Need help with with cooling system

[Jac25]

I transplanted an ej22 into an 85 vanagon. I'm running Tom Sheils cooling system 4. This morning I rented the pressure cooling tester in order to bleed and test the system.

Question: How long should the system hold pressure for if the engine is not running? I'm not sure if it's supposed to bleed off slowly or should it hold constant pressure.

Problem 1: I think the thermostat is bad but before i pull it i'd like to get some opinions. I let the engine idle and the temp will slowly climb . I noticed the pipe leading to the thermostat is ice cold compared to one exiting the reversed coolant manifold. The thermostat is brand new; but I never tested it.

Problem 2: I'm getting no heat at the front heater( rear was removed by PO) This might be because of problem 1, but I'm not sure. I took a look at the front heater control and noticed that it doesn't completely open. (see attached photo) Not sure if this is the way its design or not. I did get plenty of heat with wbx

Thanks

[Syncro Jael]

I too run an EJ22.
Mine circulates through the rear heater core and cannot be closed.

What I have noticed is that unless I have the RPM's over 1500 there is not enough flow through the front heater core for it to stay warm. I recently replaced my thermostat (non Subaru part) and when at high revs on the engine of over 4300 rpm it has enough pressure to open the thermostat and cool off the entire system. This was really noticed on our last road trip when ambient temps were in the single digit readings. Climbing a hill in third gear at 4800 would cool the system off and I know my engine was running too cold.

So I have a Subaru thermostat under the rear seat and it will be going in soon. Make sure to use a Subaru part as others have suggested to me.
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1987 Syncro Westfalia Hightop - NAHT
Subaru EJ25 Forged Frankenmotor, Triple Knob.
Jael = (Mountain Goat)

[Howesight]

Your cooling system should hold pressure with no reduction, period. If not, you have a leak and you will get localized boiling.

The Vanagon heater core is not always easy to bleed completely. It would be good to make a "heater core bong" type of device. You can remove one of the hoses, plug it, and attach a spare heater hose about 3 or 4 feet long to it with a funnel at the end, holding it high and filling with coolant.

Regarding bleeding the Vanagon cooling system, even with a Subie swap, get the rear of the vehicle higher than the front to a point where the top of the coolant pressure tank is higher than the bleed plug on the radiator. Open the bleed plug and let the air out.

It may be that the Subaru 2.2 engine's water pump does not flow as much through the heater circuit as the WBX design does. If that is the problem, using the electric coolant pump from the 1.8T VW's, Audi's etc, will improve coolant flow.

The pic of your heater valve is unclear and I cannot tell whether it is normal or not. You can just leave it out for now and use a 5/8" connector to test whether it is the problem.
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'86 Syncro Westy SVX

[Jake de Villiers]

The Subaru water pump moves plenty of coolant - my van gives decent heat front and rear at the 600 RPM idle.

OP, it takes a while to bleed out all the trapped air. You'll need to run the engine at ~2000 RPM to push the air out of the lines - idle doesn't shove hard enough.
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'84 Vanagon GL 1.9 WBX
'86 Westy Weekender Poptop/2.5 Subaru/5 Speed Posi/Audi Front Brakes/16 x 7 Mercedes Wheels - answers to 'Dixie'
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