Engine swap

[KiwipugUK]

Am having probs with the 2.0L hdi. I'm beginning to suspect the head might be gone. It runs fine but seems to be chucking the water out of the expansion tank. But anyway at 211k anything could be wrong. Was going to get another engine an drop it in but maybe I could upgrade at the same time.
Does anyone know if a 2.0l 16v diesel from a 307 would fit? I can't get a 406 engine that hasn't done a million miles!! Or a 2.2 from a 607 maybe? Would my computer run them? Is it easy to swap the computer too if I need? Will my new clutch/flywheel fit a 16v?
Or should I just fix mine? Someone said the head could be porous rather than the gasket gone, are they known for that?
I dunno which way to go! Advice please

[steve_earwig]

Does anyone know if a 2.0l 16v diesel from a 307 would fit?

Fit yes, run, not without a hell of a lot of work. Same with the 2.2, thing is with these cars is the ecu and bsi are matched, you have to change both, so if it's coming from a different car you'll have a nightmare trying to make it all happy.

I think you can still compression test these engines, or you could get a sniff test done on your coolant (looking for traces of combustion gasses).

I've never heard of pourous heads on these, been listening down the pub? I think I'd have pulled the head, at least you'll know if it can be saved and work from there.

[PeterN]

Very rarely do head gaskets fail on these but I have seen a couple and your symptoms would suggest that's the problem. I would concur with previous posts about changing the engine, Its difficult to get the original to run if it has an electronic problem so changing it could open a whole can of worms.

I would be inclined to pull the head, probably less work, if by some chance its cracked there should be plenty of secondhand ones about. Don't worry about the mileage of these engines, if its an 8 valve and properly maintained it could do 300-400k miles, I have two with over 200k on them.

Peter