Hi, just got an ej22 from the boneyard. It is a complete engine and I am going to put it in my Vanagon.

I see where they steamed it off nicely but when I took all the external tubing, hoses, etc off I see buildup of past leaks.

Got the heads off and the cylinders have no ridge and there is no sign of oil passing the rings. My thought is to have the valves done and change all the now exposed o rings. I dont really know how many miles are on the motor but it rolls over and feels tight. I think the biggest job is getting it in the car, hooked up, and running. If I got even 20k miles out of it then that would be a few years for me.

Any thoughts on this subject?

Thanks

Easiest way to tell if you need to split will be to drop the oil pan and splash plate, see if there's any silver milkshake in there from bearings spinning. If not, probably don't need to split them. EJ25D engines are the only ones "notorious" for eating bearings.

ahh, thanks for that. The pan is all I have left to remove. Can you see the bearings from the pan area? as in unbolt a cap?

No you can't. Check the pan for metal and sludge. Check for varnish under the valve covers. If its clean then run it. If its not then THROW THE WHOLE BLOCK AWAY. It is not economically viable to rebuild an EJ22. I can get ~50k import engines from Japan for under $1200 shipped to my door. Cost to rebuild one is that much in parts and quality machine work and the results are typically questionable if you haven't got a lot of experience and/or a qualified machine shop that has done many of them.

 

GD

you should never have to open up an ej block unless it is a known failed block with broken rods or holes in the pistons, etc, obvious rod knocks, milkshake from a failed head gasket.

 

any used block is good with up to 300,000 miles

 

tip of advice: do not replace the rear main seal if it is not failed. it will more likely outlast a replacement seal that is tricky to install properly.