crockettbrat

I would agree with sko that the harness isn't all that difficult. I had never done anything like an EFI engine swap before and I was able to do it. It was very intimidating at first, in fact I was too scared to even start cutting wires for a few weeks, but in the end I sucked it up and started chopping and in an afternoon the vast majority of it was done, and it worked! I still haven't gone to the Ca. smog ref yet, but my registration is good till May 09, so I'll have to go before then. So far about 4k miles on the swap and I love it. Daniel

I love my brat and commute in it almost every day! I once hauled a steel wood stove insert with the brat. I got it in there and the rear wheels rubbed. Out came the sawsall and I trimmed my fenders on the spot! Still rubs with a lot of weight in there like a motorcycle (250-300#) when I turn. I've got a tow hitch too, but I haven't towed anything yet. I say buy one if you find it, if you dont like it I'm sure you could sell it again easily. Daniel

Brian: Getting the gauges out isnt that tough. I was dreading it when I did the ej swap, but in the end it came out in just a few minutes and I didn't have to pull the steering wheel either. I'd look for a gauge set from a brat in the junk yard and swap it out. Do you still have your old hatch? maybe the gauges from that would work. Daniel

My 84 brat dome light is turned on by a switch on the light housing also. Very strange about the other lights. My volt meter also doesn't work in the morning sometimes. Seems like when its cold out it wont work until I'm 10 miles down the road and then it wakes up. Does the low fuel indicator work when you are low on fuel and the lights are off? I would pull the gauge cluster and follow from the bulbs back to the multi plug to figure out which pins are for these lights and then wire them correctly. If your door is turning on the brake light then do you know if the brake warning light is working too? What gauges do you have in there? They're probably from the other car and are just pinned differently at the multi plug. My brat gauges have a big round plug on the back that had several empty spots, so I'm sure different soobs of this era had different wiring back there even though the gauges all look similar. I'd start by pulling the gauges and figuring out whats what back there. Then borrow or find a stock brat gauge and plug it in and see if it works correctly. Good luck. Daniel

Man that came out nice! When I first saw the early pics a few months back I was impressed that you were going to tackle the project. Here in California that thing would have ended up in the scrap heap. Congrats on saving it! Daniel:headbang:

Well we're about to get our first big rain here in sunny Cal. I just got my winter wiper blades going, and adjusted my squirters, figured out why my headlights were messed up (blown fuse for left headlight, wiped out power to my driving lights and my aftermarket bed light). Now I can see at night, and I also spent the time to find the correct wire for my switched power for the ej ecu. I had it on some wire that was switched power, but was run through the hazard lights. First time I put on my hazards while the car the running the ej ecu didn't like it very much. Every time we get our first rain, people in California seem to turn into worse drivers than they normally are and massive accidents pile up. We now have a law where if your wipers are on then you have to have your headlights on, so the rain prompted this work today. The massive pile ups I expect to see in the next day or so prompted me to get my ecu off that hazard hot wire, because I assume I'll be using the hazards too. I hope my ej harness hold up in the rain.

I had a similar problem with my ej brat. The idle switch was set wrong. Its part of the tps. Very easy to adjust. Mine was just barely off and in stop and go traffic my check engine light would come on and then I'd get the bucking and jerking thing from right off idle and it would be fine once I was going more than about 15mph. Since I adjusted the idle switch I've had no problem. Hope this helps. I'm in the east bay too if you need help. Daniel http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/subaru_manual_scans/FSM_Scans/TPS_testing2.jpg This page has the procedure for checking the idle switch.

I have the 4/3 kit on my brat and I love it. I had to make my own steering adapter, but that was easy enough. Good luck. Daniel

How bout more pics of your brat! It looks great. Daniel

Does your brat have the hitachi carb with the anti dieseling switch? I was offroading and the wire to this thing broke on mine and it would not start unless I was flooring the gas pedal. It would not idle either, so I just kept my foot on the gas slightly and put it in neutral when I needed to. When I got back to camp I pulled the switch and removed the needle and spring and this solved the problem until I went to the pnp and got another switch and soldiered it up. My wire broke right at the switch. Hope this helps. The ej swap also solved this problem! Daniel

I got rid of my working ac when I did my swap. I wish I hadn't, but I think the hard part will be finding fans that are small enough to fit in front of the ac radiator that are strong enough to keep things cool. You wont be able to use the ea81 fans because there isn't enough room between the radiator and the ej engine. I'm not sure about the wiring, but someone smarter than me could probably point you in the right direction. Good luck. I kept my ej ac compressor and hope to rig up onboard air, just for the fun of it. Let us know what you do. Daniel

Well I didnt buy the car. The guy said it was clean, and he said it was red. I got there and it looked like it hadn't been washed for years and was brown. The interior was also thrashed and when he said nothing was broken he wasn't refering to things like the interior panels for the doors and liftgate, or the tail light assemblies. Oh well. Thanks for the input everyone. Daniel

Looks great! I bought a crappy carpet kit for my brat from JC whitney (I think...) and it looks like #$%#@. Do you have a pattern or did you just cut and fit? I'm going to rip mine out and start over. Thanks for the motivation. Daniel

Hey all: I'm an old gen guy, but I want to get my wife a new gen car. I found a 2000 legacy outback wagon with 170k mile and a blown motor for $1500. I'm thinking about buying it and getting a used motor for it and installing it myself. I'm not concerned about the mechanical aspects of this as I'm fairly capable in the mechanical department, but does $1500 seem like a reasonable price? Anyone have any ideas on the prices for used phase II short blocks? Any input appreciated. Thanks. Daniel

I recommend the ej swap! It's really not all that difficult, and the power increase is great. It may seem daunting, but its not that bad. The cost depends on how lucky you get on your donor vehicle. Go for it! Daniel

I miss my parents old 1969 chevy Kingswood station wagon. I rolled around in the "way back" as a kid and survived a most fun car accident back there when my brother took me skiiing with a bunch of people. The old beast finally died with 400+k miles when I was on a date in SF many years ago. I dont remember the girls name but I sure do remember that car. I also miss my VFR750. Sold it to buy a dirtbike. I still see the bike because I sold it to a friend. I miss friends who have passed away. Good thread. Daniel

Congrats Brian! Power windows! Power steering! It looks great! When does the ej swap start? Daniel:clap:

Go to the second sticky note in this section. It has a write up that is very helpful about the ej swap. I bought my adapter plate from M. Rose. There are others as well. Mine fit just fine. I believe Scott at sjrlift makes them too. I've said this before, but I highly recommend thoroughly reading through the pages with the ECU pin out and fully understanding what powers the ecu and what type of signals each engine sensor sends to it before you start chopping the harness. I didn't do this and got mine running, but I think I got lucky. If I had really understood what I was looking at it would have saved time. In the end I had to really understand this stuff to get it running and if I knew it before I started cutting up the harness things would have gone much more smoothly. Lots of friendly advice available here also. Good luck. Daniel

Hey there: Yes it fits right in. You have to lose the fans from the ea81, but I found a mazda fan that fit in front of the radiator and works great. The mechanical part of the swap is very easy. The engine pops right in with very little work. If I could figure out how to find my pics in the "new" USMB I'd post a pic to show you the engine compartment. Did picks get lost when the old "thing" crashed? I can do an ej swap but cant post a pic:lol: Daniel

I found a brat in the pnp last year with a very nice set so I grabbed them and they hang on a hook in the shop waiting for my crusty ones on the brat to give up. Maybe someone on the board knows of a good set of these sitting in a junk yard for your car. Anyone, anyone?

Right on! Daniel

Hey Sko: Thanks for the info. The idle switch is part of the tps. Mine was adjusted wrong. Someone in the new gen section posted a link to the FSM section on adjusting the idle switch. It has made a big difference. I haven't gotten stuck in traffic since I readjusted the idle switch, but the car idles lower and more steady, so hopefully its taken care of. I'm going to schedule my appointment with the smog ref soon. Wish me luck. Daniel

Hey Brian: Thanks for the link. I'll check it out. I hope you get the brat. Let me know if you need any help with the swap. ej/5sp dr brat= Daniel

Thanks for that info: I was out of spec, but adjusted it. My idle came down. Hopefully all is well. Thanks. Daniel

Hey all: 2k miles on the ej swap and things have been great. My check engine light has come on twice. The codes were the same. 21 water temp sensor, 35 canister purge solenoid valve, and 42 idle switch. Both times the check engine light came on while driving in stop and go traffic. Both times my throttle control changed alot. Instead of smooth accelleration I got a big gap between idle and approximately half open throttle, so from coasting I'd put my foot on the gas and the brat would take off like I floored it and then I'd back off the throttle and it was like I put the clutch in and had no power. After the first time the check engine light went out by itself after I parked the car for the day. The second time a few weeks later it came on and stayed on. I cleared the codes the proper way with the test mode connectors and its been normal again. One thing I've noticed since the swap is that my idle surges everytime I start the car to about 2k rpm and then slowly backs down. The other thing I've noticed is that the hotter the engine is ( and it runs very cool) the higher the idle gets. My coolant temp sensor sends the proper signal range to the ecu, I've checked it, but the idle switch is sending 2v with the ignition on and the manual says it should be 4.6v. I'm thinking the idle switch is my problem. I have no idea where the idle switch is located. I cant find it anywhere in the manual. Any help appreciated. Daniel ps- I drove the brat to Tahoe the other day and it kicked a$$ going up the sierras. I used to have to ring its neck in third gear to try to keep up with traffic and this time it jammed up in 5th gear with a few steep spots where I put it in 4th. If you have considered doing the ej swap, do it.. IT ROCKS!