What's the difference between the bxe/bls engine

[torque777]

Ok so was just wondering what's the difference between the bls

And the bxe

Is it just the external bits ie turbo design and manifolds and rocker cover or is there more to it?

[bond1407]

I believe the water system is different ie theres an extra outlet on the block if I remember right and theres no mount for the cat on the bxe, bls's are pretty hard to come by I'm afraid

[torque777]

I wonder why they went to the bls engine.. Is it better on emissions? Turbo is in a completely different place

[M3rosco]

Mines got a bls engine. Keep reading of conrod failures. Scared now!!!

[torque777]

I wouldn't worry, I had a bxe engined golf for two years and still have a jetta with one in and they are the same for conrod failure, know loads with these engines and tbh not one of them have had a failure, it is small numbers, main thing is to keep them serviced correctly and regular

[beerbelly]

the thing is you only hear about the ones that go wrong nothing about the thousands that go on for ever . when I bought mine a friend with a garage gave me story's of doom he had to replace an engine once due to a conrod failure that one had only done 70k mine has 150k on it and I figured if it was going to go bang it would have by now just drive it and stop worrying

[VAGDirect]

My bls caddy maxi 2009 has just gone bang with oil pump failure at just shy of 213,000miles
Game over

[Fen Man 82]

Oh no, sorry to hear that

[Ropey 07]

I have a BLS,
2007 with around 180,000miles on it,
Runs like a clock,
Alot of vans in 2007 had the BLS engine,
so if you're looking for one, find another 07 and check the engine code.
I've heard more horror stories about the BXE.
I was told by a volkswagen mechanic to avoid the BXE.
but he said the only reason the BLS has a bad name is because its an awkward engine swap. because of the different cooling system and a couple other bits but if you find another BLS it doesn't matter.

[PeterAFox]

I've also had good experiences with the BLS. I'm just finishing a major rebuild but have have been surprised at the good condition of the bearings, seals etc.
(about 250k miles - mine has no dpf)
Biggest issue over the years has been emissions - egr cooler mainly, leaking hoses, few bad solenoids. Suspension was worn but that's normal. Just make sure the timing belt is replaced when it should be and change the filters and oil regularly. Camshafts and clutches normally wear at about 200 k km.
I recommend reading out faults at every oil change /service interval reset.

[bobmaf]

i have the bls in mine and its running nice 170k i think

[PeterAFox]

As far as I can see, the BXE was never built into caddys originally.
differences can be seen here:
https://mymotorlist.com/engines/volkswagen/ea188/bxe/ or /bls/