1g engine swap 90 laser rs to 91 talon tsi

[Geierwasted]

Is this possible? I have a 90 laser RS turbo with a bent up body and I'm looking to replace the engine in my 91 talon tsi with it. I'm new to dsms and cars in general. After looking around the forums it seems that I could have some ecu issues between the two years? Would there be any trouble with this swap over that I'm obviously missing? Would I encounter any trouble with the transmission from fwd to awd? After looking through the forums I also noticed how ready some people are to rip apart a post, so please be considerate.

 

[fwbt]

The engine and head themselves are not the issue of fitment. The oil filter housing and oil cooler would need to be kept on the Talon due to the 90 having an air cooled cooler. The starter plate and flywheel would need to be kept with each respective drivetrain due to the differences in sizes of the flywheel. With the ECU if you kept the electronics (e.g. sensors and switches) to each individual car there would be no reason to have to worry about the ECU. The differences are subtle between cars yet the functionality and placement on the engine are the same. For example, The Throttle Position sensor is different necessitating the throttle body be retained to the specific year. As far as the actual ECU itself there are just two pins that are swapped from year to year. So if you wanted to swap ECU's you just have to move those pins on the harness. As well, the ignition system is designed a little differently between years. However, it's rather simple, if you keep the items that plug in to the harnesses to the years they started in, you should have no issues.

 

[1G Eclipse94928]

Is this possible? I have a 90 laser RS turbo with a bent up body and I'm looking to replace the engine in my 91 talon tsi with it. I'm new to dsms and cars in general. After looking around the forums it seems that I could have some ecu issues between the two years? Would there be any trouble with this swap over that I'm obviously missing? Would I encounter any trouble with the transmission from fwd to awd? After looking through the forums I also noticed how ready some people are to rip apart a post, so please be considerate.

I'm pretty sure theres like a million posts about this and probably some forums that have EVERYTHING listed in detail, also I think fwbt is accurate.

 

[19Eclipse90]

I'm pretty sure theres like a million posts about this and probably some forums that have EVERYTHING listed in detail, also I think fwbt is accurate.

Indeed. Unless the '91 ECU is bad, there is no reason to swap ECU's. Replace the '90 cam sensor, throttle body, coil pack, and power transistor unit with those from the '91 and it becomes a direct swap.

As for the oil cooler, you can keep all the '90 stuff in your '91 as stated. If you don't want to, you can use the '91 oil filter housing but you will need the '91 water pipe and thermostat housing as well.

 

[Geierwasted]

Thanks for the input despite that there are most probably other threads on this topic deep in the forums! Greatly appreciated Im glad I was able to get such a quick response from knowledgeable dsm enthusiasts.