el_freddo

It amazes me how much pride/effort/time you guys have in your subi's - even when they're covered in rust! I feel ashamed how we think of rust over here! And I know I could never get Ruby looking this good, I'm usually too busy driving her/keeping parts in working order/4wd'n her etc to have done body/spray work. Great effort, my hat goes off to you and many more that do the same with their subi's!! I could never get Ruby Scoo to win/enter an competition with any hope of being in the running for anything... Cheers Bennie

I don't know when that anniversary is - but Ruby Scoo never complains, unlike my wife does if I miss ours! Cheers Bennie

Rolled Ruby Scoo over this: ^ This is kilometres - which I think is about ~277k miles. Hopefully I'll see the very golden half million k's. I've also picked up a bonnet scoop from a vortex - idea being to reverse mount it to make vent that will help remove some heat from the engine bay easier on those hot days while slugging through deep sand That's the idea anyway. I'm thinking of making a mould from the original unit, cutting to size and making a new vent that will fit between the ridge lines on the bonnet for a better fit. Here's a pic of the unit roughly where I want to mount it: I want to make a scoop under the bonnet that will have a vent louver on it to stop air flow in the colder times of the year. This under vent will also collect water and drain it away from the engine if all goes well. Cheers Bennie

G'day 987687 Have a mate turn the steering wheel while you check out the knuckles on the end of the steering column in the engine bay. If one of these is cactus you'll need to replace it as it could be causing the binding at every half turn. Cheers Bennie

G'day all I'm new to the whole XT6 differences since we didn't get them down here in Oz. Am I correct in saying that the XT6 control/radius rods are longer than the standard L series units? If so is it about an inch/half inch? I'm asking this as I have a lift in my L series - very moderate by your standards from what I've seen on the boards! My lift is 3 inches all round except for the radius rod/gearbox crossmember plate. This has pulled my front wheels slightly towards the firewall. What I'm hoping to find is that the XT6 radius rods are longer and if this is the case I'm hoping that there is a member on here that would be willing to ship a set down under to me. If anyone knows the information to the above questions please let me know - and if you have a pair that you're willing to part with I would be most keen to hear from you. Either PM me or drop a line in here. Regards Bennie

I've often wondered the same thing... But I can't seem to get my subi to sit still enough to strip it out and find out - only because I'm enjoying what I'm doing with her now Something for the future maybe. My biggest question is how he fitted up the heaters etc. I'm pretty sure from memory that he cut out the firewall to fit the matching heater box from the dash to make it work easier... I'm pretty sure it was him anyway. That car is awesome (the red coupe) and I drooled over it for a long time watching the build. Cheers Bennie

That's ok mate - I'll just live vicariously through you That is if you don't mind... Cheers Bennie

With the water leak/spray: Check that the seal at the top of the windscreen is still good - remove the decal strip to properly inspect it - you can run without this, I've never had mine in since having it on the road which is good as you can keep the area around the windscreen clean I've got an L series that did the same to me - but it was a waterfall at an automatic car wash Turns out that there's about 20cm of rust just along the top of the windscreen... I knew it had some rust in there but wasn't expecting that. So that job is on the things to do list. Around the windscreen is where these subi's mainly rust out over here... Great thread you've got going here - I read it from start to finish the other night Cheers Bennie

Love the targa top brumbys! We never got them in black down here - biege, red/maroon, silver/blue or white I think is the whole colour range... Look after that little ute, they're very hard to find in good nic over here! Cheers Bennie

I am sooo jealous! This would be the ultimate subaru to have in the driveway I reckon! We missed out on the coupes let alone the RXII coupe down here Nor did we get the XT6 with all those extra good bits! Maybe if George (lottery) is good to me I'll be able to import one some day from NZ! *Dreams* Enjoy your L series coupe - Love them! Cheers Bennie

Thought that I might add my L series to this list - Ruby Scoo: EJ22 DR PT4wd L series gearbox cased in EJ gearbox front casings = no adaptor required 3 inch lift (BYB I think) Honda front springs in rear - great mod to do for some extra lift and carrying capcity! 2 1/4 inch cat back exhaust I use 23 inch tyres in the snow and 27 inch tyres on 14 inch scorpion rims when offroad - they look awesome! Rear bar for wheel carrier and jerry holder. Loads of electrical stuff inside - also very messy as I tend to live out of it! Enjoy: On the 23's: Exhaust: And my build tribute to this great little subi: Cheers Bennie

The ring and pinion gears. If you have a 3.7 ratio LSD you can pull the centre out of this, remove the ring gear. Then get your 3.9 ratio diff and pull the centre out of the diff. Remove the 39 tooth ring gear and bolt it back onto the LSD centre, replace in the same casing it came from - no need to worry about back lash etc. Seal and top up with LSD gear oil, replace in the back of your subi and you're good to go. Another thing that is good to do is place several washers on each spring of the LSD to increase the amount of pressure on the clutch packs if it's one of the older (and some say better) units. If it's viscous just drop it straight in Cheers Bennie

I too have a soft spot for the targa tops - I talked my mother in law into buying one over here. She loves it! You can do so much with these to "pimp" them out with stock parts. Sunnie the brumby as he's known now has the coupe's 6 gauge analogue dash, AC, powersteering, central locking and electric windows including the touring wagon's console. The only real issue with him is that he's hard to start when it's cold due to a dead auto choke. The ERG valve when on its way out I think causes idling issues and can stall the engine in cases too. I thought the rust we got over here was bad! Your subi's in general make ours look like simple repairs! Cheers Bennie

I've always gently used a slide hammer with an appropriately sized hook attachment on the end. Works a treat! All the best. Cheers Bennie

I've seen this done before over on ausubi - I can't for the life of me find any pics or details though. I reckon this would be the way to go - stock look if a quick look under the bonnet is done by the constabulary, so nothing obvious to defect on if that's an issue. Cheers Bennie

Thanks GD. This will be my third gearbox I've played with. The first was a case swap to bolt my L series gearbox behind the EJ without an adaptor plate - I didn't bother with new bearings etc as the standard boxes are dime a dozen for a replacement if needed. The second was a gearset swap in a liberty - chipped 1st gear. Third will be this box - although I'm going to get a fella to assemble it for me as I've got no idea/patience to do the pre-loads etc plus I need a few "trick" parts such as a modified low range selector fork to fit the L series low range, and have the crown wheel shaved so it doesn't interfere with the low range gearing. I'll also have an oiling system built into the casing that will pump oil over the low range gearsets on those long hill climbs. I'm also aware of the diff output shaft seals being designed for a specific side each. Idasho, the input shaft seal is the same as the 4 speeds - complete gearbox tear down... Thanks again fellas. I'm hoping to have this gearbox installed in november, we'll see how it goes. I'm also hoping to be there when all the parts come together for this "bitsa" box to get some pics of it all the good bits. Cheers Bennie

Thanks GD. That certainly puts my mind at ease about the bearings with what you say in the above quote in regards to your experiences with many gearbox builds. For the Subaru gearboxes, which areas are the weakest for these boxes and is there anything I can do to help strengthen/increase longevity? Thanks again for your input, much appreciated! Cheers Bennie

No pics but there should be mounts for the condenser in front of the radiator for the L series and the MY's/Brats etc used the radiator bolts and I can't recall what else... Use the gear that's built for your subi from factory and it'll all slot in except the hoses to the compressor. Cheers Bennie

G'day mark, Got any pics of the mods done to the lower radiator support panel? All I can see is the stock lower rad panel, the gear used and some clippings of the upper support panel and then the finished product. I'm just keen to see if your job is neater/easier/engineer friendly (something Ruby Scoo should have done as its legally required over here ) - also keen to see if its easier than what some of the boys have done over here... Cheers Bennie

Thanks GD - but the way it goes out here on the other side of the puddle is that the L series DR AWD gearbox wasn't delivered to our shores, which means that they're hard to get to start with. I'm lucky to have found the one I'm sitting on let alone have it in my shed. The way I see it is that bearings are easier to replace than a destroyed gearbox that I've already struggled to have in my possession. Its a bit like insurance for a good, long lasting gearbox... Thank Tycho, that would be great. I'm not doing syncros - just going to rough them up before re-assembly. When you say shaft bearings do you mean the little needle bearings or the main bearings that hold the shaft in the casings? Cheers Bennie

G'day crazyeights! If you're going with an EJ22 I don't see why the AC won't fit. The only thing that will be the issue is the thermo fans between the radiator and the front of the EJ. The AC will either need the pipes to be modified to fit the EA system to the EJ compressor OR fit the EA compressor to the EJ with a ribbed pulley. I reckon the pipes mod would be easier - I'm "getting around" to doing mine - its only been 2 year without AC on the EJ... The EJ is a sweet upgrade! Well worth the effort! Cheers Bennie

From this I'm guessing that you're running with the .871 5th gear ratio? Best bit is that the 5th gear ratio is easily interchangeable between the EA and EJ gearboxes. What I'm aiming for is the same as what you have shown above in your pics of revs vs vehicle speed - 62.5mph (100kmph) @3250rpm and ~70mph (110kmph - victorias highest legal speedlimit) @ ~3500rpm is too high for the EJ22. I get better economy at 62.5mph than at 70 - so aim is to drop those revs to get better economy and have the car behave more like it does with the liberty in stock trim... And as for your search for a gearbox, give these guys a message via their contact page, they're currently wrecking several foresters. http://www.sunspares.com.au - no guarantees but worth a try. If worse comes to worst I could pull a DR EJ box and send it over - you'll just have to get some tricky bit sorted in terms of a single range 4.11 foz box and have the upper gearsets pressed off the donor box and onto the DR box's upper shaft that incorporates the low range Dunno what shipping will cost, but a box at a "U pull-it" style wreckers would be about $300. My gearbox build so far is near $1000 before it's been put together, I've still got to look into bearings (got a thread about that - some not liking my idea of fresh bearings), maybe a front LSD ($500ish) and then a low range gear oiling system for those long steep climbs as I don't want things drying out on me! Add in the cost of an EJ DR gearbox for it's casings to bolt straight up to the EJ22 + a gearbox for the L series low range - then it's all really starting to add up, but should be worth it. EJ cased L series low ranged AWD with centre diff lock and 4.11 ratio diffs will be totally awesome offroad with 27 inch tyres to run. It'll be near stock gearing when running 27's Last is to pay a guy to get the tolerances right and I should be sweet. SOOO can't wait - I've only been collecting parts for about 3 years! Cheers Bennie

If you've already got AC it simple - just match the appropriate wires (for my EJ its one wire controlling the clutch) and have some custom pipe work made up to join the existing AC system to the EJ compressor. Or somehow mount the old AC compressor to the EJ and run a ribbed pulley then find an appropriate fan belt to suit. Cheers Bennie

Thanks DG. I'm after a kit as I'm building a box that I want to not touch for a long time - so new bearings throughout it is - If I can get a kit. Unfortunately I don't have the time or the space to pull it apart and go through individual bearing numbers. And I thought kits were readily available... I think I need to do a trip to a mate's subaru dealership to photo copy some of the parts book if I can. Only issue with that is it is an 8 hour round trip from where I am now Thanks anyway. Cheers Bennie