el_freddo

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

DL on the left (Ruby Scoo), GL touring wagon on the right (Sheldon). The touring wagon is bog stock including stock height. You should also be able to see the difference in the tailgate height that other members have already noted Your touring wagon should also have carpets, plush seats, AC, PS and power windows/mirrors... Cheers Bennie

How do I tell the ECU to turn the thermos on when I've got the AC on? And I found some wiring diagrams from numchux's website. Just google subaru EJ wiring diagram and he'll be in there somewhere - maybe even throw his name into the search Cheers Bennie

Thanks guys, that was just what I was after. I'll get a new rear main and leave that other one alone! Why is it there anyway? Cheers Bennie

G'day all, I'm hoping someone here will be able to help me out. I've just noticed a "second" seal on the back of an EA81 crankshaft. There's the usual one then between the bolt holes and the flywheel centring ridge is an orange seal. My local parts joint only have one number for the EA81 rear main seal. Do I need to replace this orange seal or just leave it? It's not leaking but while I'm in there it's usually worth doing. Any insight or thoughts on this appreciated. Regards Bennie

Kaki, I reckon it is - the hardest part is finding a snorkel that's suitable, after this it's the inner guard work to hook it up. Cutting the hole is always a moment to remember - and get right the first time! Bratman, how's your mod coming along? Did you go with the one you linked earlier in the thread, and if so, is it plastic? Cheers Bennie

Thanks Goyale, I'm familiar with the bosch horn relays and their coding. So now I just need to source the wire from the ECU - anyone happen to know which wire it is for a 1991/1992 legacy EJ22? The page I used to get the wiring diagram from has disappeared which is very frustrating! Also while we're on the topic of wiring, I'm looking at getting my AC sorted. I remember an "AC relay cut" wire - do I need to hook some wire from the AC into the ECU so the ECU knows the AC is on and loading the engine at idle? Cheers Bennie

I would say a bit of air movement under the bonnet can only be a good thing. The oil cooler won't be any good without it anyway... Cheers Bennie

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/382308/1987-subaru-gl/ And here's another blog. Cheers Bennie

I can't remember the running details of this subi ^ Build thread to this one ^, quite a few missing images but there are some good ones in there. Generally the lift combo over here is a 3 inch lift and 27 inch tyres. I know I've got this on my L wagon and it's a sweet setup for daily driving and some great offroading ability! Cheers Bennie

I must admit that I played with those little dedent balls and springs for sometime making sure I had it correct before I closed it all up and put it in the vehicle... It's lots of fun to get it back together, there's a sequence but I can't remember it from memory. It was good fun! All the best with it. Cheers Bennie

So it's saved?! Any subaru in good condition is worth saving - mechanicals are simple to work on, body shape and rust are not so easy to! Cheers Bennie

Well, now there's two L's out there (that I know of) with the plastic snorkel, this one is mounted differently to mine: And it's a carbie setup, here's the intake setup: This is Species' L series, build thread here, these pics can be found on page 4 Bratman, I don't think there's anything wrong with a fibreglass snorkel, but bending it would be an issue I reckon - I've not tried or know how to bend fibreglass, if it's possible at all. Cheers Bennie PS: I've not got any better pics of my snorkel as I said I would - I still want to modify the top of the snorkel as it's not sitting the way I want it to...

And with that said, I've got an EJ22 with a 2 1/4 inch exhaust and I reckon that's plenty big. Personally I'd be looking at a 2 inch exhaust, but if you're building the extractors you might as well port match from the head then go the two inch after the cat and do what you want from there. To big too early leads to a bad sound and poor performance... Cheers Bennie

The dizzy can be found on a ford escort and it will bolt to the passenger's side head - there'a plate that covers the hole for the dizzy to bolt to and mate with the cam shaft. There was actually a factory carb fed EJ that came out I think in Latin America - there are pics around of this. One of the boys in WA Australia built a weber fed EJ22 with one of these escort dizzys. So I'd say it could be done, and the fact that the EJ18 is the same capacity as the EA82 I don't see why the SPFI couldn't work on the EJ18 with some effort. Cheers Bennie

This was Lapsed's wagon in WA Australia. It ran a 3 inch lift, 27 inch tyres and an EJ25 with DOHC. It was 4wd'n so much that the body ended up fatiguing to the point that it needed to be retired. This engine has managed to work it's way into my backyard for a future project... Cheers Bennie

I would also like to thank a couple of mates - Jesse for giving me the snorkel and Vince for helping out with the original (the start!) adaptor, then the modifications to fit the snorkel to the adaptor inside the inner guard! Cheers Bennie

G'day all. I thought I'd share my snorkel conversion that I've done to Ruby Scoo. This particular modification was done to an EFI air box that's factory with the MPFI L series. The base is factory L series and the top is factory EJ. I started off making this adaptor for the airbox into the inner guard: This is a 2.5 inch exhaust pipe stretched at one end to 3 inch then squashed to the oval shape to fit the air box. The tab loop is for fastening. Ultimately when this whole thing was done it would have been easier to start with 3 inch pipe and keep that size the whole way through. The snorkel is from a Mitsubishi Pajero, NK/NH/NJ 1990 to 1996ish without the flare modification. I hope you guys got them over there! The most important part was nutting out the fitment of the snorkel, namely to find out where it would poke through to the inner guard for the rest of the adaptor work: I used a "dead" front guard on the spare L series, held the snorkel where I think it needed to be, marked where the main hole should go and ended up with this: Marked where the bolt holes need to go: Bolted on to the guard: This is what it looks like dummied up on the car, some bending required: Once the bending was complete: ^ I also bent the top tip of the snorkel to make it sit flat so that the head attachment looks like it should be there rather than being cocked to one side. Bending was done with the snorkel filled with sand and a heat gun. The sand stops any distortion of the snorkel while heating, more of a precaution than anything. I've heard of people using a blow torch but I reckon that'd be too hot and change the texture of the plastic's finish. I had access to an electric heat gun that did the job very well. Now that I had that sorted I made a template and went from there on Ruby Scoo: The big moment where it was imperative that I get it right! This is the same adaptor above once we were done with it - We shortened the side on the inner guard and welded a 3 inch piece of pipe to it on a 45 degree angle. The angle that it faces up is also off centre to the oval part of the adaptor, so that the upward piece is vertical. Included in this image is the cut down 3 inch silicone pipe that joins to the snorkel in the inner guard: Fitted without the guard: ^ Next time I have the guard off I need to put the wiring over the top of this pipe work... next time... Also note that you need to come up with a new washer bottle setup. This one is temporary but will no doubt live here for some time. The washer pump fits nicely into the inside of a soft drink bottle's neck with the factory rubber piece. I've use a cooking oil bottle and some heater hose as the adaptor between the two. It's one litre which isn't much but does the trick. Fitted with guard and snorkel all hooked up - very happy with the results! The guard's wiring should go over the top of this pipe work - something I'll do next time I have the guard off. While I had the adaptor out I shortened the end that's in the air box - it was about another inch longer previously. The adaptor also copped a lick of matt black paint just to make it look good and stop rust (maybe). Between the adaptor and the sheet metal is two pieces of closed cell foam matting (the camping matt stuff, can be seen two images above), and between the sheet metal and the air box is three or four pieces of the same foam - this is here to help seal up the air box intake hole. I've also bolted the top of the air box bottom piece to the side of the engine bay to help squash the foam. The adaptor is screwed in place from the outer guard side, this also squashes the foam to help with the seal. The finished product: I need to get some more angles of this for a better view on here, and drop the camper off the roof too so I can really see what it'd look like on the L's body. There's less induction noise than what I was expecting until you hit 4G rpm at WOT - then it's just a roaring angry EJ sound! But that's only when you've got the window down... Cheers all for having a look. If you're after a snorkel just have a go at it! The inner guard work is usually the hardest bit to sort out once you've got the snorkel sized up and sorted I think I've got all the details in here, if not, ask away! Cheers Bennie PS - feel free to drop your snorkel's conversion guide in here too!

G'day fellow conversion nuts! I'm after the wire or a "how to" wire up the thermo fans to the ECU of the EJ engine. I've got an '88 L series with an EJ22 installed. I've got the thermo fans running from the stock EA radiator thermo switch. Recently I've been thinking that it would be more beneficial to have the ECU operate the thermo fans rather than letting the radiator potentially get hotter than the ECU wants it to be before the fans kick in. Anyone done this with their conversion(s)? Here's a couple of pics of my ride and conversion: Regards Bennie

G'day, I'm running an EJ22 in my L series - I'm looking at adding a scan gauge to my setup to further monitor the ECU and engine parameters when out bush. I've seen them on my mate's OBDII subarus and they're a good unit - my problem is finding one for the OBDI system. Has anyone got one on their early legacys or can point me in the right direction of a suitable unit for the OBDI system? Regards Bennie

Once you've got that pin out and the lever removed use a rubber mallet to gently tap one of the cases to help them separate Cheers Bennie

I'd recommend a three inch lift - struts and body; keep the stock springs and struts as this will keep your CV angles at stock. Then it's just your tyre combination. You might find they will still rub on the chassis rail - I've got a 3 inch lift in my L series with 27 inch tyres at the stock offset and they rub at full lock behind the front axle on the chassis rail. At the end of the day it's up to you how high you go. The lift kit should have the correct camber adjustments built into the strut lift on the front end Cheers Bennie

^ What they said... then send me your rear 5 lug setup Seriously though, it shouldn't be too hard to work out the front end setup if you're really keen to use the 5 lug setup. Cheers Bennie