TheSamba.com :: View topic - And so it begins

Sat Apr 19, 2008 2:19 pm

ChesterKV wrote: UPDATE #31 30 December, 2007
The following modification is OPTIONAL.

It all started when I visited The Buslab in Berkeley to buy a new VW coolant pressure tank and was checking out one of their Subaru conversions that was ready for delivery to a customer ('87 Westfalia by the way).

So I'm looking at the engine, checking things out, admiring the work, and Marco (one of the owners) casually asks, "Are you keeping the stock fuel lines ?".

I said, "Huh ?"

Marco answers, "I cut out most of the extra stuff and clean it all up."

It took about five seconds of realization and it was all over for me because removing most of the rigid fuel lines that run under the intake manifold results in the following;

1. Simplified and logical connections to the IN and RETURN fuel lines coming from the Vanagon fuel tank.

2. Elimination of the cluster of fuel line connections at the extreme right of the intake manifold.

3. No longer is there a portion of rigid fuel line rubbing or very close to the reversed intake manifold main line to the radiator.

4. A VERY clean look eliminating some of the clutter the original Subaru layout would have resulted in.

Can this mod be done on EJ25 SOHC engines as well?

Sat Apr 19, 2008 5:10 pm

Rhinoculips wrote: ChesterKV wrote: UPDATE #31 30 December, 2007
The following modification is OPTIONAL.

It all started when I visited The Buslab in Berkeley to buy a new VW coolant pressure tank and was checking out one of their Subaru conversions that was ready for delivery to a customer ('87 Westfalia by the way).

So I'm looking at the engine, checking things out, admiring the work, and Marco (one of the owners) casually asks, "Are you keeping the stock fuel lines ?".

I said, "Huh ?"

Marco answers, "I cut out most of the extra stuff and clean it all up."

It took about five seconds of realization and it was all over for me because removing most of the rigid fuel lines that run under the intake manifold results in the following;

1. Simplified and logical connections to the IN and RETURN fuel lines coming from the Vanagon fuel tank.

2. Elimination of the cluster of fuel line connections at the extreme right of the intake manifold.

3. No longer is there a portion of rigid fuel line rubbing or very close to the reversed intake manifold main line to the radiator.

4. A VERY clean look eliminating some of the clutter the original Subaru layout would have resulted in.

Can this mod be done on EJ25 SOHC engines as well?

Hey Dude,

The EJ25 engine has the same aluminum "bank" of fuel and evaporative connections above cylinders 2 and 4. Looking at some photos of an EJ25 I believe that , yes, you can do the same modification that I did to an EJ22. However, I would confirm it with an EJ25 fuel-line schematic first. If it matches or is very close to an EJ22 then you are "good-to-go".

* UPDATE - 12 May, 2008 *

Per Ranchero's conversion of an EJ25 into his syncro, yes, it is essentially the same. The only difference seems to be the fuel pressure regulator will need to be turned 180 degrees so that the nozzle faces the Vanagon firewall...... which is to say away from the rear of the van.

- Chester

Good luck,

Chester

Sat Apr 19, 2008 5:26 pm

I cut all the waste tubing off of mine and did some bending on the remaining to get more usable space under the manifold for the wiring. Came out very clean.

Wed Jun 04, 2008 5:35 pm

04 June, 2008

Random Update

Wow Dudes,

It's been almost a year exactly that I started my EJ22 conversion.... crazy.

I was going through old files and found a set of photos of the IAC (Idle Air Control) valve being cleaned at some random point during the conversion. It's important to clean the IAC because over the years it becomes "gunked up" and the shaft inside doesn't rotate properly anymore. This results in a very high idle when starting up the engine when the motor and coolant are cold. Every EJ22 conversion should have this work done. I have also posted this on LEGACYCENTRAL.COM when answering someone's question about the IAC in Subaru boxer motors.

Here's my post from that site.

Have you tried cleaning the IAC ?

On the EJ22 n/a (I'm guessing yours is similiar or identical) you remove the IAC from the intake manifold and then it comes apart into two sections. Some coolant will spill so only do this when the engine is cold. Buy a new gasket for reinstalling the IAC or you can try reusing the old one.

IAC on left (throttle body on right) removed from intake manifold

Mark the position of the screws with a marker of some kind... you may still see the white factory marks so you can also use those. I can't remember if the brake cleaner cleans off the factory white marks so perhaps it's best to use a permanent marker.

Popping the top off....... there's some funky magnetic resistance but it'll come off.

Shoot a lot of brake cleaner into this green area while rotating the shaft around. You should see black residue come out. All you're really doing is cleaning the area enough to allow the shaft to rotate freely again. Don't forget to apply brake cleaner to the hole in the top that you removed.

Reinstall everything taking care to have the top EXACTLY where it was before you removed it from the main body. Reinstall IAC with new (perhaps used depending upon condition) gasket. Try pinching the skinny coolant lines while the engine is idling to help purge the air out.

You should be good to go now.

When I did this my high idle (I think it was over 3,500 rpm) at start up immediately went away.

-Chester

.

Thu Jun 05, 2008 11:38 am

I ditto the importance of this too.

The IAC has probably never been off the EJ22 during its life in the legacy (or what ever it was in). Also I could not find much info on cleaning these, But I had a spare intake and throttle body so I took the IAC off to clean and learn about it. It really is very simple to clean as Chester explains but totally necessary. I also used some Q tips to get all the grime off the rotating parts.

You don't want to be chasing some high idle problem thinking it may be from some wiring error you made in the converted harness.

When I started my newly transplanted engine for the first time, the idle was butter smooth at about 1400 and drops with in a minute to about 750.

paul

Thu Jul 10, 2008 12:59 pm

lovedavdubs wrote: freakness wrote: Ok dudes,

Never cleaned engine bay

This car has been on many interesting trips

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Hippies don't clean things :lol: :roll:
CLEANED ME OUT OF MY SPARE CHANGE !!! :wink:

Fri Aug 15, 2008 10:09 pm

kcwesty wrote: So, just to review. You have spent approx $3500 and nearly 5 months of your spare time, to install a Subaru engine with 180,000 miles in your 1984 Wolfsburg 7-passenger (which had a perfectly good GW 2.2 motor you sold for $$$).

Meanwhile, last December I spent $3500 for a fresh GW motor with 4 year warranty & spent a weekend to install it. Two weeks later, I took my family from Kansas to Florida for a week long Xmas vacation. (3200 miles and ZERO problems.) Since then we have spent a week in Minnesota and a week in the Colorado mountains (Still ZERO problems).

Granted you will have more power when you are done. However, my wife is starting to drop hints about another winter trip to Florida! :D
And my stone stock Westy is worth more every day!

Just throwing it out there but seems to me like someone might be bitter that they went with the expensive 65hp+ engine instead of the reliable subaru engine. Not being an ass, just saying..... it's like the guy who recommends some product just because he just bought it, so it must be the best...

Thu Mar 12, 2009 2:33 am

Awesome thread, will definitely help with the 1975 Porsche 914 EJ22 my buddy and i are doing. I actually just went through all 23 pages of this thread. I took good note on the refreshing of the engine replacing all the necessary bearings, seals, etc.

For our project we're gonna be using the small car engine mount, which will then be welded onto the original 914 engine bar. As for the wiring harness, we're still trying to source an EJ22 harness off an early Subaru Legacy that had the EJ22 and then sending it to a place to have it integrated with the 914 harness. Will also be using the Kennedy Adaptor plate, pressure plate, and stage 2 clutch.

As far as we gotten so far right is body work on the 914, there's slight rust areas. But we managed to get a bargain of a deal on a JDM EJ22 for $250 out the door.

Here's a link to our progress thread on www.914world.com :
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=92942

Once again great thread!

Thu Mar 12, 2009 6:19 am

ChesterKV wrote:

Have you tried cleaning the IAC ?

-Chester

.

Chester,

Thank you for this post!!!! That's been on my to-do list and I've been putting it off because I wasn't quite sure what was involved. My idle has always started high then jumped up and down a bit after highway driving. I'm going to do this on Saturday (after replacing the rear brakes, unfortunately.)

Thu Apr 02, 2009 6:14 pm

Well now that this thread has been brought back from the dead I have a few questions.

I'm very seriously considering this swap for my early split but (shhhh, don't tell anyone!!! :lol: ) From what I can gather, the Suby is 30.5" wide while the engine opening for the split is 29".

Question is, would it be possible/feasable to trim the neessary 3/4" from each valve cover to make the engine slide in without trimming sheetmetal? I could even fab up some new valve covers to make them work if necessary. Or, if somebody was so kind as to measure the width of the suby engine for me at the approximate point where the sheetmetal of the engine bay seal meets. On a 1600 VW it's about where the crank pulley is located. I'm assuming it would have to be about that same point with the Suby.

Thanks all. Great thread by the way. Read the whole thing.

Thu Apr 02, 2009 6:47 pm

NAES wrote: Well now that this thread has been brought back from the dead I have a few questions.

I'm very seriously considering this swap for my early split but (shhhh, don't tell anyone!!! :lol: ) From what I can gather, the Suby is 30.5" wide while the engine opening for the split is 29".

Question is, would it be possible/feasable to trim the neessary 3/4" from each valve cover to make the engine slide in without trimming sheetmetal? I could even fab up some new valve covers to make them work if necessary. Or, if somebody was so kind as to measure the width of the suby engine for me at the approximate point where the sheetmetal of the engine bay seal meets. On a 1600 VW it's about where the crank pulley is located. I'm assuming it would have to be about that same point with the Suby.

Thanks all. Great thread by the way. Read the whole thing.

Dude,

The valve covers are soft aluminum and not thick at all. There is very little clearance from the inside of the cover to the rocker arms. Even with a custom valve cover I'm not sure this is possible. Just like with the Vanagons, a bit of metal trimming may be in order.

Good luck and have fun,

Chester

Fri Apr 03, 2009 9:54 am

NAES wrote:
Question is, would it be possible/feasable to trim the neessary 3/4" from each valve cover to make the engine slide in without trimming sheetmetal? I could even fab up some new valve covers to make them work if necessary. Or, if somebody was so kind as to measure the width of the suby engine for me at the approximate point where the sheetmetal of the engine bay seal meets. On a 1600 VW it's about where the crank pulley is located. I'm assuming it would have to be about that same point with the Suby.

You'll never trim that much off of the width without getting into the mechanicals. Subaru made their package as compact as possible.

What I intend to do with my '71 is make tabs that will allow me to make the fixed-to-the-body part of the sheet metal (with the rubber seal groove) removable, then cut the sheet metal out. I'll get a spare rear apron or perhaps simply replace the apron with a bar that will also be part of the engine mount (ala the Small Car Vanagon mustache bar mount)

That way, if I ever want to go back to original, I can just bolt the sheet metal back in.

A little extra work, but I like backwards-compatibility.

Sun Sep 06, 2015 4:48 pm

I know its been a few years but I still think this thread is awesome!
Im just getting into vanagons after years with splitties and am considering a j22 swap.
THANK YOU FOR THIS THREAD. IT IS A HEAVEN SENT.
James

Wed Jan 06, 2016 10:10 pm

Thank you Chester, exactly what I needed! Soon to CARB my new to me AZ registered Subie 2.2 conversion. I have a number of things to do - intake has been off and repainted while I clean up a number of details on this Subie. My IACV seems to be an older version - worth updating? I learned from my injector service that one of my injectors had so much resistance, he doubted that it was functioning . . . engine seemed to run fine in spite of this. I look forward to losing hard lines, using Subaru stock charcoal filter, etc. Big thanks!

Sun Jan 10, 2016 8:57 pm

warmblood58 wrote: Thank you Chester, exactly what I needed! Soon to CARB my new to me AZ registered Subie 2.2 conversion. I have a number of things to do - intake has been off and repainted while I clean up a number of details on this Subie. My IACV seems to be an older version - worth updating? I learned from my injector service that one of my injectors had so much resistance, he doubted that it was functioning . . . engine seemed to run fine in spite of this. I look forward to losing hard lines, using Subaru stock charcoal filter, etc. Big thanks!

Dude,

Cool....good luck

- Chester

Mon Jan 11, 2016 10:24 am

ChesterKV wrote: warmblood58 wrote: Thank you Chester, exactly what I needed! Soon to CARB my new to me AZ registered Subie 2.2 conversion. I have a number of things to do - intake has been off and repainted while I clean up a number of details on this Subie. My IACV seems to be an older version - worth updating? I learned from my injector service that one of my injectors had so much resistance, he doubted that it was functioning . . . engine seemed to run fine in spite of this. I look forward to losing hard lines, using Subaru stock charcoal filter, etc. Big thanks!

Dude,

Cool....good luck

- Chester

Ditto Chester... right in the middle of a conversion as I type... was planning to put the Subi in this past weekend but the rain we had sort of put me behind schedule...

Good thread and good ideas... appreciate your journal on the conversion the

Sun Nov 19, 2017 11:16 am

dumb question (maybe)....

how do you view the photos????

All I see is an "update to 3rd party hosting, photobucket"

Thanks!

Sun Nov 19, 2017 6:12 pm

https://petapixel.com/2017/07/01/photobucket-just-broke-billions-photos-embedded-web/

Mon Nov 20, 2017 5:38 am

There. Are extensions for Chrome that let you see the fotos.

Mon Nov 20, 2017 10:25 pm

I would love to understand how.... what extensions on chrome are you suggesting--more insight--please! Thanks!