My 3.3L Subie Conversion Thread, Got me some 914rubber stuff Options

[Chris H.]

OK finally time to update this. The most exciting news is is that I put water in the radiator and started it.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajYeJMkHopY


For those working on or planning conversions, make sure the first time you fill your car, use WATER ONLY (distilled if possible), especially if you have animals or small children. There were a few small drips here and there and also found an extra threaded port hole the radiator that I didn't notice (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) .

The bad news is there was a small oil leak. Didn't expect that at all since I (thought I) re-sealed everything. It was coming out of the timing belt cover in the middle. Had to take the &(*&ing alternator, compressor, timing belt cover, pulley, etc off. There was no oil on the belt or anywhere else except the bottom of the oil pump housing. Guess what the ONE THING WAS THAT I DIDN'T re-seal.... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

The good news is that after a couple dozen searches I found a guy who instructed someone with the same problem to take a 10mm socket and tighten the crap out of the bottom oil pump bolt. IT STOPPED LEAKING!!!! Hopefully it stays that way. I'll re-seal it when I do the head gaskets next year.

[Chris H.]

Got the Speedhut gauges hooked up.



Couple of notes here...

You have to lengthen the wires for the water temp and the oil pressure. The sensors are also 1/8 NPT fittings, which means you will need adapters for use with the Subaru. I am using the stock ECU so I was hesitant to remove the stock temp and oil pressure sensors for fear the ECU would get upset that the readings were zero.

The Speedhut oil pressure sensor is 1/8 NPT, Subaru is 1/8 BSPT. NEVER EVER (EVER) try to force the Speedhut sensor into the stock hole without an adapter. You'll have the mother of all oil pressure problems if you do.

For oil pressure I found this cool adapter:

Oil Pressure Adapter

It allows you to run both the stock and the Speedhut sensors at the same time. There are two other ports as well which I plugged with these:

Plugs

Here's what it looks like installed:



BARELY clears the alternator but it does.

I got lucky and was also able to find an adapter for my Yamaha filler neck (16mmx1.5 to 1/8 NPT) to replace the sender that was in there so that is where my temp sensor is.

[Chris H.]

Can't go any farther without mentioning Bob. He gave me his mount as I mentioned before, which really helped. The EG33 is the longest of all Subie engines and with Ian's mount the AC compressor was touching the firewall. Now it's back about 4 inches with much more room to work.



Thanks again Bob! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_pokal.gif)

[Chris H.]

I moved my battery over to the other side using the stock tray AND support. Just bent it around the opposite way and tweaked it a bit.



BTW that optima is 11 years old and still charges like the day I bought it. Had to keep it turned that way so that the + lead would reach.

[Chris H.]

Here's the radiator setup.





Celica rad is very easy to install (idea from Bob). I have the top completed, just want to be sure that all is well before I seal it up, plus I need to cut the hole in the valance and two of the screws/bolts are up front there.

I used 3/4 and 7/8 gates green stripe underneath. It sits right in the recesses, barely even protrudes below.

[76-914]

Wow! Your there my man. Way to go. A drive is near. I laughed at your extra radiator hole. I did it to. Makes you feel kinda dumb, don't it? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif) Does your ECU miss it's link to temperature? I had no idea your engine sat the far forward before. What was your axle alignment like then? Was it also way forward? The EZ 6 is 1.5" longer than the 4 cyl. Shoot some pics of your mount. More pic's.

Edit: I've got hole punch's if you need 'em.

[Chris H.]

BTW I will be re-taping the joints on the rad...had to remove the aluminum tape when I took the radiator out to seal up the threaded hole. Should be pretty air-tight.

The one odd issue I am having is that it seems like the thermostat is acting weird. I tapped the return line for the reservoir at the lowest point right at the water pump.



Should be drawing a nice vacuum there. The temp sensor is on the return line side and doesn't register at all for a long time, then shoots up pretty high all at once. The return line gets VERY HOT and the pump doesn't seem to run until the engine is pretty hot. The lines under the car are cold for quite a while.

Might be air in the system...any thoughts?

[Chris H.]

Does your ECU miss it's link to temperature?

That might be the issue I am describing above. It seems like the water pump is not running right away. I didn't remove the temp sensor. Are you having that problem?

EDIT: I still have the stock temp sensor installed. FYI

[mgp4591]

Your temp sensor acting strange does sound like air in the system but the way you have it set up should eliminate all that. And I hope you're talking about your radiator fans turning on- the water pump always runs as it's driven by the timing belt. If you've got the engine hot enough often that will drive air out or when the neighbors won't complain, rev it up to get the speed up for your coolant. That may drive out the air also. After you get all that out I'd recommend a water wetter- by helping to eliminate surface tension in the water it also helps the air move along out of the path if the problem reoccurs during future maintenance. Good luck- great build so far! And I'm picking up all kinds of ideas as mine is using the same parts... when I can work on it... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

[Chris H.]

No I don't have the fans hooked up yet. I was wondering if maybe the thermostat on the water pump was staying closed for too long....it won't actually allow the water to flow up to the radiator until the engine is hot enough. Looks like it opens at 172 degrees. After some searches I found that many people drill holes in them to get some flow going beforehand. Wish I could just remove it entirely...some say the water would move too fast and not cool, others say it's fine. Anyone have insight to share?

I already have some water wetter ready to go. Once I'm sure I won't have to drain the system I'll throw it in.

Good luck with your build!

[mgp4591]

Thanks! And true, alot of t-stats already have holes in them to promote flow at low speeds. I suppose you could drill one without a problem and keep it less than a 1/8th" hole- the stock ones are about 1/16th but have a little stem in them. Maybe size one up or see what options your dealer or local parts store have in that style. I'd also think that eliminating it may be a bad idea. You've already got a very long way to the radiator which has to dissipate alot of heat to and from the engine so you may never come up to temp. It can make other problems harder to diagnose if your engine isn't running up to temp. Maybe ask Bob- everyone else does! He's probably had that problem before or may know more about it than you and I (and others) put together. It won't hurt to run like that for awhile, but if you're looking at a dd I wouldn't do it for too long.

[3d914]

Motor sounds really nice, Chris.
What are your plans for exiting air behind the radiator. You're not going to cut holes in the sides of those beautiful fenders are you?

[Chris H.]

Wow! Your there my man. Way to go. A drive is near. I laughed at your extra radiator hole. I did it to. Makes you feel kinda dumb, don't it? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif) Does your ECU miss it's link to temperature? I had no idea your engine sat the far forward before. What was your axle alignment like then? Was it also way forward? The EZ 6 is 1.5" longer than the 4 cyl. Shoot some pics of your mount. More pic's.

Edit: I've got hole punch's if you need 'em.

Sorry Kent I was wrapped up in temps and missed your questions.

Yeah I heard trickling at the front of the car and thought "oh no....I bought this radiator a year ago...they will never take it back!..."

I left my stock temp sensor hooked up so the ECU should see the temps. The EZ30 is WAY smaller and lighter than the EG33. I'll measure mine today. I like the looks of the EG33, it looks kinda like a mini 928 engine. I might polish the intake someday like the younguns do. I tried to get pics of the mount last night but didn't get any good ones. I'll shoot more today. It's basically an early mount bar with tabs welded to similar to the smallcar mount. At the back the trans hangers are a lot like Ian's.

[Chris H.]

Thanks! And true, alot of t-stats already have holes in them to promote flow at low speeds. I suppose you could drill one without a problem and keep it less than a 1/8th" hole- the stock ones are about 1/16th but have a little stem in them. Maybe size one up or see what options your dealer or local parts store have in that style. I'd also think that eliminating it may be a bad idea. You've already got a very long way to the radiator which has to dissipate alot of heat to and from the engine so you may never come up to temp. It can make other problems harder to diagnose if your engine isn't running up to temp. Maybe ask Bob- everyone else does! He's probably had that problem before or may know more about it than you and I (and others) put together. It won't hurt to run like that for awhile, but if you're looking at a dd I wouldn't do it for too long.

Yes I need to call Bob on this one, or maybe he will reply. I have a couple of other quick questions anyway and want to see how his Mustang hood intake is going. I think I might get a new t-stat since they are $9 as well.

[Chris H.]

Motor sounds really nice, Chris.
What are your plans for exiting air behind the radiator. You're not going to cut holes in the sides of those beautiful fenders are you?

Emmmm...yeah that IS a problem. Haven't decided exactly. I like Mike's shroud a lot that covers the holes entirely (will insert pic when I find it), but also might consider some other alternatives.

[CptTripps]

Keep at it man...this is an awesome build. I wish I was that far along.

[76-914]

BTW I will be re-taping the joints on the rad...had to remove the aluminum tape when I took the radiator out to seal up the threaded hole. Should be pretty air-tight.

The one odd issue I am having is that it seems like the thermostat is acting weird. I tapped the return line for the reservoir at the lowest point right at the water pump.



Should be drawing a nice vacuum there. The temp sensor is on the return line side and doesn't register at all for a long time, then shoots up pretty high all at once. The return line gets VERY HOT and the pump doesn't seem to run until the engine is pretty hot. The lines under the car are cold for quite a while.

Might be air in the system...any thoughts?

According to Bob, that is an air pocket that gives the rapid rise in temp, Steam pockets. I called him before I got to that pointe and asked how would I be able to determine if I had an air pocket and he said I'd see what you just described! And no, I haven't connected my fans to the ECU yet. I will after I get my new cable. They sent the wrong one. I was running wired in low speed. My plan is to run it a few miles to get it up to temp then connect to the ECU. Hopefully they will fire right up, at high speed, confirming that the ECU connection is working. Then I will disconnect them, one at a time to determine which is hi/lo.

[Chris H.]

Well sheeeeit then...that's what it is I guess. Nothing, nothing, nothing....then it shoots up suddenly. I thought the gauge wasn't working, that's how long it was taking. Probably just have to run it a few times. I could run an overflow tank up front too, but would prefer not to.

Notice most of us had air pockets but we're all surprised we have them? Now that's funny. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)

Hey Doug, you're farther along than you think. Get the turbo plumbing sorted and it'll fly from there. I still have a lot to do.

- cable shifter
- clutch reinstall
- fans install
- rear brakes re-do
- figure out how I'm gonna exit the radiator exhaust air
- install throttle cable

And a few other things I forgot I'm sure.

[Jon H.]

If you have a coolant system pressure tester you can use that to pressurize your system and get the air out. Thats how I bled my SVX/Vanagon swap, worked great.

Jon H.

[rnellums]

Harbor freight has a tool that uses compressed air and the Bernoulli effect to suck all the air out. Then you open a ball valve and the vacuum in the system pulls coolant in. I have also heard that backfilling the engine from the outlet is essential. It took me two weeks to get mine bled right.