el_freddo

Sorry I forget that you don't have the same sort of constraints that we do over here with chassis rail modifications! For example, to drop an EJ20G into a Brat you need an engineer's report for the chassis modifications (some are hesitant to sign off) - but you also need one for the engine anyway. Same goes for any EJ in and MY or L series... Cheers Bennie

I made a set of shims from two shims used in the steering column of old holdens - these still needed to be ground down a fair bit. If you had some flat bar steel 4 or 5mm thick you could grind yourself a set - just takes time. Be sure to drill the hole first, otherwise drilling on an angle after grinding will be fun... I've never had an issue with engine mounts, but I've always run these shims too. I'm currently running the EA82 engine mounts in the front hole of the EJ engine mount plate and have sleeved the gearbox crossmember holes for the gearbox mounts. This effectively pushes my drive train back about 15-20mm; so far that I've found the back of the sump rubs on the engine crossmember (now that I've got the engine out) - no noise there though. I've heard to avoid the round engine mounts like the plague for an EJ into an L series/MY as they don't last long. Cheers Bennie

Yes they do. The EA81s between the US and Australia are pretty much the same thing - emissions could be slightly different but the main bulk of parts are interchangeable. Further to this have you tried out ausubi for some local knowledge? Cheers Bennie

I'm sorry if I've got my "negative hat" on - but are you sure you don't have a head gasket issue? To be able to see steam out the back of a vehicle travelling at cruise it's usually piped out there through the exhaust. A puddle on top of the engine that leaks further down onto the exhaust would not create enough steam to see out the back of a car unless it's very cold and dry. Check your compression on each cylinder and see what comes up. Also, is your oil milky? I do hope that it's not a head gasket issue, but I would like to know that you have thoroughly tested for a HG leak. Regards Bennie

All that awesome work mate, then the final moment of that first turn of the key - only to have it not do what you want it to do most Just read your thread from start to finish. Very impressive! I wish I had the skill and patience to do that sort of rust work that you've conquered! One question: Did you have the front and rear windows removed for the respray? I couldn't tell if they were installed or not when it left for the paint job. Keep up the good work! After all that I'd be inclined to keep it at stock height - it looks friggin' AWESOME!! Cheers Bennie

I've seen a guy shatter the cast alloy backing plate on the rear diff. If he had a bash plate on the rear diff this would not have happened. You never know what is possible in terms of damage. The way the suspension moves while traversing rocky terrain can see all sorts of things up under your vehicle, especially if you're not experienced enough to know better - or you slide over something you're trying to avoid... Over here the very least of protection is a sump guard/front bash plate... I've got an L series that I'm planning to build a guard for the fuel tank, I'm on my second one now (partly due to going EFI and I had a suitable tank available) - granite rocks that can move are great at damaging your underbody. I've got a ripper "battle scar" in front of my rear right wheel in the sill panel - I don't know how it got there nor did I feel or hear anything happen until I saw it once home. Cheers Bennie

Breaking that into paragraphs would have made it an easier read - but what an effort and an achievement! Dual use area... Are there specific days of the year that will be closed off annually for the Marine's training or will dates change from year to year? Very interesting to read that there is a city that acknowledges the positive economic impact of the wider 4wd'n community contributes! In Australia this would only occur for main annual events that occur - and maybe a bit for the remote communities such as Birdsville etc out near the Simpson Desert... Make sure you all keep using this area now that it's secured! Regards Bennie

Nah should be fine - have the fans hooked up for when the sender on the engine or ECU wants it - I definitely wouldn't have one in the radiator! The thermostat won't instantly close, it'll reduce the amount of flow into the engine (EJ setup) enough to maintain a good operating temp. If it doesn't work as required go with a smaller radiator or insulate the return pipe from the rad to the engine/run one thermo fan etc etc. Cheers Bennie

If this is the earlier style brat I reckon you'll need more lift than that to clear the EJ in the engine bay from what I've seen with these. Cheers Bennie

Thanks mate. Yeah I know the XT6 is the Vortex, we only got the XT4 version. Any XT6's in Oz are known as a grey import or a personal import - not factory delivered here. Does the inlet and outlet port angles become an issue with fitment or are they not like the stock L series lower radiator angle? I'm hoping they're both only gently angled up at the most like what I can see in your pic above of the upper inlet pipe. And it turns out there's one in stock in Oz - surprising what you can find if you ask! Last question - have you fitted this radiator yet? Keen to know what sort of clearances you have between the engine and the radiator you have That's insane building two engines! Clearly you're passionate about this build - or you're keeping "Bloody Murphy" and his law away! With that spare engine built on the shelf waiting to go you'll not have an issue with the one you're running! Regards Bennie

If you've just drilled into an oil gallery it should be alright. It's at least worth a go - if it starts leaking profusely then swap the heads. My thoughts would be that you've possibly drilled into the exhaust port, in which case there's no need to stress, there might be a bit more turbulence in the exhaust gas but nothing that's going to slow down an EA82 any more than an EA82 already does Use your silicone on it as it should only help with the seal. Cheers Bennie

Awesome work Nico! I just posted in an old thread about this build - super old actually! I'm keen to know more about this XT6 radiator as it looks like it might be what I'm after for my EJ22'd L series that's in need of a new radiator. The only problem is that I'm looking on fleabay as we don't get the XT6 in oz. What I really would like to know is the angle of the lower rad outlet and the thickness of the radiator at the cores - space is always an issue between the rad and the front of the EJ as you'd know Keep up the good work! Regards Bennie

Nico, I've read your thread on RS liberty - keen to know more about this XT6 radiator as I think it might be just what I'm looking for. Where did you get yours? I need more details about the outlets as we don't get the XT6 down under so I can't look it up in one of our parts manuals (might double check that!). Basically want to know if the lower outlet points up like the stock EA82 radiator does. Hope the build is going well. I think this thread needs an update Regards Bennie

Ruby Scoo EJ22 4.11 ratio diffs Dual Range AWD gearbox with centre locking diff in EJ gearbox casing Dual battery system Safari Snorkel Remote Central locking Under bonnet (hood) storage 3 inch lift 27 inch tyres on 14 inch scorpion rims RXII "sports grille" (thanks to The Loyale) - we don't get them down under ^ Under here I can fit my Turfor winch, snatch strap kit, chain and small air compressor. I also manage to squeeze my sand flag under here. Currently doing the head gaskets... fun fun. Cheers Bennie

I did mine with a rattle/impact gun to do the job. It took some time to get it off even with the rattle gun. Once the nut was off I remember the flange coming off easily. I used the rattle gun to put it back on. Cheers Bennie

Probably best to find a good EJ22 Legacy as the donor vehicle - this will have all the bits you need except an external EFI fuel pump Cheers Bennie

Dunno if it's just me but I can't see any pics Cheers Bennie

You flip the rear strut mount, then use a BFH IF the strut fouls any of the guard with the top mount inverted. I'm sure you'll get more than an inch out of inverting that mount. You'll need spring compressors to do the job... Cheers Bennie

The rev thing with the brakes applied points to the booster - make sure the one way valve in the line is working properly - it's under the metal clamp somewhere in the line, I can't remember where exactly. The rev drop with the demist on could be a dodgy earth connection between the engine and the body - look into your earth strap on the engine and make sure it's securely fastened to the engine and the battery/body. Cheers Bennie

Finally pics as promised: If you're still not happy with these let me know and I'll "get some more" Cheers Bennie

Ok an update: I've hooked up the ECU thermo fan trigger wire into the "auto" mode of the above switch diagram without a diode - it works without issue. I found it interesting that the factory L series sensor trips in earlier than the ECU trigger wire does - but this was only on a warm up cycle in the driveway so things could be different when onroad with the ECU not triggering fans at speed etc. Either way it works. The AC idle up works a treat too. I've gone with HyChill and the idle up is a bit much for this gas as from what I've read it doesn't work the compressor as hard for the same result as r134a. Its awesome. At idle my tacho needle sits at about 1000 rpm (I think I need to look into the throttle position sensor's settings) without AC on, when the idle up kicks in it sits at about 1150ish revs... The cutout is yet to be sorted, I'm chasing which wire is responsible for turning the system on from the switch - but I could probably just run ignition power to the other side of the relay to do the same thing. While I was at all this wiring I also installed a Gen2 or Gen1 Series 2 alternator - a greeny square plug unit - much better/stable/higher voltage output compared to the old round plug alternator. Both round plugs I've run have struggled to maintain a charge voltage of 14 volts. This "new" alternator puts out 14.3v in just about all situations even when I've got everything on that I can possibly load it up with. Very happy. Cheers Bennie

If you're messing with the idle adjustment screw you'll have to grab your multimeter and adjust your Throttle Position Sensor. The idle is decided by the ECU, not by a mechanical screw in these EFI beasts. Set the TPS and see what happens to your idle Cheers Bennie

I've seen that before with the ring landings. I think it's from a very much over heated engine! Or an over revved one... Not sure as one engine we pulled down and found damaged ring landings was severely overheated - blew the side out of a hot radiator when boiling! The other was a parts yard engine that would smoke after off throttle rolling, the longer you were off throttle and rolling in gear the worse the smoke was - avoid big long hills! I think this engine could have been over revved - it had been rebuilt once before by the looks of the piston heads used. Cheers Bennie

Hmmm... I can't picture that in my head with the yellow wire and where it gets tied into etc I've got this setup in my L for river crossings and hot weather driving on sand or during hill climbs: So in theory I take the ECU trigger and hook that into the back of my switch? What sort of diode would I need to protect the ECU, I would like to have that sort of protection! As for the type of AC I've got, I think it's a Denso compressor - it certainly has never had the tab hanging out over the fan belts with that black box on it like every other L series I've come across. I'll have to check the compressor to be sure it's a Denso, shouldn't be hard to do as it's living on my bench at the moment! So if I've got this straight: Hook up the AC input wire to the ECU from the AC dash switch and wire in a normally closed relay so that the ECU can short the relay circuit and cut the power to the AC compressor/system? If so, that relay would look something like this (using the horn relay code): Normally closed relay: Power from AC switch = 30 "Other side" of the AC switch wiring to the compressor/AC system etc = 87 Ignition switched power (positive) = 85 ECU AC relay cut wire (Plug F47, pin 22) = 86 At the same time have the AC on input wired in from the switch before the above relay - this will have the AC switch tell the ECU the AC is on, even when the ECU AC cutout relay is in play. Have I got this correct? Then the last piece to the puzzle is to wire in the thermo fan relay/trigger wire - hook into the yellow/black wire on the back of my switch ("auto mode") with a diode to protect the ECU so I can keep the radiator thermo switch in play. This setup should have the AC pressure switch already wired into the factory thermo wiring so no need to hook the ECU into this - but looking at the wiring diagram the EJ system has it the same, just that the ECU triggers it instead of a thermo switch in the radiator. It's late over here, I've had a big day but I hope I've got my head around it - that's what I love about doing wiring conversions - get your head around it then it all falls into place and just becomes "easy" next time! I also hope I haven't blown anyone's mind on this either! I've really enjoyed the reading with the last couple of posts thanks to Goyale and Presslab. I'm hoping you can confirm I've got his right, and if not, then correct my error or show a wiring diagram I can view. I believe I've got it all sorted correctly though. Regards Bennie

That's a very nice looking piece of kit. I bet the price is "just as good" too. I'm guessing it's got a build in intercooler? Cheers Bennie