No Boxeer for your LT40

[4wdDoka]

Anyone with an LT considering the 3.0 BMW option from Boxeer should read this first. In short, the kit and the support are not what is advertised.

Here is a list of highlights of the issues that I have. I will go into the details of each point below.

Absolutely not Turn-key
No Instructions included
Kit shipped in stages
Kit has to be completed by you
No air-intake
No mounting brackets for accelerator, intercooler, oil cooler, oil filter housing
No fuel filter
Support at Boxeer’s convenience
No mention that the axle smashes oil pan and requires a lift kit


The Boxeer website and Greg, the owner, will tell you that this kit is turn-key. I thought maybe I had the wrong understanding of what turn-key meant so I looked it up. According to a quick Google search turnkey is defined as; “of or involving the provision of a complete product or service that is ready for immediate use.”

When my LT broke down, I had few options on how to repair it. I could rebuild the underpowered stock motor, have a 2.5TDI installed in Washington, custom build my own swap, or get the “turn-key” Boxeer 3.0 BMW kit.
I considered the rebuild and installing the 2.5TDI so I shipped my LT up to Seattle. After being charged $900 to find out my motor was dead (I already knew that and that’s why I had it shipped to Seattle from northern California) I decided against the rebuild and 2.5TDI. Also, the timeline on the 2.5TDI or the rebuild of the stock motor was completely unknown just on the parts front due to Covid and shipping parts from Germany. No way to know when I could get the motor, parts for it, when the shop could do the build, and no word on the cost. So, I decided to look at other options.

After talking to my buddy about options we both thought that maybe the Boxeer could work. My buddy has a shop that only deals with T3s and Deloreans. At the time he had recently installed the Boxeer 2.0 common rail into a T3. We were both impressed by the mounting and the motor is incredible. I have a Jetta with that motor and I absolutely love it. We reached out to Greg about get the 3.0 kit for my LT.
(Side note: that 2.0 common rail went through 3 turbos before it was running properly. All after I had ordered the M57 kit. Such bad timing.)

We found an M57 motor quickly and I ordered the Boxeer kit. Greg had told us that he would ship the kit within 3 weeks. I just had to get the factory flywheel out and ship it to him. I did that and shipped to him right away (of course, at my expense). I shrugged that off and was excited to proceed. Three weeks apparently meant 8 weeks. After 8 weeks, the adaptor plate, custom mounts, ECU, accelerator and flywheel arrived. Some of the hardware for the plate were missing but luckily we had some in Dave’s shop.
We called Greg and promised the rest of the kit and installation instructions were on their way within 2 weeks. We had everything we needed to mount the motor. There was some minor cutting in the engine bay and the removal of the sway bar. Greg was fully available to help explain how to get the motor and the tranny mounted. Within two days we had the motor installed and we were ready for the rest of the kit. One thing Greg did not know is that the stock 2.4d had a much larger starter than the 2.4. He was apologetic and offered to reimburse the cost of the starter. It was a simple oversight and I ordered a new starter and had it shipped from Germany.

Over three months later the second package arrived from Boxeer. It had the intercooler, downpipe, oil filter housing, a fuel pump, piping, a lot of clamps, elbows, and some end caps for the coolant reservoir. Still, no instructions were included. We called Greg and said he would send them. In the meantime, we were eager to get continue. We Facetimed and we discussed the wiring and fuel delivery. We wanted to start the motor!

We were ready install all the boost pipes and coolant pipes and not one was cut to length or beaded. Months had passed and I still hadn’t received installation instructions. I had to watch the video Greg posted on YouTube and pause to see how the plumbing was routed. Then Greg disappeared for a month to race his Beetle then he went on vacation to France. No communication at all in this two-month period. Eventually after continuous calls and texts, Greg sent the measurements for the pipes so I could cut and bead the pipes myself. Several weeks later he shipped a tool for beading the pipes.

After figuring out the routing of the intercooler and coolant lines I was ready to mount the intercooler, oil cooler and oil filter housing. All of which had no brackets or instructions on mounting locations. They were the same parts you could order on Amazon and had mounting holes for mounting brackets made for whatever application. Boxeer did not provide any brackets for the intercooler, oil cooler, the oil filter and the accelerator pedal. I will have to have those custom made at my expense. All this takes a lot of time and support from the seller of the kit.

All of this while Greg is 100% unreachable for two months and I have a 4 ton vehicle parked at a shop collecting storage fees.

Coincidentally the owner of the blue LT in the Boxeer videos lives about an hour from me. I was regularly in contact with him and asked about the progress of his LT. He had been waiting for delivery for three years and was about to take delivery of his LT with the M57. But, Greg didn’t deliver it because he had issues with boost pipes popping off and the front axle smashing the oil pan! Luckily the blue LT is getting a full custom suspension. But, I found this out from Richard, the owner. Greg never mentioned to me that if I actually want to drive my LT with the Boxeer kit, that I will need a custom suspension or hope that a dump in the road doesn’t smash my oil pan.

After Greg was finished with his summer vacation, he would answer his phone again. I still do not have my installation instructions. My friend with his shop will not even look at this disaster of a project after his experience with installing 3 turbos in the Boxeer 2.0 common rail for loyal customer. I was completely ripped off and I simply wanted my money back. I wanted nothing to do with this products. I continuously offered to remove the kit and send it all back to him. In my opinion, this kit is absolutely not turn-key and is worth half of what I paid for it.

[TDCTDI]

Sorry for your situation, this belongs in the “buyer/seller feedback” threads.
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[skills@eurocarsplus]

not sure if these should be merged?

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...p;start=20
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[EverettB]

I didn't realize there was another thread but it's good to have one here in the Feedback area.

Having them linked back and forth is fine - thanks for posting the links.
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