el_freddo

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

Giles, I’d love to be going to extent and speed at which you are with some of my builds - but I feel that one must have deep pockets to do so. Is this the case? I know it helps and I’ve got nothing against those that do! I just wish I was in the same position!! Keep up the good work and I look forward to the pics! Cheers Bennie

I would say yes. The later EJ22s all used the rollarocka style valve train. The Gen1 EJ22 used the HLAs. What ive said above is true for Australia so it’s a bit of a guess for the US but I’d reckon it’s the same. Having spares on hand is always a good thing. Why not just service the heads you have? Cheers Bennie

Ah, I didn’t realise you were in Austria! Understandable that it’s hard to find a Gen1 in the yards then. They’re becoming less frequent here in Vic, Australia. The L series are very hard to come by and Brumby/MV/MY wagons and sedans are basically extinct in the yards. Plenty of Brumby/MVs still kicking around out there. All the best with it! Cheers Bennie

Round ones! Seriously though, what sort of use will they see/duties required to perform? There are many good tyres out there for road and offroad, but each are a compromise in the other department they’re not so good at. So, what are you setup for/want to do? Road hugger, daily commuter or offroad “warrior”? Cheers Bennie

Me too, I’ve not seen anything like that before! I’m keen for further details on this mod Cheers Bennie

If you’re running the locking centre diff AWD box ALWAYS run the same make and model of tyres with the same tread wear. If you wear out that precious centre diff you’re up the creek for parts unless you happen to find another one of these gearboxes with a good centre diff. And yes, I should’ve know. With your tinkering it wouldn’t have been factory. How good is the AWD in these things? Cheers Bennie

Whoa, too many chiefs in here - what’s been said so far: - not all compressors are compatible with all brackets - get a bracket with the compressor so you know you’ve got a complete unit that works together was said several times - you don’t need a bracket, you’ve already got one is the latest. I hope we haven’t confused John! Best thing you can do is spend a day at a parts yard, find a ‘91 model, remove its compressor, go find another later model with the r136a gas (as previously mentioned by matt167) and pull its compressor. Go back to the 91 and see if the compressor bolts in as you want it to. If it does, just buy the compressor, hoses and wiring. If not, go back to the donor (which you’ll have to anyway to grab the VIN) and get the bracket too. You will need a stubby 12mm spanner for the lower bolts, particularly the one closest to the intake manifold. It’s a real bastard to undo if you don’t want to remove the intake manifold. You’ll also need a 14mm socket/spanner to remove the bracket and the small one beside the intake on the lhs of the compressor. In my mind, that’s how I’d do it for what I believe your needs are Cheers Bennie

Third party hosting is the key. Chuck multiple pics in the one post I use imageshack, but they have a cap on their free service. Others use photobucket. Find one you like and use them So keen to see more pics of this setup. These boats are pretty rare over here! Cheers Bennie

The ECU code is usually a sticker on the big flat side of the ECU. Hopefully it’s still there. Or, if you know the details of the model the engine came from, that could be enough to go by. Once you know what it’s from, scoure the car sale ads to find one of the same model as yours, and “steal” the VIN if possible. Many parts sites and dealers use the VIN for correct part and part number identification Cheers Bennie

Being a brumby/brat it’s front wheel drive unless you engage 4wd. So no binding under normal driving conditions, and when using 4wd it wouldn’t matter - terrain would make up for it or you wouldn’t notice it on dirt roads with the changes in surface, corrugations and potholes. Cheers Bennie

Ok, I’ll be that guy. Time to EJ it. You wont be disappointed! (Unless the new engine has a head gasket issue). Cheers Bennie

Awesome. Drop some pics of the engine and ECU code and someone here will know what you’ve got. And do you have any videos of this thing in action? Cheers Bennie

Didn’t someone else already try doing this year’s ago? Cheers Bennie

Forester struts are taller. Rear top hat is most likely different, but I’m not 100% sure on this, someone will tell you for sure Cheers Bennie

It’s the alternator. If you raise the revs and they go out that’s a clear indication that it’s the alternator. It also means your alternator isn’t properly charging the battery at idle. My mother inlaw’s brumby does the same thing, but you can only see these lights in the dark without any illumination lights on. Cheers Bennie

Classic! Gotta love projects like this! I guess any EJ swapped L series or MYs are basically the same. I’ve never thought much about this. Cheers Bennie