I am wondering how difficult would it be to swap in a 2.8L V6 engine and transmission from an Audi A6 2.8Q into a C5 wide body? In my opinion, a 2.8L V6 engine and transmission in a C5 wide body will give the best combination of fuel economy and aesthetics.

How about swapping in a 2.5TDI diesel engine with transmission into a C5 wide body? Which 2.5TDI diesel engine/transmission will work with the least amount of custom work?

Any suggestions on what other engine/transmission combination will swap in easily into a C5 wide body?

Thank you in advance for your replies!

 

 

Thank you for your reply.

I have an A6 4.2, mint body and interior with very low mileage, no accidents, all original paint, and I've had it since new. The transmission now has the typical Basket A failure (loss of gears 1 to 4, but reverse and 5th gear work perfectly), and the engine has a coolant leak from the rear of the engine (probably from one of the metal coolant pipes).

Repairing these two items will probably need the engine and transmission to be pulled, and will be quite costly.

This is why I was thinking that if I get a used smaller engine/transmission combo with ECU and TCU (such as a 2.8L V6, 1.8T I4, 3.2L V6, or even a diesel engine) and put that into the car instead, I will save on gas in the future - gas prices are quite high these days as you know. The gas I saved will probably pay for the engine/transmission swap within two years. I will end up with a unique car that looks great (wide body C5) with a fuel efficient engine and I can use it as a daily driver (instead of using it for long highway trips only). An engine that's smaller physically will also make maintenance easier in the bigger engine bay of the wide body C5. The 4.2L engine is a wonderful engine, but it's a bit too thirsty for gas (compared to newer cars these days with similar horsepower/torque).

Also, I may be able to recover some of my costs for the engine/transmission swap if I sell my 4.2L engine and transmission to someone who repairs/rebuilds them.

I understand that putting a bigger engine/transmission in a smaller car will have problems such as clearance issues and may require cutting bits off of the chassis. However, I am going the other way - putting a smaller engine in a bigger chassis (wide body C5). So, I believe there shouldn't be any clearance issues. The wide body C5 has a wider transmission tunnel - transmissions like the 5HP19FLA or even the 6HP26A should be able to fit.

If I have the original ECU and TCU for the engine/transmission that I am putting it, would there still be computer issues?

 

 

 

Well, my car is not drivable now due to the transmission problem and leaking coolant - it's going to cost me to repair those items in order to make the car drivable again. If an engine/transmission swap will only cost a little bit more than repairing those two items, then it would make sense to do the engine/transmission swap. I can easily get the difference back by having a more fuel efficient engine that uses less fuel, and/or selling my 4.2L engine and transmission. Also, by swapping engine/transmission, I get to keep my mint condition wide body C5, and pay lower insurance because the car is old compared to a new car.

 

um, down sizing......may be easier to just buy a used A6 with the smaller engine already in it...

Mike