el_freddo

That’s awesome and a blast from the past! Ruby Scoo is still kicking, there’s some new pics around the forum of her doing her thing. She’s no where near the tidyness of your touring wagon! I say she’s “good from afar, but far from good” which is mostly true. Not bad for over 500k km and the amount of off-roading she’s done in the time I’ve had her. Is Gertie carb fed or MPFI? As for gaskets etc, have you checked out partsouq.com? They’re pretty good for genuine parts. I don’t play much with the EAs anymore. I think the last set of head gaskets I did on the EA81 in my brumby were felpro or torquepro - it was a few years ago now so I’m a bit hazy as to what I used Cheers Bennie

It could be a number of things: - this would throw a CEL usually - the idle air control valve. It could be faulty or have a poor seal, allowing air to bleed past the seal when it’s not needed. - ignition coil pack could be breaking down under heat stress. If the 2000 has an igniter like the earlier models this could also be an issue. - fuel pump could certainly be the issue. I’d probably start here if you don’t know the history of the pump. But that said, my sister’s 2000 Liberty has over 400k km and we don’t know the history of the pump on that one. If you can swap ignition coil packs with a mate to test that it’s the issue go that way. Same for the igniter (again, if your car has one). Cheers Bennie

I’d be checking the cam belt alignment. Sounds like the cams could be out a few teeth... Cheers Bennie

Electric hand brake equipped? Scary issue!! Cheers Bennie

That is one clean L series! Sparkyboy, those are hubcaps and generally the touring wagon is NA. The GT is the turbo variant, that’s a JDM model that might be found in NZ with their import policies. Kiwi GL: love that colour, although I’m a biased with my DL L series being the same if not a little lighter in colour. I’d go a touring wagon but it’d interfere with my flat roof rack setup I run with offroad - plus I’ve got all the touring wagon features in my L except the carpet floor. Kms are like age - just a number! Enjoy the L Cheers Bennie

Two door wagon? Or he’s got a two door and a wagon? The wagon is so much better for offroad trips - more space for gear, can sleep in them if you want. Cheers Bennie

Pics or it never happened!! Welcome to the forum! What years DL/GL are you talking about? I’ve got an ‘88 DL L series and a ‘91 GL targa brumby. Cheers Bennie

I use a block of wood held against the stub axle, nut on the thread end, then use a BFH to hammer the sucker out. If you deform the end of the stub axle in the process, use an angle grinder to gently shave away the buldge until the nut comes off. Then pull the stub axle through the last part of the bearing. To get the bearing casing out, (if original it’ll be a three piece) I use a solid 50mm towball to hammer it out - place the round part of the tow ball on the bearing case, use the other side to hammer against. I use this method to tap the new bearing case (usually a one piece) back in, going gently until it’s snugly home. I’ve not had any issues undoing this. Just make sure your towball doesn’t have crap on it or any pitting. All the best with it! Cheers Bennie

I’m just short of six two and I’m all good with the Integra seats Cheers Bennie

If anyone is interested in reading an epic build thread of a drift BRZ then hit the link. It’s currently still being build - and it’s being done by a bloke in his shed with his own skills. I don’t think he’s specifically in the auto industry as such. http://www.subyclub.com/topic/12659-joels-brz/ He’s got the build on other sites too, but I thought I’d be a good link to drop in the BRZ forum Cheers Bennie

Welcome to the forum! Throw up some pics when you get a chance, we love pics around here!! Cheers Bennie

Drive gears. Final ratio (diff) should be the same at 4.111:1. Cheers Bennie

I used a set of Integra DA9 seats. A bracket needed to be made up to support the back angle adjustment. A few new holes under the seat to reduce the rail width, then bolt the factory rails on and the seats in the brumby. These give me a nice “hug” while driving. I’ll have to get a pic as I don’t have one in my collection Cheers Bennie

Switches will swap. They’re all in the same location with the same thread type/size. So use the ‘07 trans as the parts box to make the ‘04 trans as compatible with the vehicle it’s going into. The ratios might be slightly different but since you’ve not got the EJ25 the 5th ratio should be the same and very little difference will be felt in any ratio changes. What’s gone wrong with the ‘07 box? Cheers Bennie

It’s most likely air being sucked into the PS fluid system. This is usually from a cracked pick up line from the remote reservoir. Other than that I’m stuck for ideas as this sort of feeling from air in the system would cause a vibration like sensation in the steering during turning the wheel left or right. Cheers Bennie

I don’t have the plaque, but I have the dealer installed AC system. I just have to get it up and running again... Cheers Bennie

You got cruise control from the dealer?? Damn!! I’ve added my own to both of my 80’s Subaru’s. Soooo good! We never got that option until the liberty/legacy when it was pretty much a stardard feature for many of the models except the LX I think. Cheers Bennie

Send us some pics. The problem is that once they remove that panel, what else will they find? If that area is rusted, you’re guaranteed to have rust under the windscreen rubber As for cost, I have no idea. Cheers Bennie

Damn I love that colour! I’m keen to source one in the same colour over here but they’re hard to come by and then they’re either beaten up good and proper or they’re too far out of my price range. Plus I can’t really complain since I have a red targa already... Keep her tidy! Cheers Bennie

My bet: slide pins or a dead bearing. I often wonder how rotors warp. My L series did this from time to time but would often clear up after hard braking. Theory here being that the front disc hand brake would hold heat much longer than the rest of the disc - if hard braking occurred before hand brake on and engine shut down, the rotor would cool at different rates, and it could’ve left a small amount of brake pad baked on the rotor. I haven’t had rotors turned and it’s not an issue. If it’s persistent, it’s usually a jammed slide pin. And what do you always use with new or turned rotors? New brake pads. I believe this could mask the real issue - gummed up slide pins. Worn bearings will also allow the disc to move around that can create a rumbly braking sensation. I believe is this my current issue in my Brumby. Once I’ve finished the current house move this will be looked at - as will the slide pins as a matter of course. Cheers Bennie

In my carb fed brumby (brat) I’ve used the water method. Take the car for a drive until it’s all proper hot and thermo fans are working. The drive is to heat all the internal parts rather than just the coolant as such. Then with some revs - 1500-2000rpm, I trickle demineralised water down the carb until revs are effected, let it build revs again and hit it again. I do this a number of times with the intention of creating a steam like effect in the cylinder to lift the carbon off the piston and combustion chamber. I couldn’t say if it actually worked or not as I don’t have pics etc. Cheers Bennie

Mate, top job regardless of which era logo you have. A very nice detail and also one of the reasons as to why I’d love the get a 3D printer and learn how to use it! Cheers Bennie

Hey Giles, thanks for replying! I thought after it - geez that was a bit rash of me to ask about how deep your pockets are!! I’ve got too many projects! Some of the small ones are: - fitting an auxiliary tank to our NP Pajero/Shogun (new to the family, love this car!). Other ongoing projects are - and you’ll probably recognise these: Ruby Scco: my off-roader. Redback Brum3y: (power windows, six gauge “long” analogue dash, rust repairs, respray someday and an EJ conversion at some point) ^ she’s already got AC and I’ve fitted PS and some nicer seats from a Honda Integra DA9. This is my ongoing project, I just want to get it going - need a good engine! This is a Subaru RS Liberty turbo. Can’t wait to have this going, get it on club reg (this year is the plan!) then start tidying her up while we enjoy driving her. Thise rims are now on my sister’s Gen3 RX liberty wagon that I maintain. It’s a very nice car to drive and recently clocked the 400,000km. I also look after my mother inlaw’s targa brumby “Sunnie the Burmby”. He’s got the long dash, electric windows and basically everything I want in mine except the EJ and a respray... So just a few on the go! Glad you asked?? I’d love to be giving the RS and the brumbys the same treatment your giving this vortex. And your budget is pretty reasonable. That’s about $AU6,000 (roughly). Keep up the garage time, I can’t wait for mine to kick in regularly again! And a happy Easter to you too mate! Now at dinner in a little town called Maldon for their easter fair and street dancing that starts in a couple of hours. It’s always a ripper night! Cheers Bennie

If it’s got a security key, you’ll need that and all the associated gear to make the wiring loom and ECU work properly. It’s not just a swap engine job! You’ll need to cut down the loom to just the running gearnif you want it neat, or pull all the wiring and hang that in the boat. But if you’re stripping belts do you really need more power? Cheers Bennie

But what you’ve said is very relevant. The old L series AWD centre diff is completely different to every other Subaru AWD diff setup - and they’re not common either! This diff will still wear out with miss-matched tyres. I’ve heard the outer casing is made of a material that’s a bit too soft for the job. Then some people do stupid things like drop this box in and not match the rear diff ratio, making the centre diff work overtime thus wearing it out. Then there’s those few idiots that rip on the front handbrake, lube up the rear tyres and drop the clutch to get their L series smoking the rear tyres. This cooks the spider gears in then centre diff - the indicator is discoloured (blueish colour I’ve been told) spider gears. I don’t know what drivability is like after the spider gears are baked. Probably not very nice. That could work if it’s a strong unit, it can put up with temperature changes and other weather/road conditions such as water/mud/dust etc. You’d need a double spring setup with the diff lock arm between the two springs, the actuator pulls/pushes this spring device. This would allow the actuator to move to the desired position with the one of the springs pushing on the diff lock arm until things line up and it slots in. Once it’s slotted in you’d want the spring tension on the arm to be relatively neutral. I think that’s why Subaru went with the vacuum actuator - it can apply a pressure on the diff lock arm until the dog clutch lines up and it all slots in. If you’re not spinning a wheel or two you won’t even hear it engage, just the dash indicator light will turn on (if there’s no issue with the wiring - like on mine, broken wires at the switches on the gearbox). Some times when disengaging you will hear a thud in the drivetrain as some bind is released. I only ever lock/unlock on the move, never stationary. Cheers Bennie