el_freddo

The lack caps are the high/low ports. I couldn’t tell you which is which. I think an old system I had in one of these had red and blue caps, and I recall they were on top of the compressor, not behind it. That could just be the type of compressor used in your system, and I’m sure your system over there is different to the two we have over here in Australia. Cheers Bennie

You can also run an in-cab switched earth wire to trigger the fan if you think the system has no done it’s job. Thermo fan should turn on at a touch over half on the temp gauge. Cheers Bennie

Very clean! Forget about the povo comment above, it does look to be the LX spec without electric windows etc though. Still a very tidy example worth having in the line up in my book. All the best with securing the purchase Cheers Bennie

Make sure your radiator has an earth wire to the body - this ensures a good earth for that switch to work effectively. What does the other switch/plug device look like? Cheers Bennie

From what I understand of the Carter carb is it’s a single barrel carb and the hitachi is a dual barrel carb. Either one will need an adaptor plate for the Weber carb. Many threads on this to read up on. Cheers Bennie

If you’re going to turbo an NA block get on rs25 forums and have a read. Many on there and NASIOC forums. Also check out YouTube for the many build videos on there. Be warned they drag out though to get the video run for their channel… There’s a lot to do and get right so you don’t melt a piston or throw a rod in an NA-t build, but it can be done. Any EJ gearbox will bolt up to the EJ engine. Their bolt patterns are 4 bolt or 8 bolt and are interchangeable anyway. Cheers Bennie

Oil pump is the first item to get a second good unit of on the shelf, not that I’ve ever needed to replace one on my EA81… GD will tell you it’s a dead platform not suited to commuter work, more weekend toy spec, even then he’d probably say that’s too much to expect… But if you look after it and not flog it to keep up or marginally get a head you should be right if you’re not smashing out big kms each day. The only steering upgrade is power steering if you can find a kit. It must come from another EA81 model to ensure it fits. Otherwise it’s a good time for new boots while the exhaust is off so you can drop the rack and do it on a bench after a good clean. The front end lights would be the same as any other EA81 with the same front end. The tail lights are brat specific. Rule of thumb is basically any EA81 will be compatible with the brat from the front seats forward, with exception to the doors of a sedan and wagon; coupe and hatch doors are the same size but the glass is different between the brat and the coupe, hatch I’m not sure on glass being the same or not. So if you see a “long” instrument cluster (6 gauge analogue, also comes in 4 gauge spec and digital) and want that, it will fit and work with the matching wiring behind the dashboard. You’ll need the dashboard, wiring and instrument cluster as a combination. AC can be fitted if you find a donor to pull it from. Drivetrain is all the same with a possible difference in tailshaft length between different models - 4wd and 2wd dependant. Obviously a 2wd gearbox isn’t going to run a 4wd system but can be swapped in to delete the rear drive for weight reduction and economy gain. But a 4wd box can’t take the place of a 2wd box without plugging the rear output shaft. These gearboxes typically run different clutch sizes too. There is little that’s interchangeable between the EA81 platform and the EA82 platform. The EA82 5speed gearbox is apparently a good upgrade but requires mods to the gearbox mounts, gear shift linkages and tailshaft to make it fit. Wheels swap over but brakes aren’t so easy for the front end. Rear end are bolt on swap over, just ensure you get the backing plates and move 4wd brakes to a 4wd recipient and same regarding 2wd. L Series rear disc brakes will swap over to the EA81 too. Just stick to the above rule regarding 4wd vs 2wd Braided brake hoses are a good upgrade for better pedal feel too. I’ve done it on my L series years ago and it’s worth the coin in my book. That’s about all I can think of from the top of my head atm. Cheers Bennie

For the throttle cable I removed the L series cable, filed the hole in the firewall to match the fitting on the EJ throttle cable. Clipped the cabin side of the cable into the throttle pedal. Can’t remember if there were any further mods there. Then it was just a case of routing the throttle cable through the engine bay so it sat naturally. It sits out over the radiator from memory before it comes back into the throttle body. Mine’s RHD so it’ll be a bit different for LHD conversions I’d imagine! Fuel pump wiring, dunno how the EJ had it placed in the vehicle, I think I just used the power wire from the EJ loom and ran my own earth wire of the same thickness to a good earth point in the loom. It’s well over a decade since I did my conversion so these finer details are a little hazy without visiting the vehicle to see what I’ve done. Good to know the engine runs on starter fluid. The fuel pump could be dead. Or if the engine sat for a long time the injectors could be stuck. If this is the case, while the engine is running on starter fluid, gently give the injectors a tap with the handle of a screw driver several times. Sometimes this is enough to free them up. The next step is to have them serviced or swapped out for known running ones. Cheers Bennie

Also the concentration of the gas used as refrigerant I believe isn’t great enough to create the explosion so many fear. Sure, the whole lot in one go would make a bang but a leak, even a substantial one would dissipate too quickly for an explosion to occur. I haven’t read up on the ins and outs, so do your own research, take this as a prompter for that research Cheers Bennie

You forgot to say he should sell it to you Bennie

That’s a bugger mate. Hopefully you can find a usable replacement unit. Cheers Bennie

I wouldn’t be disconnecting the low oil warning light - it’s there for a reason! That’s also your daughter’s safety net if she’s not checking and tipping off the oil regularly. My 5c worth anyway. Cheers Bennie

Looking good! There are three of these coupes in Australia that I know of. Two could be completely dead now too I was meant to mention the clutch - over here ppl used to have the EA82 pressure plate rebuilt to be stronger for the extra torque of the EJ22. Personally on my build I’ve got a highly modified version of your box to get me what I wanted for off-roading. The main part that I wanted to do was use the EJ front gearbox cases so I could keep the factory clutch and flywheel from the EJ22. I’ve not heard of this two spline count on the gearbox input shaft thing for 4wd boxes, only a difference between 2wd and the 4wd/AWD input shafts. The 4wd/AWD gearbox input shafts are the same as all the EJ gearbox input shafts. So that clutch disc spline difference must be the 2wd vs 4wd. With your permanent power you’ll be able to pull that from the ignition switch wiring too. I should have my fuse panel closer to the power sources but due to space constraints it’s located behind the glovebox (not a convenient place). The ECU is mounted on the steering column where the MPFI ECU used to live before the conversion. You’ll work out what works best for your conversion. I found having the front guards off makes it easier to run the wiring, same for having the dashboard out. That’s a good time to replace the heater core with an all metal unit as that plastic end ranked unit is a ticking time bomb! And I’m the same with AC - if you’ve got it use it! You can trigger the ECU to idle up when the AC is on, and you can have the ECU control the thermo fans via a set of relays. That also controls them for the AC from memory. If your alternator is a round plug unit upgrade it to the “square” plug unit. The round plug units can drop a phase and look like they’re charging but won’t be doing anything. It’s not fun. Ask me how I know. Cheers Bennie

You might find some impreza coilovers fit the front end. Rear end the miata/MX5 rear coilovers should work. Or a set from a Gen3 Legacy. Both of these are coil over shock, not a strut like the front end. Both will probably need some mods to fit. I’ve never done it, just remember reading about it some where. Checkout what Nico did with his builds. I’m pretty sure he’s the fella that built up an RX sedan and an L series wagon to be absolute on road weapons, no expense spared! There might be some ideas in there for what you’re after. Yeah it’s him! Have fun reading and looking at pics! The early ones have a few dropped unfortunately but many of them are still there Cheers Bennie

Mate!! I’m full jelly on this RXII coupe! We never go them over here! And I thought by your title it would be an EJ22t conversion, but now understand where I went wrong with that. Anyway… The spark issue. I don’t like the idea of using the EA82 coil wiring for ignition power (presuming your powering the ECU via this power source?). My conversion pulled power directly from the ignition switch wiring with a fuse between the EA loom and the EJ loom. Anything that needs power between the looms should have a fuse in between and all should be sourced from under the dashboard. This also keeps the wiring neat/out of view. Where have you mounted the ECU? The lower voltage at start on the coil seems too low to me. You want good voltage at the coil pack to produce good spark to get the engine going. Other things to look into: - are your crank and cam angle sensors plugged in their correct plugs and not swapped over? - is the cam belt timing correctly aligned between the two cams and the crankshaft? - have you tried some starter spray or fluid down the throttle body to see if the engine will fire up and momentarily run? Hopefully one of the above will help. Pitch stopper rod: fit an EJ bracket to your gearbox, cut and weld the EA82 pitch stopper rod to the resting length of the two mounts. Just cut the EA82 rod in half then fit to each mount, tack weld or brace the weld the two together good and proper. Works a treat for me. You’ll like the EJ22 in there, it’s a very reliable engine and is very well suited to the EA82 platform. Look after that AWD gearbox. It’s the only one that runs that locking centre diff and they’re very hard to find replacements for, more so over here since we never got them delivered in any of the models on offer over here. You WILL be able to spin the front wheels off the line in the right conditions under hard acceleration. Don’t do this as you’ll wear the centre diff out. It’s open or locked. No centre LSD in this gearbox. Enjoy! Cheers Bennie

Have you tried to free up the moving parts then clean up the contact tracks? If you manage to do this it’s an easy check to see if it will work before reinstalling Cheers Bennie

@Blackroses34thats rough to say the least mate. I hope everyone is safe and well! All the best. Bennie

Fingers crossed if the light illuminates again it’s not the death nell for this engine. All the best! Bennie

Wasn’t there some models fitted with a low oil warning light? Could this be an issue? If the issue is wiring and it’s related to whatever crash the car was involved in, it could be an intermittent issue that would be hard to diagnose when stationary. Although if that wire was damaged I’d also think that many other wires would possibly be damaged too. Hopefully nothing sinister! Ask your daughter to photograph the light before start up and ensure she’s interpreting the illuminated light she’s seen correctly. Cheers Bennie

Dual range has a lever for 2wd-4hi-4lo. Pulling a fuse will only switch the dashboard lights off. The PT4wd uses a push button on top of the selector to activate a set of vacuum solenoids that moves a diaphragm that acts on a lever. If you pull the fuse that provides power to this circuit, you’ll probably be deactivating other electrical items in the vehicle and the gearbox will remain in 4wd. If yours is Auto, press the 4wd switch and it will deactivate the 4wd system. If you’re using your wipers the 4wd will automatically activate for better traction in the wet. Why do you want to try disabling the 4wd system? If you have any of the manual setups and you’re stuck in 4wd, you might be experiencing 4wd bind. You can over come this with two methods: 1) Jack up one wheel, expect it to spin when the bind over comes the traction. One it’s in the air you should be able to slip it easily out of 4wd. 2) Drive your car on a loose or slippery surface turning left then right with slight pressure on the 4wd lever or the 4wd switch in the Off position. Driving in a straight line on the same surface will eventually achieve the same thing, it could take longer though. You could experience/hear a bang like noise as 4wd disengages. I hope this helps. Cheers Bennie

Rear diff and moustache bar needs to come out. Disconnect all fuel lines/hoses and vent tubes. Disconnect the filler tube. Unbolt and drop out. I recall there being a difficult bunch of hoses that pass through the chassis rail that need to be disconnected. Other than that it wasn’t too hard to do. Watch out for all the crud on top of the fuel tank falling as you drop it out. That was well over a decade ago now Cheers Bennie

Yeah wow, I wanted to give a like, laugh and the sad emoji to that one @PostalLeggy! Sitting on the console doesn’t seem like a bright idea! Cheers Bennie

Your struts will be oil filled if genuine units and gas filled if aftermarket - even if they’re KYB, aftermarket is gas. Oil/air/gas filled has nothing to do with coil overs, that just the design of the strut and are usually adjustable. Coilovers are usually used for lowering your vehicle and reducing its suspension travel for performance handling or a crushed disc if daily driven on crap roads. Have a read of this as I think it might be what you need to know/do: https://www.offroadsubarus.com/threads/6839/ Hopefully that helps! Cheers Bennie

Nice Legacy mate! So weird seeing those with a flat roof - ours were ALL the “raised roof version”. I never knew there was a different one out there until someone was frothing over one with the raised roof… Here’s my (still not going) AUDM RS turbo Liberty for comparison: ^ that’s an old pic now. The rims went to my sister’s Gen3, they didn’t like our local potholes, so they’re toast and I’m right down the rabbit hole with chasing a water leak issue - the body is almost completely stripped of fittings and the interior basically gutted trying to find the issue. That ditch, I’m sure your leggy enjoyed the offroad adventure All the best finding the series 2 front guards and lights! I didn’t realise there was such a difference between them! Cheers Bennie

Under bonnet brown fusible link fuse box is what I think @Blackroses34is talking about. Cheers Bennie