el_freddo

Said no one ever! Looks good mate! *almost* makes me want to do a lifted sedan. But I’m a wagon boy at heart (or ute, either way!). Cheers Bennie

I’d be using new gaskets an sealing washers. 5ftlb is just keep the bolt in, on the EJs, it seems the thread is all taken up and the bolt bottoms out on the cam retainer plate. Any tighter and you risk stripping the bolt or the thread the bolt fits in to. Cheers Bennie

I didn’t realise how badly I typed that post! Apologies! Cheers Bennie

@Steptoe Wiring loom and processes would be similar if not the same. Tried a forester workshop manual? Have you done a JDM workshop manual search? Cheers Bennie

Brake lines aren’t ballooning when applying pedal pressure are they? Cheers Bennie

Why did you weld instead of bolting the centre piece in? Cheers Bennie

And Redback is back in action as of yesterday (second time since last post!)! And in good time too, it was raining this morning and that’s never fun on a bike! New front drive shafts and bearings this time around, plus painted hubs (knuckle). If you ever pain hubs just make sure the paint doesn’t build up where bolts etc go. Not fun sorting that out, especially in threaded sections. So I’ve finally lost my steering wheel wobble under all conditions, plus the clacking noises from the front left and the steering wheel shudder under brakes that was the initial issue ages ago. It’s bliss! And I forgot how much I enjoy driving this little beast! Now that everything is smooth up front, I reckon I’ve got a niggle up the back now. I’ll look into that in time as I’ve got a few other things to do first. Cheers Bennie

You’re adding the engine loom to run the engine. There’s no need for the brake res wiring unless the ECU references it. Otherwise just stick with the EA brake reservoir level setup. Thermo fans: the ECU has one wire that is earth switched that triggers the thermo fans. Hook this to the radiator switch wire (MY) or the trigger wire (L series - have to work out which one triggers the relays) to make the fans come on. If you don’t want the EA thermo fan loom doing its thing you could use the EJ gear or make your own setup with some wiring and a couple of relays. I hope this helps. Cheers Bennie

1 - don’t need 2 - correct. Cam, crank and O2 sensor 3 - correct 4 - never seen a double diode but you definitely need them so leave them be 5 - don’t need. Just use the wire from the ECU to trigger the fans. Run your own wiring or wire into the trigger for the factory EA wiring. 6 - correct. Igniter and corresponding plug 7 - correct (AFM) 8 - looks about right. 9 - relay block. Don’t need for the engine loom cut down, but could be reused for other purposes 10 - something like that. Keep it 11 - definitely need them! 12 - dunno what that plug is, it doesn’t look like the third plug in the three plug wiring loom Looks like you’re making some good progress! Getting your head around the wiring really is a journey - kind of like being enlightened. Once you’ve done one it’s much easier! Cheers Bennie

Sounds good mate! Yeah @STi 22B - join in!! Cheers Bennie

No harm at all Jono! Lokks good. What are you using for the centre piece between the rear and front gearbox crossmembers? Cheers Bennie

@Steptoe - tried these sites? https://www.allcarmanuals.com/factory-service-manual-48-Subaru-Impreza-WRX-GC.html This is another good one from memory: https://workshop-manuals.com/subaru/ Or find an old Haynes manual, they actually have a good pinout for the ECU - at least the one in the liberty manual is good, if that’s anything to go by it’ll be the same for the impreza one. Cheers Bennie

You need to look for the FSM. They won’t show you these at the dealership. Cheers Bennie

Paul, I’ll call you this weekend. Either tomorrow night (yay for daylight savings!), or Sunday. Jonno, I use an 8 or a 10mm hex deep socket to get these retainer bolts out. It’s worked for me every time (twice so far). Cheers Bennie

Ah, by shielding you mean the plastic conduit stuff. I am talking about the metal shielding on the sensor wiring - it’s under a grey wrap/tube. Keep that stuff there, do not remove! No worries about messaging Cheers Bennie

Yeah sorry, metho = methalyated spirits. It’s a white alcohol, not for drinking! I’m not sure what it’s called over your way (if it is named differently). Cheers Bennie

I wash down with petrol or whatever I have on hand. Then use metho to wipe all mating surfaces before applying silicone sealant (where needed) or fitting the rubber seals or the gasket needed. As for head bolt thread tap, I used GD’s suggestion of cutting a slice in a used headbolt (recommended to use new bolts if you don’t know their history or they’ve been used more than once - from what I’ve been told - and I’ve done this on my current HG job) and using the headbolt to clean up the threads. The rest of the engine cleaning, it comes down to how fastidious you want to be about it. Cheers Bennie

Ooh... you definitely want the shielding. This does not need to be removed in the cut down process. Tape removal is all good. Knowing what each plug is or having the mating plug is not always necessary. You just need the plugs and wiring to the engine harness, the igniter, air flow metre, O2 sensor, knock sensor, and the cam and crank sensors. And the ECU of course! It’s normal to be overwhelmed with your first cut down! First link looks pretty good. Second link, I don’t like how they’ve cut up the WHOLE loom to then piece it back together. You need numbchux’s conversion guide: this is where you need to be looking. It’s specific to the conversion into an EA platform. I hope that helps. Cheers Bennie

The only wiring diagram you really need is the ECU pinout. The main power relay diagram can be useful to actually (for your first cut down), but really the big yellow wire is power and the little yellow with a stripe (from memory but can’t remember the strep colour). The large black trace red wire is fuel pump power wire. Cheers Bennie

21 = fuel pump relay. 22 doesn’t look familiar. 8 = igniter. 11 will be clutch and brake switches for cruise control The others I don’t know. The best way to do it is to unwrap the wiring, then trace all wiring from the ECU and tape these wires together as you fish them out from any unwanted wires. Once you’ve got all of these wires taped, find where any tee off to other things and what they’re for - eg: fuel pump relay or sensors on engine. Anything you don’t need (once correctly identified!), cut and remove from the loom. You should end up with: - ignition power - permanent power - backup power - starter wire (for ECU to richen the mixture for cold starts, references the start wire to the starter motor) - fuel pump wire - temp and oil light wires (use the EA wiring for this). - vehicle speed sensor wiring It’s best to have the wiring diagram to get your head around it. The Haynes manual has a good diagram of the ECU pinout with wire colours that’s generally easier to read than the FSM wiring diagrams. Put a fuse panel between those power wires including the starter reference wire and the EA loom. You will only need the vehicle speed sensor wire to tap into your factory L series loom. If MY another vehicle speed sensor source needs to be made. Cheers Bennie

It’s been suggested that the wobble feeling from the front left is a driveshaft. While the box is out I’ll swap the driveshafts over and see if the issue moves with it. Gearbox looks really good. The old one had a dead bearing in the upper shaft between 4th and 5th. I’ll throw some new front diff bearings in while the box is apart. I can’t see any damage to the diff bearings or anything abnormal. They do look well worn though, no noises at all in the <30km I’ve driven with this gearbox in the car. Cheers Bennie

Ouch. Never throw anything away until a week after the job is done. Then you’ll need something the week later Murphy’s Law. I believe there is only two types of crank and cam pulleys, but I could be wrong. Best bet is to find the same model and year build as your subi in the parts yard, then pilfer the crank sprocket and camwheel. Cheers Bennie

That should be on them if they put the PS fluid in... but then again, I wouldn’t want them to be touching my vehicle if they’re pulling stunts like that. Cheers Bennie

Diff stubs, as in the diff stub axles? They’re held in with clips internally so there’s no chance they’ll move. This liberty/legacy has the gearbox with the diff stub axles, it’s one of the last models before they went to the male driveshaft setup. Cheers Bennie

Sounds like a money grab to me. I’ve never heard of this happening. But then again, I’ve only ever heard of brake lines being flushed with fresh brake fluid until it comes out the other end clean. I’d also look up symptoms of gelled brake fluid and compare that info to what you’re experiencing. All the best with it. Cheers Bennie