Don & Mike & TWIMC

        Just FYI ~ A HeadGasket Swap on an EJ22 or 25 mounted in a Vanagon

could easily be done in an afternoon & probably cost less than $150 ~

        The wisest thing to do, of course, when doing a H2OBxr 2 Subi Swap is

to put in New Gaskets & T'Belt area parts before the Eng' gets installed ~

        I have almost 68000Mis on the 2K1 EJ25 that I installed in My 90Westy

back in '09 & have NoRegrets ~ 170Hp & 10% Better MsPG ~

        Also ~ When looking for an EJ22, the '99 was 142HP so if you can find 1

of those GrabIt ~

                                                        ORR ~ DeanB

        	
On 26 May , 2016, at 8:13 AM, Don Hanson wrote:

>  One thing  I found out when talking "Subaru" after dealing with my wife's
> 2.5 Forester's blown headgasket....$3k is the quoted price for headgasket
> replacement....These are famous for headgasket failure.    Most people
> simply junk the motor or the car....
>   Another thing I noticed....There are a LOT of Subaru specialists shops!
> Why is that?   You don't see independent Toyota shops, or Honda
> shops....The guys I talked to, when trying to deal with the Forester, they
> all say Subaru parts are among the most expensive, and doing the math leads
> most victims to just junk the motors and get another when something goes
> wrong...
>   Not dissing the Subie conversion, just passing along some recent
> experience with a 2.5 headgasket on one....
> 
>  For what it is worth....I caused a headgasket failure in my own 1.8 liter
> motor when I first got it, being unfamiliar with Vanagons and their cooling
> system idiosyncrasy,    I replaced that headgasket and swapped in an
> aftermarket camshaft at the same time...it took me most of a whole
> afternoon, and cost me under $200, including the new Autotech cam and a
> fancy metal headgasket from Techtonics Tuning, a very good parts vendor for
> performance VW parts...., I'm just your average backyard mechanic.  Simple
> basic motors, these inline VWs, yet dang nice.
> 
> 
> On Thu, May 26, 2016 at 6:40 AM, Larry Alofs <lalofs@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> I second what Steve and Rob said.  I am a devotee of the early EJ22 Legacy
>> engines ('91-'94).  Low mileage ones are getting hard to find, of course.
>> I recently bought a car with 191K miles and am driving it for a while to
>> check for oil consumption.  It leaks from the rear seal, but doesn't seem
>> to burn much.  Eventually I will probably do the timing belt, any idlers
>> that seem to need replacement and replace any seals that appear to be
>> leaking.  A person with more $$ would probably do all the seals and replace
>> all idlers and the waterpump and perhaps replace head gaskets and surface
>> the heads, but I'm a "thrifty" old Dutchman.
>>  Over the past ten years or so, I have purchased 4 such cars for costs
>> ranging from $425 to $800.  Interestingly the least expensive one had the
>> best engine, with a recent short block replacement.  I put that one in my
>> daily driver '91 GL.   :-)
>> 
>> The EJ22 Subaru conversion typically gives you an improvement of 1 or 2 mpg
>> and of course a very welcome increase on power.  The peace of mind, however
>> is probably the most important.  The AC, power steering, and cruise control
>> interface well with the vanagon systems.
>>  There are many options to pick from in terms of adapters, engine
>> supports, oil pans, coolant plumbing, and wiring harnesses.  These are best
>> studied on the subaruvanagon yahoo group.
>> 
>> Larry A.
>> 
>> 
>> On Wed, May 25, 2016 at 11:44 PM, M's gmail <mjhart853@gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> Stephen,
>>> Thanks for your ideas. Yes, too much HP & torque is probably even worse
>>> than too few...
>>> The tranny was rebuilt 50k miles ago (VanCafe) & had new seals this past
>>> year. Neither engine nor tranny leak oil now ...
>>> I do have the big brake kit plus suspension upgrades (springs & shocks) &
>>> 15" wheels w/ Nokians, so driving @ 75 mph is 'safe' & I can stop in a
>>> reasonable distance....
>>> That just leaves getting to 75mph & staying there...
>>> Mike
>>> (650) 387-8957
>>> 
>>>> On May 25, 2016, at 8:15 PM, Stephen Engel <sengel543@yahoo.com>
>> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Also consider that a significant increase in hp/torque will stress your
>>> transmission, axles, et al. The Vanagon drivetrains were not intended to
>>> carry high hp/torque. Do you still have your original trans with 200K on
>> it
>>> as well?
>>>> 
>>>> Steve
>>>> 87 Syncro hardtop
>>>> 
>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>> 
>>>>> On May 25, 2016, at 10:53 PM, M's gmail <mjhart853@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> YAET (yet another engine thread)...
>>>>> Seeking your wisdom:
>>>>> - My situation: '87 2WD Westy with original 2.1l waterboxer @ 200k
>>> miles. Still running OK today after 100k miles & 10 years in my hands,
>> but
>>> I have plans for some long trips next year & think it is finally time to
>>> address the 'engine question'.
>>>>> I have replaced all hoses, s/s pipes to front, radiator & fan, coolant
>>> tower, fuel lines as preventative maintenance plus water pump over that
>>> time & have never had a 'real' breakdown or major failure. Reliability of
>>> the engine has not been an issue for me - the core engine has not been
>>> touched since the head gaskets were done @ 80k miles, 8 years before I
>>> bought the van (i.e. 18 years ago).
>>>>> Having said that, the miles are pretty high & perhaps I'm finally
>>> getting tired of needing to change down on the slightest incline....that
>>> plus not being able to run the AC on a really hot day as it raises the
>>> engine temperature a bit too much for my comfort...(yes I do have working
>>> factory Westy AC, still working perfectly after I rebuilt it myself 7
>> years
>>> ago..). Having this work properly is one condition for future trips in
>> the
>>> summer (from the SO).
>>>>> Some specific questions for you all;
>>>>> (1). do the GoWesty engines really deliver 'high performance'? Do you
>>> really see a power difference?  How about reliability? Can you run the
>> AC &
>>> still drive at 70mph on a hot (100-110F) day? How about all those
>>> peripherals - reliable to date but getting very old (eg original AFM, ICV
>>> etc).? 2.3 or 2.45??
>>>>> Anyone with a GoWesty powered Westy in the SF Bay Area that I could
>>> drive?
>>>>> - I could live with another VW waterboxer if it solved these
>> problems...
>>>>> (2). does a Subaru 2.2l (the only truly legal model for CA) give that
>>> much more power or reliability? I doubt I have the available time to do
>> my
>>> own install, so this option looks to be at least 2X the cost, so would
>> need
>>> to answer my questions above better than the first option.
>>>>> (3). I'm currently biased against other options;
>>>>> - VW inline 1.8T: yet more money, doesn't properly fit below the
>> engine
>>> lid
>>>>> - Bostig not legal for CA
>>>>> - turbo diesel: no 'standard' install it seems
>>>>> Any experience or comments much appreciated!
>>>>> 
>>>>> Mike Hart
>>>>> '87 2WD Westy 'T3WESTY'
>>>>> Palo Alto, CA
>>> 
>>