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LPG frankenmotor build


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i've managed to source a used 95-98 EJ25 short block....so i can build the frankenmotor that i've been wanting to do for a while :clap:

 

i have EJ20 SOHC (roller rocker) heads to put on the block...which should give a little more compression than the 'normal' ej22 heads

 

Couple of questions that i haven't been able to find out using the search tool

 

1/ can i use my current 2.2 intake manifold or do i have to use a 2.5 one?

 

2/ how thin can i go on the head gaskets on a frankenmotor before i run into problems with the pistons clouting the heads

( i'm going for as much compression as i can get, 13.5 to 1 would be nice lol....LPG is 100+ octane)

 

Cometic do a .032" thick MLx gasket PN C4578-032 for a EJ25 non turbo that looks like it would fit the bill quite well

 

cometic also do .30" thick MLS gasket but for a ej255 or ej257...would these gaskets work with a NA ej25 block and ej20/22 heads?

 

which gasket would you use?

 

3/ can delta cams do a torque grind (220?) for a roller rocker cam?

 

Cheers for any info

Callum

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got my ej20 heads pulled apart today all ready for taking into the local engine machine shop on monday to get them surfaced and the valves/seats done.

 

does anyone have the specs on what the delta cam (220?) torque grind is?....

 

it seems like un-needed expense to send my cams to the states to then sent back again, when i have a machine shop here that grinds cams all the time.

 

i figure that i can tell them that i want a 'low to mid rpm torque grind' but it would be nice be able to give them a set of specs that are known to work well.

 

also with the delta cams do the hydraulic lifters take up the difference in the diameter of the ground cams?

or do you have so shim them?

 

i'm picking up my block on monday:clap:....can't wait....want it now damn it!!!

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I'm running my hydraulic lifters with Delta cams and no shims. Even if I knew the specs, I wouldn't tell you, though. I understand the expense of shipping when you could make it yourself, but they're a supporter of the board, and it seems kind of lousy to piggy-back off of their work. Maybe you could see about the price with no core? It would save on shipping. The NZ dollar is pretty strong compared to a few years ago.

 

Jacob

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Even if I knew the specs, I wouldn't tell you, though. I understand the expense of shipping when you could make it yourself, but they're a supporter of the board, and it seems kind of lousy to piggy-back off of their work.

 

Jacob

 

lol yeah i thought that might be the sort of answer i got for asking that...fair enough

 

whats it worth to get delta to grind the cam....

thinking about it taking into account the high local rouble it might not be too much more to ship it and get them to grind than it would cost to get done locally...and then i know i would have known goods lol

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I'm glad you didn't take that with any hostility. None was meant to be there:)

 

You can email them for a price. I imagine you could get them shipped for less than $200. I'd say it's worth it, considering the risk you run of grinding them yourself. Your idle could be weird, or you may totally lose your top end or something. If you email now and don't hear back on Monday PST, let me know, and I can make sure they respond. They're usually pretty quick, though.

 

Jacob

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yesterday i dropped my heads into get surfaced, hardness tested and get the valves and valve seats checked out

 

i got the heads off TradeMe(local ebay equivalent) years ago so i don't know anything about their history of use/abuse overheating etc so thought i would get them fully checked out...

 

its only going to cost about 150 to get them all done so i figure its cheap piece of mind lol

 

hopefully i can nick off from work early tomorrow and pick up my block on the way home:clap:

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well i now have my 2.5 block....and the useless f#%$&*@ c&^%$ i got it off have stripped off all the timing belt idlers and the waterpump and the water crossover manifold...... and pretty much everything else that was bolted on:mad::mad::mad::mad:.

 

i think got all the bits they stripped off it except the belt covers after i jumped up and down and generally had

a 'tanty about it ...i CLEARLY asked for them to leave everything on it except the heads:banghead:

 

i case anyone missed it....

I AM VERY UN-IMPRESSED!!!!!

 

however ej25 blocks are very hard to come by here without buying the rest of the car with it.....oh well at least i have a block to fettle

 

on the up side my cams are all packaged to be sent off to delta cams in the morning:clap:

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well i now have my 2.5 block....and the useless f#%$&*@ c&^%$ i got it off have stripped off all the timing belt idlers and the waterpump and the water crossover manifold...... and pretty much everything else that was bolted on:mad::mad::mad::mad:.

 

i think got all the bits they stripped off it except the belt covers after i jumped up and down and generally had

a 'tanty about it ...i CLEARLY asked for them to leave everything on it except the heads:banghead:

 

i case anyone missed it....

I AM VERY UN-IMPRESSED!!!!!

 

however ej25 blocks are very hard to come by here without buying the rest of the car with it.....oh well at least i have a block to fettle

 

on the up side my cams are all packaged to be sent off to delta cams in the morning:clap:

 

Nice! The power over an EJ22 is worth it. You can use your EJ22 idlers and such, so it's not that big of a loss. I'm glad to know kiwi junkyards are just as incompetent as American ones are:)

 

Jacob

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lol idiocy and incompetance are universal....some people are just better at it...

 

i don't want to use my EJ22 timing gear, i want to keep the EJ22 as a complete motor so its a fast bolt out/bolt in unit in case i have an issue with the frankenmotor because its going into my daily driver

 

i'll just have to get any bits i'm missing to make up a complete engine....life goes on:horse:

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well i now have my 2.5 block....and the useless f#%$&*@ c&^%$ i got it off have stripped off all the timing belt idlers and the waterpump and the water crossover manifold...... and pretty much everything else that was bolted on:mad::mad::mad::mad:.

 

i think got all the bits they stripped off it except the belt covers after i jumped up and down and generally had

a 'tanty about it ...i CLEARLY asked for them to leave everything on it except the heads:banghead:

 

i case anyone missed it....

I AM VERY UN-IMPRESSED!!!!!

 

however ej25 blocks are very hard to come by here without buying the rest of the car with it.....oh well at least i have a block to fettle

 

on the up side my cams are all packaged to be sent off to delta cams in the morning:clap:

 

Did you know about these guys? http://www.kelford.co.nz/regrinds

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yeah i do, they where first port of call.... they don't have a profile for a SOHC EJ....plus they charge like a wounded bull....its going to cost a bit more than half what they want for me to get Delta Cams to do my cams including shipping.

 

on the other hand kelfords have some really good profiles for DOHC motors, everything from mild to supplying WRC type stuff....everyone here that hots up a subaru does a DOHC ej20t...and the place is lousy with them

 

I was the first person that the guy i talked to on the phone had heard of that wanted a cam for a SOHC

 

sent my cams off the Delta this morning...now the waiting starts lol

 

Callum

Edited by LPGsuperchargedBrumby
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i spent a bit of time this morning refitting the belt idlers and tensioner, coolant crossover and generally reattaching all the bits i didn't want taken off in the first place.

 

list of stuff i have to get to complete block ready for heads

 

new engine mounts<= shot

 

alternator mount<= missing

 

center timing belt cover<= busted

 

waterpump<= still thinking about it but leaning towards a newie

 

i'm off to pester the local subaru dealer on monday to get some head gaskets and hopefully i will get my heads back from the machine shop early next week

 

on the question of gaskets, the ones i need are 1.5mm thick....OEM subaru head gaskets do come in 1.5/1.6mm don't they?

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  • 2 weeks later...

time for an update....haven't done alot on my motor because we had a major breakdown to deal with at work....and i'm waiting on my cams to be done lol.

 

have hit one slight hitch with my head gaskets...subaru dealer parts guy here won't sell me head gaskets without a valid chassis number to reference back to:confused:...no number... no parts:mad:...AND i even had real paper money to pay for stuff, i just don't have the chassis number of the car my block came from.:mad::mad:

 

i'm going to go back and see if i can talk some sense into them later this week (i got a little upset with the muppet i was dealing with today:rolleyes:)...if i have no success there i will have to look online for MLS head gaskets

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What a *********************. My local dealer's parts guy complained that I didn't have a VIN to give him when I just needed a new thermostat. Told him it's a '93 with the Phase 1 EJ22, and if I can go to Napa or Oreillys and they can figure it out, then he should too. Took him about half an hour, though. Apparently their computerized parts catalogs are a pile of suck.

 

Find a car with the same engine and give him that VIN. Could probably find one on eBay or just go out to their car lot.

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lol yeah you would think that if i ask for head gaskets for a '96 DOHC 2.5L (which are the right thickness for what i want) that they would be able to find a set....maybe they might remember that you can find them on a shelf in the real world

 

i might be being a little optimistic about the parts guys intelligent's tho :grin:

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  • 4 weeks later...

i got my cams back from Delta Cams today...hopefully when work settles down again (we have been running around like headless chickens trying get on top of a large backlog of repair work) i will be able to get my motor together.

 

altho i still have few bits to get like cam seals and the likes

 

lol its getting closer to being done

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  • 3 months later...

naa no progress since i got my cams back....

 

GF quit her job (thank heavens, cos i wanted to go to her work and bang her two bosses heads together for being total prats to all their staff) and has gone back to studying so spare money to build motors is in a bit of short supply until she has qualified....which is in about 6 weeks YAY!!!.

 

then i can get on with it :burnout:

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