el_freddo

Yes you are correct. I was just stating that if you were to switch oils you would be able to see where your oil usage is since there’s no leaks etc. Just looked up a quart and it’s double what I thought - the best part of a litre. So in your mum’s case she’s using just under a litre of oil for every 750 miles/1200km. That’s the equivalent of an oil change volume burnt between oil changes if you’re doing it every 5k miles/8000km. While oil is definitely cheaper than an engine replacement it’s an extra visible cost that would certainly annoy me! Fuel prices fluctuate. Currently a litre of unleaded or diesel is about $AU1.89/L or $US1.41/L which = $US5.33/US gallon. Locally here it peaked at $AU2.20/L for both fuels. If you wanted premium unleaded add a minimum 20c extra per litre! Now with this fuel cost it’s unusual due to demand post covid and Russia’s war in Ukraine. We’re “normally” bouncing between $AU1.20 to $1.50/L during peak times. A bottle of decent oil in 5L (1.32 US gallon) is about $AU50/$US37.87. Going by my calculations bouncing between your figures here from your Mum’s Impreza, google for conversions and the phone’s calculator (I should get a pen and paper!): - 35mpg = 6L/100km or 14.8km/L - 33mpg = 7.19L/100km or 13.9km/L - 30mpg = 7.94L/100km or 12.7km/L So the fuel costs at 750 miles or 1200km look like this with fuel at $AU1.89/L: - 35mpg/ 6L/100km = $AU153.24/$US114.35 - 33mpg/ 7.19L/100km = $AU163.16/$US121.76 - 30mpg/ 7.94/100km = $AU178.58/$US133.26 At 1200km/750miles that puts a 2mpg loss at an extra $AU9.92/$US7.40 and 5mpg loss at an extra $25.43/$US18.97!! So yeah the larger loss of mpg well exceeds the cost of a bottle or two of oil over here and makes sense when analysing the financials involved. I wonder how those in the states required to pass emissions testing go with the oil consumption, or what the difference is between consuming oil and being hit with the higher mpg in the test results. It’s all quite interesting when breaking down the maths involved after all of the above. I’ve aimed to put it into terms that I can understand/compare to while keeping the stats for the majority on this forum. Cheers Bennie

I have to admit I’m running a sleeve kit in the front of my brumby/brat. Spring rate is unknown and are definitely on the stiff side too far. I’m looking into experimenting with two other spring options I have that will only cost me my time - the other set of springs that came in the kit, they’re a smaller diametre so I’d imagine are a lower rating, the other option is a set of front Honda Civic/Prelude/Integra (possibly) springs - the ones ppl put in the back of their L series. I’ve got a set off an ‘89 Prelude to try out if they’ll fit the way I hope they will. The biggest advantage of the sleeve kit that I can see is that you don’t have to find a specific coil over to make the front end work with the hub knuckle hanging off the bottom of the strut. The dampening rate seems to be ok for what I want with the coil over sleeve kit. Cheers Bennie

Dunno about a factory replacement but you or any upholstery place should be able to do it easy enough - remove the old one, pick the stitching apart and use the old bits as templates to make a new boot. Getting the correct looking material would be the trick here… Cheers Bennie

^ none of those things sound economical vs a slightly better fuel economy GD! False economics to me. Spend less on fuel only to spend a pot load more oil to keep it in the sump - then throw a replacement catalytic converter at it down the track at some point. Being full synthetic oil no doubt, you won’t see any blue smoke as it seems to always burn clean out the exhaust pipe. If you switched to mineral (watch everyone cringe here) you’ll see the effects of the oil rings not doing a proper job. Cheers Bennie

Not an issue unless you’re hitting sand or mud every weekend with the boots like this. For a regular road going vehicle you could drive like this for some time without it becoming an issue. As Ido said, can be done with the rack in the vehicle. Also a good time to check/renew the rack mount bushes while you’re there. An alignment after the work will ensure your tyres wear evenly meaning you get the best performance and life out of them. Cheers Bennie

Sounds like a bit of an exercise in lightening one’s wallet to me. Why were the CV shafts swapped out, was there anything wrong with the old ones? You know you can repack the original with grease and they’re god to go again, they’re also the best option (OEM). Same for the coil pack, why was it swapped and what was it swapped with? Rear wheel bearings, leave them alone unless there’s actually an issue/noise/wheel wobbles when in the air. You’re more likely to stuff up a wheel bearing swap or replace a good working bearing with an inferior product. “Don’t fix what isn’t broken” - but certainly go through and replace all the fluids with quality products. They don’t have to be race spec, just good quality that does what you need them to do. As for the gearbox - make sure the oil used meets the requirements of Subaru. This could be found in the owners manual and certainly in the FSM that’s downloadable from various places on the net. Only real issue is running tyres of different makes or sizes, this can wear out the centre diff causing a binding situation when turning, you’ll hear a clunking sound. I believe this is a Gen3 issue when they changed the design of the centre diff but I’m not 100% sure on this one for the Gen2, thought it worth mentioning though. If/when you pull the engine it’s a good time to swap out the rear air oil separator plate for a metal one, yours is most likely plastic and is prone to leaking. It’s a good time to reseal the gudgeon pin access plate and replace the rear main seal if it’s the original one. Pulling and checking the oil pump is worth the effort too. You might find one or two rear plate screws that are finger tight, or they might all be fine too. Replace the rubber O ring while you’re in there. I hope this helps. Cheers Bennie

Always great to see an update mate! Sounds like it’s not too far off now, but I’m sure you’ve still got that 10% to go that takes 90% of the time to do it… Cheers Bennie

As posted in your other thread in the 80’s subforum (adding here too for others that might stumble across this in the future), this could be a good read: Cheers Bennie

What year is your Legacy and how many km/miles? You could have worn bushes that max out and allow metal on metal contact of suspension arm and crossmember/mount bracket. Worth looking at the various bushes to see what’s up. You’ll have other handling issues too if bushes are worn - possibly a crabbing like feeling in cornering. The harder the cornering, the worse the sensation. Cheers Bennie

Is it a rotating type sound when turning etc or just a knocking sound you’re hearing? Asking because if it’s a knocking sound it’s most likely shot front struts. The tell tale sign to confirm this is when driving over slightly undulating road surfaces you’ll hear the knocking Cheers Bennie

Things to check before buying stuff: - codes stored on the ECU? - fuel pump is operating correctly - fuel pressure regulator is ok and not back feeding fuel into the intake - check plugs and leads - check voltage at the ECU and possibly the injectors with the ignition ON - from memory the injectors are earth switched by the ECU - check alternator voltage output, I’m guessing this is still a round plug alt, it’s worth upgrading to the later model “square” plug unit. - check/replace the ignition and fuel pump relays Once you’ve checked and cleared these as non issues you can move forward onto looking at other things. Cheers Bennie

This thread might shed some light on what you’re chasing, it’s also a good read in general: If you’d is an auto, that seems a bit odd to me for a racer. Cheers Bennie

You’ll want to find a short ratio 4.44 final drive gearbox. I don’t know what they’re out of exactly but they’re out there. Other way to go is with an auto and a big trans cooler. The thermo fan cut switch is a must for water crossings. I tend to avoid mud holes, too much crap to clean after crossing these. Cheers Bennie

A snorkel is only as good as the seal in the rest of the air intake. If you have a leaky air box it will let water in if you get swamped. But that said if you’re in THAT deep you’ve got other issues. I fitted a mid ‘90’s Montero snorkel to my L series (model before the Legacy), I had to heat and bend the main elbow and the top bend to reset the angles of the snorkel head. The same model unit might work for you, do some searches as it’s been done a few times around the traps. Cheers Bennie

You need to look around at other forums, lots of information on this sort of swap from the likes of rslibertyclub.org or Subyclub.com and possibly some on Ausubaru.com.au All of the above are Oz based sites but the info should be basically the same for what you’re seeking. Cheers Bennie

Ooh that’s a different build! All the best with sorting out what you want. Cheers Bennie

I’m wanting more clarification on this one, I see you have some ideas floating around in the top paddock… This would be for EJ22 conversions into the earlier EA82 models, correct? Standalone/aftermarket would be the ultimate way to go, and with the factory wiring systems becoming harder to find, it could end up the only way to go. As for programming the factory ECU, I’m 99.9% sure the early stuff is locked with what it’s got already, no messing with the programming there. Carb and dizzy can be done but you’d be sacrificing reliability, efficiency and ultimately power too. There were some EJ engines that were factory carb or SPFI with a dizzy for spark in other markets. At the end of the day it seems you’re not building a power house engine, mods to NA EJ22s don’t return the bang for the buck spent - unlike the EJ20 turbo variants, they’re a whole other kettle of fish. If GD drops in here I’m sure he’ll back what I’ve said above with his knowledge and experience, other will be in that same boat too. Don’t try reinventing something, in this case, that’s been tried many times without success in anything other than throwing money to the wind. Cheers Bennie

You need to replace the ignition module in the dizzy. Having already replaced the coil, if it’s new, you’ll know the ignition module is safe. Often the coil dies, killing the ignition module with it. Cheers Bennie

This is normal. The MV and the L series both have 3.7 ratios available with their gearboxes. Less work for you! Cheers Bennie

@subaru1988 - the reason why the windscreen guy told you this is because the way the L series has its windscreen fitted is with glue/hard silicone to effectively glue it in place. If there’s any rust under there the windscreen will leak and not hold in place, and if left, the rust will continue unchecked, potentially to a point where it’s irreversible. The MYs/Brats etc have a rubber that grips the body work and the windscreen, so some rust under there doesn’t really need to hold anything if it’s a hole, but it will continue and you’ll probably have a water leak into the cabin too. Cheers Bennie

Geez I love the look of these! My mate on the otherside of our vast country/continent has the most famous one in Oz - Hatchie. It’s a beast and only one of 5 we think are still in existence in our country as we never got them delivered here. Totally have a crack at saving it! The other thing that could be done is grafting good, non-rusted parts from a donor vehicle. Best bit is that this part of the chassis is shared with the Brat, sedan, wagon and coupes! So find a rear ended one of these and go for your life on it. Is there any other rust in it? I’d check under the windscreen and the door hinges. Typically rust like what you found I the first pic you shared is a result of a rust hole under the windscreen which allows moisture/water to work its way down the inside of the A pillar, rusting out a patch under the lower hinge followed by the chassis rail you have shown there. It’s best to pull the windscreen and check it out under there as ANY small bits of rust showing around the edges = more under it every time! I hope you and your mates get this one sorted and manage to do a good job on it. An extreme way to really look after it and the ultimate way to do it is strip the whole vehicle down to just the body and have it acid dipped. It’s a process but the best way to know that you’ve killed all the rust. After the acid dip I believe they do a primer or some dip to seal up all the fresh metal to avoid more rust. Cheers Bennie

Good thread dig! I found my horn would only work at certain angles of the steering wheel. Turns out the little pin that slides on the ring of the steering wheel had worn down so far that it wasn’t always in contact with the ring. I found a used .22 rifle shell fitted perfect over the pin on the steering column and my horn worked perfect ever since. To fix this the steering wheel has to be removed. Cheers Bennie

If going anything other than the EA81 a gearbox upgrade would be a good idea - an EA82 pt4wd 5speed gearbox is a good upgrade for a modern feeling gearbox, no tractor spec there. With more work an EJ AWD gearbox can be fitted and a forester box could be good for those larger tyres Electric conversions have been done with decent results, have a look on YouTube, a bloke in Australia converted his brumby to electric and is road legal. He has a range of about 150kms/90ish miles on one charge. From what I understand of these conversions there are many out there, you can do direct drive or retain the factory gearbox, can DIY, pay someone to do it, or buy a kit and DIY that way. The important bit is to have an electric conversion road legal with your local authorities. Cheers Bennie

The 20 minute thing to me sounds like something electrical is getting hot then not doing it’s job until it’s cooled off again. Check your coil to make sure it’s giving spark when the issue arises. If that’s not giving spark and a known good one is doing the same then the issue could be dizzy related (would be a very rare occurrence), my thoughts are some sort of electric ignition control module that sends a spark pulse to the coil for the high voltage spark to the plugs. It shouldn’t be to hard to work out if you have spark or not when you have a no start once up to operating temp. Cheers Bennie

Hey Lezor, A like-for-like engine replacement is the easiest to do. The EA82 should drop in no worries, there might be some minor wiring differences but it should bolt in all the same. Any EJ engine will require an adaptor plate and flywheel modifications to use the factory gearbox. You will have to cut down the EFI engine management loom to fit it to your L series - unless you can get your hands on a carburettor fed EJ engine, in which case you’re looking at minor wiring changes between the factory L series. You would still need an adaptor plate and flywheel bolt hole modifications. I hope this helps out! Cheers Bennie