el_freddo

Hey mate, RHD racks are not unobtainum! In self serve parts yards we still have the odd Gen1 pass through, they’re typically Granma spec too - so sad to see! I’m sure later model steering racks will fit too - many in the early turbo Subarus fit other racks from later models that are “quick turn” easily enough. I don’t know if there are other mods required to make them fit but it can be done. This will open up your options, the hardest part is shipping them to you after suitable low km units are found. Getting stuff into Oz is generally cheap, getting it out is typically not ;( I’m typically good at sourcing parts but hopeless at shipping them… and I now live even further away from the parts yards I used to frequent regularly - I’m about 2hrs away from the closest self serve yard in Melbs and about the same for the one down G’town way (Geelong). pick-a-part.com.au and jollysupullit.com.au are the two sets of parts yards that I would visit. I don’t see this being difficult sourcing the racks needed in RHD spec if you wanted to. You’d just have to be patient with me to find the time to get down there between family commitments etc Cheers Bennie

What year/EJ25 engine are we talking about? I follow the FSM - on the two EJ251s that I’ve done HGs on following the sequence in the FSM (and using the MLS HGs as per GD’s recommendations, they’re going very well without any issues thus far. That part about backing off the head bolts x degrees as referenced by ocei77 will most likely remove all torque or tension you put into the bolts during the steps prior from what I recall. All the best with it! Cheers Bennie

Stock air box and paper filter will move more air than your NA could ever need. What could benefit is making the intake hole into the air box larger, and scoop air from the front of the vehicle like later model cold air intakes do… how to achieve that on the older Gen1 is anyones guess atm - but I’m sure it’s been done before on an RS or other Gen1 turbo models that use the same air box Cheers Bennie

Many have done the Lock up switch mod and not reported cruise control issues. I’d be looking into how you’ve hooked up the VSS as this will be required for the cruise to work, in these earlier Legacy’s the sensor is in the back of the instrument cluster, unless you have the turbo SS model where it will be on the gearbox if it’s electronic speedo like our Aussie delivered RS turbos are (the SS is the US version of the RS and early JDM GT, except US SS was only available in sedans I believe). Anyway, side track there. Why not hook up an aftermarket cruise control system? Much easier than trying to retro fit a factory setup. I’m hoping we can get to the bottom of this one easily enough! What year is the cruise control “ecu” module from? And did it come from an auto or a manual? If from a manual it’ll need a clutch switch bypass - probably just a wire across those pins to say the clutch is always engaged (pedal is at rest position). Cheers Bennie

All of us started somewhere with our mechanical knowledge so stick with it. Same goes for the girlfriend thing too, it helps if they’re into cars a bit though If you were being sarcastic, well played, if not, the above still stays as it is Cheers Bennie

There are two different types of six speed - one that’s a different design to the 5spd and is considered the “proper” six speed because of its strength. The other is a split case 5spd with a sixth gear built onto the back of it. If you’re after performance the proper six speed is the way to go. The best is from the STi from what I understand. As for what you need depending on what box you have, I’ll leave that up to those that are in the know. Cheers Bennie

That’s a question only you can answer @RudyTudy! Have you tried adjusting it? If just using the auto trans park setting to hold the weight of the vehicle it’s perfectly normal for the vehicle to move forward (or backwards) a little as the trans brake takes effect. It all depends on the incline you’re parked on. Cheers Bennie

I wonder if the issue lies with your IACV. My sister’s EJ251 has an issue with the IACV where it will stall sometimes when coming up to a stop or when changing down gears into a slow intersection turn. From time to time the check engine light comes on and the code is always for the IACV. Sounds like your issue could be along the same lines, particularly if your IACV is the plunger style unit with the rubber dome shaped seal on the end. Seems that these seals wear or crack at the contact point and leak air, resulting in the idle issues and resulting check engine light. Cheers Bennie

If you’re messing with the throttle body idle position, read up on the requirements of the TPS adjustments (if needed). On the earlier models, any adjustments of the throttle butterfly required an adjustment to the TPS so the ECU was still getting the correct readings from the sensor. Does the FSM say that you need 0% throttle at idle? I’d check into that first before adjusting anything. Are you experiencing any issues or have you just looked into the data/sensor readings and thought “that’s not right”? The engine still needs air at idle! Cheers Bennie

That’s an EJ thing. No screws on the EA82 oil pump as the two rotor pieces live in the block. Cheers Bennie

Too true. Kids here that I deal with trying to reengage in education will steal high end cars that are auto. Those key fobs are not great security as they’re only as good as the security of your house/purse/handbag etc. Once they have your key fob you can expect to be visited by the police asking you where you were at X time and explain why your car was where it was doing 3 times the posted speed limit in town… My brumby/brat currently has better security than newer cars because it’s manual and requires a Hotwire job. Plus there’s no Bluetooth to play their tunes as they flog my ride, no kidding! Cheers Bennie

Got on top of the lifter tick rather than just run with it. If you leave it be you wear them out and will never get rid of the lifter tick without replacing lifters. Other things you can try doing - placing a spacer behind the spring in the oil pressure relief valve. I can’t remember, but there might be a restrictor in the main oil passage in the head, if so pull it out and clean it up. This was over a decade ago when my lifters went noisy. It lasted two weeks then they went quiet again. Dunno why as I didn’t change anything between noise and no noise. The lifter tick is one of the reasons why I went EJ too: All a good bit of fun. Cheers Bennie

My brumby self-installed a new security feature in the driveway today when I shut the driver’s door to shut the gate - and was promptly locked out of the cab as the engine sat there idling. The driver’s door handle decided to disable itself with my only set of keys sitting in the ignition and the passenger’s door still locked… That was fun. I’m yet to fix it as it was too busy buzzing around town for things. Cheers Bennie

Why are you rebuilding it? Is there a bottom end issue? If no bottom end issue I’d leave the block alone. Most to do would be re-ring it, new gaskets all over and call it a day. Cheers Bennie

That’s interesting about the raised strut setup. I wonder if Ironman in Oz will be offering the same thing, not that I’ll be needing it. Clearly the US market has identified a market big enough to cater for. Now they just need a decent low range… And Subaru should drop a ute into their line up again. It would be awesome to see a modern day Brat/Brumby built in the same manner as the original was - and make the tray/bed area big enough to hold/carry a dirt bike and some camp gear, then they’d be onto a winner… Cheers Bennie

Bloody Murphy! After posting saying I can’t see anything the embed video pops up. *facepalm* Cheers Bennie

Stripped hub splines. Usually caused by a loose castellated nut to start with. Cheers Bennie

G’day SaltyMike, Those warning lights is an alternator issue. Measuring voltage with engine on or off won’t tell you much other than the health of the battery. The alternator might still provide charge to the battery but it will most likely completely die at some point. Other think to check is the health of your fusible links - one could possibly be just hanging in there. I’d be looking into an alternator upgrade. There’s the Nissan Maxima conversion detailed several times over on the forum here. I adapted an EJ square plug alternator to my Brumby/Brat and it’s working well. My EA81 has AC so the alternator sits more to the left than the non AC setups. To convert the EJ alternator, use the pulley off your old alternator, make an 8mm collar/spacer to alight the pulley correctly on the alternator, shave the front of the alternator housing until the pulley is clear/free to spin and it’ll bolt in from there. The only downer is that the main charge terminal points downwards towards the spark plug. It doesn’t touch anything though. Apparently there are alternators of the same design and hangers as the EJ alternators with the charge terminal on the opposite side of the alternator. Wiring will need to be upgraded for the extra amperage, don’t be tempted to use the standard wiring as that could be a recipe for disaster! Cold starts will probably be a carb issue. I find a double pump on the throttle before cranking gets my EA81 fired up in several cranks every time. If you have an auto choke that needs to be calibrated for your conditions too. Don’t ask me how to do that, it’s like a dark art getting those sorted! Cheers Bennie

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