New Westy owner, in desperate need of advice!

[Blam]

Hi guys, my name is Ryan I'm from Boise Idaho, i'm new to this site as well as the world of vw's. Before i get to my technical question i'll give you a little background:

In November i purchased an 83 Westy for $1300, the owner told me the motor had just been replaced and only had around 3000 miles on it, a trip to Ca. and Wa. under its belt already. I'm thinking this was a GREAT deal, however, only 4 days after purchasing my new toy, the engine took a dive. i found out later that the engine had not been replaced, and that the only major work was a head replacement about 4 years ago.

Here is what the engine is doing:
It happened while trying to enter on the freeway, i pretty much lost all power, there is a terrible knock, the oil has turned a grayish color. The engine still start but the van itself will not move at all.
My knowledge of engines is limited to mostly vintage american cars, (Chevy 350's, Straight 6's, Y Blocks, etc.) so this whole vw thing is a whole new world for me. I am fairly certain that the block is not cracked, and that no valves have been sucked in, and the spark plugs are all intact.

Not long after the whole fiasco i had to move down to California for a few months, but I will be returning to Boise in a few weeks and am ready to dive into this thing, as my only other means of transport is a motorcycle and a bike, which don't go well with the snow and cold weather.

My Questions:
1st- i am wondering, with the above mentioned problems: Will the motor still be salvageable with minimal $$?

2nd- If not, my next option will be to go for an engine conversion. Obviously there is a lot of subaru swaps running around out there. Are any thoughts on any other "better" conversions at a comparable price?

3rd- what exactly are my options for compatable suby engines? i know the 2.5 liter is recommended. anyone know what years will work for me?

4th- Any tips, advice, guidance, and or direction on good conversion kits or installation process would be greatly appreciated.

My apologies for the long winded post, i just want to make sure everyone is as informed as possible.
thanks again
-Ryan

[JeffRobenolt]

I'd go with a conversion, stock motor cost a lot to rebuild and when your done all you have is a stock motor waiting to blow up.

If you are going to live in CA at all, you need a conversion that will pass emissions. If you don't plan on ever living there you have a lot of options.

If you are going to do it yourself a Suby conversion can be done for around 3K.

Check out the yahoo group, subaruvanagon to find out which engines are the best for CA. If you don't
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[ftp2leta]

Hi and welcome.

83 had 2 possible engine, the old 2.0L air-cool engine (basically the same as the 77-79 bus engine) and at mid year a new water-cool engine was introduce.

So which one do you have?

To cut that short, doing a water cool conversion on a air-cool van can be real expensive!

If you have a water-cool Van, any DIY conversion can cost you anything between 3.5K$-6K$. Any, rebuilt re-seal of your engine can cost you anything between 500$-3000$, again, that is if you DoItYourself.

Again, if you have a air-cool engine, finding a very good rebuilt company can be a problem. DIY also is harder, good parts are harder & harder to find.

Ben
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Working with rust, grease, dirt and dust is a sad truth.
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[Vanagon Nut]

[Blam]

[Randy in Maine]

Why not just do a Raby Camper Special?

http://www.aircooledtechnology.com/store/product.php?productid=16852&cat=309&page=1

If you can follow directions, you can build an engine.

[Vanagon Nut]

[PDXWesty]

Air cooled engines are super easy to pull. Pull the engine, get it rebuilt, put it back. That will be the least cost option all the way around, and if you drive it right, will last you years.

[reluctantartist]

I second the Camper Special choice. For what you will have in doing the conversion including the time to fabricate, locate someone to fabricate , etc. You could have an awsome air-cooled engine which is simpler to maintain and just as powerful as the water cooled 2.1 vanadium. Plus you would really know your van.
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1982 Westy, 1974 412 Variant... Yes, Aircooled's are great! Oh and I do have modern computer controlled vehicles too, but I just don't care about them.

[Vanagon Nut]

[Randy in Maine]

The "big money" in these engines is the money you spend on 1) improving the stock AMC heads, 2) getting a good camshaft to complete the valve train assembly, and 3) getting a good package that all works well together and is well balanced. Many have tried and many have failed including the previous owner of your bus. My advice would be to do it once and be done with it. By the time you are done with it, you will be approaching $5K, so be prepared for it or just sell the bus now.

The 2.0L engine in this beast works harder and runs hotter than anything on the road. Killers are headwinds, long 6% grade hills, big tires, and poor tuning. If you overheat them, the valve seats will fall right out at about a cylinder head temp of 450º. You also need to have a good CHT gauge to be aware of the temps. You also cannot go with a bigger stock bore than 94mm or it will overheat and die.

I built a Raby Camper Special for my bus, with good gauges, correct tires, a dialed in FI system, and it does very well. Actually it does better than just "very well".

If you are looking for just headwork try:

http://www.aircooledtechnology.com/store/

http://www.haminc.biz/ (he does raby's heads and they are a work of art)

http://www.headflowmaster.com/

Just my 2 cents.

[Jake Raby]

............. and the new Vanagon Version of the CS engine combination is continuing to do better than I had expected
_________________
Jake Raby
Raby Engine Development
www.rabyenginedevelopment.com
"I've never given anyone Hell, I just told them the truth and they thought it was Hell"

[aereo-van]

Do yourself a favor and check out this website, which has the best conversion option available for a watercooled van.

bostig.com

You can search for bostig to find more info.
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2003 Eurovan MV

[Ratheadsvw]

After alot of research I had my engine conversion completed 6 months ago. I have a 240hp turbo jeta engine from Stephans Autohaus.

The power is amazing, and it sounds great too.

The best part of this conversion is everything is replaced, so if your van has over 200k like mine all your parts are old and tired. Most conversions use the same ECU or even all pumps and injectors. This one uses all new from the ignition key back.

They are out of Sacramento

[Blam]

Wow, the Raby Camper Special, and the Bostig engine kits are looking pretty sweet, that might just be my jam. do both of these work with air cooled engines?
It seems like this might be a much easier and maybe a little more affordable option for getting a reliable engine with a bit more power out of my van.

[Randy in Maine]

The Raby is an aircooled setup and the Bostig is a water cooled set up.

[wcdennis]

No one has asked what condition your 83 is in. Is it really worth putting $3K into? If you are thinking about a water cooled conversion, you may want to dump your van look for a newer body with a blown engine. That way the radiator, heaters and pipes/hoses will be in place. If you want to keep the 83, your best bet by far is a rebuilt air cooled engine.

One last thing... You say the van will not move at all--are you sure your problems are totally engine related?

[Blam]

[Randy in Maine]

You need to get it to someone (like a shop close by) that can do a proper compression test on it.

Go here and have them follow 1.1 and 1.5 http://www.ratwell.com/technical/FAQ.html

If they don't do it with the engine warm, fully opened throttle and the squirt of oil, it really doesn't mean much so it has to be done right.

You also need to look around in there to see if there are some vacuum hoses off or split or something. Also the distributor has to be advancing when you give it some gas so you need to check that with a timing light. Also that vacuum can on the distributor needs to be able to hold a vacuum. The vacuum hose that goes from the throttle body to the distributor sometimes Ts off to the air cleaner. If yours does, shove a golf T in the line for the air cleaner for now. See if that helps.

Speaking of gas, it is helpful to check the fuel pressure.

Print up this manual and take it to the shop with you.

http://manuals.type4.org/ljet/

Report back with results.....

[Blam]

^ ^ ^ ^ Wow those are all great suggestions. That Ratwell site is amazing! I Haven't really ran the engine much since the whole fiasco, but when i get home i'll definitely throw a timing light on there, And i'll have to check those vacuums lines as well i really didn't look at those things when it happened, i suppose i should have, but to be honest with you when i popped the hood for the first time i didn't even see a motor! just some weird little thing with wires and hoses, i had a hell of a time finding the valve covers! haha.