el_freddo

Sorry mate, if that's the case why all the arguing? I love my L series too. I've now owned it for about 14 years and have put on just over 200,000km with lots of hard offroading. When I first got it I had to rebuild the engine. I was stoked with it. Then the radiator gave up and killed that engine. I dropped another one in but it was never the same. Now I've got an EJ22 and AWD. I'll never look back at the EA82. If I ever did another L series I'd seriously consider dropping an EA81 in it's place. I did just under 100k km on the two EA82 engines and have thus far done about 120k km on the same EJ22. It's copped lots of abuse from offroading including a session where I got the coolant up to 120*C for several minutes at high revs through soft sand. Later I froze the block due to incorrect coolant for alpine living :/ It kept going for many years after this without issue. If you've ever spent any time working on these engines you'll know all their flaws. I recommend not taking them to the mechanic as you'll spend more time on labour due to poor engine design. EG: cam boxes. If you don't know what they are, google them, or better yet, buy a workshop manual and have a go at pulling them. Not matter what you do they'll always leak after a few 1000km/miles. The EA82 was born due to the overhead cam marketing of the 80's. The EA81 was in development for fuel injection for the L series and I dare say that the EJ series engine was already in it's infancy in some form or another. Now I'm not saying that it's impossible to keep your L series running in it's stock form, but if you're wanting to do this, you really need to learn how to look after it yourself to keep the cost down. You'll also need to know where to get parts from and exactly what parts you'll need - many parts places will get MY and L series parts mixed up, sometimes you might even get a liberty part. I've had tie rod ends, ball joints and brake pads from a liberty at different times, and drive shafts from an MY don't fit either. You will need to know your parts and at times be patient with getting the right parts in. I'm going to find it hard to give up my L series, I'm not done with her yet either, but I've got space and the resources to keep her going - and if I can't get a part anymore I'll try and swap it for something EJ All the best with it. No need to argue about a good boat anchor, they do go ok for what they are when they're not busy leaking oil or doing the "lifter tick of death" - another reason why I got rid of my EA82! Cheers Bennie

My mate in WA (Western Australia, also known as "Wait Awhile" as just about everything comes from the east) would wet his pants over this. He's got one of the known 4 in the country and needs body sections to sort out rust on his one. The hatches are pretty cool Cheers Bennie

Yep, you've got to cut a slot into the tube that goes over the selector shaft from the gearbox. This allows the nut and bolt combo to clamp onto the shaft, further reducing any slop. Also best to replace the bush at the base of the gear lever as I believe this is the initial cause of the wear in that collar and pin setup. Has worked a treat for me on two brumbys so far Cheers Bennie

I love my L too! Funnily enough it started off pretty much the same as what yours looks like in the pic above - hubcaps and all! After a long time with the vehicle and working on it you could say it's "slightly modified" I've made a rear cargo storage area for mine by mounting some captive nuts inside the chassis rails. This fits my 42 litre Engel fridge, camp stove, food, tools, recovery gear and camp furniture etc. Heaps of stuff you can do with the back of these, especially if you don't need your back seat - you have the potential to make an awesome storage/sleeping setup for one in there with a full length bed by tilting the front seat forward. Cheers Bennie

Cheers guys. It's sad to say that I don't have any new pics of Ruby Scoo online at the moment. Pics with that subi haven't been very active Regards Bennie

Thanks guys. No new trip reports unfortunately Last trip out was for my brother's bucks party where I killed one of my off-road tyres - I can't get them anymore so now I'm on my roadies just clocking up k's to and from work. I'm now up to 515k km. I'd love to hit the 600 in her! We'll see. Next thing on her agenda is a 5 stud swap with new rims and tyres. I need to do some research before I go any further on this. And I have another two projects on the go... Thanks again for the comments! Cheers Bennie

My L does the same thing from time to time - it seems to come and go. My theory on this is that with our front hand brake via the caliper, heat is maintained on that part of the disc for a lot longer compared to the other part of the disc. If driving hard, or just slowed from a high speed and the hand brake is applied shortly after, there's going to be a lot of heat held in the caliper. This then warps the disc slightly as different parts of it cool at different rates. I find that applying the brakes firmly a couple of times gets rid of the issue. I have not had this issue for some time now and I haven't replaced or changed anything up front. Cheers Bennie

Last batch? Awww... I guess in Oz there's not so much of a demand for these parts anymore - which is an issue since I've got a few things I need to offload... Cheers Bennie

If your air suspension starts to sag in one corner replace the bag ASAP if you want to keep it (pretty unique - over here many were converted to springs). I say this due to people continuing to drive with the bag releasing air - this then works the compressor more often, usually resulting in it dying. This is the point where many convert to springs. Keep the bags leak free and the system should serve you well for a long time! I'm keen to see what the air suspension is like in the Liberty/Legacys... Cheers Bennie

This is what I did a few years ago and have not had an issue since. Not the prettiest fix but it works a treat Cheers Bennie

Easier still would be removing the whole rear assembly, K frame and swing arms together, then bolt this in. These subarus are simple in their rear suspension design. There's nothing complicated in it and would be heap easier to install than just an arm on its own. You'll also be replacing ALL components that could possibly be bent Cheers Bennie

Haha... This thread is gold. In Oz our brat/brumby has 3.7 ratio diff's as standard, all open. I've done it once. It's easiest to do with the diff centre out of the housing and this also avoids splatter ending up in the bearings or gears. The hardest part after removing the drive shafts off the diff stubs is getting the torx bolts out of the inside of the diff stubs. These bolts hold the stub axle in place. Once these are off/out you can remove the backing plate and the bearing retainer plates, ensuring you keep the shims on the correct side of the diff. The diff centre will come out easy after this. Clean it up, removing as much diff oil as possible. Then weld the spider gears together, weld the spider gears to the diff centre housing and you can add a few bolts in there to weld everything to as well. Weld both side of the housing where you can access the gears. If you don't remove the bearings be careful of heat build up as that could damage the bearings. Reassemble and fit back into the brumby. If you're ever going to run on the black top the stubs can be shaved to help removal of a shaft Then it's point and shoot fun, at least it was for me in my L. Cheers Bennie

Mate, you go to a fair effort to rid your rig of rust! When will this actually be completed?? And what size tyre are you running? I'm now in the market for a new set of offroad tyres. But I've got to work a few other things out first - ej brakes and rims with a better offset or not. Keep up the good work. Cheers Bennie

300k miles. That's a fair effort! Cheers Bennie

I've never heard of this as a result of towing at speed. Too much heat is what kills cylinder heads. Cheers Bennie

In Oz the screw on dizzy caps and rotors are only with the MPFI fuel injected EA82 engines. All other EA82s got the push on rotor button and clip on caps. Other differences in parts - clutch cable maybe shorter for the US market and I believe the throttle cable won't fit our subarus over here. There are differences between MY and L series seatbelts and buckles. They will fit but won't be the same as the other belts. And ensure you get the belt AND the buckle to ensure they'll work together Cheers Bennie

MPFI non turbo. If it was turbo a good hint would be a "scalloped" section in the engine crossmember under the RHS head. This is for the up pipe to the turbo. They would've had to have changed the exhaust from the turbo setup too. It may never have been a turbo unit - the old fella might've had it as a turbo conversion project... Either way it'll have a "factory" oil leak between the head and the cam box, usually about 5 mins after you've resealed it! The push button 4wd with the auto engages a set of clutch packs to engage the rear end. If these are flogged out you'll only get drive to the front wheels. It'll be obvious whether it's working or not. The MPFI system is pretty good for power and efficiency once you've got it going. If there's rust on the bores either rebuild it or find a replacement engine - even a good carb block will do the job with the MPFI heads fitted. The only difference in the block is a crank case breather near the bellhousing on the RHS of the block. Everything else will bolt up once the MPFI heads are fitted (direct bolt on too). It should be a good little runner once you've got it sorted Cheers Bennie

Head gasket for sure. Also look for rust in the bottom corners of the windscreen as they can typically rust here. Another place to check is behind the spare wheel. They're good little runners when you look after them - even then they don't need much attention in the long run Cheers Bennie

Welcome to the forum from a fellow Aussie mate Search some more and you'll find more subarus forums too. There are a couple of Aussie based ones (but we're all just as knowledgeable and friendly). Cheers Bennie

What was the condition of the hatch in the yard like? It's got me wondering if they'd help out an Aussie hatch owner that needs a rear cut (mate of mine). Sounds like you got a good score on the radiator! Cheers Bennie

Tried some silicone on the rubber? Cheers Bennie

Nice mate. I bet you turn some heads with those stickers! Do you offroad/rally or just daily it? Cheers Bennie

With a heated garage (we ALL know you have them! ) it'd be a good time to strip the engine down and do a thorough rebuild before the next spring comes around ;) A hone, rings, pistons should do the job. At worst you could need a rebore, which would still need rings and pistons (oversized!). While you're there a new set of bearings would be the go. Then the last bit would be dropping a mild cam in there Cheers Bennie

So what did you end up finding? Sorted now?? Cheers Bennie

Sounds good mate! I love our brumbys. Got any pics to share? Cheers Bennie