Vanagon Conversion

[jackbombay]

[ftp2leta]

[Gorge Runner]

Sunday I tilted up the engine cover thinking I might do some work on the engine. I was kinda bummed when I realized there was nothing to do. I was never disappointed when I had the WBX. So, I cleaned the interior instead.

Marc
_________________
91 Carat
EJ205 WRX

[jackbombay]

[rockandsnowjunkie]

David, thanks a ton!!! I'll be sorting through the rest of things and getting started in the next few weeks. I'll be sure and update things once completed. I think i've found a suitable 2.5L engine for the van, going to check it out tomorrow.

Thanks to everyone for their expertise!

[gnarly 928]

I am new over here in the forum and I don't know if this conversion has been discussed before, but I have one and I couldn't be more pleased with the way it's been working for about 2 years now...and about 40k miles up and down the west US.

Mine is an 84 "topless" camper with westy stuff inside but no roof tent. I have a 92 Golf/Jetta/Cabriolet 1.8liter 8 valve inline VW motor in it with a 5 speed tranny. A very mild cam and a performance exhaust gives me (guess)~120hp and I've kept mileage records at 23.5mpg for all those miles...many with a total full load of tools or a few bikes and camping gear at about 65-75 mph.

You can buy the inline motors for about $3-600 everywhere. They are dead simple to work on. The conversion uses all the same electrical stuff and the gas inline four VW is the very same block as the VW diesel motor, so it pretty much fits right in, just like the old diesel Vanagons..with some slight cutting to clear the injection on the drivers side of the engine bay..A little work to fab a route from the vanagon air filter around to the throttle body and some diesel van motor mounts. There are also aftermarket kits available.. I see em in the classifieds here often.

If you want inexpensive, easy to do, dependable...you might look at these as an alternative. The fellow who did the one I have (he is a carpenter, not a professional mechanic) ...he said he did the whole conversion in one day and drove it from Tacoma to Long Beach the very next day...I don't think that would be likely with a Subie...but then when a subie is all sorted out, it would be more powerful for sure..

I was recently at my local parts place in Boring, Oregon and they had six of the little inline 1.8 and 2 liter motors. Top price was $800, complete...You couldn't even replace a TDI turbo for that..

Just sayin...
Don Hanson

[D Clymer]

[jackbombay]

[gnarly 928]

[carterzest]

[Gorge Runner]

[BlackDogVan]

How does that intercooler get enough airflow to work properly?? WRX has BIG-A$$ air scoop, that looks kinda wedged up into the deck lid. fan assist from the bottom? Or is that why the insulation is pulled. Did I just answer my own question?

[Gorge Runner]

[carterzest]

[ftp2leta]

[Gorge Runner]

[CORVAIRBUSGUY]

Pretty pics all them subarus BUT anyone got pics of the backside, the underside, and the adapter plate????

[ftp2leta]

[funwithlint]

Hey Check this out!! Is this for real??

http://vanagondiesel.com/

I heard about this, in the works... its now availiable... you can get low hassle cheap diesels for vanagons... I cut and pasted this from thier web site...

"A low cost alternative to electrically complicated diesel
engines, the Luddite conversion kit introduces a simple
diesel engine for VW Vanagons. The Luddite kit
replaces the problematic stock Wasserboxer platform with the
Nissan SD series ultra reliable and brutally simple engine,
procurable from sources like forklifts, boats and road vehicles.
If you want an engine that is good on fuel and gets around
with uncanny dependability; then the Nissan SD is your engine.
If you want performance to be able to drive like an animal, then
look elsewhere. The Nissan engine is a far more reliable with an
infinitely rugged design. The common "flaw" of most other small
diesel engines out there is two part:
1) They use ALUMINUM cylinder heads (warp and crack)
2) They use BELT driven camshafts and injection pumps.
The Nissan SD series engines are all cast iron, and employ a pushrod design.
What diesel needs overhead camshafts unless the manufacturer is trying to cut costs at your expense? The Nissan SD camshaft and injection pump are not driven with a belt, not with a chain, but with STEEL GEARS.
This kit is designed to help owners overcome the usual nagging issues common to stock 1.9L and 2.1L Wasserboxers, with the prototype installation tallying over 500 miles in service. Along with this kit, there are only a few other diesel conversions currently on the market, each with their respective benefits and drawbacks.
The Luddite includes the basic components to mechanically adapt an SD engine to your existing transmission. Detailed installation instructions are provided on this site with handy links to forums for additional details. Print out what you need, find an engine, buy what kits parts you want, and dig in like the rest of us crazy folk who love their Vanagons so much more than we do early German fuel injection
systems.Luddite Vanagon"[img][/img]

[westyventures]

Well...I'll jump in on this one! Cheap is relative. IF you can locate of these engines, but then what about parts? Modern diesels (TDI) with aluminum heads do not crack and warp, that's pure misinformation. Nor are belts and overhead cams "the manufacturer trying to cut costs at your expense". What BULL crap. Belt- and chain-driven cams are just as reliable, or more so, as any antiquated pushrod design. The maintenance cost is small compared to the efficiency derived from the head design. These folks need to look around a little more closely when making broad statements. What about fit? Read the 'Cons' in the website. Cutting reinforcements in the rear of the van? Loss of clearance? These don't sound like convincing pluses for the conversion. maybe if one has this engine 'just lying around' it would be a 'good' conversion. But the TDI is far better in almost every area. Sometimes modern IS better, and IMO this applies in this case as well. There are in fact better diesels out there if you want robust and rock-solid dependability. Unfortunately, most of these engines were never sold in the US. For instance, the little Ford 2.8. The MWM 2.8 TDI. (well, anything MWM for that matter, they make a ton of the diesels used around the world) To install a diesel that has less HP and torque while not gaining much in the way of fuel efficiency seems a step backward to me.