el_freddo

Is this a swap from an auto or a single range 5 spd? If from a single range five speed this is what you'll need: 5 speed dual range gearbox. Gear selector with the hi/lo range selector + console to match. Your prop shaft will slot straight in and the gearbox will bolt straight to the gearbox crossmember. The clutch should be the same. If you've got an auto you'll need that ^^^ plus clutch pedal box, flywheel/clutch disc, clutch pressure plate, throw out bearing, clutch fork (if it doesn't come on the gearbox), gearbox crossmember and probably the prop shaft, at the very least the front section unless the centre bearing is in a different location for the auto, but I doubt it. Cheers Bennie

I'm looking forward to it! I was just wondering if they may have played around with valve timing too much in relation to injector pulse - apparently not which is a good thing. The cam re-grind changes the timing of the valves opening, their duration of being open can be changed and I believe the depth that they're opened to can be changed as well. By playing around with different durations and times of opening/closing you can set up an engine mechanically for torque, power, high revs etc. Hence why a "stage 3" cam or something of the like will be very lumpy at idle up to a certain rev range where it will then pur like a kitten - this is where the cam has the engine at its most efficient/powerful depending on the setup... What I'm getting at is that the 2.5 litre block is a larger capacity to a 2.2 litre block - my theory goes on that the ECU can't adjust the injector pulse at idle enough or the built in map at idle speeds doesn't have enough in it to compensate for the extra space needed to create an explosion enough to idle properly. Or the injectors could be dirty allowing for a poor idle... That makes sense, thanks! I think we had the crossover here at the same time too - that would be between the Gen1 and Gen2 lib/legacy right? Depending on the final ratio, when you had the box open you could have matched a speedo gear in the gearbox to your given application. If you run the same tyre diametre as what that box ran originally I think you'll find that your speedo *should* correct itself - but this will change your gear ratios in relation to speed and acceleration... Thanks for your reply! Cheers Bennie

Thanks everyone, I think I've got what I wanted to know. Cheers Bennie

That's awesome - I've just been reading up on the frankenmotor myself, I hope to one day see the need to do it, I've certainly got the urge! With the harness have you thought about running an electronic dizzy to eliminate the need for an ECU that would most likely only be there for spark anyway? Check out TOONGA's Brumby/brat that's running a weber fed EJ22 with dizzy over in Perth, WA, Australia I'll be watching your build with interest! Cheers Bennie

I wouldn't bother "testing" the oil warning light, and if you did want to I'd probably just try earthing it as I'm pretty sure this is what the sender unit does... If there's no light it's probably dead if all fuses are good. If you do a head gasket you won't get oil in the radiator but you will get coolant in the oil. If you drained your oil just after warming up the engine (to get best drain off of the oil) the oil will appear milky to some degree. Are you sure that you haven't contaminated your oil drain with some residual coolant that was left hanging somewhere on the bottom of the engine/chassis rail etc? AFAIK your tranny fluid should be red/pink. If it's brown you're definitely due for a change - either new fluid or a manual Cheers Bennie

Yeah I've just been reading up on recob123's thread, left a post there too. After reading that I'm guessing that the delta cam grind - what ever the specs are will run without idle issues on the otherwise stock ODBI EJ22. But if I decide to go for a frankenmotor like recob123 has done I'd probably be best to look for an ODBII ECU from a post '96 Liberty or Outback correct? I might have to investigate the cost of getting a set of those cams shipped out, unless I could find out the grind specs and have it done over here - saves me on shipping that's all. Cheers Bennie

Sorry to dig up an old thread - But AWESOME!!! And I'm also not happy that I've been directed to this thread, too many ideas that I don't have time/money for But I am looking into a set of cams on my ~91 EJ22 for some low down torque. I'm just hoping there won't be an idle hunt like what you've been experiencing renob123. My theory on your issue here is that the factory EJ22 ECU is running in a pre programmed loop mode when at idle, so it's only giving the engine enough fuel to idle a stock EJ22, thus the hunting as it ups the fuel to keep it running. Bigger injectors may fix the problem but what will it do to the rest of the rev range? Fuel pressure might be the trick, I think this could only be a good think when heading further up the revs too. Did you manage to find a fix to this idle issue? I'm hoping my EA82 5spd holds up longer than this... otherwise I'd better be getting a replacement sorted!! I don't understand what the ODB stands for - and I'm not really a noob either, just never come across this term on the aussie forums (ausubaru.com). I'm guessing being a ~91 it would be a ODBI ECU... ^ This is what I want to avoid on my DD stock EJ22 if I go with a set of delta cams. I don't know about the 2.5 ECU, but my opinion on what might fix this idling issue is in the top paragraphs. I'm keen to know if you have any updates on how this thing is running? I've also read your gearbox thread, sounds like a real animal even more so now! I'm also keen to know the rev count at 60 mph I think I've just found a new dream Cheers Bennie

Also include some argument in there about how america missed out on the dual range AWD gearbox from the EJ series making note of how this would have benefitted many subaru fans as found on this site. Here's a pic of an EA82's dual range 5 speed gearbox (85-94 model run) front section, the rear housing has to be removed to get to the front casings to split them like this: And here is a '94 model liberty/legacy AWD dual range gearbox, rear housing removed again to get to the front cases to split the gearbox: What are the differences you ask? Apart from some slight changes to the front casing design for bolt stud patterns, the rear housings changed to accommodate the centre diff (but retained the same rear bolting pattern ) The top image is the PT4wd gearbox derived from the L series. On the other end of the pinion shaft from the diff is the gear that powers the rear end once the engaging mechanism locks the gearbox to the rear drive. The lower image has several splined shafts that are stubby compared to the length of the shaft with the gear on the end of the L series' gearbox. This is because the lower gearset is effectively mounted on a tube that has the pinion shaft pass through it to the front diff. This allows the pinion shaft and the lower gearsets to spin at different speeds independently of eachother. The splined ends opposite the diff is where the center diff mounts - the spline on the far left is the pinion shaft and the spline just to the right of that is the lower gearset that drives the centre diff before power goes to the front and rear as derived by the centre diff. Ultimately the the overall design of the gearbox remains unchanged until you get to the six speed gearbox. The US market didn't get the low range gearing that you can see mounted above the front diff, so there's only a straight shaft in there. As you've already mentioned the gear ratios do change - this will be determined by which model the gearbox was destined to be in and what power plant was mounted in front of it as well as the market demographic it was aimed at. Probably all the things you're looking at in your paper I would imagine. I hope I haven't wasted your time with this essay on what we've got over here in comparison to what you received over in the US, but I thought it might have been useful/interesting. Cheers Bennie

Thanks Scott. No issues of the factory ECU running these cams - no idle issues and the engine still revs out ok? These are the little things that I'm keen to know - if there's going to be an issue with idle etc and there's not an easy fix for it I'd probably look at something else... Cheers Bennie

Looking awesome Idasho! Should do the job VERY well. You should be pleased thus far! I can't wait to see it completed and painted I still don't think you need the blue paint as you won't be welding the sides or lid - unless I've missed something in your design... Cheers Bennie

Are the XT6's a wider track width compared to an L series? I'm wondering that because they went to the 5 stud, did they also go to the effort of making the track width the same as the Liberty? If so how did they achieve this - something must have been longer... And are the wheel bearings the same all round as a regular L series. I would love to be able to check one out for myself - walk around it, look under it, take photos etc. Cheers Bennie

3 inch lift all round 27 inch tyres on 14 inch scorpion rims of correct offset. Some guard trimming on the front when I had desert rat rims. Now some rubbing at full lock on chassis rails up front, only near the firewall though. Honda civic front springs in the rear Pics: Cheers Bennie

And that's why all are so much fun outside their given conditions - except the snow tyres, they just suck outside their given conditions, particularly in the dry (wear too quickly!) And: Video will suffice if there are no pics. Even pics of the bruises (if any) your wife gave you would do the job Cheers Bennie

G'day all Since joining the forum I've been learning about many new things that we either a) don't have over here or haven't considered doing over here before. I'm looking at the option in this case as I've only just read recently about a cam regrind for the EJ22 for lower torque. This interests me as I'm always looking for better low down torque for 4wd'n. Things that I'm wanting to know from those who have done it before are: 1) How does the factory ECU (I think its a '91 model EJ22 ECU - 4 plug at ECU, 3 plug at Engine) run with these cams - are there any issues or anything I should know about? 2) Are they easy to fit when the engine is in the subi - L series in this case? I've not had to play with heads and don't really want to have to pull the engine and/or the heads 3) Are they worth the effort and how does your EJ22 now handle on the freeway/highway at 60/70mph? 4) Is there a particular grind that delta cams work with or can I go into a shop over here in Oz and get them to do the work here for me? 5) Has you're fuel consumption increased/decreased? Any other information from those who have done this would be appreciated. Cheers Bennie

Ok, a bit late on the up take of this thread - just read it all. Part of the reason for keeping your original front diff centre when changing the diff ratio (meaning the ring and pinion gears) is that you don't have to screw around with the carrier bearing loads. Plus if you've got a front LSD you'd want to retain it. There are torsen units available on ebay for ~$400 which d_generate I think is running in the front of his dual range WRX offroader Totally agree. Here's a pic of the pinion shaft with two lower gearsets on the bench in the background. We were swapping the lower gearset in this case to replace a dead 1st gear that had a chipped tooth - easier to replace the gearsets than press off/on one gear! If you were to individually select each gear ratio 1st to 5th you would have to really do your math and research. The idea of running 27's then changing your diff ratio is to use the final drive (diff) of 4.11 to offset the change in gearing from the oversized 27 inch tyres. This will effectively pull your gearing back to stock when running the 27's. While EA's were less powerful the gearbox strength and design basically remained the same. You can use EA forward gear ratios (1st to 5th) but you need to press them off the pinion shaft first, then press them onto the lower gearset "tube" of the AWD gearbox. Really not worth it. The way you have done the diff ratio change with your original gearsets is the way to go in my opinion. This is what I will be doing with my gearbox build. When you get the dual range EJ gearbox you will need to shave the crown wheel a little bit to allow clearance between the L series low range gearing and the crown wheel, otherwise it won't work. The factory dual range 4.11 ratio forester gearboxes from the EJ20 line up work because the low range isn't as low as the L's 1.59:1 reduction. I think the factory foz dual range (2L only) is 1.44:1 meaning smaller gears to allow for the larger 4.11 crown wheel on the diff. Another thing I was going to add - the diff output shaft can be changed to the desired spline count when the gearbox is open for surgery - you just need to remove this circlip, pull the output stub and replace the desired output stub. There are two spline counts that I know of - 23 and 25. 25 being the most common on the EJ series at least over here all AWD gearboxes are 25 spline output. Here's a pic of the circlip: If anyone is really desperate for AWD dual range in your EJ subi you can make them with an L series PT gearbox, EJ AWD gearbox, a press, time, blood sweat and tears and the EJ/EA adaptor. If anyone wants to hear more on this theory let me know and I'll write it up Guyph on ausubi (and here occasionally) is building an EJ DR AWD with the DCCD centre for offroading. He's been canned by a few people who say that the user manual says that it is not designed for full lock for offroading - but with that said I don't think the majority of our vehicles were envisioned to be offroading the way we do. Either way it should be a good project, I'll be keen to see the results anyway. Cost of the DCCD? Well that depends if you're in the right place at the right time... Cheers Bennie

Yep, I've used the front springs from a honda civic ~'91 model. Works a treat and wish I knew about it 5 years ago!! Cheers Bennie

And it will only be the underside anyway - just rust proof and no one will be any the wiser about what's lurking under it without a closet inspection I say keep it blue - that's what the EA81 air filter is meant to be... Cheers Bennie

This is the cam gear that requires us to turn the piston to get it to retract. If you've been turning it for ages it means there's some crap in there that shouldn't be there. Anyway, the pic: Cheers Bennie

Get used to that! Mine stripped out all the time until I had all studs held with helicoils... Not fun. EJ solved that problem as well Is the cruise factory or aftermarket? We didn't get cruise in our L's over here I've fitted an after market unit and its great. Hope you get another job sorted! Cheers Bennie

Thanks Miles! Looks like I'll be making some adjustable units then. Cheers Bennie

Here's a pic to follow on from what capn r said: Gearset in order of appearance: 5th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd, reverse, 1st, diff and low range gearing above the diff on the input shaft. As mentioned, you can see the low range gearing on the input shaft. Out the back on the opposite end of the pinion shaft from the diff is the gear that is part of the rear drive, the locking mechanism isn't in this photo as it's all in the rear housing - and very complicated too. If you don't have dual range, definitely drop it in, even an old EA82 will feel like its pulling like a tractor when in low range compared to high range Cheers Bennie

That is correct about the open centre diff when not locked. It should be alright I reckon - at the very least it has to be an improvement over the full time 2wd situation. In the snow I would probably lock the centre anyway as we usually drive in 4wd when the road conditions are icy. No salt over here I'm not sure if you've contacted sunspares yet. I asked them on your behalf as I was enquiring about a set of foz seats with the gucci arm rest for Ruby Scoo. The answer they gave about shipping OS was that they simply don't do it. I don't think it would be worth purchasing one, sending it across australia to then have me send it in your direction. I can easily get you a stock DR gearbox or two from either a Gen 1 (3.9 I think) or Gen 2 (occasionally show up in yards and I'm pretty sure these are 3.7 diff ratios). The trick would be working out how to send it to you as I've never done it before. And it would have to wait until near the end of the year as I can't do much from the top of the mountain - it's pretty much a remote part of Australia when it comes to organising what are usually simple things! We get mail twice a week!! As said, you'll have to do the rest of the build from your end - the hardest part for you is getting the EJ dual range casings. You'll need a 4.11 foz box and an L series box for the good low range. Then some fun with a grinder on the crown wheel. More can be read about that here. Some things will be different for you but this will be a great guide to help you get started. Cheers Bennie

Looking good there mate! Will look very neat once you're done! Can't wait to see the end product. Cheers Bennie

Sweet looking subi! All stock other than tyre size? I too like the look of those rifles. I bet they're fully auto too... We don't/arn't "allowed" to have them anymore thanks to a fella called Martin Bryant who went on a massacre in the mid nineties. Anti gun groups snapped up the opportunity to have the government collect and crush many fully auto and semi auto rifles, pump actions etc. We really are becoming the nanny country if we're not already there! Sorry for the off topic! Nice subi again, I like the black on white features, well done on that one! Cheers Bennie

Enlarging the Ball joint mounting hole where the shaft part of the ball joint mounts in the control arm. If you enlarge this to fit the EJ size ball joint the front end brake conversion is pretty much done with the exception of the drive shaft. Cheers Bennie