el_freddo

Replace them with the MLS units. I can’t remember the part numbers but others will. They’re from the EJ25 STi WRX model. You’ll thank yourself for going to that effort later. If you don’t, they’ll end up doing the external coolant leak thing. If money is tight, drop it in and run it. Over time you’ll see the leak develop. It won’t damage anything, especially if you regularly check the coolant levels. Cheers Bennie

don’t forget to swap in the “K frame” that all mounts from, it’s got the front upper mount for the rear diff Cheers Bennie

I’d check the fuel pump relay. Maybe the contacts in that are dirty and don’t always make a good contact, making it look like the fuel pump is the issue. The fuel pump relay will be located on a bracket beside the main ignition/power relay. The ignition relay is a brown six pin relay. I don’t know exactly where it’s located in your model though. I hope it’s a simple fix like this. Cheers Bennie

An injector pump? As in an EFI high pressure fuel pump? I know it’s not a diesel so it can’t be the governor pump… If after an EFI fuel pump, use any generic external pump. Can’t recall hose size etc sorry. Cheers Bennie

I’m not sure that captive nuts are hex shaped, usually round tube that has a thread tapped in it. You can drill a hole in the side of the chassis rail above the bolt, only a small hole to put a penetrant can’s spray tube through to bomb the area. This will allow gravity to help it work its way down the thread. If you have time to leave this for several days then hit again another two to three times it’ll put you in the best position to get these bolts out fuss free, or with as little fuss as possible. Once they’re out and the job is done, seal the hole with some silicone. Could be worth painting the general area to avoid creating a new rust spot before the silicone closes the hole. All the best with it! Cheers Bennie

Depending on what model you have will depend on the difficulty of removing the sender unit to inspect and clean. It could be a broken wire if you have rodents too. Carry a small jerry can with you and learn how far you can drive before you run out of fuel could be a good back up in the interim. Cheers Bennie

With the windscreen trim, clean behind that trim piece and check for rust. Deal with anything you find to properly treat and seal it. Then fill all voids with silicone, push the trim into the silicone and clean any silicone that oozes out. Leaving a void will allow moisture to accumulate and sit on the metal, leading to rust and by the time you can see it beyond the trim piece you’ll have to cut out the rust to replace it = windscreen out and a LOT of work! The rust in the rear fender will be from a leak under the rear window trim piece where the other bit of rust is too. Look closely on the tailgate as you most likely have a small rust patch in one lower corner of the rear window. This is another common place where they rust. Auto doesn’t sound like much fun to me but I realise that manuals aren’t everyone’s cup of tea either. I hope you get the old girl sorted for the ski season, mine did the two seasons my wife and I did together many years ago now - lifted and EJ’d, the best, it actually climbed hills! I ran stock wheels with winter tread for the snow months, and took my 27s for off-season 4wd’n in the high country. Cheers Bennie

Over pressurisation of the fuel tank could be a blocked carbon canister up front if not using one from the wagon. Surging could be a little diaphragm device missing from the fuel system between the fuel pump and the engine. But if fuel pressures are solid and they don’t move this one doesn’t make much sense to me. To check the tank you can drain it via the bolt in the bottom of it, then remove the fuel sender unit at the rear of the tank to inspect the internals - use your phone camera to look through the hole and snap some pics with the flash. You’ll get a good idea of what’s going on in there with those pics, and you’ll have a reference point to start with if you need to do anything about it. I didn’t know about the fuel tank port differences. That T piece could be the issue that’s upsetting something. I wonder if you’re getting air in the fuel system that’s then making its way to the injectors at load, but at idle and low load revs the air manages to pass by without issue. I am clasping at straws here and thinking outside the box and hopefully helping out in the process. Cheers Bennie

We got the L series in Oz from late ‘84 through to ‘94. Other names used state side I believe are Leone, DL, GL etc. the wagon isn’t known as a Leone, only the sedan. The GL is the up-spec model so no window winders there due to power windows. The Legacy’s and Imprezas that don’t have power windows will also work I believe. Cheers Bennie

Window cranks/winders: can use L series units when you find good ones. There were some models that came with some sweet metal winders that never perish in the heat. There will be some (I think) ABS printed window winders on the market sometime soon. They’re in the testing phase now and really look the part! Hope this helps. Cheers Bennie

Since no one said it yet, yes we still love pics on here!! You’re doing well there. @bushytails - good pick up on the 2wd setup! What gave it away? As for wheel bearings on the rear, they’re like trailer bearings, get a new set and swap them on - change the bearing races on the hub too. No shortcuts! Cheers Bennie

Did you use the Brat’s fuel tank or bring the one over from the wagon? If using the Brat’s fuel tank I reckon it’s getting clogged up as you drive, fuel starvation then occurs as the pump struggles to get fuel to supply the engine under load. This doesn’t match what you said about your fuel pressure readings though. Is the ignitions switch on the Brat good? These can sometimes cause intermittent issues but seem more likely to die outright rather than a slow, twitchy death. Maybe list the things that are similar/same between the two vehicles that were swapped and not swapped. Something might show up there. Eg: - fuel lines - fuel tank - body harness - EJ power “pick up” points - where? Changed/same? Cheers Bennie

I’d argue that new boots on an old OEM cv shaft assembly is well worth the effort if it’s not left to grind along with loads of road grime, water and dirt in there. A mate of mine swears by stretchy boots. I saw one (now a meme somewhere) that wrapped the boot around the shaft a number of times when the gizzards of the CV joint let go for whatever reason. The CV joint was rebuilt on the side of the road and the boot reused! I’ve used various aftermarket boots with good success. I next time I’ll be trying these stretchy boots. Cheers Bennie

I know that feeling. I have an EJ turbo conversion on the go for the last four years. I’ve barely touched it in the last year. It’ll get there. Cheers Bennie

The L went with its owner this morning, no time to tinker so couldn’t test the mechanical advance. Haven’t heard from them so all must be well enough… Cheers Bennie

Hey bushytails, Thanks for that mini procedure for an easy check of the mechanical/centrifugal advance. I might have a tinker if I get the chance before it disappears. I don’t think the fuel mixture is rich as I changed the carb due to an idle issue. The replacement stock hitachi was known to run well and I haven’t seen anything different than expected. No black smoke indicating running a rich mixture and no running on that’s common with a rich mixture and engine shut down. Thanks for all of your thoughts on this. I think it can safely be put down to an issue with the mechanical/centrifugal advance. It’s interesting that it runs so well with static timing set at 20° BTDC. Cheers Bennie

Vacuum advance works - tested with a hand vacuum pump watching the mechanism in the dizzy and the same when at idle. Timing done at idle with the vac advance disconnected and plugged. Idles well at 8° or 20° of timing. Just completely gutless when set at 8°, slowly pulls up the revs when past 3000rpm with the foot flat to the floor. When doing the same with timing at 20° it will happily keep pulling hard well beyond 4500rpm - and runs the way you’d expect it to. No vacuum leaks, checked over all of these and replaced several hoses as a result of vacuum leakage. It doesn’t ping or run hot. One thought I had was the centrifugal weights have an issue and it’s running purely off the vacuum advance - and the timing set at 20° counteracts the lack of centrifugal advance. Thanks for your thoughts on this fellas. Cheers Bennie

G’day all, Looking over a 1986 EA82 touring wagon, 5spd manual, CARB. Had an idle issue that is now sorted. What is confusing is that it runs far better with the timing set at 20° than the factory 8°. At the factory 8° it’s very sluggish and won’t build revs quickly, almost like driving in sand on a paved road. At 20° it’s a rocket and accelerates the way you’d expect it to - no pinging/detonation either. So I’m baffled as to what’s going on with the timing on this EA82. Any insight is welcome! I’d love to EJ it but it’s not my L series to mess with like that. Cheers Bennie

Different model to the OP with your brat @ChuckPT - and the easier fix is to take the slop out of the bracket between the selector shaft and the gear stick. This is usually achieved by removing the bracket, putting a horizontal slot in it and drilling out the flogged retainer pin hole on the bracket and the selector shaft (usually with both in position from under the vehicle), then replace the retainer pin with a high tensile nut and bolt arrangement clamped down real tight. No more shifter slop after this mod. VERY common. As for the OP with the ‘91 Loyale, that issue would be with the clutch adjustment or a shot spigot bearing I reckon. Shame they never updated the thread. Cheers Bennie

Being an XT6 you really “need” to drop a H6 from a later model in it to keep some sort of purity to the XT6 name. Otherwise it’s like a resto modded XT4 with a 5 stud conversion… Good luck with it. I’m keen to see pics of your build Cheers Bennie

Awesome trip Tod! Not knowing the area at all, I can only imagine the distance and terrain covered. I love the comments from those that saw you up the top where ppl with jeeps wouldn’t consider going. Nothing unusual with that, it’s the same over here - more prissy 4wd owners than those that use them for what they’re designed to do. Cheers Bennie

Hang on, do you have an ECU that’s running a Weber carb fed engine? Asking as all factory mechanical carb EA82s over in Oz lack an ECU. Hence why I said yours wouldn’t be able to show codes - you need to go old school on this one! Check your fusible links and the fuses under the dashboard. One of them might be dead. Cheers Bennie

G’day Highstone Soobie, Only way to tell timing is to remove the covers and check. When the crank is lined up, one cam will be lined up and the other at 6 o’clock. It’s good that the belts are tight for a start. Since your L series is a carb model, you won’t have the green connectors for codes. That’s only for SPFI, MPFI and MPFI turbo models. I can’t remember if the carb fuel pump primes momentarily when you first turn the key to the ON position. You should be able to hear it. Alternatively, pull the fuel in hose at the carb, put a bottle on the end and turn the ignition to the ON position. Check the bottle for fuel. If none there, crank the engine over as this should tell that module thingo to operate the fuel pump. If there’s still no fuel you have an issue with the fuel pump, blocked filter or that fuel cut module. I’d first try bypassing that module temporarily. I can’t remember which wires to loop together to make the fuel pump operate with the key in the ON position. Once that’s established, next would be filter and then the pump. I’m also assuming you have enough fuel in the tank for the pump to pick it up. Cheers Bennie

Check the RHS timing belt. If that’s snapped you’ll have weird symptoms. The LHS timing belt spins the LHS cam, oil pump and the dizzy, while the right is only responsible for the RHS cam. Check that belt and get back to us. I’m out of ideas otherwise (for now). Cheers Bennie

Did you fit one cam belt, rotate the crank one rotation then fit the second belt? If not, this is your issue. I learned this the hard way. Your engine is probably running on one bank/side while the other does nothing. It will start with difficulty, and be completely gutless to drive. Cheers Bennie