el_freddo

I had a “problem” with my first and last EA82 rebuild - turns out we missed the bit where you fit one cam belt then rotate the crank one revolution and fit the second cam belt. When the crank is lined up one cam will be at 12 o’clock and the other will be at 6 o’clock. This is the key to EA82 timing belt alignment - don’t miss that crank rotation between fitting belts!

^ driving to the trip meter, that’s always fun!

Brat/Brumby/MY - yes, I agree it’s a common problem. L series - never seen or heard of this issue before with one of them. @scoobydube - make sure the clutch cable isn’t doing any sharp corners that will make it work hard. What do you replace your clutch cables with - second hand OEM/new aftermarket?

Other than what bushytails says above, if the sender unit was installed with Teflon tape it might not be getting a good ground through the oil pump and block. Make sure all your earthing straps are in good shape too.

It should be doable - if it uses the speedo cable that’ll sort a major hurdle. If it requires a speed sensor it will need more wiring added to make this work. The rest should be repinning as needed. Don’t worry about the height sensor indicators. You could probably look up what resistance will show low and high, then pick what ride height you want to see all the time and wire that in. It’s a super cool looking instrument cluster! We didn’t get anything like that over here - not even in the Vortex range. Maybe us Aussies weren’t 80’s enough to handle a digital cluster of that era (we got the MY touring wagons with digital clusters so go figure…), I doubt it though.

Not having a charcoal canister with the purge control still in use makes sense. From what I understand of this setup is the charcoal canister collects vapour from the fuel tank vent system which is then burnt off in the cylinders when the ECU determines the right conditions are present - usually a cruise and light load revs. No charcoal canister means no vapours which is effectively just sucking air and leaning out the fuel mixture. Add in a faulty valve that could be open all the time and you get your stumbling revs/misfire like running symptoms.

The only “code” you should have is the one that states what market it was sold in. Eg here in Australia we have seven short flashes from memory. In my experience without starting the engine you shouldn’t have any codes to begin with.

Apologies, I thought all bajas were turbo for some reason. I’ve only ever seen one in person when I was in the states in 2009, even then that was in traffic on the Las Vegas strip so not an up close for a good look over it. I’m out of ideas. If the re-ring was done properly I can’t see where it would be potentially sucking oil in to be smokey and consume oil. We’re all rings replaced and were they gapped correctly?

Sorry I misinterpreted what you were saying. And yes, you’re right about what I was saying with the first quoted paragraph above. I get that the OP wants to use what he’s got, however I think this is not possible without other parts. The time and effort to machine bits to make them fit the Single range AWD gear to make it a dual range would be better spent earning the coin to import the parts that will make it happen.

Have you looked at the turbo? You could have a blown seal that’s leaking oil into the intake or the exhaust.

You don’t need to machine a single range casing for the AWD dual range - just use the PT4wd front cases. Really to achieve this the easiest way possible you need to import an EJ dual range gearbox or at the very least the internal gearsets minus the front and centre diff.

Drop the subframes an inch or two as bushytails said. This is definitely your issue with the CVs!

I’d say the most effective way would be tank out and clean with whatever method of choice. You could source a good, clean tank, put that in and be done with it too.

DOHC EJs fit in an L series engine bay without chassis rail mods. The dual range gearbox is only good if you’re going offroad - or might have situations where towing up an incline requires traction and “leverage”. If you’re building a road hugger, I’d go with the AWD box for better traction under acceleration.

And in the back of it too

You need an AWD dual range box to achieve what you’re wanting to do. The single range AWD gearbox is a solid upper shaft and the bottom lay shaft is a tube that has the front pinion shaft run through it. AFAIK the dual range 4wd gearbox uses a setup with the drive gears mounted on the pinion shaft for the front diff. I know more about the AWD L series box with the locking centre diff than the specifics on the dual range 4wd pinion shaft setup as I’ve not pulled that section apart. We’re lucky in Oz because our market came with dual range AWD gearboxes right into the late naughties. These parts are somewhat interchangeable with that locking centre diff gearbox you have. For example: my L series “Ruby Scoo” runs a bastardised locking AWD gearbox with the following setup: - phase 2 front cases with matching drive gearsets - L series 1.59:1 low range - L series locking centre diff pinion shaft - modified for 4.111:1 diff ratio - matching rear locking centre diff housing, shift linkages and tailshaft - oil “feeders” over the low range gearset to lubricate and keep cool on long climbs. The key is a phase 1 dual range AWD gearset - if you manage to score one of these it will fit into your L series front cases. The low range hub internally will need a small amount of machining to fit the EJ upper gearset shaft. There are threads around that explain this. Your biggest hurdle is the EH dual range gearbox/gearset if you’re in the states.

Ooh good questions. OBDI or OBDII - it doesn’t matter really - the wiring cut down is basically the same. Find the FsM that matches the engine and ECU to get the wiring diagrams and work out what’s what. Sometimes the Haynes manual will have a good pinout of the ecu with accurate wire colours too. The auto EJ22 can be told it’s a manual and work as such. You need to ground a certain set of pins at the ECU to “tell” it that it’s a manual… The EJ22 is bullet proof. Gen1s are non interference, Gen2s are interference. The difference is hydraulic lifters (gen1) and roller rockers (gen2). The EJ25 - it depends on which model. I’d avoid the DOHC EJ25D. But I’d do the EJ251 any day. Replace the head gaskets with the STi turbo EJ25 MLS gaskets and never look back. The EJ251 is a wicked engine with a flat torque curve through the rev range. It just feels like it keeps pulling! I know as I daily a Gen3 RX Liberty with the EJ251 and manual. I didn’t think the L series coupes came with a 4 speed, only the MY hatch - but this model runs an EA81 and I don’t believe they were still building them in ‘89. Gearbox will need custom mounts, probably need shift linkage mods and a custom tailshaft if you can’t work out a combination from OEM parts. I also recommend getting a donor vehicle that’s running. This way you know you have everything you need. Unless you know what you’re doing I don’t recommend mix and matching engines and ECU/wiring looms. On that note, the “rule” is phase 1 sticks with phase 1 engine management and vice versa with phase 2 gear; generally the ECU, wiring loom and intake manifold need to be a match and need to be same phase as the engine phase being used. Hope this helps

That purge control solenoid is probably faulty. Best to test the way the workshop manual says to - which is probably with ohms rather than voltage. The question still remains - why does blocking the purge control line allow the engine to run properly? Is there another version already on the wagon so it’s sucking from atmosphere rather than the tank? Probably need to work out what’s different with the fuel system between the two systems this engine was run with. That will be difficult since the original one is no more.

Try replacing the coil pack. The one on our 2000 RX Liberty (EJ251) gave out at ~480,000km. This gave a jerky drive sensation and was most obvious under load. Initially it was random but got to the point that it would always do it under load. Higher load = worst cut out etc. And yes, MAP on these engines.

What’s your lift combination with the heights/block size for the strut block, engine crossmember blocks and the gearbox crossmember blocks? What sort of springs are you running in the front end? I’m wanting to understand how your lift is possibly effecting your CV angles to max them out. Can you also measure the distance between the ground and the highest point on the arch of your mud guard/fender when the car is sitting naturally and then when jacking it up right at the point that the rubber starts to lift off the ground. This should measure your droop or downwards travel amount in the suspension.

I second what Numbchux said about the single turbo conversion - it’s a very common conversion for the twin turbo “aids”. If you replace vacuum lines do this methodically - cut the old lines open once the new vac line is installed. You’re looking for restrictors known as “pills”. These need to be retained for the system to work properly. Otherwise the usual remains in terms of turbos and reliability. Harder you go the quicker things will need maintenance attentions and usually the wallet flogging.

A turbo beanie will probably suffice. Or you could fold up some sheet metal to do the same thing the original chimney did in the first place. I have an STi converted SF forester that’s a sleeper - built by a mate. This does not have a bonnet scoop, rather it sports a turbo beanie and a water to air intercooler. The paint on the bonnet is not effected and I dare say it’s seen more heat than your EA82t will ever generate.

Ooh, part of me says it’s not a good idea to back them off and go again on those head gaskets. The other part of me says go for it, they’ve not seen a heat cycle yet. Worst case scenario you pop a HG prematurely. It an EA82 and not too complicated at the end of the day - “just” your time and some money. Your call on replacing the HGs if you choose to back them off and inspect those bolts. Do a search looking for a post by General Disorder about doing this exact thing with reusing head gaskets. I can’t remember what he recommended.

Do under the bolt head too. Engine oil will suffice.

When you say rear wheel wobble do you mean vibration? This could be caused by many things as noted - start with the basics: - check mounting bushes of gearbox, diff and tail/propshaft; check centre bearing of the tailshaft for movement. - check uni joints for any play. ANY movement in one of these (where you can move one bearing cap closer to the other without the other one moving) means you need to replace it. Which means mods or a new tailshaft. - check rear CVs for any unexpected movement. Also realise that putting the 2wd fuse in will still see the rear drive shafts, diff and tailshaft spinning when the car moves. It just won’t receive power from the gearbox - assuming you have the auto from your description. What speeds do these vibrations occur? Is there a specific gear it happens in? Can you induce it by driving “manually” by selecting the gear the auto is to be in? If it occurs in all gears when accelerating my thoughts are it will be an issue with the auto.