el_freddo

I hear you on that one! Four regos and insurances... love driving them so that’s that. Cheers Bennie

Agreed. Only one way to find out... If it throws a code due to the different shaft rotational speeds than expected you could try making custom tone rings for the ABS system assuming these are the speed sensor pick ups for Canbus system. Cheers Bennie

Typically the way to treat the airbags is gently AFTER disconnecting the battery for a minimum of half an hour. Can leave it disconnected over night just to be sure. After this you’re all good to work with and safely handle the airbag. As for the clock spring, I’m not sure what your forester uses, I had the same issue on my L series and the contact pin had worn down to the point it only made partial contact at certain angles of the steering wheel. I found that a .22 bullet shell fitted snuggly over the pin and job done. Dare say your clock spring is most likely updated from my ‘80s L series! And I don’t have an airbag to contend with. Cheers Bennie

How did I miss the start of this build? I love the L series and can’t wait to be driving mine again soon! I like that flex section of exhaust pipe you have there, I’ll have to look into where I can source some over my way as it’ll help me out with a project. Cheers Bennie

I usually leave them swinging on the strut. You do need to separate the ball joint from the bottom of the hub knuckle. From there you should be able to hammer out the old shaft and get the new one in. If you want a larger working space then remove the hub knuckle as well. This give you the option of using a press to do the hammering part of the work. Getting it setup in the press would be the hardest part here. Cheers Bennie

I’m with @1 Lucky Texan and @idosubaru, it’s a dead condenser. No valves etc down there. You will find a joint on both pipes coming into the condenser though. That could be the issue, an inspection will show if it’s the joint(s) or a hole in one of the condenser channels. My bet would be a hole in the condenser. All the best with it! Cheers Bennie

Yeah that’s definitely a blown HG then. All the best with the reno and the HG job! Cheers Bennie

I didn’t like where the friction point was in the pedal travel, adjusted the cable then the pedal went hard before it hit the floor. That’s when I found out the fork maxing out on the case hole. Of course it meant the gearbox came out again. And the two washers were guess work. Which ever fork is used, it will dictate which pivot point to use since the two forks are different. Just sit the fork in there with the TOB and see where the fitment for the pivot lines up Cheers Bennie

The coolant under the carb is to avoid the carb icing up and fuel freezing, frozen fuel tends not to burn very well! @KiwiGL - how long have you had the engine running for, a decent drive or just idling to move it around the yard/shed etc? If it’s the latter it could just be excessive moisture in the PCV system as it’s not getting up to running temp and remaining there for a period of time. If you’ve done a decent drive or three it’s probably the HG letting go or a coolant leak from the intake manifold gaskets or rarely from under the carb - but you’d see other running issues with these too. Cheers Bennie

Two door coupe, lovely! Cheers Bennie

I can’t remember if the phase 1 gearbox has two pivot ball locations. The phase 2 boxes do for sure and the cable pivot is the one further away from the input shaft. I put two washers behind my pivot ball (on phase 2 cases) to get better leverage as the clutch fork would max out on the back of the hole it pokes out from. I think it had something to do with an aftermarket TOB that was a couple of mm thinner. Cheers Bennie

I’m guessing the fuel temp and tank pressure readings are in the later models. I don’t have any of those in my EJ22’d L series, it runs a cutdown Gen1 series 2 factory management. Down here we have to keep the factory emissions with engine conversions to get engineering, or pass a $1275ish emissions test that you two attempts at before you’re up for another round of 1275! That’s before you get to pay for the engineering certificate on the engine conversion itself. Hence why I was asking. I also found using second hand parts much more economical in my situation. Horses for courses, at the end of the day if it goes and you’re happy that’s all that matters. Cheers Bennie

When driving at speed and the AC compressor is engaged you shouldn’t really feel it too much if at all in a modern vehicle. With that said, the compressor is going from a standstill to pretty much instantaneously spinning at the speed of the fan belt. That could be enough to feel but it should subside quickly rather than feeling underpowered from there on until the compressor turns off again. Do you have a lightened flywheel? Cheers Bennie

I’ve been told that gas and oil filled struts will behave differently but not really noticeably unless you swapped from a good/new set of one type to a good/new set of the other type etc. I was just glad to stop my L’s rear end trying to crab walk during high speed cornering. That wasn’t fun! Cheers Bennie

What’s the reason for aftermarket, is it deemed an easier install for you to be successful with? Cheers Bennie

A mate at a dealership or a forum told me, can’t remember which. That’s when I noticed I could only get gas KYBs in stores or online. The gas shocks sit higher than the old oil units with the same springs, there could be a difference between the two for height but other than general observation on this one swap I don’t have any strong basis to say this is a sure thing that will change. It could’ve been the new rubber bush at the base of the shock that wasn’t crushed that made the difference in my case. It still sits a bit higher (which I like). Cheers Bennie

Dunno how it is in the US but over here OEM KYBs are oil filled - only available through dealerships that charge and arm and a leg over here! The “aftermarket” KYB units are gas filled. I’ve got a set on the back of my L series and they go quite well. Once they start leaking they’ll be dead in no time unlike the oil units that keep going for some time after they start leaking. Cheers Bennie

Not really. Looking for the dual range lever will tell you if it’s dual range or not. 4wd button on the gear stick is single range. AWD with locking centre diff comes in the RXII coupe (turbo) and some JDM spec turbo wagons/sedans. Dunno if it came in any other US spec vehicles. There’s a diff lock switch on the console usually. Wagons are typically all 4wd with the exception of some early units that were 2wd. I hope that helps. Cheers Bennie

Do you still have the engine cover fitted under the engine? This can have a huge effect on airflow through the radiator. There could still be other issues at play too - leaky head gasket could be one for example. Cheers Bennie

I think I’ll hold onto my L series and brumby for as long as I can!! $10G for an exhaust part is ridiculous to say the least! Cheers Bennie

OP hasn’t logged in since March 25th. Without an update or further info I doubt this will progress any further. Any updates @KevinP? Cheers Bennie

Not all. There are some single range units and fewer AWD units. Both have a little lever on the RHS. AWD lever pivots down low with the arm facing up, the PT4WD single range has a lever the pivots up high on the side of the gearbox with the arm facing downward. Both are actuated by a big vacuum diaphragm that’s mounted on the LHS behind the bell housing. It’s big and gold-like in colour usually. The dual range PT4WD box doesn’t have any levers on the side of the gearbox, but does have a rod that passes through the square plate rear section (both sides) and a rod that connects to the dual range gear selector on the RHS behind the bell housing. The AWD has a similar setup too. All share the same clutch cable, gear selector rod connections and gearbox mountings. Cheers Bennie

Also correct if everything in the 1600 is shared with the early 1800 gear. I’m not sure on what changes were made from the 1600 to 1800 in mounting arrangements or the tail shaft length etc. Cheers Bennie

Yep, genuine gaskets between the head and intake. I learned this lesson many years ago and stick with it on my EA81 too. No issues with those gaskets in there since replacing them in 2017. Cheers Bennie

Correct