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Sat Aug 06, 2016 12:02 pm

I have an 87 Westfalia 2WD, manual. It has the stock VW engine in it and it's at around 148k. My friend has a Westy with a EJ22 in it. He's told me this engine works the best out of the Subaru engines - i had read the bigger one/s have thinner cylinder walls and were more problematic or something like that. He's also told me that when I want to switch, that I can have is for around 5 or 6k including the labor. I think his might have around 150k on it (still not super high for Subie engine of course). But, first, his other friend may buy it sooner than I since his friend's engine is not doing well. And, I'm wondering if I should try to find a younger EJ22 to put in mine. I want a fresh 2.2 Subie engine that will last me many years. Do any of you know a good place to buy this engine with very low miles for a good price including all the stuff we'll need to put it in my Westy? My friend can do the actual swap but i need to get everything that he'll need. I live in Southern CA if any of you know a place local for these engines. The other possibility that might be smartest I thought about was to just buy a Subaru Legacy with low miles that's been crashed but the engine is fine - if you guys think that's the best route? thanks

Sat Aug 06, 2016 12:12 pm

Craigslist. Find yourself a low mileage Legacy you can drive or at least hear run. Most of these engines are approaching 15 years old now, so good luck finding low mileage versions. 96 or newer will have OBD2 better diagnostics than the early OBD1 versions.

Sat Aug 06, 2016 2:34 pm

This has been discussed to death on these forums, as well as the subaruvanagon yahoo group. I would suggest joining that group and asking all the questions there.

There are several reputable rebuilders of the subaru engines. A quick google search will yield many results. I got my 2000 ej25 from a local junkyard with 101,000 miles on it, did a bunch of work to it and installed it in my van with a kit from rocky mountain westy. car-part.com is a good resource for finding junkyard engines in your area.

Vanaru.com sells turn key kits and rebuilt engines. Rockymountainwesty.com sells the most complete conversion kit. Smallcar.com and kennedyenginc.com both sell parts as well. You can find other conversion parts at burley motor sports.

The FAQ here has several threads on the conversion process as well, including an incredible thread documenting each and every step in excruciating detail with fantastic pictures through the entire process.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=subaru+conversion+site%3Athesamba.com

Just a heads up: you're going to need a lot of tools, a lot of time, and a lot of money to do this conversion. I think the cheapest I've seen a conversion done for is $4000. I've spent close to $10,000 on mine, including the price of the van, and I still have several thousand more dollars of upgrades planned. Of course, I went above and beyond and spared no expense, but still. It ain't cheap to convert these things.

Whatever happens, good luck with your conversion. It is an extremely rewarding project and in the end you have a van that you know inside and out.

Jacob.

Sat Aug 06, 2016 3:26 pm

If you are willing and able to get a rebuilt engine, I have heard a lot of great things about Steve Johnson at S&S Performance in Alpine CA. His website is subaruperformanceengines.com.

Sun Aug 07, 2016 10:47 am

Thanks a lot for all your replies.
i am really wanting to install a subaru engine with less than 50k but if that's not possible (since they typically come out of 90s era Subarus), some other engine that will fit and that is very reliable would be preferable - i want something that will last a long time if i'm going to shell out a lot of money for a conversion- and that's not going to leave me stranded due to design flaws (if it's not an EJ22).
I will do more research and check with the links and cos you recommended.
I appreciate it.

Sun Aug 07, 2016 1:31 pm

One place to go would be Colorado Components... they will sell you a rebuilt along with the entire engine... -unmodified harness included... just plan on spending north of $4K with shipping, core deposit, etc....

And I see that Steve has already been mentioned...

I kept my eye our for the longest time on Craig's list... until I finally found one.... and when you do find one... jump on it... I missed out on a one owner 90K mile 94 Legacy by hours...

Just remember to keep the C.A.R.B. and the BAR happy, you'll need a 1990 to 1994 OBDI engine..

Also, there is the VW 1.8T conversion....