Surely you have seen in American tuning programs, or similar, that replace the motors completely and they change them for others even different from the original of the vehicle. If you are thinking of doing that, first you should know where to buy a complete car engine, if it is legal and would pass the ITV, the prices, etc.
En Spain is legal to do that, but with some limitations that you should be aware of and that we will explain here. Fortunately or unfortunately, you can't do some of the crazy stuff that you see on the custom vehicles that you see on those shows...
Change the car engine or repair it?
Sometimes you may face this dilemma, if change the car engine or repair it. This can depend on cost and whether or not it is a very old engine (a newer or low mileage engine is easier to fix), or what kind of fault it is of course. On the other hand, in other cases there is no choice but to replace the complete engine with another.
For example, some breakdowns can be serious enough enough to compensate for the complete engine change. Here are the main causes of this type of failure:
- The engine runs out of oil, which would lead to a seized engine and could sustain irreparable damage.
- Lack of coolant or problems with cooling. As with oil, this system is essential to keep the engine in good condition. Overheating could cause the parts of the engine block to melt in the area of the cylinder head gasket, which would require an expensive rectification.
In addition, there are cases where the motor also needs to be changed per:
- The life of the engine has come to an end. This means that many small parts need repair, which would mean many hours of labor and high costs.
- Difficult to find replacement parts. In some cases, if the car is old, parts may no longer be found at suppliers for replacement and it may also be difficult to find them in salvage yards.
- Improve the performance of the engine with a more powerful one.
- For environmental reasons, replacing the original engine with a more modern one with lower emissions.
- Etc
How much does a complete and new engine for a car cost?
There is a market for complete car engines that is quite interesting, although it is in the background. One of the reasons is that there are very few occasions when the complete engine needs to be changed, and because the fashion of the engine-swap is not that frequent as in the USA. In addition, the crate engine They are also not popular, nor allowed in some cases.
On the other hand, the economic issue sometimes it can also be a matter not to change the engine for a new one. The engines, depending on the brand and their power, could cost between €1800 and more than €7500 in other cases, including some luxury brand sports engines that could cost more than €20000. I mean, they could go for more than a new car…
However, it must be borne in mind that not all changes are possible or at least easy to do. For example, if we compare the Fiat 124 and the Mazda MX-5, it could be relatively easy to use the Mazda's V8 engine in the Fiat, since share platform, and thus a much more powerful Fiat would be achieved. The same for, for example, a SEAT and a VW/Audi, or a Skoda, etc. However, other more different engines could be more difficult to adapt or impossible to accommodate due to space issues.
In other words, for the change to be technically feasible, you should have the following data from your vehicle's technical data sheet to choose the right one:
- Brand and model
- Version
- Year of production
- Engine code (usually begins with G in the case of gasoline or D in the case of diesel).
Keep in mind that using a inadequate motor It could not only bring you problems when it comes to approve it or pass the ITV, it may also not fit the vehicle well, causing excessive vibration and breakage, etc.
How much does a complete engine change cost in a workshop?
Al price that the complete engine of the car costs, you also have to add the labor of the workshop that makes the substitution. And it is that changing the complete engine is one of the most expensive arrangements you can do. Keep in mind that the mechanic will not only have to remove the old engine with all that this implies, he will also have to connect all the wiring, transmission, supports, etc. to the new engine.
Also, not all engines are equally complicated to install, much less if the mechanic has to do some special adaptation for said engine, which would make the assembly price even more expensive. In general, replacing a complete engine in Spain could have a price that fluctuates between € 800 and € 2000.
As I said, at this price you have to add the price of the engine, therefore, it can easily cost several thousand euros, which only makes up for it in extreme cases like the ones I mentioned at the beginning...
Will the ITV pass after a completely new engine change?
Another consideration that you should take into account when replacing the engine of your car completely is if this Modified vehicle may pass the inspection of the ITV. It is not the same to put an engine identical to the one it had, but new or second-hand, than to put a different engine. Keep in mind that the complete engine change could be considered as a reform, in case of changing any of the factory characteristics of the vehicle.
On the other hand, it must also be considered that not all complete engine changes that are not identical (and it is a reform) to the one it had are considered problematic to pass the ITV, but it must be provided additional documentation at the time of passing the periodic technical inspection of the vehicle, something that would not be necessary in case of being an identical engine.
How to approve an engine change?
Any complete engine change, or modification, needs to be approved to make it legal. When approving a new engine for your car, it is convenient that you read the Vehicle Reforms Manual published by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness of the Government of Spain. There you will see the guidelines that must be followed, right in the Power Unit section. It describes the power unit configuration and documentation requirements for type approval.
You already know that many of the engine data can be consulted in the technical sheet of your vehicle. There you will find an alphanumeric code that identifies the different characteristics of the engine. If you replace the engine with another of the same code, it is not necessary to approve it. Approval is only necessary if the motor is modified or replaced by another with a different code.
It will be essential to know the details of the engine reform, as well as the characteristics of the new engine, such as the diameter and stroke of the cylinders, type of exhaust, if there is supercharging or not, arrangement of cylinders and valves, etc. From them it will depend if the homologation is possible or not.
Likewise, it would be necessary to legalize or approve the changes made to the engine so that it can pass the ITV. For it, it should be done at an official ITV station. Generally, you will need to submit the necessary documentation, which is usually:
- Circulation permit.
- Original MOT card.
- Proof of compulsory insurance payment: this document is only necessary in some ITV centers.
- A compliance report: this certificate can be issued by a technical laboratory (in case the manufacturer does not authorize the substitution) or by the engine manufacturer itself. Thanks to it, it will be possible to know if it complies with the standards, safety, and technical specifications required by law to be approved. Among the data are the brand, type of engine, unique identification number (VIN), approval password, etc.
- workshop certificate: a document can be obtained from the workshop where the reform is carried out, which contains the data of the vehicle and those of the workshop. This is a standard document.
Also, for expedite the approval of the change of the car's engine, it would also be advisable to provide this other documentation to the ITV:
- Before and after photos of the engine change. Basically pictures of the old engine, the vehicle with the engine removed, and the new engine installed.
- Braking System Detail Photos. This is essential for safety reasons, so that the technicians can verify that the installation of the new engine does not affect the braking systems.
- Vehicle weighing report. It would also be interesting to provide a report on the weight of the vehicle with the new engine installed, since this is also closely related to the braking and safety system.
In the event that you choose install a higher power motor compared to the original (only if the new engine exceeds 30% of the power of the old official, the one certified by the manufacturer, not the real power that the old engine had, since, as you know, they can lose power over time), It is also necessary to contribute to the ITV:
- Data resulting from the previous power bank.
- Data resulting from the dyno after replacing the engine.
Where to buy a complete engine?
Finally, it is also important that you know where can you buy complete engine of car. It is not something that is bought very often, and many may have doubts as to whether this is possible in Spain or not. The truth is that it is possible to buy a complete engine, and this happens by using the following methods:
- Workshops: the workshops have their own parts suppliers, and they can also have them from complete power units.
- Second hand: There are many second-hand buying and selling sites where complete engines are offered, yes, used. You can find them on many online sales websites, even on sites like eBay.
- Scrapping: It is also possible to go to a scrapyard to buy a complete engine of one of the cars there.
- spare parts stores: Of course, parts stores can also be a good place to buy complete new engines.