Subaru EJ25, overheats first drive.......Airlock?

[KarlT]

Hi Chaps
Can see the light & the end of a very long & dark tunnel but drove van for first time today.
It over-heated.
Engine was working fine when I took it out of car 3 months back.
Thought I had bleed rad correctly, just cracked bleed nut until coolant came out (should I remove)
Rad never got hot or even warm. Fan came on (ECU controlled) Temp gauge went to top & water nearly boiled.
What should I do with cab heater controls? At moment open on hot.
Any help/advice appreciated
Karl

[Eta-Beta]

Do you have the heater bypass in your system?

[silverbullet]

Funny thing is that my very early TSR EJ22 doesn't have a reversed coolant rail or a heater bypass "H" pipe but does have a 1/2" tee off the main radiator feed hose that connects to the header tank, which allows it to burp out. The heater always gurgles a bit on start up but has never turned into a pressure cooker like Karls seems to have.
I know that rjes swears that you need the heater bypass because of the full-flow design of the Subaru heater (diverts/mixes cold air to achieve instant cabin temp change, whereas VW restricts coolant flow = very sluggish temp response, as we all know)
All the EJ blocks have the same coolant passages and connections you haven't got the flow and return swapped over have you Karl? These EJ's have coolant return thermostats IIRC...could be wrong

[KarlT]

All the EJ blocks have the same coolant passages and connections you haven't got the flow and return swapped over have you Karl? These EJ's have coolant return thermostats IIRC...could be wrong

Errrrmmmmm, are you talking about the cab heater or rad pipes.
Think I followed RJES diagram but will double check everything.
Where is the thermostat?

[Aidan]

tsat is in bottom of engine where the return pipes go in

[syncroandy]

Sounds like an airlock assuming its hooked up OK. I had trouble with mine, doesn't bleed as easy as a WBX. I shove a hosepipe into the header tank whilst filling to blow the airlock out of the way.

[KarlT]

Cooling system all bleed & no leaks......

Running like pooh, all lumpy & spluttery once up to temperature. Hoping its the missing Atmospheric sensor & will be sorted once I can get my hands on another.

Think front oil seal may be weeping, was fine in car but looks like I disturbed it when swapping from dual to single mass flywheel......bugger! Can't face taking the engine out (disconnecting all those coolant pipes ) without it running right first.

Anyone any ideas of what to do with my second Lambda sensor? The one behind the Cat (that I now no-longer have).

[Aidan]

don't you use some sort of emulator board to work it's magic with the output from the one you have got and send a suitable fake signal to the ecu to compliment it, probably available from small car

[KarlT]

Ahhhh, Sounds like a plan. Will look into it. Anyone with experience of these?

[silverbullet]

Any missing sensors and it will run like a pig once off the warm-up fuel maps.
I think the ecu allows quite a lot of over-fuelling or even ignores the lambda until the temp sensor says it's toastie, then it goes to the ecomental fuel map and needs to see that the cat is oxidizing what doesn't get burned in-cylinder.

[KarlT]

Okay. Have bought a O2 sensor simulator from the US for £45 posted. Says to match the Lambda output exactly.
Also finally got a Atmospheric pressure sensor, from ebay. £25 posted. Subaru wanted £345 for a new one.
Here's hoping they all turn up & work.........

[KarlT]

Oh yeah. Yeah Insurance is running out. Got quote today, Norton Insurance. They want £70 extra for the Subaru conversion. Fair? Who else is worth a modified quote?

[silverbullet]

Look at an unlimited mileage "collectors" policy with Footman James. Works for me

[RJES]

Filling procedure for Subaru powered T25's plumbed with RJES plumbing kit http://www.rjes.com/html/filling_procedure.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; . If you folow this procedure (particularly point 16, which I ought to make bold), it's not difficult to fill. You will never get it full without following point 16.

ps I just replied to your e-mail with all the other questions

[RJES]

2nd lambda sensor emulators:

I'm interested to know whether the downstream lambda sensor emulator works. Personally I'm very skeptical of them. I can't see how they do what is necessary to create a pseudo correct signal unless they tap into at least the upstream lambda sensor's output and the tacho signal. I imagine it is not that sophisticated though? Please let me know how you get on with it. I have never come across anyone in the Subaru world using them when removing the cat for performance reasons. Spacing the downstream sensor away from the exhaust slightly is pretty much the standard way it's done, on most other cars as well as Subaru's. It's covered in great detail someweree on the NASIOC forum if I remember right.
Anything which fakes signals is not my idea of a nice way to do things. I spoke to a guy with a conversion in the US who had been sold a vehicle speed signal emulator. I looked it up online afterwards, and whoever developed it clearly either had no understanding of what Subaru ECU's use the vehicle speed signal for, or just doesn't care whether it works properly.