el_freddo

I think you’d need to compare ECU pin outs manual vs auto. From the wiring looms I’ve cut down, I recall that the TCU needs are T’d into wires between sensors and the ECU. Cross reference part numbers and that will tell you more about what you’re up against. Before all of that. Look into the idle air control valve/mechanism. The rubber end on the plunger seems to get brittle and crack/wear in a groove that probably doesn’t supply the greatest seal when needed. Another thing, have you read the codes? I’d say that if you had an issue with the ECU you’d be experience more than erratic idle issues! Cheers Bennie

Could also be a difference in the control unit. You might find the auto uses a different unit to the manual. Cheers Bennie

I don’t see rust causing slip issues, if anything some rust in there (while it lasts) will provide extra friction and extra belt wear. It’s an interesting situation. My sister’s Gen3 RX is apparently doing the same thing, but it doesn’t seem to be as full on as what you’re describing - yet. Cheers Bennie

Our markets got the dual range until just recently I believe, all are AWD, no part time systems beyond the L series/MY brumby platforms that were phased out in the early to mid ‘90’s. Cheers Bennie

This is another one I was meaning to post about ages ago. This swap is into a Williams Wildcat skid steer tractor. Pretty cool piece of kit. From factory it ran the Wisconsin V4 - a popular stationary workhorse engine of that era. Not easy to get parts for over here these days… so what’s an alternative? Throw an EA81 above the location of the old engine with a solid shaft connecting the two hydraulic pumps that are mounted on either side of the engine, directly to its crankshaft. This one utilises a belt to deliver power from the flywheel to the hydraulic pumps: Pics borrowed from here: https://austrak-wildcat.com/wildcat-mods/ And this is the Williams Wildcat: The V4 in place: front view, seat is an addition: Above two pics from here: https://austrak-wildcat.com/2013/05/25/alans-incredible-wildcat/amp/ Very low centre of gravity gave it an edge on inclines, you can drive one of these across the sides of hills that would be considered dicey at best in a regular tractor. Great for slashing hillsides with. If anyone happens to be visiting Melbourne in Oz, head over to Spotswood Science works - they have what I think is the last one off the production line in one of their display sheds. Many of them were construction yellow, which is what this last example is painted in. That’s it for me and creating/swapping Subaru engines into bits of machinery. Now curious if anyone else has any to share, given the lack of responses so far I’m guessing it’s a pretty rare thing to do! Cheers Bennie

Any updates on this Todd? There’s this write up for the Gen3, some of it might be relevant to other models too: http://www.subyclub.com/topic/12666-diy-installretrofit-cruise-control-to-3gen-liberty/ Cheers Bennie

Interesting. Many of our Libertys (Legacy else where) in Oz are GL spec but don’t usually have that in their spec level description. The reason why I picked it as the LX base model was because of the tailgate trim. This is the dead giveaway for the hard to find LX model over here. Most of our libertys have this tailgate trim and full electrics, including factory cruise control: They’ve all got the raised roof over here too. I didn’t know the flat roof was even a thing until someone here was frothing over a raised roof shared on the forum. Cheers Bennie

Is that how they determine scar is roadworthy over there?? Cheers Bennie

Well you figured it out yourself before a dozen posts telling you want to check and look out for, kudos from me too for that. And don’t stress, before I knew about forums I had my rebuilt EA82 only ever running on one bank at a time. It took me about 6 months of working on the car before I worked out what the problem was - and that was only because my sister’s L series had the same issue after a HG swap. Once we worked that one out I had mine solved in just a few minutes. I was so stoked! So don’t go beating yourself up on not having replies with ideas but still finding the issue! Forums are slow now compared to pre Facebook and “smart” phones became a thing. Cheers Bennie

The H6 is a very different beast in the HG swap department, much cheaper to drop in a JDM second hand engine. A mate of mine did the same over here as it was cheaper and less than half the km’s than what his engine had on it. Cheers Bennie

The lack caps are the high/low ports. I couldn’t tell you which is which. I think an old system I had in one of these had red and blue caps, and I recall they were on top of the compressor, not behind it. That could just be the type of compressor used in your system, and I’m sure your system over there is different to the two we have over here in Australia. Cheers Bennie

You can also run an in-cab switched earth wire to trigger the fan if you think the system has no done it’s job. Thermo fan should turn on at a touch over half on the temp gauge. Cheers Bennie

Very clean! Forget about the povo comment above, it does look to be the LX spec without electric windows etc though. Still a very tidy example worth having in the line up in my book. All the best with securing the purchase Cheers Bennie

Make sure your radiator has an earth wire to the body - this ensures a good earth for that switch to work effectively. What does the other switch/plug device look like? Cheers Bennie

From what I understand of the Carter carb is it’s a single barrel carb and the hitachi is a dual barrel carb. Either one will need an adaptor plate for the Weber carb. Many threads on this to read up on. Cheers Bennie

If you’re going to turbo an NA block get on rs25 forums and have a read. Many on there and NASIOC forums. Also check out YouTube for the many build videos on there. Be warned they drag out though to get the video run for their channel… There’s a lot to do and get right so you don’t melt a piston or throw a rod in an NA-t build, but it can be done. Any EJ gearbox will bolt up to the EJ engine. Their bolt patterns are 4 bolt or 8 bolt and are interchangeable anyway. Cheers Bennie

Oil pump is the first item to get a second good unit of on the shelf, not that I’ve ever needed to replace one on my EA81… GD will tell you it’s a dead platform not suited to commuter work, more weekend toy spec, even then he’d probably say that’s too much to expect… But if you look after it and not flog it to keep up or marginally get a head you should be right if you’re not smashing out big kms each day. The only steering upgrade is power steering if you can find a kit. It must come from another EA81 model to ensure it fits. Otherwise it’s a good time for new boots while the exhaust is off so you can drop the rack and do it on a bench after a good clean. The front end lights would be the same as any other EA81 with the same front end. The tail lights are brat specific. Rule of thumb is basically any EA81 will be compatible with the brat from the front seats forward, with exception to the doors of a sedan and wagon; coupe and hatch doors are the same size but the glass is different between the brat and the coupe, hatch I’m not sure on glass being the same or not. So if you see a “long” instrument cluster (6 gauge analogue, also comes in 4 gauge spec and digital) and want that, it will fit and work with the matching wiring behind the dashboard. You’ll need the dashboard, wiring and instrument cluster as a combination. AC can be fitted if you find a donor to pull it from. Drivetrain is all the same with a possible difference in tailshaft length between different models - 4wd and 2wd dependant. Obviously a 2wd gearbox isn’t going to run a 4wd system but can be swapped in to delete the rear drive for weight reduction and economy gain. But a 4wd box can’t take the place of a 2wd box without plugging the rear output shaft. These gearboxes typically run different clutch sizes too. There is little that’s interchangeable between the EA81 platform and the EA82 platform. The EA82 5speed gearbox is apparently a good upgrade but requires mods to the gearbox mounts, gear shift linkages and tailshaft to make it fit. Wheels swap over but brakes aren’t so easy for the front end. Rear end are bolt on swap over, just ensure you get the backing plates and move 4wd brakes to a 4wd recipient and same regarding 2wd. L Series rear disc brakes will swap over to the EA81 too. Just stick to the above rule regarding 4wd vs 2wd Braided brake hoses are a good upgrade for better pedal feel too. I’ve done it on my L series years ago and it’s worth the coin in my book. That’s about all I can think of from the top of my head atm. Cheers Bennie

For the throttle cable I removed the L series cable, filed the hole in the firewall to match the fitting on the EJ throttle cable. Clipped the cabin side of the cable into the throttle pedal. Can’t remember if there were any further mods there. Then it was just a case of routing the throttle cable through the engine bay so it sat naturally. It sits out over the radiator from memory before it comes back into the throttle body. Mine’s RHD so it’ll be a bit different for LHD conversions I’d imagine! Fuel pump wiring, dunno how the EJ had it placed in the vehicle, I think I just used the power wire from the EJ loom and ran my own earth wire of the same thickness to a good earth point in the loom. It’s well over a decade since I did my conversion so these finer details are a little hazy without visiting the vehicle to see what I’ve done. Good to know the engine runs on starter fluid. The fuel pump could be dead. Or if the engine sat for a long time the injectors could be stuck. If this is the case, while the engine is running on starter fluid, gently give the injectors a tap with the handle of a screw driver several times. Sometimes this is enough to free them up. The next step is to have them serviced or swapped out for known running ones. Cheers Bennie

Also the concentration of the gas used as refrigerant I believe isn’t great enough to create the explosion so many fear. Sure, the whole lot in one go would make a bang but a leak, even a substantial one would dissipate too quickly for an explosion to occur. I haven’t read up on the ins and outs, so do your own research, take this as a prompter for that research Cheers Bennie

You forgot to say he should sell it to you Bennie

That’s a bugger mate. Hopefully you can find a usable replacement unit. Cheers Bennie

I wouldn’t be disconnecting the low oil warning light - it’s there for a reason! That’s also your daughter’s safety net if she’s not checking and tipping off the oil regularly. My 5c worth anyway. Cheers Bennie

Looking good! There are three of these coupes in Australia that I know of. Two could be completely dead now too I was meant to mention the clutch - over here ppl used to have the EA82 pressure plate rebuilt to be stronger for the extra torque of the EJ22. Personally on my build I’ve got a highly modified version of your box to get me what I wanted for off-roading. The main part that I wanted to do was use the EJ front gearbox cases so I could keep the factory clutch and flywheel from the EJ22. I’ve not heard of this two spline count on the gearbox input shaft thing for 4wd boxes, only a difference between 2wd and the 4wd/AWD input shafts. The 4wd/AWD gearbox input shafts are the same as all the EJ gearbox input shafts. So that clutch disc spline difference must be the 2wd vs 4wd. With your permanent power you’ll be able to pull that from the ignition switch wiring too. I should have my fuse panel closer to the power sources but due to space constraints it’s located behind the glovebox (not a convenient place). The ECU is mounted on the steering column where the MPFI ECU used to live before the conversion. You’ll work out what works best for your conversion. I found having the front guards off makes it easier to run the wiring, same for having the dashboard out. That’s a good time to replace the heater core with an all metal unit as that plastic end ranked unit is a ticking time bomb! And I’m the same with AC - if you’ve got it use it! You can trigger the ECU to idle up when the AC is on, and you can have the ECU control the thermo fans via a set of relays. That also controls them for the AC from memory. If your alternator is a round plug unit upgrade it to the “square” plug unit. The round plug units can drop a phase and look like they’re charging but won’t be doing anything. It’s not fun. Ask me how I know. Cheers Bennie

You might find some impreza coilovers fit the front end. Rear end the miata/MX5 rear coilovers should work. Or a set from a Gen3 Legacy. Both of these are coil over shock, not a strut like the front end. Both will probably need some mods to fit. I’ve never done it, just remember reading about it some where. Checkout what Nico did with his builds. I’m pretty sure he’s the fella that built up an RX sedan and an L series wagon to be absolute on road weapons, no expense spared! There might be some ideas in there for what you’re after. Yeah it’s him! Have fun reading and looking at pics! The early ones have a few dropped unfortunately but many of them are still there Cheers Bennie

Mate!! I’m full jelly on this RXII coupe! We never go them over here! And I thought by your title it would be an EJ22t conversion, but now understand where I went wrong with that. Anyway… The spark issue. I don’t like the idea of using the EA82 coil wiring for ignition power (presuming your powering the ECU via this power source?). My conversion pulled power directly from the ignition switch wiring with a fuse between the EA loom and the EJ loom. Anything that needs power between the looms should have a fuse in between and all should be sourced from under the dashboard. This also keeps the wiring neat/out of view. Where have you mounted the ECU? The lower voltage at start on the coil seems too low to me. You want good voltage at the coil pack to produce good spark to get the engine going. Other things to look into: - are your crank and cam angle sensors plugged in their correct plugs and not swapped over? - is the cam belt timing correctly aligned between the two cams and the crankshaft? - have you tried some starter spray or fluid down the throttle body to see if the engine will fire up and momentarily run? Hopefully one of the above will help. Pitch stopper rod: fit an EJ bracket to your gearbox, cut and weld the EA82 pitch stopper rod to the resting length of the two mounts. Just cut the EA82 rod in half then fit to each mount, tack weld or brace the weld the two together good and proper. Works a treat for me. You’ll like the EJ22 in there, it’s a very reliable engine and is very well suited to the EA82 platform. Look after that AWD gearbox. It’s the only one that runs that locking centre diff and they’re very hard to find replacements for, more so over here since we never got them delivered in any of the models on offer over here. You WILL be able to spin the front wheels off the line in the right conditions under hard acceleration. Don’t do this as you’ll wear the centre diff out. It’s open or locked. No centre LSD in this gearbox. Enjoy! Cheers Bennie