el_freddo

Easy: side mount the radiator on the side wall in the panel behind the seats/under the rear window with air ducting out the back of the vehicle, create an opening to the outside world with a grille/fins/air scoop. Could run a radiator each side of the vehicle and use an oil cooler in one for the engine oil (if the auto cooler is up for that sort if pressure - cold starting oil pressure could be an issue with that distance to travel come to think of it...). Dad did the same in a mk3 fastback that he dropped a rotary into. Looked mint and worked well. Cheers Bennie

If you're concerned with the centre diff check it for backlash. It shouldn't be much but really I don't know the exact specs. I've got one that came in my original box that has a quarter inch play in the input shaft. Not good. I've been told this is the worst anyone has seen before they grenade. I'm yet to work out how to reduce this - I'm not in any rush as it's not needed atm. If I'm on the computer I'll upload some pics detailing this. As for the locking lever being left to float, there's a descent stopper built into it do it's unlikely it'd engage randomly. With the rear case removed you should've been able to check the dog clutch for damage - it's a pretty chunky dog clutch so I doubt there will be any... Cheers Bennie

Not unless it's got water in it... Cheers Bennie

LED and HID conversions are my pet hate - especially the blue hid lights (factory lights included). The driver might like them, but as their oncoming road user coping their lights I can tell you they're all blinding, especially since many of our roads have small bumps etc in them changing the pitch of the vehicle so the lights look like they're actually flashing you. Something you don't get with halogen lights. Anyway, arguement aside, this is how we do better lights in Australia - leave the low beam alone if it's aimed right etc: ^ Holden VT with the driving lights. Two 100mm and two 150mm units with 130w halogen globes. Liberty got an upgrade, see below... The goal is to throw as much light down the road as possible. The earlier you can see the roos the better off you are. Plus many ppl think it's ok to drive down our country freeways with their highbeams on. These ensure you're the reminder... And I'm not into LED bars either - too blue in colour. Once a warm white light is available I'll probably look into them further. Cheers Bennie

Correct. There are many conversions on the forum. Most typical one is the ej22 from the gen1 or gen2 liberty. If you go this way try and get a good running car as you'll have all the important bits to make sure you can get your car running with the EJ. It's a lot of work for just getting rid of the lifter tick though. And to do this conversion reliably you should put in some engine maintenance too. Cheers Bennie

Any play in the bearings of the idler or tensioner pulleys? That's what I'd be looking at... Cheers Bennie

Have a look on ebay. I'm sure they're still available. As for PH... Who cares? Cheers Bennie

I dropped an OBX in the front of mine. Been going very well for about 5 years or so now. Only downer is the stub axle. I don't know how to change this or if it's possible. Shoving a 25 spline cv cup on the MY shaft has been known to work. Cheers Bennie

So it's been about 5 years on this build... Any updates/further pics? How's it all running? Cheers Bennie

If you do this again I highly recommend dropping a front LSD in there while the box is split Cheers Bennie

I don't have any Bennie

Now you say that Ido, the process sounds like the process to remove the rear suspension subframe... Cheers Bennie

In neutral. Stay there long enough and oil won't be moving around the box, you could damage the input shaft bearing when stationary. Dunno how true that is. Either way if you're moving and sitting in this neutral position you're effectively not in control of the vehicle and could be in danger. Good thing about the neutral position is that Subaru in their wisdom put it there in the first place and added synchros to the high and low range gears. This means we can change between hi and low range on the fly if you know what driving gears you should be in when changing from high to low range Cheers Bennie

No need to do all that. Jack the car, undo the two upper bolts and the lower bolt on the swing arm and remove the strut/shock and spring combo. Removing the tyre can give you more room to work with - and will make aligning the lower mount easier as you're not having to lift as much weight to slide the bolt in the hole Cheers Bennie

To do the cut down you DON'T need the wiring to the rear of the car. But the wiring/plug for the fuel pump is nice to have. Aftermarket wiring can be used too though. First time playing with efi wiring? If so, don't let it get the better of you! Label all engine plugs! Then strip wiring of the conduit to expose all the wires. From here I traced the wires from the plugs back to the ECU, taping those wires together every foot or so (or when other wires weaves through the ones I needed) right back up to the ECU. Then with any remaining wires that we're loose from the ECU they were taped together too/marked as important as appropriate. Enter the wiring diagrams. Those loose wires - trace to the ECU plug, find which PIN number they are (plug diagrams are when looking at the plug from the ecu's perspective back at the plug). Find out what the wire is for and label it. These wires generally stay in the vehicle to be tapped into the L series harness - usually via a fuse panel to protect the two looms from failure cussed by the other loom (that's the theory anyway. I've not had a fuse pop with mine). Once you know what all the wires are it's time to wrap it back up again. I used electrical tape, spiral wrap, then electrical tape after I had the shape I wanted. It can be done in the car (can be painful) or on the floor. Most of all have fun with it and remember your end goal when the going gets tough. If it's over whelming, have a cuppa/read the paper then go back to it with a clearer mind frame Cheers Bennie

I've always used a G clamp to compress the tensioner piston - and have one I the tool kit (need to be self sufficient when 4wdn over here). Cheers Bennie

Sorry, should've said the oil cited was for my ej22'd L... No justy here. We do have one very rusty Sherpa. Cheers Bennie

You can swap diff centres to use your factory axles. I'm sure there's a how to on here somewhere. I hope you like gear oil! Cheers Bennie

The code will be separate issues. Check them out to ensure your engine is running with all ponies from the stables so to speak. Cheers Bennie

Don't mess with those interlock pellet things. They almost did my head in getting them back in - there's a certain sequence to put them in correctly iirc. Love working on gearboxes - I might have my hands dirty in another one later this year... Cheers Bennie

I can change my ej22 timing belt on the side of the road no worries... Not that I've ever had to! I was thinking the other day that I've not recorded when I did my last cam belt change. No noises from the idlers in there atm so I'm not worried about it - early ej22e's are non interference anyway Anyway, many ways to power your subi these days from full engine conversions, efi adaptations or fixing and tuning another carb to your EA - it's achieve to their own and generally personal preference has a lot to do with the final outcome. Cheers Bennie

Nice one mate! It wouldn't be hard to make a frame to bolt between the engine stand and the gearbox (held on by two bolts of the lower side case when sitting on one side), this frame then has a set of horizontal arms to support the weight of the rear section of the box, allowing the box to be secured and able to be split... Thinking I'll have to steal the gearbox on the engine stand trick Cheers Bennie

Thanks Dave! Those pics are tops! With the second pic I don't have those metal vacuum hose lines. But I should be able to sort something out as these hoses will be different on the ea81 charcoal canister. And I'll have to look closer into the EGR pipe in my parts ea81 to see how close it is and check out my later model ea81 that uses the cast plates on the exhaust between the head and the Y pipe. I might be able to swap it over to the other side and make up an appropriate pipe to fit. Or drill the head (not wanting to) or blank off the EGR valve contraption. Time will tell. Thanks again for the pics! I'll be downloading them when I'm on the computer for sure! Cheers Bennie

Nothing bastardised about it - it's just an engine stand with a gearbox mounted to it. Now I'd like to see them split the box... Cheers Bennie

On the SPFI system there's a purge control solenoid. I hadn't thought about what's on the EA81 system atm. Might have to look into that one. Air box: I've got a VL unit somewhere - or was going to us a classic range rover cylindrical air filter. Either will be more than good enough for what I want to do I just need to find both of them then workout which one best suits my application. I'm looking forward to having this sorted in the next month or so between work Cheers Bennie