I was just wondering, if anyone could tell me there experiences with this swap? and if you thought it was worth it. Could you just outline for much it costed for me please?

Thanks, Evan

 

T2 swap to an N/A?

it shouldnt cost much at all, just a na engine, harness and ecu, afm, pressure sensor and uhh... thats it i think

or did you mean N/a -> T2 swap?

 

yeah, the 2nd one, sorry :P

 

Been there done that, got the t-shirt, and a bunch of extra parts I'll get more into detail when I get home, I'm at work at the moment.

 

sweet, thanks Rat, your the man

 

Alright, what do you want to know about? Exact cost (mines higher due to an asshat sending me a dead engine) or a rough cost w/each part listed out?

 

asshat

 

whichever is easiest

 

None are easy, obviously! Alright, here goes!
T2 J-spec (hope to god it runs) $750-$1000
T2 Tranny $100-$400
T2 LSD $75-100
T2 Halfshafts $50-$75
T2 Driveshaft $50-$75
Boost sensor $25-$100
Brake booster line w/check valve $20-$35
Boost gauge (I prefer you use aftermarket and not swap gauges) $80-$200
Downpipe $100-300
Presilencer/midpipe/cat/whatever: $20-$500 *1 (see note 1)
K&n filter: $30-$45
custom TID: $20 @ home depot
BOV (want to make noise!) $140-$250
T2 hood $250 (gotta fit that intercooler somewhere!)
T2 engine harness $100-$200 (since jspec cuts them)
T2 fuel pump $20-$100
T2 ecu $50-$150 (depends on series)
AF meter to look special $90
Varius hoses/hose clamps that are bound to break: $30
Beer/alcohol supply $200-$400 depending on how good your engine is
T2 clutch (as the jspec probably didn't come with one or it's worn) $200-$500
Various coolant hoses (good time to replace the worn ones) $20-$50
Engine mounts: $80-$120 (chances are your NA ones broke and the jspec didn't come with them)
New spark plugs $30-$40
New spark plug wires $30-60
TurboII sticker to feel special $7
Friends to help you do the work $87.94 in pizza bills

I think that just about covers it, I might have forgotten something but I should be about right

 

****, I forgot the note! Hahaha. In my case, I bought a RB 3" downpipe and used my stock NA catback. This was possible due to a 22" pipe (3") with two flanges on the end, simply bolted it in place and walla, exhaust for $23, now most people would want to go with a complete turbo exhaust setup and screw my cheap setup, which is why I ranged it from $20-$500. You can do it how I did, however it's quiet as all hell, and kills boost, or you can go aftermarket, up to you.

 

holy ****, i've got things to think about- thanks

 

Hahaha, what does that mean? It's not as bad as it sounds, and it's damn fun to do too! The prices all depend on the deal you get, obviously, I tried to post the highs and lows that I saw, some things you can get away with, others you can't. Anyway, I thought it was well worth it for what I learned in doing so.

 

+ have you ever ridden in a 300hp turbo'd car...

In RETED's opinion, thats slow ...but its still damn fun

 

I just did it. My advice is to do it for sure. Im using the na motormounts and tranny! It costed me less than 1500 plus i sold the old engine and parts for another 500. I also have a dual friction clutch, fcd, intake, and bov that are INCLUDED in the 1500. I used to loose to my friend w/ a nicely modded non turbo dsm. I raced him today and all he said was... "dude there are flames comin out your exhaust!" I took him by so many carlengths you couldnt count them.

 

I am 99% done with the conversion right now. I'll post some pics when I get the car done. For a BOV I put a check valve on the stock one and vented it into the atmosphere, sounds almost as good as an aftermarket one. I was lucky in that my jspec came with an almost brand new exeedy clutch that looks to have about 100 miles on it. I am keeping the NA rear driveline for now. I bought a t2 trans, and got an automatic driveshaft shortend and all it bolted right in. The wiring is preatty self explainitory. The vacume system is a BITCH, so I went "bare block" now have 6 vacume lines on my car.


I like to work on cars, and did a lot of reasearch on the topic. Do a search KABOOSKI did a great write up on it as well as sledgehammer and hypmtize7. I would say go for it IF

1. you have a good place to work
2.your car is in good shape
3.you know what your doing
4.you have a vert
5.you are very attached o your car

 

Did it!!

IT'S AWESOME!!!

 

Its not that hard, im in the process, great learning experience! I can't wait to drive it!

 

I forgot to mention the NA AFM will work on a t2, so you don't need to get one right away.

Peolple always say that the conversion is so hard, and not worth the effort but, it's eiser than all the honda, and nissain swaps that are so popular these days. And finding a t2 that is as nice as my NA with a new jspec, and rebuilt trans for under 2k out of pocket is next to imposable if you have my luck. have fun!!

 

I'm thinking about converting my T2 into an N/A...

 

I've done it and I'm fixing to do it again. Unfortunately, the motor I got had been abused by the DPO by running pure tap water through it. The housings were corroded so bad they were absolute trash on the inside.

A few corners to cut on a Series 5:

The Series 5 NA harness and the Series 5 TII harness are almost identical. The only *needed* change is the wire for the knock sensor, which IIRC is one of the wires for the VDI solenoid on the NA side.

You'll need to lengthen the O2 lead, and the TPS is pulled a little tight, but overall, everything is there. The only difference between the NA and TII harness are the following:

Knock Sensor = VDI solenoid (one wire from VDI plug)
Duty control solenoid = 6PI solenoid

The AFM will work with the TII

The motor mounts are the same, oil cooler lines, etc. With the exception of the turbo, the short blocks are identical. Identical meaning *how* everything bolts up... A/C, Power Steering, alternator, motor mounts, etc...

I tried the HomeDepotRacing check valve and promptly blew it apart within the first week or so of 11PSI.

The first night it was running I made a pretty strong run before pulling into the neighborhood and when downshifting the car made a sound so hideous it made me laugh (imagine the bathroom scene with Jeff Daniels in Dumb and Dumber). As it was making the raunchy rumble, the flames coming from the exhaust COMPLETELY lit up the entire street. I had a good 10 second burn of flames shooting out the exhaust as I pulled into the driveway.

Come to find out, the BOV popped off due to a winky hose clamp.

The following day I drove the car to work and walked a WS6. The only other thing that would make me enjoy my GTU-II more would be a twin turbo v-8

I stated earlier in another post somewhere about swapping the brake booster line with the TII version. After checking mine out thoroughly, the S5 NAs have the check valve in place already. I can't vouch for the S4s.

 

I added up that list....it comes to about $2900 (give or take some) IF you dont drink beer

Man I cant wait to do a turbo conversion...I might be getting a new engine to rebuild soon

Sorry, I love to work on cars. I plan on doing it for a living someday, but for now I have to settle for a hobby.

 

Oh, that reminded me, when your NA blows a seal you will have to spend about $1500 to get it running again, but it will still be slow and have very limited tuning potential. Or spend $2000-$2500 and have a turbo car that is twice as fun to drive, and almost limit-less tuning potential. plus you will know every nut and bolt on the car when you are done.

 

So for an S4 a TII harness is a must, but the NA AFM still works?

 

hey Jahoo88:
Long time no see man!
(I remember you from when I first joined the board... wow.... and u were on TSR too....)
lol....

And back on topic:
I'm gonna be doing this to my N/A... as soon as I get me some cash... buy a J-spec, then I'm gonna see how much damage I can do to my N/A motor (hehe... rebuild project!!!) (downshifts at 14,000 RPM!! )
(I prolly won't rape it that hard... but I may rape it a little... right before I swap engines... )

 

I believe I was somewhere around $2,200 to do my conversion, it depeds on the deals you get and how insane you go with the mods right off the start