el_freddo

You would need to import a gearbox from Australia that’s a dual range. Easier said than done sadly, but not impossible. I’m glad to see that you didn’t move the lower lateral arm pivot points - they’re positioned where they are to work with the inner CV joint through the pivot motion of the joint. Move the suspension pivot point and you’ll have issues with the compression and extension of the drive shaft. I love this build and wish we could do stuff like this over here in Australia - but engineering would be prohibitively expensive to complete to get it road worthy. Other “trick” is to get the original vehicle registered, modify it and either not tell anyone until you’re pulled over and the officer wants to look closer at it… Part of me thinks your rear subframe and adaptor frame are too wide for the sweet spot that the struts require, you’ll know in good time. It’ll be a ripper ride once it’s done and one to be proud of! Keep up the good work, after reading this front to back I’ll stay updated as they come in from now on!

Hey Todd, I was meaning to ask about what oil you used when you serviced your struts - then the forum went down. I have a set of MY front struts that are (were, I pulled them apart!) oil filled. What I didn’t think about was what oil I’d refill them with and that project sat on pause. Keen to hear your thoughts on this and how different weights/viscosity affects handling. My brumby will end up EJ’d with a water to air intercooling and AC if that’ll make a difference. Regards Bennie

G’day @bushytails The L series AWD locking centre diff gearbox came in the RXII coupe, some XT4s and JDM GT wagons. I’m unsure about the XT6 - we didn’t get them here, infact all of these models except the XT4 were personal imports. How to tell them visually apart from the single range PT4wd gearbox with the vacuum actuator to engage the rear drive: this PT4wd single range gearbox’s lever to engage the rear drive is arm above the pivot point. The AWD locking centre diff gearbox is the opposite - the arm is below the pivot point for the locking centre diff engagement. I believe the dual range version will have the rods passing through the rear housing like the DR PT4wd gearbox. The AWD gearbox comes in single and dual range. Pick the one you want as it’s not easy for you to swap it to dual range without another dual range AWD gearbox (EA or EJ). The 3.9 ratio is out there from what I’ve heard, it’s hard to find. Mine was a 3.7 ratio. All of these dual range AWD boxes are 1.19:1 low range. The 1.59:1 transfers in without any issues, it’s a direct swap - need a donor NA dual range PT4wd gearbox. The EJ AWD gearbox pinion shafts are too short. I heard of a bloke that modified two of them to make one pinion shaft for the L AWD locking centre diff gearbox to get 4.44:1 diff ratio - to do this with the good L series low range requires the crown wheel to be shaved to clear the low range selector ring and gearset. I have not seen pics or videos of this done (the double EJ pinion shaft to make one L series AWD pinion shaft). From my understanding, L series PT4wd gearbox internals do not swap over to the AWD version, other than the low range. Everything will physically fit but it’ll become a part time box that requires the part time rear housing as well. My gearbox is made of EJ parts (drive gears and front cases) and the L series AWD bits for the locking centre diff and 1.59:1 low range. Ultimately if you’re on dirt that’s somewhat loose, you want to lock your centre diff, especially if EJ’d as it’s very easy to be spinning the front wheels faster than the rear, over working the centre diff that will lead to its destruction. You could be better off sticking with the PT4wd dual range box, the AWD is only worth it on solid surfaces. ^ PT4wd in the foreground, AWD in the background, you can see the locking lever on the side here with the pivot point above the arm. I don’t have any better pics than the above sorry. I believe the dual range AWD gearbox is fitted with the same rod looking setup in the background of the gearbox as the PT4wd gearbox. My dual range AWD gearbox is built from a single range box originally, so my rear housing lacks the rods that I believe pass through the rear housing for the low range dedents/position retainer setup. Make sure you get the vacuum actuator and it works, plus the matching vacuum switch solenoids too, or have access to them. The single range PT4wd gearbox units work fine with the AWD box ;) I hope this helps.

You guys got a v8 4Runner as standard, or is that an engine conversion? We got the v6 or the diesel option, definitely no v8!

Yes it can. But the angle can be quite extreme. Better way to do it is separate the gearbox from the engine and pull them out from the top individually. You’ll spend quite a bit of time under the car disconnecting mounts, driveshafts, wiring etc. Remove the gearbox crossmember to give more room if going for the one piece removal.

I like that you found the issue but I don’t like the potential cost of sorting out the issue unless it’s the oil trick that Bushytails mentioned above.

All good mate! Like I said (somewhere), we didn’t get the SPFI over here in Australia. Any that are here are kits that were sent over from the states. I did think it odd that they didn’t run an O2 sensor but not knowing the system myself I could only go by what I was told by others. Thanks for the correction though. I hope having the O2 hooked up properly will sort out your fuel usage!

Long video! I leave the caliper bolted to the hub knuckle and flip the caliper up by taking out the lower slide bolt. That piston can be really hard to rotate. You need some pressure on it too. Once you get the first rotation done they usually become easier. I have a multi tool socket that fits the grooves in the piston face. This allows me to apply some pressure as I rotate the ratchet in one hand. Works a treat for me. If the dust boot is damaged you might have dust that can grip the side of the piston. Worse you might have the side of the piston corroding. All the best with it. Not the most fun job on the MY and L series.

With Subaru part numbers, if the second last digit is different by one digit value it usually indicates a compatible part number. Some times you can find this occurs up to for our five digit number values as updated but compatible parts become available. I’d put money on those two part numbers you give there as being the same. What do you do for that unique O ring setup between the TBI and the intake manifold? Asking as I have a SPFI setup to go on an ea81 over here (we didn’t get them in Oz) and that gasket is a little worse for wear - not that it’s going into a vehicle anytime soon, it’s in waiting.

Sounds like your alternator isn’t doing its job like it used to. Try coasting down a long incline off throttle, then when back on the juice pedal watch out the rear view mirror for any blue smoke. If you run synthetic oil this trick won’t show up anything. If you have blue smoke it could be a number of things, mine turned out to be a broken ring land on two cylinders from memory (was 20 years ago now). Only showed a plume of blue smoke when off throttle at speed then back on it again until the oil was burnt off. The longer spend off throttle the more blue smoke produced. PCV system faults could be an issue too. The sticky IACV suggestion from bushytails is a good one to start with, as it may be slow to adjust quickly in those situations. If the IACV is dirty/sticky, the question then is why - failing component? Lack of appropriate voltage? PCV allowing oil to be sucked through the IACV at idle, coating it in oil, leading to gumming up over time?

I’m pretty sure they’re all like this from the L series onwards 😎

Awesome write up @bushytails! Also look into https://subarino.com.au - a local guy that loves the MY models and will ship internationally. Just email for a quote on shipping. The years of the brumby will be different to your brat. We got them up to 1992 and I heard of several that were sold new from the dears late as 1994!! We don’t talk in generations - it’s either MY or L series; EA81 or EA82. No estates - station wagons GL and DL are the trim levels of the L series, the MY seems to only get the GL but I could be wrong there. That forwarding service is like one a mate used to use over in the states, they used to call them a virtual mail box and did the exact same thing you did, just the opposite way around. And good old Australia Post… they do their job well but take their sweet arsed time doing it! I usually use DHL for incoming packages and if they don’t do it to my address I either get it sent to work or go with FedX (which I prefer not to). I have king springs on my lifted and EJ’d L series with civic springs in the rear. I like the ride quality of the HD springs, but mine probably need replacing since they’re about 20 years old and probably not holding like they used to! If you drive an empty vehicle these springs will most likely not be nice to ride in. I also wonder what psi you’re running in your tyres as this will have an impact too. Thanks for sharing Bushytails, glad you got your parts and you’re happy with them!

Glad we could help! 🤣 I once purchased some super tuff suspension bushes for our Pajero from your side of the world cheaper delivered to me than I could buy them anywhere locally (including the extra for the exchange rate!). Thing that got me was they were made in Oz, sent to the US then sent back to Oz! How does a car part travel halfway around the world and back end up being cheaper than buying it where it started from??

Whole gearbox swap = easier than repair. I find it easier to pull the gearbox out from under rather than pull the engine from above. The drive shafts can be left to slide off as you take the box out, no need to pull them off first. Once the gearbox is clear of the bellhousing of the engine, push it left, remove shaft then push it right and remove the other shaft. Lining it back up if stub axle is a little tricker but possible. I’ve done it several time now and it works a treat!

^ very nice!