Vanagon Conversion Discussion

http://www.vanagon.com/info/tires/

Long story short, went to smog my Vanagon this week (I'm in Kalifornia), and it failed because the Exhaust Gas Recirculation valve wasn't working. The EMU is from a '95 Legacy, and is marked 22611 AB414. The engine started life as an EJ25 bottom end and uses reconditioned EJ22 heads, following the Kennedy Engineered Products guidelines and using most of their parts. It's a manual transmission, so B84, Pin 50 is grounded. I found a thread here that said the EJ22 in '95 came with an EGR valve only in the automatic transmission cars. If that's the case, would grounding that pin, telling the EMU the car has a manual transmission, also explain why the EMU isn't actuating…

Hi! I'm the happy owner and dweller of an 85 Vanagon. I'm wanting to do a conversion, so I've been looking up Subaru engines. It looks like the EJ22, especially the ones that were made in 97 and after are the most reliable and fuel-efficient. However, it seems like those are also hard for me to come across. Does anyone else have any suggestions for types of engines I can look into? I just want something I can rely on that can turn my home into a daily driver, and won't be a complete mechanical nightmare. Thanks in advance!

https://cosprings.craigslist.org/cto/d/colorado-springs-1981-volkswagen/7118178070.html

Hi , hoping to get some help to identify which EJ22 engine we have. My son purchased the vanagon and as we're stumped trying to find out what goes where without knowing which engine we have. There is no VIN number on it, we just have these pics, hoping someone can please help. Thanks in advance

So i wana run a ea not ej any one have an adappter plate laying around? i hear that you just redrill the vw flywheel to ea and ive seen the 400$ aluminum plates but ive seen others that are 25-50$ steel plates thats the one i need

Hi Subaru guys. I have had a 94 Legacy engine in my van for 4 years now with no problems. Recently as I was driving down the rod it just quit like I turned thje key off. It restarted after about 3 tries and I drove home. This started to happen whenever and wherever. I changed the ignition switch as suggested by yahoo van subaru group. My battery was at the end of usefulness so I bought a new battery. The van ran fine for about 3 weeks and same thing. I checked all the VW problem areas but all the +P points are good all the way to the ecu, same year as engine. I notice that when I crank the motor, then let the key rest to the on position nothing happens and w…

Hi, I have an 1985 VW Vanagon with a blown engine. I want to swap the engine with a 2.2L Subaru engine . I cant do the job myself, but if there is mechanics living in the Portland, OR area I would love to work out a deal with you! Any feedback would be great!

I'm looking at a sandrail that uses VW running gear. It's missing a lot of things, including the engine, but the tranny is there. It looked like it might have had a torque converter, but it has some vacuum operated lever thingy by the bellhousing. It also has the shifter stub sticking out of the front of it. WTF is this tranny? Should I ditch it for the regular manual out of a bug? I took some pics of the sandrail, click on the thumbs to get bigger.

I have a '87 vanagon syncro with a '91 Legacy EJ22. Van idle after warming up will keep rising to 2,000 rpm. I cleaned the MAF, I IACV, and intake along with the PCV valve - they were all fine. I understand that a bad temp sender can do this and also vacuum leaks. I did remove the intake and reroute air cleaner but this should not have affected the idle as it started to display this high idle prior to this. This engine was filthy and neglected so I have been detailing engine bay and using a garden sprayer micro bursting water here and there to clean up engine grease and dirt deposits, looks great, but perhaps I dislodged a vac line or other - any thoughts on this issue? T…

I'm putting a 2001 legacy 2.5 sohc into a 1979 Bus. When I picked up the engine the wiring harness was cut and didn't receive any other components. so I got a ignitor and MAF from 1999 2.2 outback and legacy in a salvage yard and a wiring harness from 2001 impreza, and and the main plug on the engine and harness are the same. The harness plugs into the computer, but some of the wire colors dont' match. So can these "frankenstein" parts work together. Also here are pictures of what i have.

Hi everyone I had a Legacy engine fitted in my 1972 VW Bay Campervan 2 years ago by Andy Raw at TSR. A fantastic replacement that has transformed the performance and reliability of my camper - 2 European trips to France, over the Alps then down into Italy. I am awestruck by the power and reliability of the engine. I have fitted a Subaru heater blower in the front, but because the heater matrix is higher than the header/overflow tank, I can't vent the system - so there is no heat in the matrix. I have fitted a return bypass loop as I know that the engine relies on this. There is great heat racing round the pipes and the bypass loop, but no further. If I shut the bypass l…

Hi, I need to pull my intake today in order to access coolant manifold to swap out. I have not pulled a Subaru intake before, anything I need to know in advance before doing so? Thanks!

Today, I lost some coolant when a hose rubbed up against a pulley on my Ej22. I have noticed that most of the ej22 conversions show the coolant tank in the original location on the right side of the engine bay. Mine is located badly on the left side rear portion close to the coolant fill tank. My question is now that I need to repair the damaged hose, what do I need to do to relocate my tank to the original location? Generic hose of the right ID or do I reroute original subaru hose? Any suggestions? I also need a good drain and fill/bleed technique for the subaru conversion. Thanks!

Hi. I put 94 legacy n/a into my Vanagon a couple years ago. My first trip to Washington and then south to San Diego yielded mileage of 18-21 per gallon. I took a trip to Sacramento yesterday and got 12 . The van ran strong and seemed to run as usual. I only noticed the fuel wasn't lasting too long. My wife drives the van mostly around town and is always filling up, I figure because of all the stop and go. My idle only seems a tad slow but it has always been that way. I pulled the plugs and did a comp check, 150-160. The plugs looked a bit lean but not like they get hot. I can run at 70 all the way to Sac but generally keep around 60 - 65. The only oddity I see is…

I have a '87 Westfalia with a fresh Subaru engine conversion. How does one go bout identifying the year of a Subaru 2.2L SOHC EJ engine with the engine number 164005, located on the top of the engine block. Looking toward the front of the Vanagon, the number is almost below the throttle mechanism, on the engine's top left side (in a Vanagon, the front of the engine faces the rear of the Vanagon). Thanks for reading this, BBOTT68

I found this 1986 Syncro Vanagon in the parking lot of a grocery store near me. I was able to talk to the owner, who owns a shop that does nothing but vanagon syncro convertions (The shop is Called Tom's Syncro Shop, Tom Lengyel). Here is what it has; 2.5l subaru engine, lifted (not sure how much), rock sliders, full underbody skid plate, Independent suspension front and rear, original transfer case but with redone gearing of 6.17 and a creeper gear of 37 to 1, Vacuum activated front and rear lockers, front seats only, bed in the back, and on the side an extendable awning. Can Single point lift anywhere on the body.

Helped my friend put an EJ22 in his 86 Westy last spring...entertaining project for sure. The conversion went well overall, taking about a week of us dakking with it for several hourse each day, running into a few minor glitches here and there but no big problems. Of course, the engine we got turned out to be a dud and had a rod bearing failure about 1500 miles later, but he got another motor and it now runs fine (just did a round trip from oregon to so-cal and back). Anyway, my questions concern the transmission. Unfortunately, the rig is equipped with a 3 speed automatic. Seems like a pretty good tranny, but I'm inherently prejudiced against automatics, primar…

I registered and posted a few times here last year but didn't have much to show or related Subaru questions until now. BTW, I noticed I can now add pics so I gave you the quick version. I have 100's of pic's. . Back on track,I dropped a EZ30D w/ a TY75 5 speed into an VW/Porsche 914 which is a mid engined car. I've started the car 10-12 times but never more than a 45 seconds at a time. I haven't made an exhaust system yet so it's loud. I'm at the point where I need the input of some Suby gurus. 1st question; I noticed a 2 pole connector adjacent to the TB which I believe is for the air temp sensor. I did not get the air breather from the donor car, a 2003 LL Bean, so I …

Hello i'm looking for quality oxygen sensor for a 1994 ej22. The original from Subaru is about 115 bucks; and I was hoping to find something a little cheaper. I found these two on Amazon; but I'm open to suggestions and/or buying the original if that is the best course of action. Thank You http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018R8BW8/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=E4G8D74WIAPO&coliid=I1X5NV15C29WLB http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018R8BW8/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=E4G8D74WIAPO&coliid=I1X5NV15C29WLB

I was under the impression that the Aisin water pump was the oem for EJ22, but I have also heard paraut was used by Subaru.I found these two on Amazon, and I was wondering which one I Should buy? There also a big price difference, and I'm not really sure why. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008EEYXIO/ref=s9_simh_gw_p263_d0_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=12FE1J23701QPGW59JWE&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1630083462&pf_rd_i=507846 and http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001G6AZZC/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=E4G8D74WIAPO&coliid=I157CWO36TMWSS

Just getting started. Plan to take my 72 westfalia around the states but not on air cooled. Which subaru engine lends itself best to this kind of conversion?

I took apart my oil pump today to clean it and inspect the tolerances. The haynes manual states the rotors should be mark so they can be placed back the way they were found, which I did but the mark end up rubbing off during the cleaning process. Is it essential to place the rotors back the way they were found or can I improvise? Thank You.

Hello, I have an ej22 from 94 legacy that I plan on putting into a westfalia. I’m in the middle of trying to do a timing belt change, but I ran into a problem. I removed the timing belt and had all the timing marks lined up. However, as I went to remove the camshaft pulley it moved out of alignment when my homemade pulley holder tool failed. I know this a non interference engine so nothing was damage, but is resetting the timing as easy as lining up the timing marks and making sure the tooth count is correct? My second question concerns the removing of the camshaft pulleys. I have read other post which state all is need is decent ½ inch impact gun to remove the…

Hey folks, I have an ej25 out of a 1999 Forester in my 1984 Vanagon. Runs great. Currently the alternator warning indicator lamp will not turn on. It hasn't worked since the conversion. One side of lamp is on ignition power, the other side goes directly to the alternator. If ignition is on and I touch the other wire to ground (the side at the alternator), it lights up. However, if I touch the end to the "L" on the subaru alternator (pin1, closest to the B+) then it does not light. L is not receiving 12 volts at this time but it's also not receiving ground - it's apparently open. Try as I can I can't make the L have a ground, ever. I've tried all combi…