Hi! new member and soon to own a EJ22 powered Vanagon Syncro! I previously owned a SVX powered westy prepared by SmallCar. I have been trying to figure out the year my engine was produced - it says "3342" next to EJ22. Are these digits relevent to dating?

Nope. The 3342 has something to do with bearing size IIRC. The best way to tell the year is to look the the lower left corner of the bellhousing for a VIN engraved in the block.

There's a small pad about 1"x2" and the VIN runs vertically. It can be hard to see and read since its usually covered in dirt/grime.

10th digit of the vin is the model year.

 

If no VIN, we can come up with a guesstimated ballpark year based on some of the physical features.

An easy thing to check is the exhaust ports. If it has 2 per head (dual port) its in the 90-95 range. One port per head (single port) makes it a 96-98 engine.

 

The OBD1 engines are common swaps into other vehicles because of the simplicity of the computer and wiring. That would put it in the 90-94 range.

But the engine wiring harness is mainly attached to the intake manifold, and the manifolds can be easily swapped between 90-98 engines.

(Same with the cylinder heads and pretty much everything else that can be bolted onto the block. So there's no guarantee that the block came from a certain year based on the heads or any other parts that are bolted to it.)

Great info! Thank you!

Generally the 90-96 has a slight edge by being a non interference motor. Keep up with timing belt changes and it's a moot point. Any 90-98 Ej22 is fairly bullet proof.

96

 

Roller follower cams with a good torque profile. Still non-interference.