el_freddo

Thanks GD. That certainly puts my mind at ease about the bearings with what you say in the above quote in regards to your experiences with many gearbox builds. For the Subaru gearboxes, which areas are the weakest for these boxes and is there anything I can do to help strengthen/increase longevity? Thanks again for your input, much appreciated! Cheers Bennie

No pics but there should be mounts for the condenser in front of the radiator for the L series and the MY's/Brats etc used the radiator bolts and I can't recall what else... Use the gear that's built for your subi from factory and it'll all slot in except the hoses to the compressor. Cheers Bennie

G'day mark, Got any pics of the mods done to the lower radiator support panel? All I can see is the stock lower rad panel, the gear used and some clippings of the upper support panel and then the finished product. I'm just keen to see if your job is neater/easier/engineer friendly (something Ruby Scoo should have done as its legally required over here ) - also keen to see if its easier than what some of the boys have done over here... Cheers Bennie

Thanks GD - but the way it goes out here on the other side of the puddle is that the L series DR AWD gearbox wasn't delivered to our shores, which means that they're hard to get to start with. I'm lucky to have found the one I'm sitting on let alone have it in my shed. The way I see it is that bearings are easier to replace than a destroyed gearbox that I've already struggled to have in my possession. Its a bit like insurance for a good, long lasting gearbox... Thank Tycho, that would be great. I'm not doing syncros - just going to rough them up before re-assembly. When you say shaft bearings do you mean the little needle bearings or the main bearings that hold the shaft in the casings? Cheers Bennie

G'day crazyeights! If you're going with an EJ22 I don't see why the AC won't fit. The only thing that will be the issue is the thermo fans between the radiator and the front of the EJ. The AC will either need the pipes to be modified to fit the EA system to the EJ compressor OR fit the EA compressor to the EJ with a ribbed pulley. I reckon the pipes mod would be easier - I'm "getting around" to doing mine - its only been 2 year without AC on the EJ... The EJ is a sweet upgrade! Well worth the effort! Cheers Bennie

From this I'm guessing that you're running with the .871 5th gear ratio? Best bit is that the 5th gear ratio is easily interchangeable between the EA and EJ gearboxes. What I'm aiming for is the same as what you have shown above in your pics of revs vs vehicle speed - 62.5mph (100kmph) @3250rpm and ~70mph (110kmph - victorias highest legal speedlimit) @ ~3500rpm is too high for the EJ22. I get better economy at 62.5mph than at 70 - so aim is to drop those revs to get better economy and have the car behave more like it does with the liberty in stock trim... And as for your search for a gearbox, give these guys a message via their contact page, they're currently wrecking several foresters. http://www.sunspares.com.au - no guarantees but worth a try. If worse comes to worst I could pull a DR EJ box and send it over - you'll just have to get some tricky bit sorted in terms of a single range 4.11 foz box and have the upper gearsets pressed off the donor box and onto the DR box's upper shaft that incorporates the low range Dunno what shipping will cost, but a box at a "U pull-it" style wreckers would be about $300. My gearbox build so far is near $1000 before it's been put together, I've still got to look into bearings (got a thread about that - some not liking my idea of fresh bearings), maybe a front LSD ($500ish) and then a low range gear oiling system for those long steep climbs as I don't want things drying out on me! Add in the cost of an EJ DR gearbox for it's casings to bolt straight up to the EJ22 + a gearbox for the L series low range - then it's all really starting to add up, but should be worth it. EJ cased L series low ranged AWD with centre diff lock and 4.11 ratio diffs will be totally awesome offroad with 27 inch tyres to run. It'll be near stock gearing when running 27's Last is to pay a guy to get the tolerances right and I should be sweet. SOOO can't wait - I've only been collecting parts for about 3 years! Cheers Bennie

If you've already got AC it simple - just match the appropriate wires (for my EJ its one wire controlling the clutch) and have some custom pipe work made up to join the existing AC system to the EJ compressor. Or somehow mount the old AC compressor to the EJ and run a ribbed pulley then find an appropriate fan belt to suit. Cheers Bennie

Thanks DG. I'm after a kit as I'm building a box that I want to not touch for a long time - so new bearings throughout it is - If I can get a kit. Unfortunately I don't have the time or the space to pull it apart and go through individual bearing numbers. And I thought kits were readily available... I think I need to do a trip to a mate's subaru dealership to photo copy some of the parts book if I can. Only issue with that is it is an 8 hour round trip from where I am now Thanks anyway. Cheers Bennie

G'day I'm after the part number for a bearing kit that will fit the L series DR AWD gearbox. We didn't get these boxes over here from factory so I can't get a kit number from VINs. If some one could supply me with a kit number that would be greatly appreciated. Regards Bennie

I'd definitely put it on some sort of frame to secure it. As for the coil to dizzy, you just need to wire as it would be in the vehicle. Then give the coil a power lead to the battery. Best to fuse it. To crank it over simply touch a positive wire from the positive terminal or the terminal at the starter over to the solenoid trigger wire. I did this to test out my EJ before it went into my L series: ^ It was mounted on a frame for stability and it also helped with the mounting of the radiator. Cheers Bennie

It's a shame to hear of one of these subi's go to the parts gods... We didn't get them over here which is probably why I feel this way about the subi in question... It's all good to be in a "dry climate" that preserves cars from rust, but if you didn't get them here in the first place its even worse to see them parted - particularly when the look sooooo good in the pics that have been posted! Cheers Bennie

It will bolt straight in, but you will have to work on the wiring to make it run correctly. You might be able to limp it around with the EJ18 wiring and ECU but I don't think you'd be getting the most of of the EJ22. Cheers Bennie

Good stuff Superu! This makes me confident in the use of the 4.11 diff ratio in a gearbox build that I'm still gathering parts for. Glad it all came together and is doing what you hoped it would do. Cheers Bennie

Plus the hurt caused by parting with your much loved subi! I had the option to swap to a much better body'd subi but stuck with Ruby Scoo. I know the day is coming that I will have to move on for what ever reason, but I know that it was wrong at the time! Second that! Still won't be up there with the discs! Agreed. I feel like I should be spraying the underside of Ruby Scoo and touching up the tiny bits of surface rust she's got. If you saw her you'd have it done in no time looking at the efforts you've gone to on this one! Cheers Bennie

Or when up to temperature enough for the thermo switch to turn it on. This is how they work in Oz on both Brats and L series... And the AC should switch both fans on as well. I seriously hope you don't force it into 1st with the synchromesh!!! At least double clutch it! I think you will find that most japanese gearboxes have some sort of a device that doesn't allow you to select 1st until you're almost at a full stand still. Doubling the clutch and rev matching can get around this Cheers Bennie

This is how I have my three thermo fans hooked up. They go well and I'm happy with how it all works. I have used one relay per fan as I plan to have individual switches for each fan so that I can have one or two on when the ignition is on (summer time) and the others on auto. Off position is for deep water crossings. Cheers Bennie

You don't have to split the half cases to swap 5th gear. The 5th gear only needs the rear housing removed to swap it out. The pic above is of an EA gearbox, the difference is in the pinion shaft for the EJ, it will be a lot easier to swap the 5th in the EJ box as I'm not sure that it is possible with the EA... Here is a split EA box, the lower shaft (pinion) on the EJ's doesn't have the big gear on the end as the centre diff fits in that space... I would drop the box out to do the job, but I have heard that is possible to do it in your subi if you've got a big enough lift. You need to access the top plate to remove the bolt that holds a retaining arm on the shift selector so that the gear selector shaft can be removed from the selector forks and the rear housing removed. Swap your 5th gear ratio and then reverse the process Cheers Bennie

G'day mate. Just read your post and I'm keen to know more about these Delta Low Torque Cams. Where did you source them, are they still available and do you use the factory ECU with them? Sorry if this feels like an interrogation but I'm keen to know more about them as it might be something I would consider doing with my EJ'd L series (Ruby Scoo). Have you got those videos online? Cheers Bennie

Really? I've not had an issue with this mount and I would consider the offroading I've done to be pretty tough for most 4wd's. Here's pic of my setup, not the greatest pics to show that mount unfortunately: I'm looking at making a set of adjustable radius rods like these below: The reason I'm after an adjustable set is so that I can find my own sweet spot and move the front wheels away from the firewall. With my current setup of 3 inches lift on the engine crossmember and 2 inches lift on the gearbox/radius rod mount plate the front wheels have been pulled towards the firewall. No biggie if you're running stock tyres, but the 27's just clear it enough not to be able to run chains in winter that are legally required to get up the mountain for the snow... Hope this helps out El Presidente - these units are currently on a lifted, EJ turbo'd brat that run 27 inch tyres, so I figure my EJ shouldn't be able to kill them too easily, I'm looking at having a spare set made up anyway. Cheers Bennie

G'day all. Been too long in coming around to get this sorted. Bcoutback came along for the ride as did his mate steve who also played photographer for the day This was the start of my day, I couldn't help myself with this pic: Shortly after this pic I met up with damien and steve - and off we went. I wanted to first hit up a favourite hill climb of mine, but unfortunately overshot the turn off and ended up down another track where we discovered the location of the controversial shooting range that the locals are against. This track went down a little further before meeting with a bunch of other tracks that I'd not explored before (something to do when I get home for a bit again ), the bit before the track junctions was very washed out. I had a go at it anyway and got into one of those positions that says "I'm going to roll it" The first of many for the day Here's the pics from that particular track: ^ Headed back up to bcoutback's subi ^ I forgot how slippery and boggy the wet sand becomes. This granitic sand is great at choking up your tread depth to create slicks that get you no where. On to another track that might be more suitable for the outback (stock). So I worked out where I when wrong and got us back on track. We almost got to the bottom of the hill climb - after driving around trees over the road we were met by several huge trees over the road without a track around it for a 4wd vehicle. So instead of turning around and heading back up, we did a cheeky little dash back to the main road, 2k down the black top back to where we started... We then when looking for some better tracks that we might actually be able to use - we headed to camp track and found a good obstacle to have a go at. I tried the good ol' "keep the wheels on each side of it" trick, only to slip into the hole: It didn't take much to get out of here, but I did sustain some superficial damage to the front right guard when I fell into the hole. A bit of kicking got rid of it though... I don't have any pics of the outback having a go at this as I took video instead (now have two vids to get cracking on!). We then checked out the section of camp track that I wanted to "test" Ruby Scoo out with. When we got there I discovered that it had degraded very badly since I was there about three years ago. The recent rains hadn't helped at all either, huge ruts (at least 3ft), rocks that have "grown" and a ledge that used to be about 10cm was now closer to 40cm tall. Not a chance. So we turned around and headed back to the junction to continue on the last section of camp track. Smooth sailing until we hit this: Damien got the outback through it as well! It took a bit of effort and unfortunately I didn't get his victory on camera as I was coaching him along the way after getting stuck in the same place several times. Once that was corrected he got out with a bit of work. The rev limiter and Damien may have met too... After this we headed out on a track that I knew ended up in the sand pit - an old sand quarry that was most likely used for the road surfaces in the forest to get the logging trucks in for the timber. We took a detour that I thought looked interesting. There was one point where I thought we'd be turning around but the outback surprised myself as well as Damien and Steve. A couple of hundred metres down the track it turned a little ugly for a stock subi so we turned around. We had a go at pole track, I was keen to check out where Phiz got his unlifted, 27 inch tyre wielding MY sedan up as I was wanting a go with Ruby and her current setup. This is what we found: This type of damage was pretty hectic and unexpected too. So we left this one alone... Continue on the other part of pole track we did, until I had detoured without noticing (tree down over intersection). This is what this part of the forest looked like after some burning off in the last year or two, a bush fire also tore through here in 2003: A bit further up the track we found more damage from the heavy rains we've experienced in the last 6 to 9 months: This hole was simply huge - even a well kitted out "big 4by" would struggle to get out. At least it might fill the hole and fix the issue Previously in the day we'd had a go at the Sand pit track - it was well washed out beyond what the outback was capable of climbing, so we headed to Lancefield for lunch. We ran into the end of the farmer's market, first time I'd visited it excluding driving through town when it was on... We got some pies etc, ate and headed back out again. So back to the story of pole track where I missed the turn due to the fallen tree: We ended up in some hairy places for the outback, these tracks even gave Ruby Scoo a run for her money at times. So I turned around and did it again to meet back up with Bcoutback. We had some fun in this area getting out. I had another one of my ************ my pants moments (on film) while we got out. My head was in a spin too as I'd not been to this area - and I thought I knew this area like the back of my hand! We ended up popping out above the track we aborted earlier in the day. Since we were so close to the sand pit we went for a walk to have a look at the degraded track out of the area (if we had've headed in from the other side earlier in the day). We found another hole that could eat a 4wd or two. Here's a lame pic of me trying to show Ruby Scoo's belly clearance - I thought I was much closer to the ground and not have an inch clearance under the belly: Then we headed off for the track we weren't look forward to, at least we were headed down and not up! ^ The outback did very well with the rocky terrain coming down. I reckon Damien's now thinking of what he wants to do with his outback We tried to end the day with a go at the lower end of Stumpy's track. The last bit was always a bit of a rut, last time I was here it was a hole that could be negotiated, this time it was impassable: But some muppet decided to have a go at it, probably the night before when I heard an engine going hard for some time on dusk: ^ You can see the white paint he left behind and where the front right wheel had been working away at the wall of sand as the 4wd moved backwards! We took the chicken track around this hole and continued on. It got very rocky and unfortunately I a) left Damien and Steve behind and 2) didn't get any video or photo evidence of the climb - which was intense and enjoyable at the same time. I met up with the Bcoutback at the end of lower stumpy's track. We had some time spare so we headed off to an area of the forest that had recently been re-graded so was rather smooth - I was also interested to know why it had been graded but couldn't work it out. We cruised around this area and ended up at someone's back paddock gate - turn around again. This was basically the end of the day for us, we headed out of the forest back to where we met in the morning, had the usual chat that is meant to be to say goodbye and have a laugh at stuff from the day - half an hour later and you're still at it... I'll have to work on the video now... stay tuned as I've got another one to finish first. No rest for the wicked! I'd like to thank Damien and Steve for making the effort to come out on such short notice and on the easter weekend - it was the only time I could get out and have a go with the scorpions, I was most happy with their performance Cheers Bennie

Thanks fellas, Thinking I'll grab a set of cheapies to see me to the end of the year before I go with the L AWD gearbox and a set of 25 spline shafts - then I'll be looking at OEM shafts for the long haul I guess I'll do a search for more feedback too - always forget about that function, its a really bad habit of mine Cheers Bennie

Ease up mr fox - we don't have un-rustable cars! Any rust that is found on a vehicle is good enough to have a road worthy knocked back... lucky for us in victoria you only do this when you get your car initially registered - unless you're unlucky and a member of the constabulary goes over your vehicle for an on the spot inspection... Keep up the good work loyale! You may be keen to know there's another short clip of ruby scoo available on youtube now Cheers Bennie

I doubt its possible. It's pretty tight in there as it is! Best fix I've done for these is the EJ conversion - but I won't side track you on that one. The lifter tick is not detrimental to the operation of your EA82, just a pain in the arse! Replacing the oil pump seal, shaft, rotor and matching pump gear can do wonders for the oil pressure as it is basically a new oil pump without the cost of a complete unit. One thing that kills the lifters is letting them continually tick without regular oil changes - the gritty oil wears out the cylinders that fill with oil that allows the "piston" end to compress the oil. These cylinders can leak oil out allowing the lifter to compress and thus make the ticking sound you hear when you run your EA82. I pulled a set apart to make some solid units (note: don't do this with MPFI units, not good before 4000rpm, after that it goes off like a frog in a sock!), some were really sloppy and others were pretty tight. Also if you do the solid units, they're a PITA to get the right clearances to make it run right without ticking... Cheers Bennie

36mm socket, 1/2 inch drive breaker bar and my 82kg's bouncing up and down on the other end until it doesn't move anymore. This has worked front and rear for me without issues! As for specific torque settings I believe it would be the same as previously posted ~196nM but without a bar that can read that far it's hard to gauge exactly And I agree with the rear disc conversion being the best brake upgrade besides an xt6 or crossbred conversion. IMO its a must before dropping an EJ in! Cheers Bennie

G'day all. I'm looking at new front (and rear, later) half shafts/drive shafts. I have used a company called GSR I think, anyway they were made in china, copped a flogging for about 20 months but have now given up the ghost - too noisy for my liking. After then fitting a second hand set I had in the shed and getting a weird vibration, I worked out that it was the drive shafts that was causing it. I now have another second hand set, history unknown, going well, eliminated the vibration but they click when crawling on the street in traffic (in a straight line), while cornering and anything under 45 miles an hour. So with all of that I'm considering a new set of shafts but don't want anything made from china as that seems to be all we can get over here I've looked on Rockauto.com and have found EMPI but no details as to where they're made. I'm keen for something that's made in america or canada as I would say that they will be far superior to anything from china. If anyone here can suggest brands or specific items that have served you well, I'll be keen to know about them. My search for parts pretty much stops at rockauto when looking OS. Cheers Bennie