el_freddo

Over here in Oz if it didn’t come factory with that engine size, you generally need to have engineering approval for an engine capacity increase. The exact requirements for this differs from state to state, so it gets complicated. So to have the impreza only come out here in EJ20 as the largest engine size would require some authority to get involved if going down the legit swap route… The EJ251 is a great version of this engine size once it has the HGs replaced for the MLS units - and has the head bolts replaced in the correct location! Those painted head bolts always catch you out the first time you do a HG on one of these! I know I didn’t see them the first time… Cheers Bennie

Things could certainly be getting some sort of power from the ignition switch being worn - but it shouldn’t cause smoke! Is everything in good working order forward of the high/low beam switch? And is the dial switch working properly? There are a few elements here that could be at fault/contributing to the larger issue. Always not fun! Cheers Bennie

I’d go with something less or not flammable such as WD40, but yes, with the engine running spray it around any joints in the manifold, injectors/carb, vacuum lines etc. Cheers Bennie

Talking to a mate over the weekend and he had an issue where it was the wheel nuts not clamping the wheel to the hub properly, effectively the weight of the vehicle was only on the hub centric ring thingy-bit. Weird hub setup with the studs as though. Anyway, it got me thinking, what stud pattern are you running as I remember some mention of redrilled hubs - is this correct? Is it possible these modified hubs are not done well and could be causing the vibration issue? Could be clutching at straws but thought I’d ask. Cheers Bennie

Check for vacuum leaks. Cheers Bennie

Sorry mate, I’m all out of ideas. When I did this I swapped the entire vehicle loom in the process as I wanted to run the MPFI setup in my DL - and that was before I learned about the EJ conversion! All the best with it. Cheers Bennie

How old is the fuel pump? And if replaced what quality is it? Cheers Bennie

Did you ever swap out that rear diff? I can’t remember if you ran without the diff fitted to see what happens… I’m keen to get to the bottom of this one with you! Tyre condition and pressures? Cheers Bennie

Sam try running the front half of the shaft only, drop the rear section. That’s one of the beauties of the L series two piece shaft. The only other things I can think of are: - broken/worn engine or gearbox mounts - modified gearbox mounts aren’t sitting true/have changed driveline angles - rear output shaft bearings are toast in the gearbox, but this is usually accompanied with a leaking rear output shaft seal too (been there done that) Other thoughts point towards a drive shaft issue, and it could be any of them! I know you’re down and out on this one, keep at it though, you’ll work it out. I doubt an EJ conversion will solve anything - but with that said, do you have all cylinders running at 100%? Theory on this: if the vibration happens in 4th but disappears by dropping to 3rd or it changes significantly, it could be an engine issue. 4th ratio is just over a 1:1 engine speed to tailshaft speed. If there’s something in the engine that’s not operating as it should it could be manifesting as this vibration. One of the reasons I say engine issue is because we had an old family bus Holden WB Statesman series II with the 308. One day towing it developed a MASSIVE vibration under load to the point it was almost undrivable - we limped it home. The issue turned out to be one fed spark plug and a failing spark lead. For a V8 that was substantial and surprising that it was just that simple. Does this vibration come on strong/quickly straight up when you start driving or does it work itself up to the vibration at set cruise speeds? Cheers Bennie

That billet knuckle!! It would be sick to make a billet EA swing arm with the EJ bearing setup to make rear disc swaps easier, then we could legally (in Oz) and easily upgrade the tyre size to the same as the forester without major complicated engineering testing we require over here. But that would be Uber expensive to make up, hence why it’s not done. Keep the good work coming! You have this going in no time! Cheers Bennie

I think the greys were found on the autos and the reds found on the manual engines - possibly only for the series 1 setup as the red to injectors are very common from my understanding. With the engine management on these vehicles I highly doubt they’re that highly calibrated/sensitive to an injector swap like this. Just do an ecu reset between the swap and let it relearn its settings before driving it. Or just get the red ones, you could have them cleaned and flow tested if you felt the need to on the old ones. Cheers Bennie

Rear discs swap over turbo L to non turbo L no worries. I’ve run mine swapped to the NA setup without adding anything to the brake line setup for many years and they work fine. The issue that comes into play is if you’re wanting to swap 4wd to 2wd or vice versa. The hub and backing plate bearing holes are specific to 2wd or 4wd, they don’t interchange (2wd backing plates can be enlarged to 4wd spec, but this is a one way ticket!). Cheers Bennie

Which your engine doesn’t have the IACV. Cheers Bennie

Other thought is whether you have the spark leads on the right spark plugs… Cheers Bennie

I’d be investigating those crank and cam angle sensor issues before pulling the engine out. It’s very rare that one or both sensor died - but if they were dropped it’s possible to damage them. Make sure they’re properly plugged in too, and that it’s the correct wire that’s plugged in - I recently read about an injector plug being connected to the crank or cam sensor (can’t remember which one). Also, ignore the arrow on the cam wheel as this is not used for timing. Use the little tab mark on the rim of the cam wheel. From memory the arrow should be pointing at the 1:30 mark. That arrow is there to indicate which cylinder is at top dead centre through the engine cycle. Cheers Bennie

G’day Hamm3y, Youre the first one I’ve heard of this happening to on an EA82 platform, I’ve heard of many on the EA81 platform. Causes? Probably a loose castleated nut or a shot cone washer. Someone might know. The fix is to replace that hub with another one. Cheers Bennie

Like for the fixing of bits and getting the brat to where you want it. But I’d also give you a dislike for moving OS and selling!! No need to - just have them bead blasted to rough them up again and they’ll work like new. But then again, for that amount of effort on the 4spd no one that is in a right frame of mind would consider going down that path. Get a 5spd a fit that in. Cheers Bennie

Awesome result! what did it sell for? Cheers Bennie

Plastic end tank on the heater core is leaking. Don’t drive it as they can completely let go (not fun!). Don’t get second hand units, they’ll just do the same, been there done that twice! I managed to get an all copper unit about ten years ago now and haven’t looked back since. To do the swap the whole dashboard has to come out to then pull out the heater box to remove the leaking heater core. Not a hard task, just fiddly then heavy when removing the dash board from the car via the passenger’s side. Cheers Bennie

If you didn’t swap the crank cam wheel/gear that’ll be the issue. If you’re using the SF5 heads you’ll already be using the matched cam wheels, otherwise the LHS inlet cam wheel needs to be swapped for the SF one. But I reckon it’s that crank trigger wheel that’s the issue. Also look into the details about the GT forester setup that’s detuned compared to the same block and heads used in the WRX model of the same years. I believe there are differences in cam specs, tune and obviously the turbo (TF035 vs the TD04). It could be worth playing around with cams, ECU and the turbo for a better factory setup. Loads of info out there, I could be wrong as it’s not something I’ve followed up on as I don’t have a reason to. Cheers Bennie

Same for the L series. Pretty neat setup but I don’t fully understand why they did this. Cheers Bennie

You’ll probably find it’s the radius rod that’s bent and not the control arm, they can flex quite a bit with their suspension bush on the subframe end. Fingers crossed it’s a cheap and easy fix. I hope the scum that was responsible for this action has a date with Karma soon! Cheers Bennie

Maybe that’s their plan/method of getting it scrapped. “Nobody bid on it so it needs to be scrapped” - but on one could bid on it… Hopefully it goes up again for actual bids to be made! Cheers Bennie

I hang out for these updates!! With the above, are you saying the one bolt came before the five bolt R160? Or is there and early and later version of the two diffs (that I don’t know about)? Asking as the five bolt came before the one bolt. I know the 1980 brumby/BRAT models run with the five bolt diff and you could bolt one any five bolt r160 into the back of them. The one bolt I believe appeared mid to late naughties, but I think the five bolt is still to be found in those years as well depending on which vehicle model you look at - I could be wrong though! Cheers Bennie

Don’t take this as gospel, just a memory of what could be a nasty rumour online about EJ conversions into the fugly series. Measure up the width of the chassis rails to ensure they’re wide enough for the EJ22. I wouldn’t want you to be knee deep in the project only to find the engine doesn’t fit without major modification to the recipient vehicle! I recall a fella shoe-horning a DOHC turbo into one of these and had to do loads of mods to make it fit. From the convo around that, the feeling I got was that even a SOHC EJ22 isn’t an easy task to fit. What’s the diff output stub spline count? If it’s 23, why can’t you retain the factory front shafts? Personally, I don’t like offset track width front to rear - just check out the last land cruiser models for what I’m talking about. Yuck! As for the 2wd rear end, it could be a case of finding a set of wheel bearings that fit the EA stub axle and the EJ 2wd hub. Hopefully the stub axle is the correct length for this sort of swap. After that it’s how to graft/mount the EJ backing plate. The other bit is finding out if the 2wd hub is separate to the drum (I believe all 2wd EJ Subarus were rear drum, but I could be wrong about this). I hope this helps, I dare say you’ve got some research ahead of you. Cheers Bennie