thinking of changing engine and box on my ex german fire van

[Vandalism]

hi all, after seriously thinking this through i have decides at some point i am going to change my german 1.7 engine for a 2 litre v4, there are many reasons for this one being the parts for the english engine are readily available and relativly in-expencive compaired to the german engine (a german clutch cost me £250) also i think my gear box is on its way out because it keeps popping out of reverse. i know its a shame as the engine has only done a about 25000km
my question is

will a 2 litre v4 and gearbox (and maby a 4.63 axel) fit stright in with out modiffication
(any other questions i should be asking?)

i understant a 2 litre v4 is going to be difficult to get hold of as it is the most popular engine but good things come to those who wait does any one have one for sale? - long shot but i thought id try
and i might be interested in a 4.63 rear axel if one comes up
i know i know ive got a bit of expencive wish list but if im going to keep this van these are modifications i want to do to imorove the running and power of the van

[Ken B]

You are in the same boat as me, though I haven't had to buy a clutch. Though surely its a standard clutch isnt it??? Anyway my original plan was to go Zetec and 5 speed, but I've had to nick the engine i bought for it to go in my Anglia as that threw a tantrum. So I've either got to find another low milege Zetec or go back the Essex V4 route I was gonig to do. Though I did think about trying to pep up the exsisting 1700, though I dont think this would be easy. There aren't many other engines that will drop in easily without chopping bodywork, or have the grunt to move a 1.5 tonnes of metal without protesting.
I did like the idea of the 2 litre x flow, but the price of the newly cast blocks is a slight hurdle..shock: ...lol

[madmark]

guys i went from the 1.7 to a 3ltr v6 then to a 2ltr pinto then back to the essex v4
the pinto was gutless and the v6 wasnt much better and drank alot of petrol!
the 2ltr essex engine runs well and it has overdrive and 4.63 diff and on the motorway will do 60-70 no problem! but it doesnt like towing !

as wether it will fit or not is a good question ,the good think about the german vans is they dont normaly have the gearbox mount with the bolt hole they use a x member ,and also the front engine mounts go to the chassis instead of the cradle that holds the mounts!

so what have you both got?

so you can go pinto but use a transit lc engine

or essex v4

the output of the german 1.7 engine is about the same as the english engine
but the german engine has big problems with balance shaft fibre gear
if you are keeping the german engine i would remove the plastic fan and keep the fanbelt looser as this causes alot of stress to the gear!
as the fibre gear is what drives the front pully not the crankshaft
if the gear goes witch most do around 25-30000 km you will find it very hard to get one !
apart from that i found the german engine was good !

when i fitted the 4.63 diff the german engine wizzed along at 62mph (on the sat nav)

[Vandalism]

as wether it will fit or not is a good question ,the good think about the german vans is they dont normaly have the gearbox mount with the bolt hole they use a x member ,and also the front engine mounts go to the chassis instead of the cradle that holds the mounts!

so what have you both got?

if you mean what mounts have i got im not sure, can you tell from this pic?

[madmark]

the engine has a cradle that hold its up with the engine mounts to it
i cant see from the pick if it has a x member or a big bolt type gearbox mount!

myself if your engine is a good runner i would keep it ,the cost of going to essex is alot ,you can get your gearbox done cheap as it wont be much wrong with it
fit the 4.63 axle and you will be ok
if you take the rad fan off keep the belt fairly slack and fit electric fan then your engine should last !

i found for some reason the german engine ran at 62mph with the 4.63 but the essex out of overdrive revs bad at 55mph
so fitting a 4.63 will give you a nice 55mph thats all you need

[Ken B]

With the Pinto, it needs to have the correct cam in it. Kent do a hi torque kit, which means it will pull from about 1000 rpm. It doesnt set the world alight with bhp, but as we all know, its torque that produces the power not neccesarily hp.
I remember from the Essex V4 transit i had years ago when i was racing, the V4 was a lowsy tower. Fine on its own tho, but I also had a V6, but both engines were not good on fuel. I'm hopnig someone will tell me they know of a short in length modern powerful diesel that will fit, but as yet no takers.

One of the reasons for going Zetec on carb(not on injection), they produce good torque at low revs and they're short in length and "relatively" cheap.

My German Transit has a cradle at the front, but the gearbox has the mount on top of the tailshaft housing.

[Vandalism]

myself if your engine is a good runner i would keep it ,the cost of going to essex is alot ,you can get your gearbox done cheap as it wont be much wrong with it

i might keep the existing engine but its finding the parts that is difficult - for instance at some point im going to do a servive on it i.e oil, filter, plugs,cap ect... and my problem is where do i get those items from as i cant just go down my local car shop and order them as they are german parts specific for that engine (excluding oil)
what do i do as no doubt same as the clutch the parts are going to be more expencive??
where do you get things like that from for your van?
and what electric fan system would you sugest?

and as far as towing is concerned it will be only used occasionally to take my dads mini (not very heavey) to shows

[Ken B]

The 1700 cologne service items are standard mate, everything is. The only bit I had trouble with was the air filter, but this guy has one if you still have the original filter.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:IT
Plugs NGK BP6ES or BPR6ES
Oil Filer PMFL71 (powertrain part number)
Points PECS 5117 ( " " " ) Lucas DSB752
Rotorarm PERA 5130( " " " ) Lucas DRB 752
Cap PEID 5123 ( " " " ) Lucas DDB754

All numbers should be cross referanceable.

[Vandalism]

thanks Ken B thats a load off my mind
i dont suppose you know what leads go with the spark plugs do you?

[Ken B]

I just bought a good quality V6 set from ebay.

[Vandalism]

just a normal v6 set - ok thanks again Ken B

[Ken B]

Yea, i know i had two leads left over, but they were sensible price and with a buy it now. Cant afford the Magnecor leads that are on there though. Some factors still sell individual leads, but it seems most only do pre packed kits now.

[madmark]

yes as ken says all the same even the oil filter is the same as ford efl 90
so what abouy you ken b ? are you going to keep yours? i do recomend you both try the axle first
i even towed with mine and it wasnt that bad

[Vandalism]

[quote="madmark"] i do recomend you both try the axle first quote]

shouldnt that be " i do recomend you both try and find the axel first"

ive tried looking but non have come up

i know were there is one but you gota take the hole whats left of the camper and there is nothing left its done 56k only

[Ken B]

I'm not looknig for speed as such, just a steady cruiser with good mpg and reliable. For this year I'm leaving the van pretty much as is as time has run out before the show season starts. I do need to sort out the rear axle and springs, and see how it goes then. As i mentioned in another post, since re newing the electrics and changing to electronic ignition, it drives completely different already. I'm also eyeing up a 1700 twin choke manifold to try. I do have a problem with the steering not self centreing. I slackened the steering box right off and it hasn't made a scrap of difference, so the problem lies elsewhere.