TheSamba.com :: View topic - Subaru Engine Swap Day 1-29

Sun Jul 13, 2008 11:36 pm

Hello all,

I have officially started the swap of my old WBX to a Subi 2.2L engine. Prior to what you see here I spent numerous hours, over about a month, rehabing and prepping the Subaru engine.

It would be ready to slide right in, but I have recently learned that I put the oil seals in wrong (I pushed them all the way in instead of flush). So as soon as I get the new seals I'll be redoing all those.

I also acquired a box of goodies from Leon Korkin that includes almost everything that I need for the conversion (engine related). I decided to go the JDM route, and needed the wiring harness, the AFM, ignitor, air intake, charcoal canister, and a bunch of other stuff. I visited leon twice over the past few months and picked his brain, and took a lot of pictures of his converted van.

Day 1: 7/6/08
Approximate time: 6 hours

I drove my van into my backyard where I built a plywood platform, and covered it with plastic for a work surface. I don't have room in my garage, and I didn't want to subject my neighbors to my project. I guess I am a real shade tree mechanic.

The first thing I did was remove the exhaust system. It was a lot easier than I had anticipated. No stuck bolts; everything pretty much just unbolted and fell away. I also removed the dust shields, and drained the oil and all four gallons, or so, of coolant. I also began labeling all the electrical connections I knew the names of at the time.

Day 2: 7/7/2008
Approximate time: 1.5 hours

I removed the power steering pump and hoses. This turned out to be way more of a PITA than removing the exhaust for some reason. I also removed the coolant reservoirs and air intake system.

Day 3: 7/8/08
Approximate time: 1.5 hours

Well, today I removed the engine. Seems like it should be a much more dramatic story, but I just stuck my jack under there, unbolted the four bolts (which were either loose or not at all tight by the way), and shimmied it forward. Since my jack was occupied with the engine, I used the Vanagon jack to hike up one side of the van and I dragged the engine out the side. It's a good thing it's not a V8.

Here is the engine out, and all of the blue tabs are labels for various wires that I am eventually going to have to figure out what to do with.

Day 4: 7/9/08
Approximate time: 2.5 hours

My intention was to go in there and take out all of the wires I didn't need. I hopped into the engine bay and started tracing wires, and tried to figure out where everything went. After sitting in my engine compartment for about an hour or so, frustrated, and scratching my head, I decided to check out the weidefamily site and what he recommends. He says simply to push the ecu through the hole from under the bench seat, pull it out the engine compartment, and everything will become evident. Skeptically, I went back at it. I pushed it through, and pulled it out the engine compartment. unplugged everything that was attached to it, and viola, done. No cutting required. It's amazing how clean the engine compartment looks after all that wiring mess is out of the way.

Day 5 and day 6: No Workee. I took a break.

Day 7: 7/12/08
Approximate time: 8 hours

I am eventually going to change the color of my van to Pastel White. A stock color for that year Vanagon. In fact, the guy at the paint store told me that vans were available Pastel White every year from 1970 through 1991. Talk about staying power. This whole day I spent cleaning and prepping the engine compartment for paint. I first attacked with Simple Green. It wasn't working very well. The grease was loading up on my scrubby sponge and just smearing around. I switched to a bucket of hot water with a scoop of fancy German Persile laundry soap (we have a Miele washing machine and my wife insists on using OEM soap for it). It worked great. Clean, clean, clean. Scrub, scrub, scrub. Done. I also used my die grinder with a wire wheel and took care of a couple rust spots. Lightly sanded the whole area, and sprayed a coat of (rattle can) primer over the whole area. I was curious to see if it would actually stick, but it did. Then I began masking.

Day 8: 7/13/08
Approximate time: 2 hours

I finished masking and painted the engine compartment. I am pretty good with spray cans, but this was my first foray into using a real spray gun. I have to say it went pretty well. The one sag, and one run, are strategically placed so they will be hidden behind the overflow tank and the air intake.

Coming up in the next week:

Well, if I ever get my shipment of goods from Small Car (ordered June 13th- hello!), I am going to change out the four oil seals (again), bolt on the engine mounts and cross bar, stick the engine in, and begin figuring out the wiring. I'll tackle the cooling system, and fuel system after that. My AC has never worked (I bought the van in February), so I should look into that too (RedTek here I come).

Until next time,
Mike[/img]

Mon Jul 14, 2008 12:01 am

Mike,

I was just thinking about your conversion and wondering how it's going. Looks great! Thank you on behalf of neighbors everywhere. Coming from the East it is amazing the amount of crap people have out here and how they have no problem sharing it with us all. Your consideration is appreciated by your neighbors I'm sure.

Meile huh? Yeah, my wife too. Geez that's half of a Subie conversion! At least the way you're doing it. Let me know if you need a hand with anything. I'm not too far away.

So far looks great. Geez I get nervous just changing the fuel lines, wondering what will go wrong. I can't imagine tackling what you are. Keep it up. Great update and keep them coming.

Scott

Mon Jul 14, 2008 10:22 am

What part of town are you in?

Looks like you are having too much fun!

Mon Jul 14, 2008 10:47 am

So.....
2.5 in Calif.....
You must have already plotted a path around the referee?

Mon Jul 14, 2008 10:53 am

From the top of the post it says 2.2 Am I missing something?

Mon Jul 14, 2008 11:09 am

Keep the pics coming! :)

Mon Jul 14, 2008 12:22 pm

You might want to stick something Suabaru-like in the thread title, so the anti-Jap Nazis don't accidentally click and start shooting. :lol:

Andrew

Mon Jul 14, 2008 12:51 pm

floggingmolly wrote: From the top of the post it says 2.2 Am I missing something?

Whoops. I thought it said 2.5 before.

Mon Jul 14, 2008 1:15 pm

Hey, thanks guys. I edited the topic so I don't get flamed. I am in Del Cerro, north side of the 8 across from SDSU. I'll keep updating as I go. I have many more pictures on my flickr account if you want to look: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mofus/

I'm afraid they're not very well organized, but there is a bunch there.

My bigest concern at the moment is DMV stuff. The van couldn't pass smog when I bought it (3 tries and ~$500), so I was never able to complete the title transfer. I know, I know it's the sellers responsibility to make sure it passes, but since I was planning an engine swap I thought it didn't matter. Well, I just went to AAA and the van is still in registration limbo. The tags are up this month and the clerk lady wouldn't give me a temporary operating permit. So I paid the fees, and she basically said I have until the end of the month to get the van running and to pass smog. OR, I need to bring in receipts for the new engine and all of the parts I bought, and an appointment card from CARB/BAR, and she would issue me a temporary operating permit for 30 days. She was a real bitch about it. I guess they get a lot of people trying to scam them out of 30 TOPs. I also asked about getting a non-op to complete the registration. No go. If the vehicle doesn't pass smog there is no way to transfer the title to your name (according to her).

Egads...I guess I better work a little faster...

Oh, by the way, I have had, and still have, many jitters/panic attacks about doing this project. This is really the first big mechanical project I have attempted. I just take it one step at a time, and try not to think too far ahead, or else it gets a little overwhelming. I have done so much reading on it that when some issue pops up I can usually find the info on it pretty quick. Of course, there is always the awesome Samba community to fall back on, and the Subaruvanagon list.

Mon Jul 14, 2008 1:19 pm

Maybe Ben wants a free trip to California? Might be a way to guarantee that you meet the deadline,
That motor looks sweet.

Mon Jul 14, 2008 1:50 pm

Great write up and pics, thanks!

Mon Jul 14, 2008 3:50 pm

I live in Del Cerro too! Near Jackson and Navajo.

Hey neighbor!

-Walt

Mon Jul 14, 2008 10:27 pm

Mofus wrote: ......

My bigest concern at the moment is DMV stuff. ........ If the vehicle doesn't pass smog there is no way to transfer the title to your name (according to her).

Egads...I guess I better work a little faster...

Oh, by the way, I have had, and still have, many jitters/panic attacks about doing this project. This is really the first big mechanical project I have attempted. I just take it one step at a time, and try not to think too far ahead, or else it gets a little overwhelming. ......

I know the feeling. On my conversion, along with the usual stuff (electrical etc.), I took on MIG welding, and fabricating/design (or some fetid equivalent of that ;) ) all at once. I had a minor "melt down" at one point. My first big mechanical project too.

What I learned:

For sure one step at a time. And, if a step isn't working out, step back, and look for something else to work on. Also.....

Deadlines. It's tough if you have no choice, but if possible, try not to attach a "due date" to the project. That's what messed me up.

I like to believe that there's always a solution. In terms of mechanical/electrical/body etc. work, there is. (money and time not withstanding) DMV? Well I hope the above applies to that too!

It all has to get done, but here's the beauty parts eh? (thank you Bob and Doug) While you're working on the "something else", a solution or at least better perspective, will come to mind. AND you will have gotten ahead on another aspect of the project.

Cheers, and way to document the process.

Neil.

Tue Jul 15, 2008 5:37 am

Mofus wrote: Oh, by the way, I have had, and still have, many jitters/panic attacks about doing this project. This is really the first big mechanical project I have attempted. I just take it one step at a time, and try not to think too far ahead, or else it gets a little overwhelming. I have done so much reading on it that when some issue pops up I can usually find the info on it pretty quick. Of course, there is always the awesome Samba community to fall back on, and the Subaruvanagon list.

That's what I learned from the original Volkswagen Guide For The Complete Idiot... it can be pretty overwhelming if you look at the entire project, but if you break it down into manageable chunks you can do just about anything. I'm also a firm believer (although not always a practitioner) of sleeping on it and asking questions. There are so many times I'll shift to something else or call it a night, then wake up with an epiphany about what I need to do to solve a particular problem. It seems that often times in trying to frame a question about some nagging problem I've been beating myself up on the solution will come to me.

Good luck and keep the thread going. It sounds like you've got cause to be nervous but it sounds like you're on the home stretch and with any luck you'll get someone less bitchy when you go back to the DMV.

Sun Jul 20, 2008 11:38 pm

Days 9, 10, and 11
Approximate time: 4 hours
I spent numerous hours thinking about wiring. There is no tangible result, except a few more gray hairs and maybe a couple of wrinkles, but I can't really include those in my hours spent actually working on the van. I didn't do a lot these three days, but I did some cleaning of engine tins/shrouds, and unmasked from my paint job

Day 12
Appoximate time: ~1 hour

For some reason my engine cross bar had these tabs welded on. I used my grinder with a cut-off wheel to removed the offending tabs, and ground the surface smooth.

While I was at it, I took my wire wheel to it and removed all of the paint in preparation for, well uh, paint>

Day 13
Approximate time: None

Took the day off, but I did think about my wires again (don't tell my wife)

Day 14
Approximate time: 4 hours

Since it was Saturday I cruised a couple wrecking yards. I got 30 stainless steel german hose clamps from various BMW's and Merc's, and an illuminated headlight switch. I also got a large grommet off some car I can't remember. With some dish soap I was able to slip the grommet down over a sacraficial plastic funnel. Then I cut the ends of the funnel off with my band saw.

With the section of funnel stuck in the grommet I was able to push all of the wires and connectors through the enlarged opening. The new grommet is a little bigger than the stock one (70mm), so I found one of my kid's cups (Curious George) that was the same size and traced a circle the "firewall".

I then used my die grinder to enlarge the hole so the grommet would fit.

Day 15
Approximate time: 6 hours (2 visiting, 4 working)

I decided to buy a three wire cruise control VSS off eBay after reading about them on the subaruvanagon yahoo list. It turns out the person selling them lives about 15 minutes from my house, so I went to pick them up to save on shipping. Upon arriving at the sellers house I met Dan Fleming and Warren Chapman, two big wigs in the conversion community. It truly was an honor and a pleasure to spend a couple hours chit chatting about Vanagons/conversions with these guys. I really learned a lot while I was there, and gained a really good local resource (with Dan). One thing I learned is there is a three wire plug in the black box that is for the cruise control.

It runs all the way up to the instrument cluster. If you don't have cruise control (I don't) you can use these wire to to run your VSS and your guages without having to run any new wires. Score! It took me a while to find the end in my dash. It's quite a mess in there.

The VSS mounts in a knockout in the back of the spedometer. I haven't done it yet, but here is a pic of the back of Dan's Speedo

Next, I wrapped my harness in plastic in preparation for feeding it through to the engine bay.

Took a bit of wiggling, but I finally got it through.

Next, I put my tail light harness back in (round white connector) an went to hook the license plate light back up...

So....That's why my light didn't work. I soldered it back together with some shrink tubing around it.

I am currently working on making a connection to the cruise control plug that is in my dash. I want to be able to disconnect it if I need to remove my instrument cluster (Dan's suggestion). Luckily, when I was at the junk yard a few month ago I removed the whole dash wiring harness from a donor van (didn't need it at the time, I just thought it might come in handy some day).

I found three wires that are the same color as the cruise control lead, so I am going to splice them into a proper plug so I can follow the wires from the engine compartment all the way out the guage cluster. Things I will hook up with these wires: VSS, Oil pressure guage, and H2O temp.

Finally, a couple of pictures of the wiring harness grommet in place...

Note, I am leaving the funnel section in place until I finally mount the ECU because its a really tight fit and I wouldn't be able to adjust the harness very well after it's removed.

Coming up next...

I hope to get my shipment of goods from Small Car tomorrow, or the next day. I'll replace those pesky oil seals again, put the engine mounts on, wiring stuff, clutch stuff, hose stuff, etc., etc., then mount that engine. Until next week...
[/i]

Mon Jul 21, 2008 12:46 am

This is awesome! thanks for the great writeup and pics. I cant wait to do this to my van.

Cheers,

Westylife.

Mon Jul 21, 2008 8:44 am

Lookin' good Mofus, See you on the road here soon!

Mon Jul 21, 2008 12:54 pm

Ditto!

I talked to my Suby conversion guru, Fred in Vista, and we decided (again) the Suby is the conversion for me.

Glad I will have a local (down the street) expert to bug for my job!

Mon Jul 21, 2008 6:34 pm

Great progress Mofus! - can't wait to read the gory details, uh, well, in detail. You're gonna love it!

Tue Jul 22, 2008 5:36 am

Perales wrote: Maybe Ben wants a free trip to California? Might be a way to guarantee that you meet the deadline,
That motor looks sweet.

He he he.... me, i would fly anywhere in winter time.

Ben