el_freddo

As others have mentioned, there are many options and it depends on how you want to go about it. There was one in South Oz that was done on a classic Range Rover body. Actually, thinking about it now it was a L series wagon but the principle is the same. Cheers Bennie

Brumby loving. Been a while since I’ve had her running well enough to have a drive on the open road let alone loaded and towing! Cheers Bennie

It could be plastic moulded/welded to the underside of the trim - you know the trick, plastic tab through a metal bracket, heat and pressure applied to the plastic tab to melt it and make it hold the metal bracket in place. Someone may have forced it in the past for whatever reason and busted the plastic melted tab pieces. Pull it out and have a look would be the easiest way to find out - I understand the want for information before you dive into it. Cheers Bennie

Are you running an AWD box Steptoe? It’s the only way I can see you experiencing the rear diff noises you describe. I cheaped out on the fix by shoving strips of old rubber conveyer belt in the gaps of the bush. It did the trick. But this bush would be so much neater and all round better, it’ll be something I look into. Cheers Bennie

It’ll bolt in no worries and will be physically the same in fitment. You’ll lose your dual range feature as the WRX box won’t have this. You might find a difference in the front diff setup - impreza might still have the diff stubs, your 2003 forester will surely have the male stub axles. I don’t know if the impreza driveshafts will swap into the later model forester. You might find the gear ratios sluggish to work with the large tyres and the difference in revs between each gear will be different too. If the impreza box is a four bolt (stud on the lower starter motor mount is the easiest way to identify), it’ll be in the weaker phase 1 front case, but it could be a phase 2 eight bolt gearbox which is what your SG would have anyway. Cheers Bennie

You can use a coupe, wagon, hatch or sedan EA81 steering columns - but the ignition switch will be setup differently. Any other models will most likely need to have the mounts modified. I’ve seen WRX steering wheel and the matching columns fitted in Brats with a WRX conversion. You can do anything with enough effort and motivation to achieve the desired outcome... Cheers Bennie

I recently purchased a rear spring isolator kit from superpro USA for our Pajero/Montero/Shogun cheaper than I could buy the two individual kits from Oz - INCLUDING postage!! The kit I was after was no longer available in Oz. I don’t know how it is cost effective to produce a product, ship it OS, sell it then dispatch back to the country it was manufactured cheaper than the locals can buy it locally! Good product though. Cheers Bennie

Probably will be a stuck or sticky turbo shaft. I had the same thing on an EA82t that sat for some time before I purchased it. Turbo is still in bits... Also double check your cam belt timing, followed by your static spark timing. Cheers Bennie

Leaky head gaskets would be suspect number 1 I think. EJs can pop the head gasket that only leaks a tiny bit or only leaks under certain conditions. If you don’t know the history of the HGs I’d suggest it’s tie for replacement. Cheers Bennie

Thanks for the conversion there @heartless, I didn’t think to include that. Cheers Bennie

Once the factory HG is swapped out for a genuine MLS HG the EJ251 is a great (generally) trouble free engine. My sister’s Gen3 RX Liberty (Legacy) has 470,000km and still counting. Only major issue is the IACV needs to be replaced but we can’t justify the $300+ cost of the unit here. The EJ251 with the manual in the wagon is a mint combination I reckon. Cheers Bennie

Ido converted all the important bits for the EA82. Some other points to note: - the coolant temp sensor (CTS) can cause loads of running issues if it goes out of whack, it won’t necessarily throw a code. - O2 sensors can also go offline/out of whack but not throw a code either. Generally an increase in fuel usages is the symptom of this issue. The auto: - most common problem is that governor issue you’ve already mentioned, followed by the seal between the auto and the front diff dying, it leaks ATF into the diff and vice versa, pinion bearing fails followed by pinion trying to drive itself through the centre of the rotating diff housing. Car stops nasty quick when this happens. Auto is a write off at that point. Spare parts for the auto will be harder to find than the manual box. It could be worth pulling the auto down to swap out the seal that’s the issue. Also a good time to reboot those CV joints with a quality item instead of waiting for the original CV boots to destroy themselves. It would be advisable to replace every coolant hose and possibly the radiator at this age. Don’t miss the little coolant hose under the intake manifold on top of the block, it’s a real bastard to get to! This could be a good vehicle to commute in but you might need to do some preventative maintenance before attempting this or run the risk of needing more work and parts shortly after getting it on the road. The EA82 is a. Engine that likes to spin fast, it’s no torque monster by any means and will happily rev at 3500-4000rpm all day with quality oil and coolant doing its thing. Cheers Bennie

Just watched the three videos and was hoping for a few more updates. Also a bit of a shame he didn’t use the Gen3 legacy multi link rear end, no need to cut into the upper bodywork to clear the strut towers. I’m also a bit jealous about what you guys can “get away” with over there. Here in Oz this thing would need a massive amount of engineering to be deemed roadworthy, and depending on which state you’re in also dictates what you need to do exactly! Cheers Bennie

Geez I never heard of this before! My brumby has three keys - ignition, doors and fuel lid lock. Got lucky on the fuel lid lock - it fits one of Ruby Scoo’s (L series) keys! Very lucky... Cheers Bennie

Two flat head screw drivers on opposite sides might get it out. Jam them in then lever it out with the screw drivers working about 180 degrees apart. It could work. No guarantees but worth a shot I reckon. Cheers Bennie

Steptoe you’re a genius sometimes! The most comfort I’ve found using spring compressors is with my impact driver. Makes the work super quick, easy and I believe safer due to less time spent with the the springs loaded with all that potential energy! Did you use the same method to remove the old bush? Thanks for sharing. Cheers Bennie

Makes sense now.

That or you’re wanting to show your money bags... er, note Cheers Bennie

What’s the pineapple for Steppy??

It’s both here too. The L series RX is the EA82 turbo. The Gen 3 RX is the larger displacement engine with the EJ251 (2.5L), as opposed to the bog stock Legacy with the EJ201 (2L). That’s how it is in Australia, I assumed it would be the same in the US, which could be where there’s an issue in my info. Cheers Bennie

Another car to consider is a Gen3 Legacy - especially the RX model. Plenty of punch for a first car, comfortable to drive, looks good in my opinion. You also get good fuel usage if you drive it neatly. I say this as we have one of these in the family too. It’s my sisters and last time I saw it I checked the odometre and it’s got 470,000km on it. We got it at 330,000km. I did the HGs on it (didn’t know about the factory HG issue and had the external leaking coolant issue). At about 400,000km I redid the HGs with the multi layered steel units GD recommends. Haven’t had an issue since. This thing regularly pulls in 8.6L/100km. Namely country kms. Solid body, loads of room and a good dose of power under the bonnet makes this one a good first car in my book. I wish vehicles like this were accessible to me when I was first driving! Food for thought. Hunt around, see what you can find. Read up on the EJ251 and EJ253 engines. Both are good if maintained - and HGs are swapped with decent units when the time comes. Cheers Bennie

Yep, make a sleeve for the lower shock mount bolt and use the factory L series bolt Cheers Bennie

@hippyloc- you got your issue sorted and it was the same loose main plug? Cheers Bennie

G’day @linkthehero1234, Best thing you can do is learn how to actually drive and master situational awareness. That’s the only real way to improve your safety. As others have said, the XT isn’t the safest car on the road, nor will it be boring to drive because you HAVE to drive it. I think many new safety features make for lazy drivers, and lazy drivers = a crash waiting to happen. Like KiwiGL said, if your parents are buying get yourself into the SG foz. Personally I don’t like the styling of the later series but that’s up to you. It will have front driver and passenger’s airbags, ABS and can be an awesome first car to own. Some minor exhaust mods can have it sounding like a WRX easily if you want. You can raise them for offroad or slam them to the ground, it depends on what you want to do/look like with your vehicle. While you drive that one, work your job and save for the right XT for you. Drive that as a classic and not a daily. Going back to the learning how to drive but - watch some YouTube videos on bike stacks and what they could have done to avoid it - many principles are the same on four wheels in the “cage”. I recommend dandanthefireman, some might not like him but he goes well for me. Cheers Bennie

Very clean L @errantalmond! That just about sums up the EA82. If it’s not leaking it’s probably very low on oil Well done on taking the time to learn. The EA82 is a good engine to learn on. It will teach you all the tricks for sealing an engine successfully Also if you can, start collecting some parts - many say the L parts are drying up... Cheers Bennie