el_freddo

An aftermarket head unit will always create a tiny spark when connecting the battery. Other than that the fuel pump issue is either a poorly operating alternator, old wiring with resistance points or a battery that isn’t coping as well as it used to. Lastly could be some sketchy wiring done by a pervious owner. You’d really need to check out if anything was modified before your ownership. Eg: I have a Gen1 RS turbo Liberty (Legacy over your way) that someone used the door switch circuit as the earth for the aftermarket head unit. Whenever someone opens a door the headunit turns off as the circuit becomes active. Classic (*facepalm*). Cheers Bennie

Why not replace the rear springs? There are threads on here about suitable models to find parts from. I’ve got a set of early ‘90’s civic front springs in the rear of my L series. Stiffened up the rear end nicely and allowed more load carrying which is what I wanted. I’m not sure if this would lift the rear of your 2wd significantly as I don’t know how much lower the 2wd rear sprints were vs 4wd rear springs. Spring perch is in the same spot essentially with the change in lower mount height. I hope that makes sense! Cheers Bennie

Interesting… check that you don’t have: - a snapped spring - slipped lower spring perch - crushed lower shock mount - issues with the top spring hat/mount. Other than that I’m out of ideas. If you’re in the rust belt you’ll have to discuss with someone local to you as we don’t salt roads or get snow like you do over there from what I’ve read. Cheers Bennie

G’day @libertyherb123! Checked the fuses under the bonnet? There might be some over near the battery (from memory) in a black box. Under the lid will tell you what fuse and relay is responsible for what. Did the fan ever work for you? Silly question but maybe this car is new to you and you’re checking through your list of issues to fix… Salada mate! Bennie

Measure the shocks from the spring perch to the lower mount bolt. There’s a difference between the 2wd and 4wd rear shock units. Your issue may not be a spring - it could be a 4wd shock that’s been installed somewhere along the way. Cheers Bennie

If it’s not going about 10 then weld the moustache bar mounts to the chassis rails. Same for the front mount on the rear diff. Fab up a bracket or even use two tabs that pick up the one bolt front mount above the diff. Tip: the hole on one side is larger than the other. 4wd swing arms will swap right in. Bit of a bastard if you don’t want to remove the three retainer bolts on the outer arm. These will mess with toe in and camber. If our bush not necessary to stress about them. Cheers Bennie

Been done before. May need to add captive nuts to hold the moustache bar mounts to the body. Other than that it’s a bolt in operation from what I’ve seen. If you’ve got the donor it wouldn’t be hard to work out what’s different between the two. The whole rear K frame needs to be swapped in and if you’re not running a lift you might need to swap fuel tanks if there’s no “dent” for the rear diff to sit in. Cheers Bennie

Where’s @GeneralDisorder these days? I miss his blunt input on things like this. Buy an ‘80’s Chevy he’d say! I hope he’s ok. Cheers Bennie

I got my cam sensor wires the wrong way around on an engine conversion/bastardisation and it ran extremely poorly. Swapped those around and it purred like a subi kitten… This was on a 2002 harness. Cheers Bennie

Ignition switch can be unscrewed from the back of the barrel and unplugged from the loom to bench test it. You’ll have to work out what wire is what though as I can’t remember off the top of my head. From memory the white or blue is permanent power and is the one to always reference as you check the other wires. You’ll work it out though. Cheers Bennie

Maybe a bad ignition switch. Could be some bad earths or a dying fusible link.

That’s a standard tube on just about every charcoal canister. The Gen1 Liberty has the same sort of setup too. Did that sensor end up solving you passing your smog test @Craigar? Cheers Bennie

Nope. You’re all good. One cam is operating valves when you line up the timing belt. The pistons are half way up the cylinders so valves etc can’t hit. Cheers Bennie

22680AA160 is the part number. Drop the F. I didn’t think there were different AFMs for manual vs auto. My EJ22 converted L series runs that part with its EJ22E. It his is a Gen1 engine and management system. The other number on the AFM below the part number is 2X21D on a green and silver label - it’s a five pin plug with all pins present in a plastic housing. My ECU has a “G” on it from memory. I hope this helps! Cheers Bennie

AFAIK a timing kit is a timin kit. Just make sure you get a phase 1 or phase 2 kit as needed - and ensure you’re getting the correct tensioner design as they swapped in the phase 1 era and ran with that tensioner ever since. When you reconnect the battery and start the engine you shouldn’t touch the throttle - the ECU will change engine speeds as it works out it’s idle. I believe this is set as the engine comes up to full running temp. If it’s still stalling at times something else is at play. Clear and check codes again. If the fuel pump wasn’t replaced also consider this could be the issue. When a fuel pump dies it can do it randomly then start again, or it could completely dies. Also stale fuel can be problematic with getting the engine started. If it’s really bad you will smell a varnish like smell from the exhaust. Other thought with the poor idle is a sticky idle air control valve. Could be worth pulling and cleaning up. Do not remove the top cap as that’s the idle set from factory. Apparently you can adjust this once the engine is up to full temp to set the engine idle speed - but it typically doesn’t need to be touched. That’s all I can come up with - I hope some of it at the least is useful! Cheers Bennie

Got a part number on it to cross reference?

So pull the steering column out if it’s going to save you pulling the whole dashboard out. That could work. Still a huge effort. Cheers Bennie

^ agreed. At most, do the head gaskets and move on with the conversion. Definitely do a cam belt kit including all front seals and check the torque on the screws that hold the backing plate on the oil pump. Some would say leave the rear main seal, I say replace it while you have easy access. Reseal the air oil separator plate and swap it for a metal one if it’s plastic. Enjoy the conversion. It’s a good process to learn about and the result is awesome, I think you’ll love it. Cheers Bennie

No harm in trying a new coil. Having spark is positive. That voltage regulator pump too much into the system will kill things so it’s worth getting that sorted before anything else new is swapped in. Cheers Bennie

Bit late to the party, I don’t usually check this far down the forum home page! I’ve got my ECU controlling the fans in my EJ22 converted L series and it works a treat. Actually, I’ve got a three way switch that intercepts the ECU trigger wire so that I can choose to have ECU controlled, off (river crossings) and ON (sand or hard work). Had it this way for well over 10 years! All the ON switch does is provide a solid earth connection to trigger the relay for the thermo fans. Cheers Bennie

Azdave, the PS pump mounts beside the AC compressor. You would need a different set of fan belts to run the pump, otherwise everything else remains as it is. It’s been too long for me to remember how the EA82 PS pump mounted to the block exactly. You should be able to get a complete kit and fit it to your L series. The PS rack will use the same mounts as the manual rack. I can’t remember if there’s any differences in the rack ends between PS and manual racks, again, been a long time since I had a manual rack in an L series. Cheers Bennie

Points or electronic ignition? Electronic ignition modules can die from time to time. But sometimes they die because the coil dies and takes out the ignition module with it. If it’s a points system, check that they’re working as they should and that they’re correctly gapped. I don’t know what that inch measurement is, nor do I know what is the tolerance for the shaft play. If shaft play was an issue in the dizzy, you’d experience other frustrating running issues such as inconsistent running, and probably an idle that’s all over the shop too. Hopefully this helps. Cheers Bennie

That’s a standard 13 inch tyre size for our brats/brumby?? They look awesome! Hoping we might be able to get them over here some day! Mind you, I’ll be looking at road based treads for my brumby with the next set of tyres I get. I love that comparison with the Tonka Toy 4wd, classic! Your beast could probably go just as far as that toy with a rear locker. Cheers Bennie

Those kits aren’t cheap to get complete these days either Gazza - if you can find one! Last I saw was a set that went for $au1G! That’s nuts. Shove some braided lines on and you won’t believe the braking feel compared to what you had originally. I say my brumby with discs all round and braided lines has better brake feel than a 2000 EJ251 RX Liberty with slotted front rotors! Well worth the effort! Cheers Bennie

What an adventure! I’m not entirely sure how the leaf spring but you like that, either way not good! The build is looking good! What tyres are they? I’m not sure if they’ll be available over here, I’m keeping an eye out as I’ll need a new set of tyres for my lifted L once the five stud conversion is completed. Keep up the good work! Looks like you’ve still got a lot of work to do with the door cards being out of the vehicle atm. Cheers Bennie