Flex-Hones and Flower Power - EG33 Vanagon Engine Rebuild

The Volkswagen Vanagon may not look like a “hippie van”, but the successor to the iconic VW Bus still sounds like “flower power”. The T3 doesn’t burn daisies or gardenias, of course, but its underpowered engine seems to chant, “hell no, we won’t go”. That’s why some VW enthusiasts, especially those who drive Westphalia campers, replace the Vanagon stock engine with a 3.3-liter, 230-hp, 6-cylinder EG33 engine from Subaru. Then there are Westy wunderkind who buy and rebuild EG33 engines. Some are hobbyists and others full-time automotive restoration specialists, but all combine German engineering with Japanese designs and American know-how.

JWPATE of The Samba, a website for VW enthusiasts, recently documented his EG33 rebuild for the world to see. When the crate arrived, the owner of the silver 1984 Westy was “not convinced - but interested enough” in trying an engine swap. Some 20 pages later, his do-it-yourself diary carefully described the “last step” in a key part of the engine rebuild - cleaning the case halves. “Armed” with a 3 3/4 inch, 220 grit (fine) American-made Flex-Hone®, JWPATE detailed how he “launched an attack” on the cylinder bores. “The idea was just to clean them well and renew the cross-hatch pattern (which could still be seen from the factory honing),” he explained.

After applying “plenty” of honing oil, the engine rebuilder “started with the plan of giving each bore 20 seconds with the flexible hone”. Every application is different, of course, but generously lubricating the Flex-Hone® Tool and applying 30 to 60 strokes is what we recommend for best results. JWPATE followed this advice, and “only a few minutes later” the cylinder bores were ready for cleanup. “Hot soapy water, then rinse, dry them well, and quickly get on a coating of light oil,” he explained. Flex-Hone® customers like Caterpillar use this same technique to clean cylinder walls with warm or hot water and detergent after honing.

It’s been since spring that JWPATE last posted on The Samba, but that might be a good thing. Hopefully, his summer has been spent camping – in a 1984 VW Westy wagon with a rebuilt EG33 engine.