call them first because they have odd hours.

[(n)A-GAME]

No. You'll need to source a completely different wiring harness. They are completely different.

Personally I'd just try to unload the engine and start with something else. Starting a project like this for the sake of using an engine you have lying around would be similar to buying a new house because someone threw a rock through the front window. It might solve the problem, but makes almost no sense.

[laird]

We will give this a long look before we get going. Your input and your chronicle will no doubt influence our direction. The motor in the car now needs to be rerpaired or replaced so maybe sourcing another JY motor would be ok. I have an unbelievable JY with loads of cars to pick from and they nearly give things away. I do need to start giving back though as I'm getting a little deep in Volvos and Volvo stuff.
Tommorow however, I will finally get to paint the R. I will post up the results, then I can think seriously about the wagon.

[ARD - Lucky]

LH3.2 has a computer for Fuel and another computer for ignition.

So if you have an LH3.2 automatic then you'll have 3 ecu's under the hood
1. Fuel
2. Ignitino
3. Auto trans

For manual it would be just
1. Fuel
2. Ignition

If you are a motronic 4.3 it will make the swap much easier.

[Matty Moo]

Get another NA engine and just replace it..

After all of the frustration of doing Dan's car, I strongly advise against it. It's more than possible, but it's a pain in the ass and starts to take on a life of it's own. We had every tool we needed, a heated garage and plenty of space. There's too many different things to fuck with and don't bother setting a budget because you're going to go over it.

If I had a choice of doing it again, I'd take my right hand (dominant) and slam it in in a door being very sure to break it. The two+ months of not having my right hand would be much easier and less frustrating than going through that again. I talk to Dan regularly, him and I don't even bring the ordeal up anymore...neither of us really like thinking about it.

[EVL WAGN]

lol...awesome Matty

[Matty Moo]

lol...awesome Matty

Funny thing is...last time you saw me I had a smashed up wrist with a cast on my right hand, and it really didn't bother me that much.

It would be like asking Ned Beatty how he felt after getting raped in Deliverance. "I don't want to talk about that".

[EVL WAGN]

lol...awesome sauce.

[laird]

LH3.2 has a computer for Fuel and another computer for ignition.

So if you have an LH3.2 automatic then you'll have 3 ecu's under the hood
1. Fuel
2. Ignitino
3. Auto trans

For manual it would be just
1. Fuel
2. Ignition

If you are a motronic 4.3 it will make the swap much easier.

Lucky, there are in fact two modules.(manual transmission car) both appear identical and are Bosch (206). I guess that puts another nail in the coffin unless we are willing to swap out the entire wiring harness. We haven't totally given up yet but we are trying to be realistic. It seems someone needs to make this type of swap work one way or the other so maybe using the 98 wagon would be a better choice. Perhaps not trying to change the transmission type at the same time would eliminate some of the variables. More to follow. Today I paint!

[REUBS4]

On that note, Does anyone know where to source a complete harness? I'd love to be able to snag one from the local junk yard, but I'd have a hard time finding one that hasn't been hacked to pieces.