Just got myself my first kombi, been sitting at a mechanics in Bowen for the last six months and finallly got around to asking about it. Now it's mine for $1100!
This is how I found it.
And this is why I got it so cheap, one dead motor.
waveman1500 ·
Wow, that's a pretty good deal mate. Especially since it's apparently already had a Subaru conversion. Just buy another Subie motor nice and cheap, slot it in and you're away! Congratulations.
mackaymanx ·
Already had an EJ22 on the shelf so that bit will be easy. Fixing the stuff ups will be interesting. Good thing is it has power steering, sliding side windows and vented rear side windows fitted (bonus).
Centre row of seats was missing but I picked these up on the way back from Townsville today, bit grubby but the fabric is right, just no head rests.
mackaymanx ·
Just got it started(cough cough). Don't know what killed it more, the fact that they cooked it or the gut full of dust it picked up through the rocker cover hose being off. It's a pity as the motor is one of the JDM quad cam EJ20's with the dual runner intake manifold, I've read that these were a desirable motor.
This was supposed have been a professional install from WA.
Ben386 ·
I would be very surprised if that ever got full throttle,as the Subaru pulls from the front not the back like VW.You can get a full accelerator cable from this mob. http://www.smallcar.com/
They are OK to deal with.
ahoogah ·
Good pick up mate,what did the mechanic say about it,
most mechanics I speak to don't want to know about hybrids.
May just need some extensive maintenance/elbow grease.
mackaymanx ·
It did get full throttle but it was a far from even action. Motor has been cooked, the blowby from the LH head is huge. Combined with the dust it has sucked in it is easier to replace it, I'll put it aside to look at it later.
MickH ·
so should i race you now or when you get an engine in it????😂 Might steal those rear vents when you're not looking for the Syncro....😁 Good score👍
h ·
nice one 👍
mackaymanx ·
Well I got the motor out yesterday and discovered a few things. Looks like the motor is actually a EJ20 turbo without the turbo. When I picked it up they said that the previous owner had trouble with the conversion when he first got it, looks like they had to replace the motor and just swapped the manifold onto the turbo motor to keep the wiring/ECU the same. Dodgy!
They definetly got it hot! they melted the knock sensor.
Clutch looks to have had a good workout to. With the rocker cover hose off it didn't idle, so you had to rev it to keep it running.
ahoogah ·
Dodgy?,I'd have thought that a turbo engine wouldn't run without the turbo.
Waiting............
Yogie ·
What a fantastic buy. Congratulations and well done.
Yogie
ahoogah ·
quote;
(This was supposed have been a professional install from WA.)
Do you reckon it's the original install?
mackaymanx ·
ahoogah wrote:Dodgy?,I'd have thought that a turbo engine wouldn't run without the turbo.
Waiting............
Well if you put the manifold,wiring,ecu from a non turbo engine on like they have done here it will run. It will have low compression and lower power but the ecu dosen't see the missing turbo as it's not expecting it.
mackaymanx ·
ahoogah wrote:quote;
(This was supposed have been a professional install from WA.)
Do you reckon it's the original install?
Yeah, I got a bit of history of the mechanic in Bowen. Backpacker bought it in WA and got it converted, had trouble and took it back, got it fixed. The name of the original installers is written on the ECU(I checked, they are in Mount Lawley WA)
seagull ·
hang on , I am back logging on issues
The motor with the intake is from this under and its not a turbo motor ( well they are quad cam n/a )
I have seen that bus before, never worked on it
closed deck case
seagull ·
Ok , the turbo motor would run fine with that set up just the compression ratio would be out if they did not swap the pistons over. The Aska motor was a high compression motor
The bottom N/A bottom end is the same as the turbo. I have turboed the Aska motor just by changing out the pistons with turbo units & placing RS/ WRX heads on
I think you have one of the best deals that has ever poped up here todate. Nice find
mackaymanx ·
Upgrading to a SmallCar bellhousing.
Scottkombi ·
That bellhousing looks very professional. Dont they need a different slave cylinder set up that the VW one?
How much was this lovely piece of machinery?
mackaymanx ·
You have to add freight but here are the prices. They use a late model VW throwout bearing/slave cylinder.
Having some clearance problems with the fuel pipe on the coolant manifold reversal, gave it a little tweak but it started to kink down. So moved the inlet down to the fuel rail.
Ben386 ·
Scottkombi wrote:That bellhousing looks very professional. Dont they need a different slave cylinder set up that the VW one?
How much was this lovely piece of machinery?
The smallcar bellhousing uses a late Golf slave cylinder which is internal I believe.
mackaymanx ·
mackaymanx ·
Well I went up to the salvage auction at Pickles in Townsville this week and picked up this. EJ252 in a 2005 Liberty with about 150,000 kms, ex lease serviced by the dealer. $490.20 including the fees.
Minor damage to the front of the motor being the alternator/aircon belt cover and passanger side timing belt cover ($10 to replace from the local wreckers).
Downside was no key, but managed to contact the previous owner and he still has one👍 sure beats what Subaru wanted $386 for the key + cutting + $55 workshop fee to flash the ECU.
I'll stick with installing the EJ22 for now until I get the drive by wire throttle and other things sorted on the EJ252
Ben386 ·
Do youself a real favour.
Replace the head gaskets now,before the engine goes into your bus.You will be doing the timing belt,water pump and idlers now anyway right?Not much more work,if there not leaking oil now,they will.Trust me.
mackaymanx ·
This car has a full service history from the dealer and I have spoken to the previous owner. So no I will not be doing the head gaskets until they give me trouble. Timing belt was done 35K ago, so unless I find damage or bad idler/waterpump when I change the broken timing cover it will be staying put to.
Yes some people would do the heads and belt but this not a JDM or wrecker engine with no service history.
Smallcar sump turned up today.
MickH ·
mackaymanx wrote:Well I went up to the salvage auction at Pickles in Townsville this week and picked up this. EJ252 in a 2005 Liberty with about 150,000 kms, ex lease serviced by the dealer. $490.20 including the fees.
Minor damage to the front of the motor being the alternator/aircon belt cover and passanger side timing belt cover ($10 to replace from the local wreckers).
Downside was no key, but managed to contact the previous owner and he still has one👍 sure beats what Subaru wanted $386 for the key + cutting + $55 workshop fee to flash the ECU.
I'll stick with installing the EJ22 for now until I get the drive by wire throttle and other things sorted on the EJ252
Bloody "out of towners" cummin up here and gettin' all our good stuff.....😂 just remember you would have gotten 2 for an extra $100,but some twat was on the phone😬
Ben386 ·
Brent,I did the same conversion last year,with all the good gear you have.
I had an engine with full service history and low kms.
I didnt do the heads.I am wishing I did now.Right hand side(in kombi) is now leaking,30k after install.
I am spewing I did not know about the head gasket problems these engines have,whilst the engine was sitting on a stand.
Next time you see one, Subaru parked in a carpark,stick your head under and have a look(passenger side in Subaru).3 out of 5 leak.
Its common,give a Subaru mechanic a call and ask them about leaking head gaskets,they will have 1or2 in their shop.
Its up to you.
Scottkombi ·
Ben,
My mechanic told me to do the same thing. Do the head gaskets as well as the timing belts!!!!.
I think you ned to remove the engine to do this head gasket swap too - even in a T3 will all the extra room lots of things get in the way.
Stop playing with those big Audi brakes and get into it.
Cheers,
Skot
live2surf ·
Awesome Brent, your bus is really coming together! Well done.
mackaymanx ·
Trial fitted the SmallCar sump oil pickup and was not very impressed with the fit. With one side of the flange on the block there is quite a gap on the other side. This is a critical part that must seal properly to prevent air sucking into the system. I'll trim it down to get it to seal but it pisses me off that I have to.
MickH ·
now thats not very impressive..........👎
mackaymanx ·
2nd sump should turn up tomorrow so I will compare the oil pickup for that with this one.
Ben386 ·
Yeah Skot,in the T3 after you remove the tin ware you could do it in the vehicle.
You dont want to do this after you have just finished your conversion.
I have manged to stop the leaking head.
I will let you know how when I see you next.
With yours, do the heads mate,then no worries.
She stops well now!😂
Ben386 ·
Brent,check the clearance between the sump and pick-up too.There is reports about the early SC sumps not having suffient clearnce causing starvation.
BenC
mackaymanx ·
Well my 2nd sump turned up today and the oil pickup fits, I had to take a file to it first but it fits. KEP automatic adapter I ordered came with the sump, these are very well machined 👍 . Made up some tools to torque the pulleys properly with, crank one worked well but the timing pulley one needs tweaking.
MickH ·
Hey man......u know yer engine is upside down.....🤘
Scottkombi ·
Just a matter of interest - why did you go for the adapter ratehr than the bellhousing replacement? Aparently the VW flywheel is heaps lighter and hence using it means you engine torque will suffer.
Ben386 ·
I think the vv is 9lbs,subaru 11lbs
mackaymanx ·
Scottkombi wrote:Just a matter of interest - why did you go for the adapter ratehr than the bellhousing replacement? Aparently the VW flywheel is heaps lighter and hence using it means you engine torque will suffer.
I'll clear this up, the adapter plate (auto) is for for my notch. The caravelle will be getting the bellhousing. I just got everything in one order
mackaymanx ·
SmallCar sent me a replacement oil pickup tube, it's better than the last one but the alignment is still not good, service was good thought.
Picked up my coolant manifolds today, I've gone two different ways to do a comparison. Here is the the first one with the manifold reversed, bosses welded on for sensors, outlet sectioned and welded.
mackaymanx ·
one more
mackaymanx ·
Here is the second option. The manifold is not reversed, outlet is removed and pluged, outlet is then rewelded onto the other end.
mackaymanx ·
one more
mackaymanx ·
Some side by side shots.
mackaymanx ·
Manifold installed with the coolant bleed off hooked up. Earlier T3 coolant temperature sensor installed in place of the subaru one, this will let the temp gauge work properly in the dash, tapped this out to the correct M10x1.0 thread.
Edit - if yor wondering where I got the barbed elbows that are silver soldered into the coolant pipe you can salvage these from a subaru fuel filter.
mackaymanx ·
This is the spacer you have to install under the dipstick when use the smallcar sump. Have to admit I got caught with this and it was a pain getting the dipstick tube in and aligned properly. Tube needs to be tweaked a little and would have been easier to do when I had the timing covers and pulley off doing the cam seal. Spacer ended up being about 15.5 mm high.
mackaymanx ·
Bit of minor clearancing between the sump and water pump. This is needed for turbo pumps (which I am using) and the later subaru pumps. Engine mount also needs some work.
mackaymanx ·
Shaved a bit off the mount bolt head, gets a bit tight around the pump.
Filed back this casting flash on the bellhousing as the header were touching. Will end up with a bit more space as the headers were trail fitted without gaskets.
mackaymanx ·
Machined up some blanking plates for the coolant manifold. Then frankensteined this together, filled the manifold with water and pressure tested it to 30 psi (about twice working pressure). No leaks on this one.
Ben386 ·
Good work.Those headers dont stay shiny like that for long,unfortuantly.
Just a thought,have you seen the Tom Sheils thermostat housing.This may give you more clearance.
Have you made a coolant by-pass yet,dont be tempted to make one from plastic tees.
BenC
mackaymanx ·
Yes I have seen the Tom Sheils thermostat housing, coolant bypass is built into the manifold.
Ben386 ·
Are you going to run your heater?VW and Subaru coolant flows in opposite direction.
MickH ·
Ben386 wrote:Are you going to run your heater?VW and Subaru coolant flows in opposite direction.
But they both flow towards the front of the car😂😂
Ben386 ·
You know what I mean Mick🙅
Adsman ·
looking good Brent 👍
mackaymanx ·
Small update.
Machined up a wedge for between the throttle body and the intake manifold. This should give me a better angle and more space in the engine bay. Scavenged and modified this from the original subaru motor intake manifold.
Also replaced the plastic fuel fitting in the engine bay.
mackaymanx ·
Ok, finally some real progress!
Lost quite a bit of time getting over a bad back 😠 but mobile again now👍
Ben386 ·
Looking good mate.
Glad I did mine on a hoist.
Clean up and paint the tin ware,makes it all look mickey mouse.😎
mackaymanx ·
Getting the aircleaner sorted, got it all rubber mounted. Using a VS Commodore housing which has the same A360 element that the Subaru uses. This is just the mockup so I will be getting a better housing from the wreckers and filling in the holes. Wedge seems to be working well but still need to trim the bulkhead a little and clean up the cut from the original install(lots of sharp edges).
Wedge changes the length of the accelerator cable and also the cruise control cable.
MickH ·
Lookin good.....😎
mackaymanx ·
The old power steering pump had been run to destruction and had left steel and aluminum filings all throught the system. Flushed out as much as I could then installed a Z9 on the return line to pick up the filings before they got to the new pump.
Going to fit a Magnefine magnetic filter later.
mackaymanx ·
Moved the cable brackets back and up a little, now the cruise control actuator hooks up properly. Welds are a bit ugly but it won't fall off.
Fitted up the exhaust and decided that I not a fan of the original donut hemispherical gasket thingys. You can also see the reinforcing plate for the engine carrier bar which ties in with the bolts for the bumper/towbar.
Extended the stud on the subaru starter, with the starter, stereo power and alternator cable terminating there it was just too short.
mackaymanx ·
Better view of the extended stud.
mackaymanx ·
Pulled new heater lines through (8m of it), quite a dirty job. Plastic welded the air cleaner housing and fitted the AFM. Used the bellmouth from the VS housing.
mackaymanx ·
Stripped the wiring loom back over the weekend, was not too bad of a job. Didn't start the first time but then it does help if you remember to plug the ECU back in.🙄
But it RUNS now. 😎
Still have to rewrap it and move a few thing but the loom it is close to done.
Dash temp gauge and oil pressure light are working and the ECU is controling the radiator fan.
mackaymanx ·
ECU is mounted up properly, the wiring is a lot more organised than it looks, the engine bay side is finished . Had to work out what I thought was a cold start issue but turned out to be an automatic inhibitor problem preventing startup until the starter was off.
mackaymanx ·
Been working on the accellerator cable and found if I set the idle up properly there was no full throttle, if I set up full throttle there was no idle. Also the smallcar throttle cable has no way of adjustment apart from at the pedal under the van (if you have done this you will know this is a pain to get to). So I removed the VW fitting from the smallcar cable and replaced it with the subaru adjuster. This meant I had to change the cable bracket back to original style. To get full throttle movement I extended the arm at the pedal to get more travel.
Scottkombi ·
Awesome work. Its amazing all the fiddly bits that need doing in these conversions.
looks like you are almost there.
Cheers,
Scott
mackaymanx ·
Thanks, some of the small stuff can be quite time consuming.
h ·
nice score n great work 👍
mackaymanx ·
The front end is all in bits and pieces to do the ball joints and other things. Did some reading up on press the lower ball joints in and worked out it was one "those" jobs without VW tool X,Y and Z.
So it was tool making time again. It all looks a bit bulky but I don't have access to a good choice of steel so I used what I had.
mackaymanx ·
More
mackaymanx ·
I've changed to a Telstra Syncro bumper/towbar, the old bumper was good but the towbar fouled on the new engine mount reinforcing plates. Converted it to a hitch receiver before if fitted it up.
mackaymanx ·
And just to annoy the purists I installed a set of these.
Yeah,I am after some,have damaged mine.
Can buy 3 out of 4 brand new(dont make nsf).
Trying to find some locally.
mackaymanx ·
Been trying to sort out the shifter, the shifter guides were quite worn, rubber bellows and end cap gone. The plastic guides are still there and good enough for later replacement. Put the shifter guides in the lathe and took 10mm off the top of both. Then made some 10mm spacers to go underneath. This makes them a bit wider on the top but the shifter still seem to be shifting ok and I can always take them down on a linisher later if necessary.
mackaymanx ·
Well finally it is registered and on the road. Had some teething troubles.
1 Stalling occasionally coming up to traffic lights on deceleration, yes I thought it was a VSS issue at first but the idle air control valve just needed a good clean.
2 Starter stopped engaging properly so replaced it with my spare. Found I had lost the ball bearing which sits at the end of the solenoid plunger when I serviced it. Doh!
3 Power steering pump came loose, a little less haste in getting it going would be better. Doh! again.
mackaymanx ·
Love the performance of the EJ22, took it up the range to Eungalla and back today, about 180 km round trip. Performed well going up the range and cruises great on the highway.
Here are a few more details on the conversion.
Salvaged the relay box from the engine bay and used it for the radiator fan relays.
Used a cruise control sensor from a jetta (hall sensor) for the VSS.
Reinforcing plate for the engine mount/towbar.
mackaymanx ·
Also found these along the way.
Bent gearshift lever, had everything adjusted up nice and couldn't work out why I was still nearly hitting my knuckles on the dash changing gears.
Rear wipers were not parking properly and tracked it down to this burnt out connector. Ended up having to replace the fuse box and splicing on a new connector from a space loom.
AA003 ·
Gear levers are available new from VW for less than $100. Just make sure that you get a RHD one.
mackaymanx ·
Small update. Put about 5000 Km on it so far and has been going well. Managed to get the air-con up and running but the compressor is leaking oil so more work needed there. Developed an oil leak on a trip up to Townsville, wasn't a big leak but sprayed all over the tailgate on the highway. Was a little hard to track down as it was so slow, striped off the oil pump and resealed it also replaced the crank seal. No luck there, turned out to be the gudgeon pin access plug in the front of the block. Love this motor, since the fix it hasn't leaked a drop of oil.
Big news is now it is up for sale. Had no intention of selling when I started this but something came up that changed my mind.