el_freddo

This is always something I don’t understand about the USDM single port heads - why go backwards like that if you’ve got the tooling for the dual port heads? I find the whole single port heads just at odds. We’ve got the dual port all the way through in our EJ engines. Cheers Bennie

The hard start and rough idle could be too much fuel. I suspect you’re using the injectors from the EJ25, on start up a rich fuel mixture is used to help aid starting. This extra shot combined with the smaller engine capacity could cause an over fuelling situation which wouldn’t be great when starting. As for the codes, if the temp sensor was dropped or knocked when swapped with the coolant crossover pipe it could’ve died, especially if it was already hanging in there by a thread so to speak. The other codes, best of luck with those I’m sorry. Sometimes you might get lucky and have one code sorted and the rest follow suit... it doesn’t always happen, but it can at times. Cheers Bennie

And a lack of need for more speed/power! Cheers Bennie

I agree with heartless. A reputable aftermarket brand works just as good as a genuine item for ball joints, tie rod ends and rack ends. Cheers Bennie

As for the air compressor, you might find one in an early legacy that has air suspension, even if it has coil springs - many ppl don’t remove the compressor. And I believe it’s the same unit between the L and the Legacy, maybe with a different mounting plate. It’s in the same location too - front left guard Thinking about it, your air system probably has leaks that lead to the air compressor burning out due to being overworked/worked too long too often. Cheers Bennie

If the screws on the oil pump are loose they leak internally. The drop you’re seeing is probably the crank seal leaking. So LHS bank is making the noise. With the use of a stethoscope, you should be able to isolate the noise to the top end or the bottom end. Cheers Bennie

Did you have the hand brake off too? I’m not familiar with autos and awd, but dont they use trans fluid pressure to apply drive to the rear end? Cheers Bennie

All rubber EFI fuel lines in good condition? The only time I’ve smelt fuel is when I had a perished rubber fuel line that was leaking fuel... It’s odd that you can smell fuel too. Cheers Bennie

I should add that the rear end is different for 2wd vs 4wd too. The swnig arms have different setups for the bearings - 2wd has a fixed stub axle, 4wd has a rotating stub axle. The K frame has a tab for the rear diff’s front mount with 4wd, the 2wd frame does not This mount can be welded in place and swing arms are interchangeable Cheers Bennie

My EJ22 has lifter tick when the oil is low. It’s like a built in indicator! Lifter tick is very different to knock in sound. Tick is a higher pitched frequency than that of knock which is a much lower tone sound. And knock from a dead/dying bearing sounds like it’s deep in the engine too (which it is). Cheers Bennie

Suspension parts are interchanageble. If your XT is 4wd/AWD, you’ll want the rear struts from a 4wd L series sedan or wagon. Front struts are a direct swap over, as are the rear swing arms and “K” frame, and the front control arms and radius rods. The engine crossmember is turbo specific, but the NA unit can be swapped in and modified for the turbo up pipe. Cheers Bennie

Welcome to the forum Ifly! Thats one super clean L series! What are your plans for her? Cheers Bennie

I don’t think it’s just the XT-t Jono. My L series with EFI fuel tank and EJ22 does the same. Not all the time though. I haven’t looked into it as there’s no change in performance etc. Cheers Bennie

You should be able to get a seal kit and install that on your current calipers. From memory there’s an O ring with a square cross-sectional shape (as in, if you cut the O ring it’s a square-ish shape rather than a round shape - clear as mud?), this may need to be fitted with a particular orientation. Do your reading/research! I’ve done my L series front calipers in a campground car park before we went bush once. It helps to have all the parts and tools on hand Cheers Bennie

Diff lock might not lock while idling if the dog gears aren’t aligned. Jack up a wheel, idle the car (properly chocked), flick the diff lock switch to locked, rotate lifted wheel until the centre diff is locked - or until it’s obvious there’s an issue with the diff lock actuation system. If you’ve got vacuum to the solenoids and they click as they should, the next thing to check is the diaphragm actuator. You could do this by disconnecting the diff lock arm on the RHS of the gearbox, then use the switch with the engine idling to see if the cable moves. It’s a pretty simple system really! Cheers Bennie

I’m very happy with this engine. The reason for the HG swap this time is to upgrade to the HGs with the part numbers as recommended by GD. I’m hoping this kills those stupid external leaks! Thanks @Numbchux! This puts me back at ease with reusing the bolts. This vehicle is a country cruiser - it eats kilometres! So it’s not an all out powerhouse. Cheers Bennie

Yeah sorry I was talking replacing the plastic cam wheel on the phase two EJ. This was in reply to my own post above asking whether the phase one RHS can wheel is interchangeable in the Gen3. It’s not, even though it’s got the key way and timing mark in the exact same location as the plastic phase two unit. Cheers Bennie

Simple question: If the EJ head bolts are in good condition, haven’t been over heated etc, how many times can they be reused before new ones should be sourced and used? Engine in question is an EJ251 at the moment. Cheers Bennie

And for the record, earlier phase1 EJ metal cam wheels don’t fit due to the shape of things from the head behind the wheel. Cheers Bennie

Don’t forget that aftermarket units are gas filled, OEM are oil filled Cheers Bennie

Hey Art, Welcome to the forum. Again (if you’ve seen my other post), best to post this in the relevant sub forum - being the 90’s to present forum. Cheers Bennie

Probably best to post this in the EJ post 90’s section since it’s a Forester in question. But i believe the clutch can be replaced without removing the compressor. I’ve never done it though... Cheers Bennie

That “new” piston in arm tensioner does the knocking noise all the time, some you can see the tensioner bouncing up and down with the cam cover removed. Ours required a stethoscope to properly diagnose as it passed the visual inspection. The other thing that could be rattling is the dust cover under the bell housing. Cheers Bennie

When you say timing is correct, how was the procedure done/how do the cams and crank line up? If it’s correct, all EA82s will have one cam in the 12 o’clock position, crank in the same and the other cam at 6 o’clock. I say this as my first thought was that both cams and crank were lined up at the 12 o’clock position then the belts were fitted. This produces an engine that runs only on one bank. To check this theory you can either check the timing, or get it running and pull the leads on one bank, if it stalls, restart with all leads connected then try the other side. If one cam is out, it will continue running exactly the same with the leads pulled on the bank that has the cam out of sync. Lifters will not hold a valve open unless there’s something majorly wrong with it, in which case you’ll have other issues. @Steptoe - the NA MPFI runs 20deg BTDC, so it’s really only 2 degrees advanced on the NA block. And what you found with the valve spring tension was quite the find and not something I’d ever look into! Cheers Bennie

Yeah it didn’t run well at all. Half way to dropping my wife off at work one morning I thought I was running out of fuel (had just done a 600+km round trip the day before on one tank), I put my jerry can in, no change, limped it home about 2km. After setting up the shed I got her started, drove her in and found this after tearing down the front end. Glad the EJ22E non interference, any more of a change in timing and it would’ve been a different story with any other EJ... Cheers Bennie