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Fri Aug 10, 2012 2:13 pm

tschroeder0, thanks for posting your conversion. I’m trying to decide whether to attempt this myself, order a turnkey, or pay the professionals, and this thread really helps. A few specific questions for you.

Did you purchase your engine, harness, etc., from a wrecking yard or pull it yourself from the donor car? Would you choose that route again?

If you ordered your parts from the wrecking yard, did you use the parts list that Smallcar has on its site?

I see you worked on the engine without an engine stand. Would you do that again, or invest $150 or so for a stand that rotates?

Did the RMW instructions cover prepping the engine compartment and determining what stayed and what was to be removed?

Thu Aug 23, 2012 10:14 am

Thanks so much for this -- I'm just starting down my own path of an EJ25 conversion using RMW's pieces.

Two questions --

1.) do I need to add to the coolant manifold a sender for the dash? Or does the subaru sender work for that?

2.) I noticed you put gasket maker on the coolant manifold connection to the block -- is that necessary or are you just being overly cautious? When I pulled mine off, there was only the rubber o-rings which I replaced. Should I pull it again and add the gasket goop to it as well?

Thanks! I hope to post my very own conversion thread once I get all the pieces assembled!

Thu Aug 23, 2012 12:03 pm

theDrew wrote: Thanks so much for this -- I'm just starting down my own path of an EJ25 conversion using RMW's pieces.

Two questions --

1.) do I need to add to the coolant manifold a sender for the dash? Or does the subaru sender work for that?

2.) I noticed you put gasket maker on the coolant manifold connection to the block -- is that necessary or are you just being overly cautious? When I pulled mine off, there was only the rubber o-rings which I replaced. Should I pull it again and add the gasket goop to it as well?

Thanks! I hope to post my very own conversion thread once I get all the pieces assembled!

NO sealer required or recomended.as a subaru technician this almost always seems to end up where i find leaks from using sealent where it isnt needed.

Thu Aug 23, 2012 12:39 pm

Quote: Cost. I am not a keeper of receipts, I find it depressing and it doesn't matter to me as the van will never be sold.

Love It! :vw:

Sat Aug 25, 2012 6:41 am

epaddler wrote: tschroeder0, thanks for posting your conversion. I’m trying to decide whether to attempt this myself, order a turnkey, or pay the professionals, and this thread really helps. A few specific questions for you.

Did you purchase your engine, harness, etc., from a wrecking yard or pull it yourself from the donor car? Would you choose that route again?

If you ordered your parts from the wrecking yard, did you use the parts list that Smallcar has on its site?

I see you worked on the engine without an engine stand. Would you do that again, or invest $150 or so for a stand that rotates?

Did the RMW instructions cover prepping the engine compartment and determining what stayed and what was to be removed? ..you will need an engine stand if you want to do the HG..

Sat Aug 25, 2012 8:09 am

Congrats on the swap. I have the same motor and love it. Just remember to change that belt again around 80k mi as these motors get a little extra power from the interference design. I went with all smallcar as RMW did not have the kit out yet.

Sat Aug 25, 2012 9:48 pm

hey all ,
sorry for not replying faster, I haven't been paying too much attention lately.

I did not use an engine stand but it would have been nice.

I went back to the stock temp sender for the dash because it reads closer to "normal" (which now means at about 3/4 when at running temp)

I did use sealer on the coolant manifold, but that's just my preferrence.

***Remember to replace your air/oil cover on the back of the engine with the metal one!!!!!

The engine runs great and I am getting really good mileage (23) even here in the mountains where most of my driving involves big climbs, I am however using oil.
This has been much discussed so I won't go over it in much detail but I believe during the winter I will be doing rings/head gaskets. If anyone has experience doing this please let me know.

*Grind- good tip on the early belt change.
Thanks,
Todd.

Sat Oct 20, 2012 6:11 pm

Todd,
Thanks for posting this. Ive been out of the Vanagon scene for over a year, I had an 85 sunroof van that I put all my heart and soul in to (don't we all?), it had an SVX swap in it with the RMWesty kit.

I regret selling it every single day. Seriously.

So now I'm back in the Vanagon market, since my Passat is a total bore! I'll be doing the 2.5 with the RMW kit, so i'm really happy to have found this thread! Thanks again, and thanks for being so thorough in your documentation!

Sun Oct 06, 2013 9:14 pm

tschroeder0 wrote:
wiring harness; remember to not freak out on the hook up you are only putting together about 9 wires and it will run. just relax and take your time solder everything cover with liquid tape and then wrap with electrical tape.

Todd,

I would think the RMW DIY kit's harness required no soldering/taping. For instance, the Vanaru kit is 100% plug-n-play. Seems like RMW would be too. Did you have to do this because you had an older model engine?

Mon Oct 07, 2013 7:30 am

I'm not sure how anything could be 100% plug and play since You would always have to connect to the wires in the J(unction) box that had to be disconnected when the original harness was removed?

Tue Oct 08, 2013 10:16 am

tschroeder0 wrote: I'm not sure how anything could be 100% plug and play since You would always have to connect to the wires in the J(unction) box that had to be disconnected when the original harness was removed?

Hi! I'm trying to figure out which kit to go with myself. So, I'm just relaying what I've been told about plug-n-play after several conversations with Vanaru installers & owner. I still didn't understand what each kit provides around plugging in the harness/ECU, etc.? :( Which is why I'm still digging for answers here about RMW kit too!

Tue Oct 08, 2013 11:45 am

As I said in my write up, this a very small issue, I would not base the decision to buy or not on it. The quality of the RMW kit has proven to be excellent.

Tue Oct 08, 2013 1:33 pm

coclimber wrote: tschroeder0 wrote: I'm not sure how anything could be 100% plug and play since You would always have to connect to the wires in the J(unction) box that had to be disconnected when the original harness was removed?

Hi! I'm trying to figure out which kit to go with myself. So, I'm just relaying what I've been told about plug-n-play after several conversations with Vanaru installers & owner. I still didn't understand what each kit provides around plugging in the harness/ECU, etc.? :( Which is why I'm still digging for answers here about RMW kit too!

The harness is always an additional cost and you can have any company do it. Judge a kit based on the parts not the wiring. I have used small car, KEP and RMW parts and the RMW parts fit right and work without hassle. The other "kits" will require you to do a lot more figuring out then soldering 8 wires.

Tue Oct 08, 2013 2:13 pm

Plus, you'll be able to get the RMW kit with a Tencent exhaust in the not-too-distant-future. An email I received from RMW said as early as winter.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=544047&start=40

Sun Apr 24, 2016 10:26 pm

Thank you! This is the best. These photos are great and super easy to follow.