Subaru EZ36 conversion: exhaust issue and knowledge base

[MartinJS]

Hello all, I'm installing an EZ36 in my '89 Westfalia and have nearly completed the conversion. I have posted about the general knowledge available for this conversion separately.

I have been unable to find any information on cat and muffler mounting. I have a header and collector but once I have the system to the back of the engine, I'm not sure how people have mounted them.

There are some commercially available solutions for the EZ30 engine which use standoffs and brackets attached to the timing cover but the EZ36 cover bolts are not in the same locations as the EZ30.

Any tips or pics of solutions would be greatly welcome!

Martin

[space]

Sorry I cant help with ur particular motor
The 2.5 I have uses a L shaped heat shield to support the exhaust system (KEP)
on a side note:
Thats quite an engine coupled to tht transmission (assuming manual)
Youre going to want to beef that up as best you can
T
_________________
82 westy
w:
2.5 JDM Subie
Rear discs

[MartinJS]

Thanks Space. I've gone with a reversed Subaru 757 transmission from a Legacy GT. Low miles and it's a fairly robust transmission internally.

Other thing is I'm using a Link ECU and plan a relatively conservative tune going more for mid-range efficiency and driveability rather than creating a transmission eating beast. The van will be 90% a highway cruiser with no off-road plans other than the odd gravel road so comfortably eating miles without struggling with hills or passing is the underlying theme.

[space]

[Crankey]

Hi Martin, I have an ez30r. And the link g4 as well as the dash pod and several cords to get all the way to the dash. My truck was on a dyno to tune / map it.

I'm swapping it out for a 2.5 . There may be enough knowledge in the vanagon group but not much in the local world of vanagon shops that deal with engine swapped cars.
My truck was /is in storage for a couple years and in that time a mouse moved in to my ecu box and pretty much wrecked 5k in ecu and tuning.

So I'm moving to a more common swap with stock ecu. Maybe the nuclear option to solve the ecu issue but with this swap I've had other issues that could be solved with a lot of my attention and labor (because it's not the most popular swap there's less parts made for it so it forces me to DIY a lot ) I can't do everything engine related. I want to spend my fabrication time on other parts of the truck. 200+ HP isn't as important as having it running again with a common swap that's EZier (ha!) to live with as a daily.
The 2.1 wbx was actually fine except for eating its own water pump every 2 years or less.
I don't want to be locked in to a shop that's familiar with link g4.
I enjoyed the power. But not the engine and cooling system drama. So all that stuff will get strapped to a pallet and be for sale some time in January I think. Haven't put money on the new swap yet but several conversations with people to do the work and I am ready to put the deposit money.
I'll remake my avatar once it's done and driving again. 🤪

Did you have your van at Eions shop in Seattle ? I went to visit Eions to see an ez36 with a supercharger on it a couple years ago. At that time I was driving my truck daily and wanted to show him what I had and see about fixing some issues but a lot of life stuff happened and derailed my truck projects for a few years..

[MartinJS]

Hi Cranky, thanks for the info. I do get there are issues with the EZ installs related in part to support. My advantage is I'm able to pretty much do all the work myself (except having enough time to do it which is a problem) so I'm less concerned about keeping it running.

I'll be honest though: most of my investment has been into the rest of the van including suspension, transmission, and brakes. I went for the EZ36 because I found a low mileage one cheap and relatively local and it's such a damn interesting piece of engineering that I couldn't help myself...even knowing there are some drawbacks, support for the conversion being a big one. Ground clearance, tuning, exhaust, cooling are all problems too but so far I've enjoyed solving those issues as they come up and it's been a real learning opportunity which is a big part of the reason I enjoy the 'car hobby'.

When all is said and done, like I said, the majority of my time and money is not into the engine. If I find, on balance, the down side of living with it outweighs the up side, I'll be putting in a 2.5 Subaru. Since I've already gone the stand alone ECU route, OBDII won't be an impediment so a newer engine could go in.

So I completely understand your decision to go to the 2.5. I've done this in no small part because of the challenge and fun of doing it. If it doesn't live up to the hype, there's more engines where this one came from....

[MartinJS]

[Howesight]

Hi Martin:

I can't give you specs about how to mount your exhaust system, but I will make a strong suggestion - - try to use two mufflers in series. I have an EG33 SVX engine and with only one muffler, it is far too loud to enjoy highway driving. I addressed this by designing a two-muffler system with a crossover behind the engine leading to the second muffler with inlet and outlet on the same side of the muffler. It is now quite quiet, although nowhere near the quiet of, say, a factory Tribeca.
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'86 Syncro Westy SVX

[Crankey]