Motor exchange, how difficult?

[Smoothmachines]

Hi, i have a damaged 1.4 gasoline motor, a sparkplug electrode broke and fell into the cylinder, causing trouble with piston rings. the motor rattles and drinks a lot, it is still working but now it would hardly idle without me working the pedal.
Well, ripping it appart to fix a new piston and stuff is not my trade, i am a electro-mechanical workshop owner but greasy motors are not my cup of tea.
So, i chose now to exchange the motor, the Berlingo is not very common and i do not have much choice, what if i exchange against something even worse?

I need an advice...

How is it to exchange the motor on the Berlingo, i have all tools and a very good motor-lift. I do not have space enough to drive in the car into the shop, but i can take it in the for dismantling- mounting all external components before putting it back. I am an experienced workshop mechanic but i do not touch cars anymore. I´ve changed motors on old Saab V4 a couple of times, i thought it was a long, dirty and hard job, this was before i started to work with mechanics...
Can i do it with a Haynes manual or do i need something better?

Thanks for your help!

Bruno from Stockholm, Sweden
Edited for pidgin english reasons

[Smoothmachines]

Ha, i´ve found a low-mileage car for 500£, a daily driver out of MOT and last muffler, nice motor it says, it has a lot of other parts i can use too.
Maybe that is a smart deal, makes a really cheap motor that i can actually try on the road first, hehe!

[Smoothmachines]

So i did not, the car was sold instantly... there are other cars and i will go on to look for a donor, best way to test engine and stuff instead of buying from the scrap yard.
Please share your knowledge about exchanging that silly motor *S*

[Smoothmachines]

So, here i go again, i found a donor or maybe just a new car, still i wonder how qualified the motor exchange is *S* I´ll start a new thread to ask about heat blower assembly exchange

[El-Robb]

Hi, whats year is you van?
If its a mk1 I imagine it would not be too big of a job if you have done a couple of engines before.
If it was the newer style of electrics with the fly by wire throttle body then you would need to use your old inlet manifold etc onto the new donor engine unless that engine had the same stle of setup.
What cars/van are you looking at?

[Smoothmachines]

Hi, whats year is you van?
If its a mk1 I imagine it would not be too big of a job if you have done a couple of engines before.
If it was the newer style of electrics with the fly by wire throttle body then you would need to use your old inlet manifold etc onto the new donor engine unless that engine had the same stle of setup.
What cars/van are you looking at?

Hi, thanks for reply!
This is a 1998 Berlingo family, 1.4 gasoline, large electrical sunroof.
The donor is same make and year, same colour, same engine. Only the sunroof is missing, i could do without as it is noisy.
I have done a couple of old SAAB V4 engine swaps before and i am an experienced worshop mechanicien.
The donor car is fine, just the heat matrix needs an exchange and bumpers plus rear door are better on my car. I´ve read that facia removal, to access the matrix, is a mess. But is that easier to repair that than swapping engine and transmisson plus bumpers and doors on that car? Just want a good Berlingo running *S*

[pk7478]

Sometimes it's cheaper to buy spareparts and replace it.
For TU3 engines PSA has piston+rings+cylinder kit.

[Smoothmachines]

My friend, a citroen mechanic from Gothenburg, says it´s a very advanced task and that it takes a trained shop about ten hours to fix it, meaning like 20 to 30 hours for me. He adviced me to get a new used engine instead. But then i got this donor car that´s as good as mine except for the heater... I wish i had less choices, and of course a better economic situation so i could buy that perfect car *S*
The choice i have right now is to keep the donor car and fix the heater, then use it as my regular car or take the whole motor and drivetrain plus interior details from the donor and put it in my daily Berlingo, what would you, experienced Berlinguists, chose?

[pk7478]

My friend, a citroen mechanic from Gothenburg, says it´s a very advanced task and that it takes a trained shop about ten hours to fix it

Your mechanic is not qualified. To replace piston+cylinder kit you do not need to dismount power unit. It's his main mistake.
This is TU3 engine. It's very simple to repair in a field.

---

The choice i have right now is to keep the donor car and fix the heater

Such parts must be replaced on NEW!!!! Of course, If you want to drive this car.

[Smoothmachines]

Hi and thanks for reply.
Yes, i and he knows the power unit stays in the car swapping piston, he just meant this was a more qualified job than a engine swap.
He has mostly worked on classic Citroens but also does jobs on modern cars, i do trust him.

Now i got that good engine so i will not do the piston reparation job.
The choice i have is changing the heater matrix on the donor and use it instead of repairing my daily car or put the motor of the donor in my daily car and fix the interior, what would you chose?
I, of course, would do what´s most easy...