Hi folks,

Sorry about the rant last night.  After another long evening of work, I was
mentally exhausted and, instead of beating my Vanagon to death with a
hammer, decided to vent to the list.

Thanks for all of your suggestions.  I wanted to make one more thing clear:

This is an awesome conversion.  From what I've seen and heard, I am the
exception and not the rule as far as its success rate.  If I had to do it
all over again, you bet your a$$ I'd want a Subaru motor.

So, for anybody on the fence about taking the plunge, don't let me
discourage you.  I still believe in the conversion; I just think I've got a
bad something somewhere (a bit vague...) but at some point, come hell or
high water, I'll be driving it again.

Thanks again,
joe T.

>From: joe trussell <vanagongl@HOTMAIL.COM>
>Reply-To: joe trussell <vanagongl@HOTMAIL.COM>
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>Subject: Was Passat Steel Wheels FS, now a big long b**ch session
>Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 03:33:32 +0000
>
>Not contagious, but physically more nauseating than three day-old sushi.
>Left on a Vanagon's dash.  In the summertime.
>
>Part of it is here: www.josephtrussell.com/Vanagon.html.
>
>What's not there is that I've had the Subie engine mount/timing
>cover/engine
>dropped in and out/ three times now.  I've had three different sets of cam
>and crank sensors.  Three starters, two of them high-torque (to their
>credit, the latest high-torque starter turns the motor really well.)  I've
>had four ECM's, four sets of plugs, two coil packs, and two mass airflow
>meters.
>
>Now I'm up to three months (four weeks of NO START,) 200 hours of labor,
>and
>about four hours of sleep per night.
>
>I've tested voltage as I was instructed to do.  I've taken off every single
>connector, cleaned it, and plugged it back up.  I've taken out the
>injectors
>and tested them.
>
>I've got spark, I've got fuel, I've got air, I've got timing, but I've got
>no running engine.
>
>I've had friends look at it.  My neighbor, a real-life professional
>mechanic
>(on Freightlineres, but still...,) is stumped.  My brother, who's been
>racing VW's for twenty-five years, can't figure it out.
>
>I've had the SubaruVanagon list on their ear trying to figure it out, and
>God bless them and all of the suggestions and encouragement and support and
>general good vibes.  Warren, Brent, Jake, Tom, and Leon, and everybody else
>that I am probably forgetting, I wasn't kidding when I said I owe you Jack
>Daniels Single Barrel.  The SubaruVanagon list is amazing.
>
>I know what most of you will say, it's my own damned fault for going
>against
>VW and my weak, anemic, P.O.S. 1.9l wasserboxer, but I want to prove to
>everybody I know that time has NOT passed this vehicle by.  There is
>nothing
>better than a Vanagon.  Especially one with 140 horsepower.
>
>Thing is, I drove a Subie conversion and was so taken with it that I had to
>do it.  I bit off more than I could chew.  The conversion looks absolutely
>beautiful; I didn't skimp on anything.  Wiring harness professionally done
>to perfection.  Top-of-the-line conversion parts from Kennedy, Smallcar,
>and
>H&R start to finish.  Only OEM Subaru parts.
>
>But it won't fire.
>
>I hate to lay this out there, but tonight I thought I had it dead to
>rights.
>  I was sure I'd found the key, in the form of another ECU and the correct
>air flow meter, but still nothing.
>
>Tomorrow I'll have it towed to a shop, if I can find a shop that will look
>at it, and take it on the chin monetarily and in the pride department.
>
>Taking it too seriously you say?  I do admit that I had an absolute blast
>putting everything together.  Accumulating parts, the installation, the
>education, the friendships I've developed cannot be understated.  But, it's
>been a lot of work without the ultimate payoff, so I'm a little pissed.
>
>The whole time I was working towards finishing, I couldn't stop having that
>creeping feeling in the back of my head, that nightmare thought, what if it
>doesn't start?  The whole time I was spending money, getting parts,
>cleaning, prepping, assembling, it was always in the back of my head.
>
>In any case, hopefully a professional can complete the job for me.  I'm out
>of time and almost out of money.
>
>I'm thinking maybe I can put a towtruck on retainer and have it pull me up
>to beautiful campsites around Colorado this summer.  Maybe I'll see some of
>you in the mountains!
>
>Look for the '85 Wolfsburg Westfalia.  It'll be on a flatbed, top popped
>and
>awning precariously swinging from the side.
>
>Sorry to waste time bellyaching, but AHHH damn I feel better already.  If
>you're still reading, I apologize for the waste of time.
>
>Oh--I bought a set of Vanagon alloys.  That's why the Passat wheels are for
>sale :).  Of course, right after I hit the Paypal button, I said to myself,
>
>"what the hell are you doing???  The damned thing doesn't even START!!!"
>
>I've always wanted Vanagon alloys, though.  (This is a disease, folks.)
>
>Joe T.
>Denver, CO
>'85 Wolfsburg Westfalia with a starter-powered Subaru EJ22 paperweight
>
>
>>From: Jake de Villiers <crescentbeachguitar@GMAIL.COM>
>>Reply-To: Jake de Villiers <crescentbeachguitar@GMAIL.COM>
>>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>>Subject: Re: Passat Steel Wheels ET37 FS in Denver
>>Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 17:31:48 -0700
>>
>>Joe has "freshly installed Subaru motor that won't fire" itis.  Very
>>intense
>>at first, then gradually disappears. Not contagious.
>>
>>On 4/11/06, Roger Sisler <rogersisler2000@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> >
>> > Hey man, whats wrong with the gon? Those wheels sound nice and the
>>price
>> > is
>> > more than right.Lets get a smile back on your face and maybe keep those
>> > wheels(ear to ear then).What symptoms do you have?
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>>--
>>Jake
>>1984 Vanagon GL
>>1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie"
>>www.crescentbeachguitar.com
>
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