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The Subabeetle project

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Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 ·

#796260
Well my radiator decided for laughs to develope an incontinence issue
Nothing major, I took it back to the rad shop and just from sitting dry for a few years the rubber O-ring that seals the end tank to the core is leaking
but I realised that this one will be in there for the long run so may as well go all out and bought a new one, as it wasn't much in the scale of things and would probably pay off in the long run




I must say I was delighted when I realised my $350 had actually bought me a fair dinks genuine valeo radiator




anyway its all mounted up sweet





Just gotta finish tidying up under the hood


and working a charm to, actually better than the others, only takes the fans abit over a min to drop the temp from 95 back to 90.
the old radiators used to take nearly 2.

But i think that might be to do with how big and open the galleries are in this new one




compared to the old copper core one and the laser rad was the same, very narrow passages

colonel mustard Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,829 posts · joined Feb 2009 ·

#796328
You are indeed a craftsman Joel 🙂

Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 ·

#800772
ian.mezz wrote:Wait until you put that Subaru top end cleaner in it 😂🤪

Just don't tell Mr Garrett on me 😉

1303Steve Scirocco Rare

8,650 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#800790
Hi Joel

Did it make any difference to how the runs?

Steve

Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 ·

#800792
Seat of the pants tells me no

I was rather dissapointed by the lack of a decent smoke show like all the others on youtube more like this




Guess I should be happy, means my engine was already pretty clean inside

its a tiny bit smoother down low, it had a very slight surging before which seems to be gone but other than that no real obvious change

71-BEETLE-SEDAN AKA Josh

1,058 posts · joined Mar 2009 ·

#800794
Do any other cars need a treatment like this,

Ive been driving my brothers charade around and im wanting to make sure im looking after it and ive seen the injector cleaners etc at shops but are they worth it?

Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 ·

#800798
The yanks swear by seafoam

I got taught the water cleaning trick by an oldschool mechanic, he had spray bottle setup rigged up to squirt down the carby throat while he was out the road giving it shit

WOrked well on all these old granny putt putt cars that come in all carboned up farting and spluttering, steam cleans all the crap out

gerrelt Slammed & Awesome Dubber

88 posts · joined May 2005 ·

#800867
😂 @ tailpipe comment!

Jak Rizzo Insano Dub Head

837 posts · joined Apr 2004 ·

#800868
Hi Joel

with regards to the Subaru upper engine cleaner, I have found it works far better if u leave the first half of the can in the engine for at least 20minutes (instead of 10) before restarting the engine & spraying in the 2nd half. The other weeekend before a Supersprint, I forgot about it, went back to working & left it in there for 30minutes.
The amount of white smoke that came out was most that I have ever seen with the cleaner.
The difference in the idle & the way the car drove was so noticable, felt as though it deffinantly had more hp. My engine swears by it LOL
hope this helps.
regards
jak

Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 ·

#800881
Cheers Jak, I'd bet your right, any cleaner thats designed to dissolve build ups works better if it has a chance to sit

It says 5 mins on the can I'm sure but whats stupid is talking with a subaru mechanic subaru now recomends not even feeding it into a stopped engine

Just feed the whole can in while it's running, mainly cos they're worried about people hydrolocking engines
which is crap the stuff is foam not fluid

STIDUB Over it.

1,497 posts · joined Jun 2008 ·

#800885
ashing over your engine joel? smoke while filling the mowers/tractors with fuel too 🙄
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

trickysimon 100km/h is only 9 seconds away

1,473 posts · joined Dec 2007 ·

#800887
My mate is a mechainic at a VW/Subaru dealer. I'm gunna grab some off him next time i see him.😏

Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 ·

#800893
STIDUB wrote:ashing over your engine joel? smoke while filling the mowers/tractors with fuel too 🙄
pffft coca-cola is more flamable than diesel is

matberry Moderator Go hard or go home

8,114 posts · joined Mar 2006 ·

#800899
Joel wrote:
STIDUB wrote:ashing over your engine joel? smoke while filling the mowers/tractors with fuel too 🙄
pffft coca-cola is more flamable than diesel is
😂😂😂

Reminds me of the boy's in the workshop putting out thier cigarettes in a container of petrol.....won't light with a cigarette no matter how hard you try........🥲
Matt Berry Motorsports...air cooled advice, repairs and mods Ph 0408 704 662
OFF-ROAD,CIRCUIT,DRAG,STREET,ENDURANCE

Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 ·

#800900
Yes noone seems to realise its the vapour thats flammable not the liquid

Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 ·

#801343
Now that I've driven it abit more since it's detox I've noticed that it is actually behaving abit better
Cold start fast idle now has a much smoother transition to normal idle but the hot idle is where the biggest improvement is noticed.
Before when it was hot if it sat idling for more than a few mins the idle speed started to hunt abit.
It always bumps the idle up a touch when the fans cut in but I knew from day dot that it needed an IACV cleanse but looks like I may have gotten out of that one.

I still havent completely finished tidying up the new radiator install yet but I haven't really put up a much info about for those that may have been interested as I pretty well had to start from scratch again with all the mounting and hoses.


First thing was to make up a new rad cradle which is what this crazy looking creation is




The big holes at the back are for the rubber feet in the foreground that the rad pegs sit in
and the 2 small holes in the tabs off the front are for my A/C condenser.
the deflector is actually the old one from the mazda radiator just chopped down abit

The whole thing bolts to the frame head using the old deformation plate holes same as the first setup





The top rad support is just a piece of angle iron that bolts to the body at the sides and picks up the mounting lug on the center top of the radiator
You can also see the tabs I welded on to mount my A/C condenser and the new outlet hose I had to buy
going for the nice common one its the lower water pump hose from those SOHC Opel motors so all N13 pulsar, vector, astra and camiras




On the otherside just a 90 degree bend and my air bleed hose capped off and tied out of harms way




The new lid has rubber edgeing around the sides to stop any heat from the radiator and condensor from entering the trunk




Its hinged for easy access but the only time I actually need to get in there is when filling from empty using the air bleed hose so it wont be open real often
The lid lays down flat where the original spare tyre cover used to sit so trunk space is now no different to stock super without the spare in place





And then there's just the thermo fan mounted on the front of the condensor
It only runs on A/C request





Ive put over 500kms on it since this setups gone in, and it behaves exactly as it did with the old setup
No more than 7 mins to hit 80c just sits there consistantly, takes sitting stopped about 5 mins before the fan cuts in at 95 and they only run for about a minute and a half.
Even with the condensor and its fan in front theres no change.


This big boss approves
But thinks i should finish cleaning 36 years worth of mould off the inside of the hood

STIDUB Over it.

1,497 posts · joined Jun 2008 ·

#801384
looking good joel 👍

im curious abot that last pic - factory cat or aftermarket high flow type? 😂

i see these pics are prior to the lOl light install too
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

boof2332 Custom Title Time!

1,210 posts · joined May 2004 ·

#802241
Nice Joel,

That little alfa radiator was the one i had in my conversion when I first did it. Paul then used the slightly later model one (bit bigger) in his...Only thing I hated was the outlets were on the wrong side... you want high on passenger side and low on the driver side. Pissed me off, crossing them over.

Another option i just put in the superbug we are doin is the last of the celica or mr2 radiators....

Love the time you are taking.... superbugs are great for conversions!

Matt

Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 ·

#802309
Cheers Matt, Those Alfa rads seem to be perfectly sized both physical fit and capacity.

I wish I could have found one in the beginning, it would have saved alot of time and work, kinda frustrating knowing there was 3 sitting in a shed only 10kms away all along but oh well shit happens.

The MR2 rads look to be a perfect fit too, a guy in the states I chat with has just fitted one to his 72 bug, its a beam front end though.


Being cross flow it really doesnt matter which side is in or out, like you said theyre opposite to the engine but I just connected mine in reverse, makes no difference

Just did my first big trip on sunday to action day since the rad swap and the temps were perfect.

fans ran once while I was being shoe-horned into a park at the show but even in the stop go city traffic (I seem to cop every red light) it kept it's cool so to speak

Even with the A/C condenser and fan in the way it sat on 80c the whole trip

436km round trip and used 33.4L which worked out to 7.6L/100km

not too bad considering my average speed probably woulda been 105-110
gotta love that duel carriage motorway all the way from Byron to Bris

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Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 ·

#804174
CRAPPY SHITTY F@#$NG CHEAP MUFFLERS 😂

Stainless steel my arse, I've seen newspaper thicker than China's stainless steel.





It's been progressively getting louder and louder over the last 6 months
Dad had his first spin for quite some time in it a few weeks ago and was rather amused when i set off a car alarm driving by a Subaru of all cars 😂

I was quick to blame the fiberglass insulation in it disintergrating for the rising noise levels and when a rattle started at idle I was also accusing the internal baffle mounts of letting go
It wasnt till I put my foot on the tail pipe this arvo causing the rattle to stop that I realised it was probably something else

I'm really surprised by how much quieter it is now but then again thats to be expected, a few to many bottom outs has taken it's toll.

This muffler was only ever temporary, it was just one I had laying around till I decided what I was gonna do with it

Atleast now it will get me to Warwick without sounding like a bunch of coins in the washing machine

Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 ·

#806080
Nope not a westi job
more like a festy job


ECU gaurdian kitteh sez......

third time lucky



For those that didn't read my other thread I had to replace my first ECU as the A/C controls weren't working.

Fair enough its a 18 year old ECU so over to the Subi boys and grab another.
Now my A/C controls work but my check engine light not going out was a tad frustrating

It was throwing code 35 permanantly and even trying a different purge solenoid and swapping the wiring didnt fix it

a 3rd computer seems to be doing everything just rosie so I'll keep my fingers crossed

rocknrob Insano Dub Head

844 posts · joined Dec 2003 ·

#806127
yeah subaru parts grow nearly as bad as VW parts😏 i've got three engines three ECUs and looms alternators etc...i'll have to do another conversion to use it all up👍

1303Steve Scirocco Rare

8,650 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#806174
Hi Joel

I didn't know you could get cat scans on ECUs.

Steve

ElusiveStranger Officially Full-On Dubber

330 posts · joined May 2006 ·

#806484
1303Steve wrote:Hi Joel

I didn't know you could get cat scans on ECUs.

Steve
Groan

ryana89 Officially Full-On Dubber

315 posts · joined Sep 2009 ·

#806596
Liked the little video explanation of the error code reading.
Would be nice if my Golf did the same thing for error codes, would make diagnosing car problems much easier.
But alas, Digifant 2 isn't 'smart' enough to store error codes🙄
2.0slow 92 MK2

Made in Germany, Assembled in Africa, 'Migrated' to Australia

Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 ·

#806598
Jeebus, you're quick off the mark, I'll have to organise you a prize for being first viewer 😉

What Ryan is talking about is while I was dicking around swapping the ECU around I figured a demo video of how to check the error codes may help people

I'll make its own thread so people searching can find it easier but untill then heres the link



If you need a good laff to lighten up your day chuck up the closed captions and watch it with no sound,
As per usual they disagree with me in a rather comical manner with various innuendos and randomness

ryana89 Officially Full-On Dubber

315 posts · joined Sep 2009 ·

#806626
I was the first viewer🤓
Must be my lucky day, I can now read a 90's Subaru fault codes aswell.
2.0slow 92 MK2

Made in Germany, Assembled in Africa, 'Migrated' to Australia