Any of you had any earlier experiences with this engine?

It's a 2.4 litre Diesel engine made by VAG from the late 70 to mid 90's.

Anyways, I'd like to hear about your experiences with them and your opinions about them...

I am currently turboconverting one of these engines and putting it into my dear ol' Volvo 264 D. But I have troubled thoughts about blowing my manifold or such since many of D24 owners on the internet says that the manifold usually goes quick...

Personally, never have touched a diesel, always thought they were hard cars to handle, I do know however engine swaps within the volvo brand tend to.... in lamest terms, go to complete shit. A manifold is probably the worst damage, aside from cracking the entire block... I'll do some research, but If I were you, check some of Topgears site info.... they usually have car references. I'll get back with my info when I can... I myself am dealing with a shot trans at the moment.

Yea, well the engine swap doesn't really go to hell, it's quite easy actually if you ask me. But it's a bigger pain to remove the transmission from the engine beforehand. You have no space to remove the bolts.

Well yea, thanks for the info mate.