el_freddo

There's also this little beauty: Build thread here, best pics are up in the last pages like this one with it's sister that's gone to another owner now: Some quick details: WRX conversion, WRX dash and most of the interior parts that he could use were installed. Awesome unit, would love to see it in the flesh! Cheers Bennie

And it's currently forsale on ebay over here - again. It didn't sell the first time around. It also sports an auto these days for better street drivability... This is one of the member's on ausubaru.com - 78sti is the owner, some info here, that's all the info I could find about it... But I'm sure I've read a build thread about it somewhere. Crazy good ol' subi that one! Very unique over here! Chris Roger's sweet as RX2 wagon build thread - and this main pic of this awesome wagon: I thought there were more but I can't find them Cheers Bennie

Looking good Numbchux!!! I don't know if you know this already, and I'm not meaning to insult you. The RX FT4wd dual range gearbox with locking centre diff has a longer pinion shaft than the EJ AWD gearboxes - for anything different to 3.7 or 3.9 final drive ratio you will need to cut and shut the pinion shaft: ^ This is my cut and shut 4.11 R&P gearset that will end up in my RX FT4wd gearbox with the 1.59:1 L series low range behind my EJ. I know it's up to the task as it was previously behind a version 5 EJ20 turbo. Also, the centre diff in this gearbox is open until you lock it. It is not interchangeable with the EJ centre diff. The EA pinion shaft is longer as the drive to the front diff is taken from the rear of the centre diff, the rear diff's drive is taken from the front of the centre diff. The EJ is opposite as subaru tweaked their design on this. I hope this hasn't thrown a spanner in the works for you, being with the rally team you might be able to get the cut and shut job done through them for cheap Keep up the good work! Cheers Bennie

Yeah it's a bugger, we still get paid out by the big 4wds for having a crap low range - and that we shouldn't be driving "those things" offroad... But that said the low range is better than nothing. And to get around the dual range issue you can fit an EA82 PT4wd or FT4wd 5 speed to later model subarus with an adaptor plate. The only problem with this is that you're stuck using the EA82 clutch setup which I don't think would be up to the task if you're upping the berries from the donk... This H6 runs a stock EJ22 clutch and pressure plate, it was decided that the clutch would be the weak point hopefully - rather than have the gearbox go bang, you can change the way you use the clutch, but there's not much you can do with a blown gearbox! Cheers Bennie

Early gearboxes that I've worked on - L series and up to Gen2 Liberty gearboxes have had the same mountings for the diff output stubs, so there's no need to change the diff carrier over with them. Cheers Bennie

Wow I didn't know that the 2.2 EJ came in the impreza - they certainly didn't over here in Australia, the Impreza only came in 2 litre and the RX impreza came with a 2.5. I'm not sure what years they were between though. Cheers Bennie

Well if you read the posts, it's been written about and it's a toyota GZG50 Century. 97-09. The thing that excites me is that this crazy project is in Australia But half a continent away, it's still exciting though! I'm pretty sure this is a conversion being done by a company in queensland, I've seen 2 conversions from this company and I must say that their work is VERY neat and through. Awesome work! Cheers Bennie

G'day Quidam, Can you give us some background information on why you're doing this? As far as I know there are carbie intake manifolds available everywhere, why not use one of them? Cheers Bennie

If the gearbox is from a carbie L series all you need is a replacement set that is for your model MY If the gearbox is from an MPFI or turbo L series you'll need to change the inner cups to a set from the model of L series that the gearbox came from. SPFI - I don't know about because Australia never had them delievered... Or you can split the gearbox and swap them to the 23 spline output shafts to keep your driveshafts as original off the shelf items. Cheers Bennie

If you didn't have the EA81 flywheel ground down to suit the EA82 clutch you'll have clamping problems. GeneralDisorder knows the amount that needs to be machined off the flywheel, I've forgotten and have only read about it - but it's a must! Cheers Bennie

I doubt that Highly! To 4wd on sand I need to drive at least 500km (~300miles) to get to the nearest sand 4wd area - we usually head to Robe in South Australia - you can check it out on google maps, this area is about a 6 hour drive... "Feature" youtube video's of none sand 4wd'n: Short videos: That said, the boys in Western Australia (basically new york to LA sort of distance on a horizontal plane) pretty much only have sand over there - certainly none of the rocky climbs we have in Vic at the end of the Great Dividing Range! That is the best part of owing and driving a well set up subaru! But the smile get's wiped off your face when you have to rely on others (big 4wd's) to get you un-stuck! A set of cut down bread creates - those plastic creates - are great for recovery in sand. Just cut the ridge off them and cut in half, one per wheel works best after shovelling some sand out of the way Cheers Bennie

HG? Head Gasket? No head gaskets change with the H6! What was changed: - from a version something STi 4.44 gearbox - to the L series AWD gearbox with locking centre diff - cased in an EJ dual range front cases so a stock EJ clutch setup could be used, thus a stock EJ non turbo clutch has been used. - L series 1.59:1 low range and front mechanical LSD installed - Oil feed lines above the low range gears were built into the case to maximise low range longevity on those climbs that starve the low range gearing - I'm going to do the same on my next gearbox built too. That's about all that's been changed, the L series gearbox came with the 3.7 diff ratio which has turned out better for fuel economy overall when compared to the 4.44 gearing. The H6 still pulls like a Trojan through the gears with the 3.7 diff ratio - this final ratio probably makes the most of the H6's torque and power curve as it actually makes it do a little work when compared to the 4.44 final ratio. Cheers Bennie

More to the point - what gearbox will you be using to put the power to the wheels?? As I assume you already know - it's great to beef up the engine for a better power output, but if the gearbox isn't up to the task there's really no point. This is unfortunately why the subaru gearbox is often referred to as a glassbox due to the WRX fraternity modifying the engine for better performance but at the same time being too short sighted to realise what the next part is in the driveline that will go bang - that's usually first or second after a couple of hard launches. I guess you're going auto? Cheers Bennie

I agree GD - there's a guy on ausubi who built an awesome EA82 with a single turbo setup, dunno what engine management system he was using but it pulled 400hp or near enough on the dyno before it twisted the block and did some other nasty things to the internals as a result. BUT: I am keen to see where this goes - Quidam, you know where you want to go with this and I respect that, I'm keen to see how this turns out, and I really hope that this thread of yours doesn't die in the arse if the EA82TT goes belly up - I'm keen to see the results. Looking forward to the next update now that I've read up on this entire thread! Cheers Bennie

Or it could be gearbox noise being transferred to the body by the 4wd lever... When you push down on the 4wd lever you break the contact between whatever it is contacting the body and the body itself, thus no audible noise. The best thing you could do is get under your subi and have a look around to see if anything is fouling on something it shouldn't be. Cheers Bennie

Better would be to swap the diff ratio to 4.11 and run a forester speedo gear, this would be your closest factory speedo option as far as I know. Or do this ^ Cheers Bennie

Yeah I realise the US missed out on the EJ dual range, I think in the new subaru line up we've lost the dual range gearbox too It's a real bummer to see subaru go down the luxuary SUV line... Maybe a cut and shut from the EA dual range is in order?? Yeah I agree about the diff ratio - but he's built this for daily driving and offroad capability. I can tell you that the dual range makes a HUGE difference even with the 3.7 diff ratio compared to the single range with 4.44 diff ratio! And the H6 is the ultimate torque engine for offroading or for flogging on the black top - loads of torque throughout the rev range!! Thanks for the positive comments about the video! I enjoy making them and since I was passenger on the last trip for the first time ever, I made the H6 liberty my subject But I'm still thinking of pushing out a video about the trip with the clips I've got... Cheers Bennie

I'd also look at replacing that plate on the back of the block for the crank ventilation system with a metal one, apparently the plastic ones have a tendency to warp and leak oil. Other than that - the crank and cam seals and rear main are a must as already stated... All the best! Cheers Bennie

It would be mechanically better to be running the same diff ratio up the back as what's in the front - plus with this you'll be running the same tyre size all round so you'll only need one spare tyre of the same size. And experience - there's one way to get it! The centre swap is not difficult to do, just messy if you don't get all the oil out first... Cheers Bennie

I must say that I drool everytime I see one of these - but I've only seen photos and brochures like the above from Uberscoober as we never got them in Australia. All that are here are special imports - even then I only know of two that have been landed and driven daily here. I would love one of these. Got a game plan - if it wasn't to be kept completely original I'd probably drop a WRX drivetrain in it, water to air intercooler and a neat exhaust that is quiet enough when idling and under light throttle but really opens up as you go hard on the throttle. It would be a total sleeper! Thought I might share that. Super keen for one! Cheers Bennie

G'day all, Well Venom (ausubaru.com) has finished his gearbox build for his H6 liberty. The gearbox is an L series AWD with lockable centre diff with the 1.59:1 L series low range cased in EJ gearbox front casings so no adaptor plate or funky clutch arrangement either. Also a front and rear diff have been installed - the front is mechanical and the rear is clutch pack. Here's a link to it's first group offroading trip last weekend: He's loving it's offroad capabilities now since being stuck with a single range gearbox for some time - I don't know how you guys manage without a low range, even if it is a crappy one by big 4wd standards! He's also enjoying better fuel economy now that the final ratio is 3.7, changed from the 4.44 of the sti gearbox that was previously installed. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the video. I hope I've dropped it in the right spot, it could go in so many different areas of the forum, I thought this would be the best one. Cheers Bennie

I've run with one before but I also removed one of the drive shafts while on the black top. But Phizinza has done the same in his 83 project with both shafts in all the time, he'll probably tell you it'll churp corners in the carpark and make carparking a real *************** if you don't have power steering. Also things got lose out back too. PM him, he'll probably tell you what the go was. Here's Project 83 from start to finish. Cheers Bennie

Ok, so what everyone needs to do is remove their alternator and have a look a the diagram in the sticker under it. This sticker will give you a set of codes for each wire, a code that will line up with the below diagram in some way or another - I'm not 100% for the 2 wire alternator, the ignition wire might be built into the internals of the alternator. Once you've checked out both stickers between the EA and EJ alternator and compared it to this diagram you should be able to work out what you're going to do to wire in the EJ alternator to the EA harness. For an example, and while this is usually the method of sorting out an issue (sorry xbeerd) with a photo, in this case you simply cannot state that your alternator has two wires or three, the alternator's wiring diagram is what is key to this issue. If your alternator has lost it's sticker, which can happen, you need to find someone with the same alternator or a wiring diagram for that model of alternator to work it out. If the letters don't line up, as in there are different letters used then they will have to be found out before you can match it up with the diagram below. I would like to note again that the below diagram isn't the answer to all alternator wiring conversions, it is for the Gen1 and I believe Gen2 alternators... Now it did take me some time to get my head around it - it's the same as doing the wiring for your first EJ conversion, those who have done one or more will still remember their now naive questions asked before getting into the thick of it. I hope this helps out, it all comes down to the wiring/plug diagrams! Cheers Bennie

Yeah we call it chicken ************ over here Thanks GD. As I've said I'll keep an eye on it and will be considering the plating later. Ultimately she'd be gutted and put on a rotisserie so that the welding can be done with the aid of gravity. But I doubt that will be happening. Cheers Bennie

Thanks LPGsuperchargedbrumby for your suggestion. We didn't go the whole hog with the plating but will keep that in the back of my mind for future reference if I feel the need. This is what happened, a bit of a re-cap for some background info on the situation: Basically I found some substantial damage under Ruby Scoo. It had me quite worried about her future. It started out when Matt (nachaluva on Ausubaru.com) found some cracks when checking out Ruby's undercarriage on our Walhalla 4wd trip: I wasn't happy and thought it may have been a large pot hole or two that did the damage but really had no idea. So we watched these cracks and continued on our way. They didn't move which was great. Then when I was putting the little boots back on after enjoying a week of 27 inch rolling goodness I found that there were identical cracks on the left hand side. Not good. Then I thought I'd check out the repair my uncle and I did on the LHS radius rod/gearbox x member mounting bracket, specifically that plate that is welded to the firewall that has two of the three captive nuts for the RR/GCM mounting plate. It had developed a crack so we put a bolt on it to hold it back on the firewall. All good. Then I found this to my horror: I went a bit funny shortly after this. So I organised to drive it home ~400km off a large mountain with a twisty road and get it welded up at my best mate's joint. We had a closer look and what I found out was that it wasn't the plate moving away from the fire wall, it was the firewall that had moved from the plate, and to balance things up the plate then pulled all the spot welds to be where it naturally was from the factory. Crazy I know. I had previously thought that the torque twisting of the EJ in low range with the 27's and some tough 4wd'n was responsible for the plate moving away from the firewall. But once I found out it was the other way around it was clear to me that this was done pre-season when I was 4wd'n with Richie and Roger below dinner plane area. We had a "rally section" where we gave our 4wds a fair flogging, Ruby Scoo out front being the lighter unit. I've been driving all season with this un-ware of what hideous mess was lurking under the bonnet. A freshly graded road sometimes gives large ripples that bounces the front then the rear of the car. I was coming over a hill on the throttle, noticed the road started to curve to the left so I started braking with the hill dropping away quickly - too fast on a road I didn't know. I then hit one of these ripple sections which put the car airborne, nothing spectacular, just enough for me to slow the wheel speed down lower than the airborne vehicle speed which had the front end landing with an almighty BANG! It really felt like my captive nuts were cactus on the radius rod plate and that everything there had moved about an inch backwards. This is where I think the firewall was moved, captive nuts still look good and are holding up well. So after a couple of rums, a few hours and some photos of Jimmy doing his best upside down Ruby Scoo now has a new lease on life and a few scars. Here's some pics of the progress of work: Rear right being welded: This is the LHS floor that I hammered out with a block of wood and BFH, once that was done everything lined up perfect under the bonnet. I was on fire watch while we welded this section from below. The holes (3) are the spot welds that were pulled out, you can clearly see one in this pic, the dark little circle: The front LHS being welded: Not the prettiest welding, but being upside down while doing it using a Mig I wasn't expecting a great looking weld: Rear left all welded up, ground back and sprayed against rust: Very happy with the finished product - Ruby Scoo now feels very tight on the road and doesn't float around which I thought was a worn component on the front end, so I wasn't really worried about it. Now to monitor the whole thing and make sure it doesn't happen again or start to crack again. Needless to say I'll be taking it easier on unknown roads to avoid the same situation. HUGE shout out to Jimmy for his help and the use of his vast facilities! His hoist really helped out with the job, that thing is an amazing piece of kit! And good times had catching up as well - been too long between drinks for us! Cheers Bennie