el_freddo

Yes it does, it just depends on which mechanic works on it Sorry, couldn’t help myself! Cheers Bennie

Definitely need a press of some sort. Those ones that use a threaded rod are good too, especially if you’re doing the work with the hub in the car (you need to remove the drive shaft first!). You’ll probably need a hub puller too. If using a press you can remove the hub from the knuckle then the bearing. Make sure you don’t scrape/gouge the chromed shaft piece of the wheel hub that the outer bearing lives on. I learned that the hard way by using a bearing pulling device that was too small for the diametre of the chromed shaft… I’ll know for next time! Cheers Bennie

Good old google searches. It can find anything so long as it’s not on bookface! It even finds snippets of info in YouTube videos! That’s handy sometimes! Cheers Bennie

Apples and Oranges on this one I reckon Steptoe - with the sixes and eights it is an easier job with the block still in the car compared to a boxer. Plus the sizes and eights you’re talking about are most likely not a sensitive to a HG change as the Subarus are And sadly on many fronts we throw away items rather than repair them these days, even though the item is serviceable with some time and effort. I see this as double edged - many people aren’t skilled enough to perform the repair so it’s reliable again and those that can, it isn’t worth their time when you can get a complete NEW unit generally a little bit more coin. Cheers Bennie

What EJ conversions, they don’t exist in your world! That manifold work looks great, and the paint job sets it off nicely. I guess this isn’t done often due to the need to swap heads for the dual port intake. Cheers Bennie

Yeah, that’s before they drive an EJ converted L series How far back did you have to go to dig that up? I’d like to see it’s origin to ensure it’s not a manipulated quote. Back in the day there were a few getting around in lifted L’s. I think subafury had one in his L from memory and he loved it, even though it was a money pit compared to an EJ conversion - and that was back when you could still get parts easily! Cheers Bennie

That’s a huge amount of timing for very little performance loss! Quite impressive when you think about it and a no brainer too. Cheers Bennie

Heartless is right. If you sell it with an issue you sell at a generally very low price - and expect to be low balled even further from there. How far could you go on that bearing? Your guess is as good as anyone’s. It can come down to driving style, existing bearing damage, short/long distance travel. Once that bearing collapses there’s the potential to strip teeth as they begin to misalign with the lower gearset. Either way at the moment it’s repairable/good for parts if you’re that way inclined. Once it lets go you’re stuck somewhere that’s not going to be much fun and in need of a new gearbox… All of that said, it could keep going for a long time too, it’s one of those things. In my book a grinding noise is far worse than a whining noise too. Whining will “outlast” grinding generally speaking. Cheers Bennie

Hehehe… the learning curve is steep! At least you’re learning things along the way. Did the machine shop shave the surface that clamps the disc AND the surface that the pressure plate mounts to? If they’ve only done the clamping surface they will have reduced the clamping force, probably not by much if they’ve just skimmed it but it could make the fingers of each clutch pressure plate sit differently when the pressure plate is torqued down to spec. I doubt this is the issue anyway. You could try putting a washer under the pivot ball for the clutch fork, this will move the clutch fork closer to the clutch and allow the fork to be pulled back further before the fork hits the gearbox case (I’ve had this before and it was mega frustrating). Another thing to look at is the deck height of the pressure plate from the mount plate pieces to the top pressed metal that the fingers are behind. Compare the two units and see if there’s any difference. It’s possible the old unit is thicker than the new unit, this has the fingers closer to the throw out bearing allowing better/full disengagement. Another test you could’ve tried before pulling it apart was starting the engine with the gearbox in gear, foot on the clutch. If the car lurches forward there’s definitely an issue with the clutch not releasing the way it should. Starting the engine in gear like this could jolt something that was a bit sticky into releasing properly. Lots of thoughts in one post Cheers Bennie

Gearbox work is always fun - you’re only looking at replacing bearings which oddly is something I haven’t done on the upper and lower gear set shafts. I’ve only done bearings on the input (dual range), rear output and centre diff bearings. They’re easy to get to. The front bearing should be relatively easy, that rear bearing will require a press no doubt. It’ll be easy to identify the offending bearing by spinning it You should also read up on the torque specs for that upper gear set shaft so you know what you’re up for. Check out their special tools to hold the gears without damaging them, make them up to do the job. At the end of the day you could have your cake and eat it too. Setup for the gearbox repair work but go get a replacement gearbox to swap in while you play doctor on your current box. Ditch the paper gasket and use the same goo that you seal the front cases with. You only need a tiny smear of that stuff for it to do it’s job! The hardest part of this job to me is setting the diff properly. I’d recommend marking the sun dials, back them off two or three times, write down how many turns out you did in relation to your two marks, this allows the front cases to boot and torque down properly without having the diff fight the cases. If you’re going to replace the diff bearings throw the above out the window as you’ll need to set the backlash (from memory that’s the correct term, the other one is preload) anyway and that’s a whole other procedure to follow. I’ve back yarded mine and done it by feel, no problems (yet??). Also a good time to replace all the seals - input, front diff, O ring on the sun dials, rear output shaft and the selector shaft seals. It’s really interesting and satisfying pulling down a gearbox, fixing stuff and managing to put it all back together again - then be hyper vigilant with every little noise you hear once it’s back in the vehicle! Some tips: - get a copy of the WSM for your model, read up on what you’ll be doing, find the torque specs and bolt torque sequence diagrams - use a cardboard panel to draw the gearbox outline on with all the bolt holes, number them in the torque sequence order (remove starting with last bolt number!) and place the respective bolt in the same location on the diagram (take note of which side of the gearbox the bolts come in from, I can’t remember which side without having a look) - write out the different torque specs for the various bolts. This saves time once you’re in the thick of it! There are two different toque specs for different bolts on the front cases, the bolts around the diff have a higher torque than the others - take photos as you go so you have a reference to fall back on if needed - have some blocks of wood to help sit the box on its side so it won’t wobble around on the floor/bench (I highly recommend doing this work on a bench!) - ensure all mating surfaces are cleaned properly before sealing the cases and rear housing. Use a residue free solvent as the final wipe down before applying the silicone - have those torque specs handy for the sealing of the front cases, also have the two socket sizes ready to go - it’s a good time to throw a front LSD in, just saying!! (Worth the effort in my book) That turned out to be essay spec, I hope it’s given you some idea of what’s involved. Cheers Bennie

To post pics it’s best to use an image hosting site, then drop the image code in here Cheers Bennie

Hopefully not! I’m keen to see what this EA71 is in, I still reckon it’s an L series, but going by my track record in this thread I could be quite wrong!! Cheers Bennie

I dare say a 32/36 would be better, but I’m not a carb guy by any means. I believe you can get a 32/36 from any 80’s or 90’s ford six cylinder found in the falcons that weren’t EFI. Cheers Bennie

It’ll be a clutch throw out bearing - the symptoms you shared are text book TOB wearing out. Cheers Bennie

I’m with a very experienced mate atm that knows loads about things like this. When did this issue show up and what was changed if anything? He’s suggesting the following: - non-hub centric rims - issue with the diff - rear CV shaft issue - locker ratcheting at high speed. Tyre pressures equal on the rear? It sounds to us like it’s the rear CV shaft that you’re removing that’s the issue. The torque locker will still rotate the prop shaft with one CV shaft removed, that’s how they operate. Don’t go messing with the K frame lift blocks! Just drop the moustache bar if you want to experiment. Don’t put in a two piece tailshaft!! LAST RESORT at best… I’m looking forward to an update. Sorry I didn’t read this earlier, was out on a 4wd trip Cheers Bennie

Just this weekend I saw an interesting setup that used some brass fittings to adapt the EA temp sender into the EJ temp gauge sender hole. Yes it removes the sender unit away from the coolant crossover pipe an inch or so but it would still be accurate enough and give a better reading than the EJ sender unit talking to the factory EA gauge. Cheers Bennie

Good question mate! The early engines had two temp sensors - a single wire sensor for the gauge and a two wire sensor for the ECU. I believe at some point, or with the phase two engines, they moved to only having the two wire sensor for the ECU. What I recommend doing is finding a good spot to put the original EA81 temp sender unit into the coolant crossover pipe. You’ll need to test fit the intake manifold and other accessories to find a location where it won’t be in the way of anything. Mark the spot. Have someone weld more metal to the coolant crossover pipe then drill and tap this weld to fit the temp sender unit. An alternative (somewhat easier) way to do this is to put it in the heater line from the engine to the heater core - avoid the return line! Put the sender unit inline in a metal tube, then run an earth wire to this metal tube so the sender unit works. Something like this (pic below) in 16mm or 5/8th heater hose ID size, but with the temp sensor hole being big enough for the EA81 sender unit. Use the factory temp sensor wire to make the gauge on the instrument cluster work and display properly. Using the EJ sender doesn’t read properly on the EA gauge as their calibration isn’t the same! Cheers Bennie

I would not recommend this unless you have proper safety procedures in place and you know exactly what you’re doing and what the potential outcomes could be! Also remember that if the spring doesn’t randomly exit stage left, right, wherever it wants under compression (potentially resulting in serious physical harm or death) that you could run the risk of deforming the spring. And it was the Gen3 Legacy/outback platform that changed the rear suspension to a multi link setup with the coil over shock setup, this started in 1999 in Oz. Cheers Bennie

The thickness of the head gaskets needs to be quite significant to really effect the cam timing so much that you’ll experience a difference or lose power etc. What I could effect is the compression ratio, but again, this would t be noticeable nor effect the ECU’s engine management. There are plenty of places to buy EJ20 gaskets. Australia has a big market of EJ20 engines and thus the HGs are readily available. Postage is the real issue here. There will be other places across the globe that would be easier to source. As numbchux said, the EJ20 turbo gaskets will do the job just fine. Cheers Bennie

EA71 posted in an 80’s forum I reckon this could be in an L series @Steptoe's photos, they came like this from factory in some parts of the world like Africa! But I’m keen to now what it’s in too. As Steptoe said @Mayanstolero, it could be the ignition module in the dizzy that’s died. This is replaceable - I’d also recommend replacing your coil too as these kill ignition modules if they’re not operating properly or when they die. Cheers Bennie

No. They will physically fit and bolt in but the firing ring in the head gasket will be in the ring spot and could cause issues. @GeneralDisorderwill know more about the complications of this. Why not get head gaskets for the EJ20 that you have? Cheers Bennie

The purge control valves used to cause trouble from what a mate told me years ago. He suggested it’s a good idea to relocated this valve to make replacing it easier - removing it from all the heat it cops (it’s usually under the intake manifold on the vehicle’s RHS from memory) would probably help with the longevity of the purge control valve too. Cheers Bennie

Look for a set of aftermarket springs that have a progressive spring rate. These are good for daily driving unloaded while also maintaining some height when loaded. They will compress when loaded but not as much as a set of linear springs and even less than an old set of linear springs! Just swapping out springs for new units will make a huge difference! Cheers Bennie Edit: I can vouch for King Springs. Had them in my L series and in both of our Gen3 Pajeros/Monteros/Shoguns. I get the shipping costs from Oz - probably an arm and a leg but you can only ask!

I’m going to say it’s off an EA82 style engine since there’s a heater hose outlet to the right in the background. AFAIK EA71 still has the dizzy on the front of the engine like the EA81, so I’d rule that out. That’s my 5c guess. Cheers Bennie