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Mon Nov 28, 2011 7:25 pm

Well, I made the leap to change out my EJ25 to something with a little more torque, my primary reasoning was mainly the updated engine and the added power and smoothness of the H6 was a huge benifit to me.

I purchased a "kit" from h6t3.com and took the plunge.

first step was preping the motor,

Lookie, no timing belt...

Prepin the covers with epoxy paint,

I needed to take the intake off in order to pull the engine wiring harness off, you'll find out that with most of the wiring harnesses you find that those big grey plugs that connect the engine to the firewall off factory cars are pretty hard to find, so I opted to use a one piece harness from each sensor all the way to the ECU

Keep track of all the hoses!

Clean intake system eh?

Good grief, look at this wiring harness mess....have I mentioned yet that I am a wiring retard? ;)

This is the tee you need to put in for the heater core return line for the old hose on the drivers side

These puppies come out, the crossover pipe that goes across the the front (below the pulley) gets moved to the rear and nests along the engine mount, don't worry I didn't use this hammer...

Two supplied plugs come in the kit, I used some JB weld and it worked pretty well.

Using the supplied thermostat adapter you get some threaded barbs and this allows you a little more room to move the coolant hoses to the rear, I made hard lines rather than using the suggested rubber heater hose.
[img]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-gQRciI9kF5U/TtQx5qJhI2I/AAAAAAAAAG8/ajguagKkimY/s640/IMG_0228.JPG][/img]

Intake is now bolted back on, this is the bolt hole where you'll bolt on the wire-to-cable throttle setup that is ran off the link ecu,

This port you'll need to figure out how to vent, I used a universal breather filter and it works great, it all depends on what air filter you use...I used a K&N filter so my options where limited.

Okay, the kit also comes with a vanagon temp sending unit so breakout the 10x1.0 tap

These are the nifty exhaust mounts, you'll need to remove 4 of the bolts from the t-chain cover

I used a KEP adapter plate, here you can also see the engine mount

I skipped a few steps, you'll need to drill your own holes to mount the new engine mount, but thats easy stuff...I wanted to document what I thought would be the hard stuff...

Here is the fuel pressure regulator,

You will also need to buy a wideband o2 sensor and gauge (LC1) the link ecu is designed to work with the LC1 so no getting around this...
I bought mine off amazon for about $180 bucks

Here is the wiring setup I used for the LC1 to the link,

Here is a wiring diagram for the throttle body to the link,

Here's the alt wiring,

Here is where I mounted the link, looooooots of wires eh?

I decided I'd put the ecu in this location due to it being the spot where I plan on putting the rest of my electronics.

I have more pictures once I find my memory card, Its all finished now and I’ve put about 190 miles on it....I must say going from the 2.5 to the 3.0 was quite a surprise to me, the 2.5 was smooth compared to my wbx but this is miles above either and I have a nice power band in 3rd and 4th gear.

Mon Nov 28, 2011 7:40 pm

Oh I should add that I did this in 9 days, would have been a little quicker, but with watching a 3 year old at the same time I couldn't focus as much.

Mon Nov 28, 2011 7:48 pm

Nice post-I'd love to have one of those 3.0s in my van!

Can the coolant plugs be replaced with threaded NPT plugs and the alloy body tapped? I'm sure the JB Weld will work fine (love the stuff!) but I'd personally like the assurance of a tapped fitting "just in case".

Mon Nov 28, 2011 7:51 pm

connorsvw2 wrote: Nice post-I'd love to have one of those 3.0s in my van!

Can the coolant plugs be replaced with threaded NPT plugs and the alloy body tapped? I'm sure the JB Weld will work fine (love the stuff!) but I'd personally like the assurance of a tapped fitting "just in case".

Not enough room there to turn the threads. , I was paranoid about this too. If it ever leaks i'll TIG it in place

Mon Nov 28, 2011 8:00 pm

I'm jealous.

Mon Nov 28, 2011 8:12 pm

purplepeopleeater wrote: connorsvw2 wrote: Nice post-I'd love to have one of those 3.0s in my van!

Can the coolant plugs be replaced with threaded NPT plugs and the alloy body tapped? I'm sure the JB Weld will work fine (love the stuff!) but I'd personally like the assurance of a tapped fitting "just in case".

Not enough room there to turn the threads. , I was paranoid about this too. If it ever leaks i'll TIG it in place I guess the older 3.0 go a little deeper.

Mon Nov 28, 2011 8:16 pm

Alaric.H wrote: purplepeopleeater wrote: connorsvw2 wrote: Nice post-I'd love to have one of those 3.0s in my van!

Can the coolant plugs be replaced with threaded NPT plugs and the alloy body tapped? I'm sure the JB Weld will work fine (love the stuff!) but I'd personally like the assurance of a tapped fitting "just in case".

Not enough room there to turn the threads. , I was paranoid about this too. If it ever leaks i'll TIG it in place I guess the older 3.0 go a little deeper.

wow, there is a a slight change.

did you use stright barbs?

Mon Nov 28, 2011 8:20 pm

Tapered NPT threads and a little teflon tape.

Tue Nov 29, 2011 7:48 am

*Fixed link so I could see pic
Quote: Using the supplied thermostat adapter you get some threaded barbs and this allows you a little more room to move the coolant hoses to the rear, I made hard lines rather than using the suggested rubber heater hose.

Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:08 am

Very nice pictures and write up 8)

I didn't know this H6TL link,thank you :wink:

Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:51 am

WOW
Nice work peopleeater.

Great photos and detail.

I've driven a EG33 powered syncro, which was very smooth and torquey, but I bet the more modern 3.0l is even more so.

-Chad

Tue Nov 29, 2011 11:20 am

Thanks for your extremely thorough write-up, Purplepeopleeater! This is exactly the sort of thing that makes this public forum such a valuable asset to the greater Vanagon enthusiast community. It's all about an exchange of ideas, open source Vanagon hacking, if you will.

I have had a line on a half a dozen of these engines/harnesses, etc. for more than a year, but I was hesitant to move on one due to the lack of a comprehensive build thread. You deserve a big THANK YOU for taking the time to put together such a clear and comprehensive thread.

Can't wait to see the rest of your pics!

Tue Nov 29, 2011 12:31 pm

Hi,

Good job! it's not easy to deal with all the mess the factory engine has.

Why do you relocate the water fittings? they are located before the thermostat to give you hot air in cold morning within a minute. The spacer that has the new fitting is located in the cold water side or the warm water erea? I don't get the point yet.

Thanks

GSB

Tue Nov 29, 2011 1:01 pm

Awesome! Thanks for the write-up. I just purchased the same kit but for the earlier EZ30D (non drive-by-wire) engine and will be doing this conversion over the winter.

Very nice to see what I'll be in for in a few months. Currently I'm still in the tear-down phase. So far only posting to our local forum:
http://www.aircooledmissouri.com/Forums/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=5145

Tue Nov 29, 2011 1:21 pm

SHOTGUN!!

Seriously. This is impressive. You make the install look and sound easy. And that engine looks brand spanking new. Is the adapter plate the same from your 2.5? I think I'll buy a lottery ticket this week.

Wontfalia

Tue Nov 29, 2011 1:25 pm

wontfalia wrote: SHOTGUN!!

Seriously. This is impressive. You make the install look and sound easy. And that engine looks brand spanking new. Is the adapter plate the same from your 2.5? I think I'll buy a lottery ticket this week.

Wontfalia

Yep, same adapter off the 2.5...it was kinda easy. mainly all the wiring was the biggest hassle.

I lost my memory card, so I'll take some new pics later today and post of finished product, I am setting up my idle table and tach signal right now.

Tue Nov 29, 2011 6:52 pm

So KEP adapter plate, and what clutch, and does it feel like it's enough for the torque?

I hope you'll give us your impression of the difference in gas consumption from ej25 to the 3.0 once you've run a couple tank fulls too. :wink:

Awesome!
I thought you said you were a wiring dummy? Looking wizardly enough to me.

:lol:

Tue Nov 29, 2011 7:21 pm

Nice job with the conversion and the thread. Gonna be interesting following your progress. That motor looks good.

Tue Nov 29, 2011 7:46 pm

Dude.

Great pics, text and pen pointing. Not to mention nice looking QC.

All the best on your swap and thanks from the "Royal We" for taking time to post details.

Neil.

Sun Dec 04, 2011 8:08 am

Here are a few more pictures,

Here's a shot of the beast, I used some epoxy primer then shot it with blitz black (this stuff is tougher then poweder coating when done right)

My helper

Wiring almost complete

All tucked in the engine bay,

Under shot, the engine mount needs some adjustment I think...The engine could sit a little further up and I could gain a little clearance, I also am going to find a way to modify the coolant line leading from the oil cooler, it needs to be on the back side.

Here's the other side, I put some header tape around the coolant hoses...doesn't look realt pretty but after running it hard I can touch it still

After the first test drive I had a fuel line pop off, it was after I shut it down went inside with the family to eat dinner and when we went to start it stumbled then I smelled gas, I guess this was the issue :shock:

Gates hose is really crappy, it was brand new and meant to FI systems. I used a correct band OE style clamp too, I plan on further researching some new source for fuel line, I've been using the BMW stuff and never had issues yet, I gotta change fuel lines on 3 of my vans in a month or so.