el_freddo

Brat (Brumby!) more desirable in my book. Better load tray setup - front and rear of rear axle, Baja has only rear of the rear axle. But the Baja drivetrain is “better” by today’s standards. The little EA81 in the brat does it’s job and is basically bullet proof but the power and torque of the EJ engine coupled with the AWD box is more desirable items to have under the bonnet of the brat. Power to weight ratio is awesome with this setupin the brat. At the end of the day you’ve got to be the one enjoying looking at it and driving it. The brat can feel quite agricultural if your other car is a late model. It’s a step up from a tractor with its heater and ability to do highway speeds I love my brat (Brumby), and hope to be doing an EJ22 and AWD box swap in the near future, keeping the stock drivetrain for later if I want to revert back to stock. Lastly, the brat had a very long production run compared to that of the Baja. Cheers Bennie Edit: the Baja is only available stateside. I believe it was a Subaru of America conception against the advice of Subaru Japan. Belly flop, but a very unique vehicle for the Subaru line up too.

That’s easy, ditch Facebook! Live on the forums!! Cheers Bennie

Removing the front guards makes it so much easier. And a good time to address any other issues under there while you’ve got full access. Cheers Bennie

I’d say remove the door and fit the new one while it’s still light weight! Then pull everything from the donor door and fit in the reverse order of how it all came off - I bet the door handle/latch mechanism will be last to come off, meaning first to go on. Cheers Bennie

No need to bust your nut on this one too much. Silverbullet has already done most of the hard work for you. As for Teamendor, they didn’t say they were an Arabian Prince promising all your dreams of resolving this dizzy module issue for a small deposit into their bank account did they? Cheers Bennie

Front legacy brake lines might work. I’ve heard of ppl using these on their L series when lifted. Or try forester front lines Cheers Bennie

Any engine can get an internal coolant leak from a blown head gasket - that’s exactly what a blown HG is all about. Cheers Bennie

You could be in luck and the issue turn out to be a dead timing belt tensioner. The tensioner makes a knocking noise very similar to that of a dead bottom end bearing. Using a stethoscope you can isolate the noise to the front left of the engine - near where the tensioner lives. If this is the case it’s happy days. Confirm by removing the left cam cover piece to visually inspect the tensioner - if it bounces while idling it’s dead. If it has oil residue on top of it, it’s dead. If you can’t see either of these, carefully getting the stethoscope onto the tensioner with the engine idling will give you a definite answer If the noise remains in the centre of the block area it’ll be a big end issue. @GeneralDisorder will be able to provide some different ways to deal with a dead bottom end All the best with it. Cheers Bennie

Neat trick on those spoilers we didn’t get anything like that here! When you say your 1000-1500 out with your engine swap, are you talking about an EJ22 swap? And is that the money you’ve sunk into the project already, or the money you need for the conversion? Once you’ve got an EJ in there and you keep the maintenance up, it’ll look after you. Mine is SOOO much better in every department compared to the EA82 - but that’s not hard to do either! Cheers Bennie

When the forester people worked out that they could get away with using only the two in strut lift without issue. Probably because they’re going for a two inch strut top lift with larger struts (if that’s possible) - or they’re going for a strut lift that’s greater than two inches without any subframe drop. But I’m only guessing as I don’t have a Foz and my mates with two inch strut lift don’t have any issues. Cheers Bennie

Wtf is that drive shaft?? I’ve never seen one with the inner cup being so long. Also a two inch strut lift only on the MY/L series is known to chew out CVs in no time. Cheers Bennie

Oil thickness was my thought too. Especially if colder weather is happening. I’ve personally not had an issue with mineral oil in my gearbox. Cheers Bennie

By far the safest and cheapest way to do it if you’ve got a tow vehicle capable of doing it - or hire a suitable tow vehicle too. One issue is the low suspension on the WRX. You may have to get creative to get it up on the trailer, namely under the belly or the “ramp over” clearance. With my Gen1 RS turbo I have to either drive the tow vehicle’s rear end onto ramps (works with an empty trailer) or unhitch was he trailer and let the weightnof the vehicle lift the front of the trailer making a flatter ramp over angle to negotiate. Hook up again and go once all tied down. Cheers Bennie

Over here in Oz that’s the Gen1 series1 grille. Cheers Bennie

New O2 sensor yesterday. Now to do the temp sensor as this is my only code. Hard to tell if the O2 sensor changed anything as we’re out 4wd’n so fuel stats won’t be comparible to my usual usage. Cheers Bennie

@Giles try partsouq.com for genuine bushes. They’re generally priced really well. But be aware that these parts may be NLA too Its still interesting looking at all the exploded diagrams! Cheers Bennie

I've always wanted a series 2 RXII coupe after I first found out about them! only problem is the nearest place to get them is NZ and I’m a typically un-cashed-up Subaru nut Get what you can, but make sure it’s good to start with! Cheers Bennie

What tyre diameter will you run - factory or Impreza? Only asking as you’ll be revving high if you retain the factory 23 inch diametre tyres. Swap that box to a 3.7 diff ratio and it *should* in theory pull your gearing back into spec, meaning better highway revs. Speedo will still be out. A 27 toothed speedo drive gear has matched my L’s speedo perfectly. I’ll be going for the same when the time comes with the brumby. I’m just not sure what model the 27 toothed drive wheel/cog came from. Cheers Bennie

Keep up the good work! It’s looking awesome. I would be so shattered if I found this on my guards - I’m about to look under the windscreen rubber of my brumby and I’m expecting it to not be pretty under there I missed this post - where did you get the spoiler from and do you have any pics of it fitted yet? Cheers Bennie

ANY other Subaru engine has better clearance compared to an EA82 abomination in the EA81 chassis - that move is blasphemy! I’m sure there are build threads detailing this cut length. I’ll be keen to know too as I hope to be doing something similar in the future. What box are you using and are there any mods done - or are you running a larger tyre size to keep engine revs at factory levels? Cheers Bennie

I’d also opt for a Subaru water pump. But that’s not really necessary compared to the Subaru thermostat. Blocking half your radiator might help a bit too. I used to do this in our snow country that’s no where near as cold as over your way! Cheers Bennie

Have you checked the codes? When I had starting issues with my EJ22 up in the snow country I swapped in a new knock sensor, temp sensor (fans will run all the time if the temp sensor is dead) and a cleaned up throttle position sensor (tps). The tps was set correctly, ecu reset (removed neg battery for half an hour) then I fired her up without any issues. The Oxygen sensor could also be worth changing out for a new one too. These typically won’t throw a code, but they’re also not used in initial start up until they’ve got some heat in them so they operate properly. Cheers Bennie

The bolt holes are in the oil pump housing. And if there’s a difference between auto and manual the answer could be no. I still don’t understand why the likes of the phase 1 EJ18, EJ20 and EJ22 (don’t know about the EJ25) didn’t have this little bracket if it’s such an issue - or is it an issue with the updated piston in arm type tensioner? Cheers Bennie

You work fast Giles!! As for suspension bushes - I’ve always used Nolathane (schpelling?) bushes. They’re the red polly bushes from memory. I go for the three piece units for ease of fitment once the old metal “cage” of the original bushes are out. Since doing the rear bushes in Ruby Scoo back in 2008, I’ve has to do them again in 2016 after many many kms and off-roading trips! So I’m happy with them! Cheers Bennie

@sparkyboy - any words in the form of a description as to what’s actually happening there? Got a new project? Pulled the EA82 turbo for an EJ20 turbo?? Putting an EA82 turbo in??? Too many questions raised. Cheers Bennie