el_freddo

Interesting video. Sad for the SVX... but a cool video non the less! Cheers Bennie

When you do, only fill the cooling system with distilled water (until you can definitively rule out HG overheating issues) unless you have freezing weather over your way. If that’s the case you’ll have to do a decent flush of the cooling system to clear out the blue. Once that’s done add some green anti freeze coolant of your choice and go for the drive. If you use the distilled water you’ll still need to do a decent cooling system flush to remove all the blue stuff before adding the green you intend to use. HG jobs don’t have to cost thousands. Many on the forum have done their own including myself. Do some research on the procedure as there’s lots of tips for the EJ25D to get it right. It’s not a hard job, it just freaks ppl out because they don’t understand the procedure or what’s required due to their belief they can’t pull down and engine and then put it back together again. If spinning spanners and torquing bolts is beyond your learning abilities then yes, a HG job from a reputable mechanic will cost a few grand. All the best with the radiator swap. I hope for your wallet it doesn’t show up with dead HGs! Cheers Bennie

GD, these came out on the Series 1 GL models, not sure about the Series 2 having them though. The GL was the upscale model over the DL... Someone on Oz might have a set kicking around. We had one on my sister’s ‘85 L series sedan many years ago. Cheers Bennie

I thought the XT6 name plate was all AWD with the six cylinder! The few rare examples over here were personal imports and AFAIK all were AWD. The XT4 AWD turbo variant was available from local dealers but is still a rare car over here. Cheers Bennie

They’re hubcaps. Sorry I don’t have the part number. Cheers Bennie

If you’re after better gearing over your way, drop a forester box and rear diff in with the 4.111:1 diff ratio. Run the same tyres as the forester for factory gearing, or larger for the height and rolling advantage when offroad. Pontoontodd seems to be developing a low range that will be a game changer, just need to wait for it to come out, in the mean time save your coin! Cheers Bennie

That’s a face palm moment! It’s even written in the advert title and again on top of the engine after I looked a bit closer. So that’ll also have the 5 stud setup and AWD. Bit of a unicorn these days I’d imagine. A 3L H6 conversion would be pretty sweet All the best with the decision. Cheers Bennie

I’d be cautious that it’s been resprayed, looks like it may have had one done looking at the lack of paint work shine in the pics. It would be worth checking it out in person if you were seriously considering this unit. It’s got the “spider” manifold which is said to be better than the regular run of the mill EA82 MPFI unit. Hardest part is making the decision without emotion taking over. There will always be another one, you might have to wait a while between the offerings out there. Or you might find one via word of mouth through friends, family and friends of friends. Learn what to look out for with these vehicles and that’ll help you out with picking a solid unit for your enjoyment Cheers Bennie

I drop the exhaust. Makes it very easy to remove the rack. If you drill out the spot welds on the jacking plate and replace with bolts the whole lot drops out super easy. Alignment is required after and if DIYing it this can take some time to get it right. I’d take it to your nearest shop that you trust. Cheers Bennie

I’ve never managed that in the engine bay! But I’ve removed five or so of these without any issues as described in my previous post. Cheers Bennie

Agreed with that last paragraph. As for the warranty stuff that’s good info and justified. Having several EA82 engines in my L series they’re a serious PITA to keep oil in them with their crap OHC box setup. That was a design flaw to meet the marketing of OHC performance. I truely believe the EA81 was destined for the L series until the OHC performance catch cry wasn’t met. Anyway, I digress from the topic at hand. There are most likely more EJ25Ds on the road than there were EA82s. There are certainly more EJ25s overall! I really like the EJ251 in my sister’s RX Liberty (1999/2000 model). It pulls like a freight train and with the proper HG swap, shaved heads and DIY valve grind it’s still going strong at 470-480,000km. Very happy with it. Cheers Bennie

I’d argue it was the EA82, then made worse with the EA82 turbo... But it’s definitely the worse EJ series engine of all time. And it’s reputation tainted the EJ251’s, coupled with the dodgy factory head gaskets that leaked early and externally it cemented the general EJ25’s reputation as poor. But with the correct HG used in the EJ251 onwards with a swap job done correctly they’re a very reliable engine. As for the OP, the best EJ25D “hybrid” build I seem to read about over and over is the EJ251 bottom end between the EJ25D heads. Can’t tell you what HGs to use though, and this is the important bit to get right! Cheers Bennie

That’s an awesome offer from John! Definitely take him up on that if you can. Ppl are always looking for those jump seats and they’d be a tidy addition to your brat! We didn’t get them over here, they’re a US specific item! The T tops (known as fun tops from the factory) aka Targa tops are awesome too. My brumby has them and I love driving with them off. I often wonder what it would be like if I could remove/wind down the rear window at the same time Knowing that you’ll have this vehicle for some time there’s no rush to buy parts. Save your coin so you’re ready when an item unexpectedly pops up for sale If you’re looking at keeping the EA81 keep an eye out for an oil pump in good condition - NEVER use a hammer to remove yours as they break and always remove the crank pulley to remove the oil pump. There are other NLA items that others can list off for you. Oil pump is the most obvious one that comes to mind atm. Cheers Bennie

Do your research on the forum of the options to swap out the EJ25D to something more reliable. I know I’ve read many of GD’s posts about this and many other active members have done this with the same results and the same comments to be made. With the wiring issues mentioned etc, I was initially thinking you were talking about doing a full engine swap including wiring loom, but that’s not necessary unless you’re moving to a factory turbo engine. Then it gets full on in the wiring department! Get onto those threads about swapping out the EJ25D Cheers Bennie

If your brake fluid is low this could also indicate the need for new brake pads, check these too before going all in on a brake fluid top up - otherwise you could overflow the reservoir when you put the new pads in depending on how you do your pad changes. Cheers Bennie

Finger’s crossed mate! Cheers Bennie

Rarer than rocking horse hens teeth poo! All the best with your search! Cheers Bennie

Awesome find @6 Star! Can you drop the link to that thread in here for a read (and vice versa)? Cheers Bennie

I’m sure we all are for you mate! All the best with the initial start and the run from there on. Cheers Bennie

What you need to know @faunjoustino: - GD owns and runs his own Subaru specialist workshop. His advice is worth gold in our community. - while it was your dad’s vehicle and you’re precious of it, what you plan to do to get it up and running could be an exercise in wasting money - only because you can’t definitively explain why it was overheating. Personally I would’ve done as GD said as a matter of course for me. Getting it started on the old fluids won’t hurt it so long as there’s oil and coolant/water where it should be. Once it’s running then work out where any issues are - coolant leaks, split hoses or if it is the dreaded head gasket, which being the DOHC EJ25D seems highly likely. Once you know it runs and what needs what, that’s when you start spending your hard earned to keep it running sweet and to daily drive it. This is when you change the oil and the coolant etc. I hope this puts a few things into perspective. We understand it’s sentimental to you, but this doesn’t mean you have to waste money on it for no good reason. Trying to catch all of your new coolant when you need to pull and tear down the engine due to HG replacement is not fun. Many of us have been there and done that! Cheers Bennie

Welcome. You’ll be well versed in a lot of the Subaru mechanical stuff with 5 head gasket replacements under your belt already! You’ll pick up on some tips on getting this task right every time. Cleaning all mating surfaces and other bits is one large part of a successful HG replacement in my book. Cheers Bennie

G’day grandpa Phil! That sucks mate! To paint a clearer picture, you have an ‘86 L series with the EJ22 fitted? Any recent maintenance that’s had anything to do with fuel lines? Usually the cause of fuel coming out of the charcoal canister is fuel lines incorrectly connected. There could be another issue at play where the fuel tank is pressurising and pushing fuel out the vent line. Hoping you can provide more info on this to help resolve the issue. Cheers Bennie

Do you have ABS? And if you do is there an issue with the ABS system? I don’t know if this applies to the Gen1 - I know of some later model vehicles that will disable the cruise if there’s an issue with the ABS system. Also, if your Speedo isn’t working your cruise won’t work either. The cruise uses a reed switch built into the instrument cluster behind the speedo. I don’t know what circuit this operates on but it would be worth checking all your fuses too. If your legacy has an electronic speedo as found in the higher end Gen1s, it’ll use the reed switch at the gearbox for speedo and cruise. Make sure all your brake lights work too. Some vehicles will disable the cruise if you have a stop light that’s not working! Hopefully it’s something simple. Definitely share some pics! You’ll need a third party hosting company to post pics from. Imgur is a popular choice these days. Welcome to the forum Cheers Bennie

Did you replace the O rings on the coolant crossover pipe when you had the engine apart for HGs? These can also weep overtime and make and have coolant smell. If they’re really bad you’ll see a small pool of coolant on the top of the engine block. Cheers Bennie

Just caught up on a few pages since I last dropped in on this thread. Congrats on completing the Vegas to Reno rally! Sounds like a tough gig to say the least. What’s that old saying about real race drivers driving their race vehicle home? Hats off to you and your vehicle. And I’m really stoked for you about the low range and centre diff lock! I had ideas but you’ve done something so much better than what I was thinking (mimicking the factory low range but at the centre diff). I truely hope this venture gets off the ground and that many take it up. I’d love one but as the usual Subaru fan, all desires and no cash. Plus I don’t currently have a later model Subaru for this. I’ll be spreading the word if you want it to get around, let me know! Love the pics. With the wildlife shots, any chance you could drop the name of the creature under the pic? The one that I was most interested in looks like two small snakes, but I think they’re legless lizards, correct?? Keep up the sharing and developing of parts, you’re in a tight niche market but hopefully the parts will move easily allowing you guys to do more of what you love! Cheers Bennie