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The Subabeetle project

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Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 ·

#748889
ah shit happens
its a shame cos i cant find anything else wrong it, pistons look abit oilly but it wasnt burning any

it could be fixed with welding and lots of cleaning but in the end its so much easier and cheaper to just grab another long block

gonna look into a few possibilitys cos i can get one half the age and bigger if i went twincam EJ25 just gotta find out whats compatible with what

Bizarre Moderator The artist formerly known as blue74l

12,789 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#748891
Hope you have a stack of the sh!t the cat has - man you gunna need something to mellow out on

So the blower goes back in??
Futue te ipsum!!!

Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 ·

#748894
quite possibly but i wanna get my 1776 back in and setup so i can put it on the market.
id like to have it running in car so potential buyers can see how it drives though so theres one good to come out of all this

funny as it may seem though yea its a shame but im not terribly upset, this situation is yet another reason why i went the conversion

another engine can just be slotted in and away u go, no frigging around with tuning setting up carbs etc just plug and play

its just getting hold of one

i havent done much in the way of tracking one down yet but the subi boys are looking after me and are gonna try and chase one up,
he tells me he can get late 90s/early 00s EJ20s for alot cheaper than EJ22 with the added benefit of being a much newer engine and the power difference between the two is fairly minimal

trickysimon 100km/h is only 9 seconds away

1,473 posts · joined Dec 2007 ·

#748895
Ah well man...back on that horse. It will be sorted out soon enough.

rocknrob Insano Dub Head

844 posts · joined Dec 2003 ·

#748898
Too bad Joel but cheer up...my 98 forester engine cost $400...supposedly only got 86k on the clock...havn't got

it going yet so may be no better than yours😂 still its cheaper than a service on a new car👍

Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 ·

#748900
yea that eases the pain the fact that they're so cheap
hell 3weeks ago i sold a plain old 1600 twinport running well but usual oil leaks for $600 and the buyer was more than happy with it at that price
vw motors arent cheap anymore

my mate reckons he can get me a good lib or imp from the damaged auctions for no more than $300 with a good engine but ill see what the subi boys find first

STIDUB Over it.

1,497 posts · joined Jun 2008 ·

#748903
SOHC ej25 would suit you nicely yes? no turbo, no massive heads... came out of the foresters & such
Volkswagen Drivers Club of Queensland - member 🙂

STIDUB - yep its still a work in progress

Vwdcq club car racing/ and crashing while my bug isn't finished.

The above are personal views, no more, no less

colonel mustard Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,829 posts · joined Feb 2009 ·

#748905
Put the 1776 in and pick me up on Sunday 🙂

1303Steve Scirocco Rare

8,650 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#748907
Hi Joel

Bad luck. Some EJ25 models have a known head gasket problem, I'm sure the Subi guys could tell you more about which models are affected.

Steve

Baja Wes V6 Baja Pioneer

3,119 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#748910
HTFU!

🙂

It's just a suby motor, plenty more where that one came from. You should just put some new head gaskets on the suby and keep driving it. Just keep some spare water in the car 😀

That sort of weird damage is why I like the idea of buying a front cut rather than a motor, as you can see the coolant still in it to get a better idea of how bad it might be inside.
Wes - www.offroadvw.net - 200HP Quad Cam V6 in a VW Baja - with climate control... 🙂
www.taylorcycles.com.au - My DH MTB racing brothers shop.

BulletBug Learner Dubber

11 posts · joined Jul 2009 ·

#748911
gosh... thats some nasty stuff there... its kinda eating ur engine... dont be upset joel... with a talent like u, i know this thread wont be RIP...🙂

just have faith and im sure those subi boys will help u find a motor, hope fully a wrx sti(TURBO)... 😁

Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 ·

#748914
im pretty sure the SOHC EJ25 are wider than 20s and 22s so they still need the bug to be baja'd to fit in which case id just go ahead and fit the WRX lump sitting at my mates place

there was no way of picking this problem without pulling the engine down
Wes, I know better than to buy straight engines aswell, this was actually a complete driving car i bought and i had a decent drive of it before, it ran perfectly and had nice clean coolant in it and continued to run well in the bug and wasnt getting hot at all. coolant may have been changed but i severly doubt it, he was in no effort to tidy up the car or engine as it was only going to scrap if it didnt sell
even my old boss whos a mechanic of 43 years was impressed with how it ran

this problem only showed up when i ran the coolant low and the headgasket let go otherwise who knows how long it might have gone for
and even then it was still running fine just started getting hot on me around town. came as a surprise

scott the subi bloke said he sees it all time in older EJ motors and what happened is usually the way it goes, they keep running till the headgaskets give out

itll be back up and running under subi steam soon enough

ian.mezz I never said, I could write or spell

3,913 posts · joined Sep 2004 ·

#748916
Bad luck.
I told you to go ej20T🤪🙅🤪
YOU bETA CALL your mate down the coast.
We can get Trade price for you on parts.😵
😂🤪😂🤪😂
car forums. where a lot of peoples good intentions end up taking a good old car off the road forever never ever to see the road again. 🥲

71-BEETLE-SEDAN AKA Josh

1,058 posts · joined Mar 2009 ·

#748937
Bad luck. I know how annoyed i would be right now.

But onto the positives this 1776 woUld it come with carbs and exhaust etc. And roughly how much are we talkin.

Bad luck with That block at least there is heaps of subis out there people will continue to write off.

ElusiveStranger Officially Full-On Dubber

330 posts · joined May 2006 ·

#748994
Oh dude, that's 5hit.

Still, at least they're cheap(ish). I'm sure you'll find a good un soon.
Fingers crossed for ya mate

Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 ·

#748997
thanks all for the encouragement and kind words.

you can imagine my frustration, I just got a taste test good enough to enjoy it and this happens

but Ive got a few leads to chase up and thanks to alkoran its confirmed something bouncing round in my head
i knew all the EJ18 thro to EJ22 have the same stroke so are the same width but i wasnt sure how much wider an EJ25 ended up

if they fit without innergaurd cutting then all the better
however not sure if an EJ22 ECU is upto fueling an EJ25 but maybe its an excuse to follow through with aftermarket management

but in the meantime if i have to put up with lawnmower motivation (damn VWKD rubbing off on me 😂) then it could be worse

pete wood 23 Windows of Awesome

6,828 posts · joined Jan 2004 ·

#749628
I was told by a Subaru factory tech that the early EJ25 and the EJ22 will run off the same ECU, just take the sensors off the EJ22 and put them on the EJ25 and off you go. 😁

BTW, I've had no dramas with mine, but I could understand how regular servicing would do what you have found in your water galleries.
"stoopid is stronger than axles"
http://drivingnotpolishing.blogspot.com.au/

rocknrob Insano Dub Head

844 posts · joined Dec 2003 ·

#749654
hey joel in a way we are in the same boat...installing new engines we want to last and one factor is getting the operating temp to factory specs. I see your question on a crappy unmentionable site(wouldn't allow me to register!) regarding flow thru the thermostat. I have done the drilling the 8mm hole but all it does is allow the pump to suck more cool water in. I have a genuine sooby thermostat and it had to sit in boiling water for 5 minutes before it would open 10mm


[/img]

cool water from your radiator just isn't going to do it

i'm going to place my thermostat on the outlet end of the water manifold which gets the hottest water...the normal little trickle hole should be enough to let hot water get to the spring which will be facing the engine of course. a simple housing can be made using the EJ22 spigot and a turbo spigot which are opposite hand


[/img]

all thats needed is this spacer


[/img]

still waiting on this from a mates mate😬

should fit in easy as its pretty much inline

hopefully this will allow the system to work as it was intended and maintain optimum temps👍

Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 ·

#749660
Rob, PM elusive stranger on here, hes one of the mods on vwkd he'll help sort out your registration probs

thats a brilliant idea with the 2 thermostat housings

ive been looking around a few cars out there use inline remote thermostats like some BMW and landrovers



might look into it if i have dramas

cheers for the info Pete, i knew 20s will run fine with a 22 manifold and injector but wasnt sure bout a 25

Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 ·

#750486
It seems nothing stays a secret long around here....

for some bizarre reason i got this strange sense of dejavu......





gotta love them, as you can see in the vid, just turn the key it fired up instantly, no smoke or clackly lifters

the way vw engines seem to breed in the shed it wasnt gonna be long before the subis started multiplying aswell

looking abit more presentable now than in a past life




it took a bit of fiddling to fit
being a later model and a JDM Legacy import everything on top was different, had to swap my manifold, harness, alternator, AC compressor, sensors etc
but cooling system pressure tested, compression tested and a 3 month warranty for $550 im not complaining
and you can make that $450 cos i got $50 each for the compressor and powersteering pump, yet to sell the alternator

allegedly under 100k on the clock, im sceptical but i started pulling it down to swap stuff over and it would appear to be likely

inside of the sump is clean as a whistle with no sludge or grit on the bottom,
i doubt its been off cos it was still firmly attached with that original orange silastic in the same manner the other 2 were




all inside the block is nice and clean




all the breather connections are all clear with no real carboning




and most importantly the insides of the cooling system is like new






i have just run it till the fan cycled and all is good
it threw a knock sensor code at first for some reason but it hasnt done it since

i replaced the aftermarket thermostat it had in it with a genuine subi one




its amazing the difference it makes
only took about 5 mins for the temp gauge to hit 90c and just sat there for next 10 or so mins till the fan cut in

1303Steve Scirocco Rare

8,650 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#750487
Hi Joel

Looking good. Is this a EJ20 or 22?

Steve

gerrelt Slammed & Awesome Dubber

88 posts · joined May 2005 ·

#750506
Very nice, Joel!
🙂

Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 ·

#750515
oops 😊
its another 22

seemed destined to be a 20, they were having trouble finding 22s, but could get 20s no worries and cheaper too, but they found this on and i prefered to stay 22 so it was a done deal

still got a few things to do with it
got a new timing belt to chuck on it
theres also a new water pump for the old motor but when i swapped the thermostat the current water pump is either new or in perfect cond so itll stay

ricola Wolfsburg Wizard

437 posts · joined Feb 2003 ·

#750525
Nice one Joel, glad you didn't have to make do with air so soon after the conversion!
Rich
http://www.ricola.co.uk

Baja Wes V6 Baja Pioneer

3,119 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#750531
yeah Joel, good to see you staying on the path to darkness 🙂
Wes - www.offroadvw.net - 200HP Quad Cam V6 in a VW Baja - with climate control... 🙂
www.taylorcycles.com.au - My DH MTB racing brothers shop.

colonel mustard Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,829 posts · joined Feb 2009 ·

#750553
Nice one joel! Now the subaru parts collection starts....

71-BEETLE-SEDAN AKA Josh

1,058 posts · joined Mar 2009 ·

#750559
Wow, didnt take long.

Whatcha gunna do with the 1776.

I like that exhaust too, is the pasengerside tailpipe actually doing anything?