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Sun Jan 02, 2011 11:56 pm

I would like to use a http://www.burleysmotorsports.com coolant pipe as shown in:
http://burleysmotorsports.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=34

I am blatantly modifying a Tom Shiels design http://www.subaruvangon.com

Anybody try this? Any drawbacks??????

It seems like a real clean way to do the plumbing.
.

.

Mon Jan 03, 2011 6:18 am

That is identical to how I have my coolant system hooked up. It seems to have worked pretty darn good for me in both cool climates and warm ones.
The only problem I've had is that I dont use the stock vanagon coolant bottle, and its always challenging to get all the air out, but once out, it works great.

No drawbacks that I can see, but we'll see what others say. Mine works great!

Mon Jan 03, 2011 8:31 am

I've got the Small Car setup without the Sheils t-stat adapter. It seems to be working well, but I wonder if it could work better by at least adding the adapter. The engine coolant temperature generally runs around 182º F in the Winter with the heaters running, compared to around 190º-ish in the Summer. I'd like to get the heater temperature up a little and have the engine running closer to 190º. I suspect just adding the Sheils adapter would do that, but I always have to go back through the posts that explain the theory because I think I oversimplify it when I run through it in my head.

One observation: I don't seem to need any bleeder valve at all. Maybe it would allow me to top up the system in one shot, but I find it does a great job of self bleeding and I can just top off the overflow a couple times after I fill the system to eliminate all the air. That's almost worth the price of an engine conversion by itself! :)

One question: This setup keeps water flowing through the pressure tank before feeding back to the T-stat. What's the advantage of that? Would there be a reason not to plumb the feedback off the manifold directly to the T-stat, and have the pressure tank "dead-ended" on one of the hoses? (The dead-end option isn't as clear with this diagram... basically tee off one of the coolant hoses to feed the pressure tank with no return line back to the cooling or heater systems. There should still be some mixing due to expansion and contraction of the coolant in hot weather... maybe not so much in the Winter.)

Paul

Mon Jan 03, 2011 12:12 pm

r39o wrote: I would like to use a http://www.burleysmotorsports.com coolant pipe as shown in:
http://burleysmotorsports.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=34

I am blatantly modifying a Tom Shiels design http://www.subaruvangon.com

Anybody try this? Any drawbacks??????

It seems like a real clean way to do the plumbing.
.

.

Hey r, that's spelled www.subaruvanagon.com ! ;)

Mon Jan 03, 2011 12:48 pm

my 2.2 subaru powered syncro westy ran so cold in the snow the heaters did not work at all. It was so bad, that if I drove on the freeway in freezing weather, the temperature needle would drop to the bottom of the gauge.

Tom Shiels thermostat bypass housing solved both problems.

Im not qualified to comment on the rest of your question, the work was done by a pro shop.

Mon Jan 03, 2011 12:59 pm

Well, while I'd like my heaters to run a little warmer, after about 5 mins of driving in the 0º to 10º F temperatures we've been getting the engine will warm up to around 181º and the heaters produce a reasonable amount of heat. I'd still like to add Tom's T-stat fitting.

pd

Mon Jan 03, 2011 1:59 pm

Walt, I've done it that way. I like the Burley pipe the best of all the options for plumbing to the water inlet. I used it with Tom's thermostat housing. Even though the thermostat housing lowers the water inlet by over an inch the Burley pipe still lines up after it has been rotated slightly to give the end of the pipe more of an angle. It works great and I wouldn't do it any other way.

David

Mon Jan 03, 2011 2:05 pm

I've been running this exact setup for five years with no problems and plenty of heat and no cooling issues; however, my return pipe was from vanperformance.com, a site which apparently no longer exists...

ETA: Looks like Seth and Mastercraft motors are still there, but their Subie coversion parts site is gone. They also did my chopped oil pan.

Mon Jan 03, 2011 3:16 pm

Quote: Looks like Seth and Mastercraft motors are still there, but their Subie coversion parts site is gone.
Those are the burley parts now.

Mon May 15, 2017 7:41 pm

Bringing an old post back up. I'm in the process of replumbing my Ej22 from the former Kennedy routing to one of Tom Shiels diagrams as a template. I'm likely using either the Concept 5 (shown modified above) or the Peter/Dieter setup:

http://subaruvanagon.com/tom/Cooling%20System.htm

Curious where those of you who ran this routing with the Burley pipes found the correct rubber elbows to connect the Burley Pipes? Is it still working out well for all of you?

I'm also curious how eliminating the bleeder ball valve from the circuit affected the bleeding?

Thanks for any advice you can give.

Mon May 15, 2017 8:13 pm

At the thermostat end, the pipe just needs a 4" length of straight coolant hose to connect to the thermostat. At the other end, you need a length of hose, 24" or so depending on your setup, to connect the Burley pipe to the coolant pipe heading to the radiator. I used a flex hose which has held up well.

Tue May 16, 2017 7:22 am

Thank you Joe, I appreciate the info.

Does anyone know if there is a functional difference between the Concept 5 and the Peter/Dieter setup from Tom?

Tue May 16, 2017 9:45 am

For the hard line connectors, do check out the site:

www.frozenboost.com

the 1.625 silicone hump hose connectors when used with tee-bolt style clamps make for a bullet proof coolant system.

Tue May 16, 2017 5:45 pm

the Utahn wrote: Thank you Joe, I appreciate the info.

Does anyone know if there is a functional difference between the Concept 5 and the Peter/Dieter setup from Tom?
Looks like they would work the same.

I added a similar bleeder valve to my previous kep setup, so I could open it and 99% of the air would purge then close it and top it off after driving. I don't think I would add one again. I don't find them hard to bleed when coolant flows through the pressure tank. I have the burley pipe and the air bleeder at the high point is a nice touch and a solid pipe there is nice, but it is just a nicely.

I like the concept 4 design but with a rear heater bipass or just keeping the rear heater valve open to bleed air into the pressure tank in summer. And depending where you live you don't even need Tom's housing, you can tee into the heater return line just in front of the engine, easy to get tho and fewer houses and junctions.

Wed May 17, 2017 5:27 pm

OrganicMechanic wrote: For the hard line connectors, do check out the site:

www.frozenboost.com

the 1.625 silicone hump hose connectors when used with tee-bolt style clamps make for a bullet proof coolant system.

Thank you, great source for t-bolts and silicone hoses!

Wed May 17, 2017 5:30 pm

davevickery wrote: the Utahn wrote: Thank you Joe, I appreciate the info.

Does anyone know if there is a functional difference between the Concept 5 and the Peter/Dieter setup from Tom?
Looks like they would work the same.

I added a similar bleeder valve to my previous kep setup, so I could open it and 99% of the air would purge then close it and top it off after driving. I don't think I would add one again. I don't find them hard to bleed when coolant flows through the pressure tank. I have the burley pipe and the air bleeder at the high point is a nice touch and a solid pipe there is nice, but it is just a nicely.

I like the concept 4 design but with a rear heater bipass or just keeping the rear heater valve open to bleed air into the pressure tank in summer. And depending where you live you don't even need Tom's housing, you can tee into the heater return line just in front of the engine, easy to get tho and fewer houses and junctions.

Thank you - I have tom's housing in the garage already. I like the measure of safely that it adds.

For my routing with a non-reversed manifold, the Peter/Dieter layout will work best and offer the simplest routing. I'll make sure I post photos and comments when I get it on the road.