You may find yourself reading this because you are in the unfortunate position of having con-rod failure on a Mk5 Platform vehicle such as 1.9 Caddy BLS or the 1.9 BXE Engine. This issue is proving to be very common, we receive multiple phone calls and emails per day in relation to this. Other engines affected are the BJB Engine found in the Caddy and the BKC / BXF found in many Mk5 Platform vehicles. We refer to them all as the PD105 engine as for most of them, the power output from the factory is 105PS (around 103bhp).
In respect to the conversion, all the PD105s need the same process, other than when we get to the Turbocharger. The BLS has a Top Mounted Turbo. Please read this blog carefully before going mad buying parts!

Rather than replace the failed block with like for like, we recommend installing the ASZ PD130 / ARL PD150 engine from a Mk4 platform vehicle. A quick glance on EBay will show how overpriced PD105 engines are due to the high demand. In comparison a PD130/150 engine can be picked up for as little as £150.

From a tuning perspective, there are very few, if any other companies that have pushed the PD engines to the limits we have. From experience the Small Crank Journal bottom end on the PD105 engine will not handle anywhere near the power / torque that the ASZ / ARL engines will.

The main differences between engines you will need to consider when carrying out this conversion are: (assuming you plan to keep all original wiring, clocks, ECU, etc. and have reasonable mechanical knowledge).

• Crank Sensor
• Cam Pulley and Sensor
• Turbocharger
• Intercooler Pipes / Boost Pipes
• Injectors
• EGR System
• Wiring
• Coolant Hoses

On to the conversion...

Crank Sensor

On the PD105 engine this is located with the seal on the end of the crank (behind the flywheel) The MK4 ASZ/ARL Sensor is located in the block.
This means you will need to purchase a new PD105 Crank Sensor pickup seal and modify the ASZ / ARL block to accept this.

NOTE: We strongly recommend not attempting to reuse your old seal, it’s not worth it. The only time you will find out is when the engine is in with gearbox installed and you have to remove the whole lot again to rectify it.

The modification is quite simple, you need to drill grind the block to allow clearance for the sensor.

Cam Pulley

Again this is a simple swap but without this the engine will not run correctly, just swap the cam pulley from the PD105 engine on to the ASZ/ARL engine. The Camshaft sensor will also need to be swapped over.

We would recommend installing a new Timing Belt and Water Pump at the same time. It’s also worth having a quick look at the camshaft for any signs of wear.

Turbocharger

If you are carrying out a straight swap you will need to remove all ancillaries from the PD105 engine and install on the ASZ/ARL engine but if you are planning on upgrading at the same time as the engine conversion there are some things to consider before swapping to the PD130 / PD150 parts

To upgrade the turbo, remember that the stock BLS turbo is top mounted with a 'push' vacuum actuator where as the PD150 Turbo is bottom mounted with a 'pull' vacuum actuator so this upgrade is not a direct swap. The intercooler pipes and downpipe are also completely different. We would recommend our direct replacement BLS / BRM GTB1749V - 200bhp or 220bhp Turbo Upgrade, otherwise the rest of the system will need to be bodged to suit, there is no nice way to do it.

The BJB / BKC / BXE Engines have a Bottom Mounted turbo, so the ASZ / ARL units do fit, but have a 3 Bolt Flange for the Downpipe instead of the V-Band, so you need to either weld on a flange to the original downpipe, or we offer a 2.5" Stainless replacement with the correct flange:

Intercooler Pipes / Boost Pipes

For the BLS Engine, as long as you have listened to our advice above regarding the Turbocharger, the OEM Boost Pipes (or our upgraded ones) will fit fine. For the BJB / BKC / BXE Engines, some of the ASZ / ARL Engines have a larger Oil Filter Housing and Oil Cooler. This can interfere with the Boost Pipe that runs across the front of the engine, so it may need work to get it to fit properly. In other chassis, such as the T5 Van, you need to ensure you have the shorter Oil Filter Housing, otherwise it will touch the radiator, vans and potentially the chassis. The Housings cannot be interchanged as the mounting points are a different shape.

We have Several Kits for the BLS, depending if the vehicle has Air Conditioning or not. We then have 1 kit for the BJB / BKC / BXE Engines.

Injectors

The PD105 Injectors are much smaller both in the Nozzle size and Plunger size compared to the ASZ / ARL. As you will be retaining the original EDC16 ECU, if you want to keep the ASZ / ARL Injectors, the vehicle will need tuning immediately. It will struggle to start and run very badly as it will be overfuelling.
The PD130 / PD150 injectors can be fitted as an upgrade with a max power rating to around 230bhp. We also do not advise installing the larger injectors with the stock PD105 turbocharger.
It is important to remember that when removing and installing Injectors in the PD Engines, the seals need to be renewed every time. These engines are very sensitive to poor seals between the Head and Injector body. The OEM bolts are also stretch bolts, so cannot be reused. We offer a kit with Non-Stretch Bolts so they can be reused. This is useful if you want to install the PD105 Injectors with a view to upgrading back to the ASZ / ARL items at a later date.
It is also a good idea to get the Injectors tested before installation, as we find more than 50% of the ASZ / ARL Injectors we source actually fail the test plan. We can either test your injectors, or supply some tested injectors.

EGR

One other issue you will face is the lack of mounts for the original PD105 EGR cooler. One way to overcome this is to remove the EGR system completely. Alternatively you will need to fabricate brackets to hold the Cooler.
Retaining the original PD105 Inlet Manifold ensures you are not going to have issues with the Intercooler hoses not fitting properly.

Wiring

The only real issue with this is you need to remove some loom tape around crank sensor so it reaches the new location.

Coolant Hoses

The coolant hoses are slightly different around the whole engine, the main difference being the EGR Cooler mentioned above. The flange on the side of the block is also slightly different to care needs to be taken to ensure they are routed correctly.

HELP!

If the above seems too much effort or out of your comfort zone, SRS Automotive often have converted engines available, ready to swap: