el_freddo

Love that colour scheme! That EJ25 is most likely a SOHC EJ253 - and it will fit in the engine bay. You’ll want to upgrade the gearbag to either the L series 5 speed or the AWD box that comes with the EJ engine. A few custom bits will be needed to fit the gearbox but there’s plenty of info on the net about this. Wiring will be the biggest issue and is the one that usually stumps most people. The keys are 1) find a wiring diagram specific to the donor model and 2) know how to read said diagram. After this a brake upgrade would be a wise idea. Rear disc conversion, new rotors and decent pads front and rear, new flexible brake lines should be the bare minimum. Then enjoy! Cheers Bennie

I’m thinking the pinion shaft bearing is dead. This was a common issue on the L series auto. What does you front diff oil look like in colour and texture/thickness? Is there more in there than what it should be? Is the trans fluid still a good red colour or Ian it discoloured? If you have either of these signs I’d say the seal between the front diff and the transmission died, allowing cross contamination of one or both components (diff/transmission). Pinion bearing then dies due to a lack of lubrications. This allows the pinion shaft to start walking as it tries to rotate the front diff. Forward/reverse action will give different noises/movements in the pinion shaft due to the shape of the hypoid diff ring gear (I hope I got that correct from memory!). If you drain the diff oil you *might* be able to get one of those little camera units in to view the pinion gear, have two people rotate the front wheels (car secured and on jack stands, transmission in neutral) while you watch the pinion gear rotate. It should be a smooth rotation with absolutely zero lateral or vertical movement. If it feels crunchy to the two turning the wheels in the same direction this will be a clear indicator things with the front diff are not healthy. If that’s the case, new transmission will be required. Cheers Bennie

If it’s got an EA81 it will. Just make sure you put it on the EA81 and not on the hatchback Cheers Bennie

@Giles - JohnnT put up a pic of the trim piece. I believe this is the trim around the instrument cluster Cheers Bennie

Host them image on a free photo hosting website or reduce the photo size and attach it to your post. Cheers Bennie

Muffler - internal parts moving or beginning to collapse. A mate of mine had the same thing in his forester last week, but a dull thudding sound like the exhaust was hitting something or there was something wrong with the rear diff (mate’s first thoughts). We narrowed it down to the exhaust. He took a punt on it being the rear muffler and had it replaced. No more noise. The sound was most prominent between ~1900 to ~2100 rpm. Loading the engine up could make it louder the longer he let it go before taking action. Cheers Bennie

I considered the tribeca as our next family bus. But decided that the Mitsubishi Pajero/Shogun/Montero(?) was the way to go in diesel. Loving it. Still got my older subi’s too I regularly see Tribecas in my area - probably because we have a dealer in our town so there are plenty of Subaru’s around. But if you don’t know what they are then you’d easily mistaken them for a CX5 or something of the like... Cheers Bennie

Welcome to the forum Hogan! Cheers Bennie

You can’t strap the block to the bench to do the work? Personally I’d avoid using the impact wrench. Some of those bolts in the coolant galleries can be really difficult, I wouldn’t be introducing multiple shocks to those bolts or threads. Cheers Bennie

@Giles - I’m not the one organising it but I think JohnnyT is talking about the trim piece around the instrument cluster - the one that breaks very easily if not handled with extreme care. As for the EJ22 conversion - this conversion has the equivalent power output as the peak of the EA82 turbo. It’s got better torque and earlier in the rev range. Plus it’s uber reliable compared to the NA EA82 let alone the turbo variant! Cheers Bennie

You would’ve been better off pulling the dash board out. You’ve created a lot more work there pulling all the individual pieces out like that! There are seven bolts holding the dashboard in from memory. Three under the windscreen hidden behind click on plates, two each side, one centered one. Lower section there’s one on each side, then two in the centre on top of the trans tunnel. Other snags include speedo cable, temp control slide cable, vent cables - driver’s and passenger’s side, AC wiring, ignition wiring and the main dashboard harness plugs. This is all from memory so I could be wrong on a few of these. Last L series dash removal was in 2015... I thought I had an image of my L dashboard out of the vehicle but I can’t find it now. As for the MY heater core. I can’t see how this can be removed without pulling the dashboard to remove the heater box. I’ve got my brumby dashboard out atm and there’s no way that heater core comes out sideways. Cheers Bennie

Unfinished business in this thread @Loyale 2.7 Turbo? I wonder what happened with this build... Cheers Bennie

I dunno what your dash trim looks like. But this may be of interest to you. Very early days though! https://ausubaru.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=49678&sid=2d2aff677794a92f62692bd8f5e30399 And if you remember your old credentials you’ll have user access to the new version of the forum Cheers Bennie

Yes. That’ll work. The trick is not to crack the windscreen upon removal. And you’ll need that glue stuff you apply to the windscreen and put a current over the wires to heat it up. I’ve always had a pro fit my L series windscreens. Cheers Bennie

Surely someone has a spare 13 inch steel rim to throw your way! Peugeot rims also fit (the 4x140 PCD). Just make sure you have the imperial rim size. If you get the metric rims you’ll be up for big dollars for a tyre that’ll fit - if you can find one! Cheers Bennie

What sort of wear were you getting? I’ve had two rear tyres chew out the inside edge. That was partly due to worn bushes. I’ve since replaced them and need to have this setting adjusted properly. Cheers Bennie

I need to do this too but have put it off due to the hassle of this job... Cheers Bennie

No mechanical clutch fan - just a direct drive. It requires a different alternator bracket with it and this doesn’t work with AC. Cheers Bennie

Maybe not, but can easily be retro fitted: You might remember those pics Jono - from Sunnie the Brumby’s build. Still going strong! And the gauges are “modular” - they can be removed. Only issue then is how the wiring behind the cluster’s “motherboard” lines up. So you have a total of five gauges and not six as shown above? And I wonder what sort of switch is used to determine how much boost that loose gauge displays, it’d have to be some sort of adjustable resistance type like the oil pressure gauge setup... I think the one Jono talks about is just a switch for a light. Cheers Bennie

Hmmm... I want that turbo gauge! What are the other gauges on the other side of the dash? Our Aussie units have volts, temp, fuel level and oil pressure. And of course tacho and speedo in the middle part. Cheers Bennie

Got oil on the brakes? It could be a good idea to hit them with some brake cleaner - but make sure it’s specifically for brake cleaning. You don’t want any residual left after you’ve done the work. Otherwise you’ve got some old rubber hoses that need replacing. These are most likely expanding. A visual inspection of all rubber hoses while someone holds their foot on the brake pedal will reveal the offending line(s). It could be all of them too. I’d replace them as a matter of preventative maintenance with a quality part. Cheers Bennie

One of those relays behind the strut tower is probably the AC compressor clutch power relay. On the older models (BRAT/Brumby) if you’ve got the headlights on it will cut the second relay to save power - and is possibly designed to suspect that it’s cooler during the time of day when lights are needed. Not always the case in Oz! Cheers Bennie

Thanks @wtdash! It worked a treat! Cheers Bennie

Some recent shots of Redback, new boots and some 14 inch scorpion rims (the originals) And after some rain, looking roughly east over the centre of Bendigo: looking roughly North: I added some square IPF driving lights. One spot, one flood. Awesome lights and suits the front of the brumby well! I’ve got a set of Integra DA9 front seats fitted. Very comfy! I’ll have to get a pic of this at some point to share. They look right at home in the brumby! A few things will be happening to ol’ Redback over the next month or two. I’ll have to remember to update this thread more often! I’ve also got a detonation issue I’m battling with. It’s got the factory spec carb on it, that’s not going in the bin, so no need to suggest a Weber... I need to test the compression as this could be a major issue causing the detonation - this happens: - under light load at proper running temp at highway speeds (then under load like a decent hill) - under load when the engine is headed towards the thermo cut in temp and you’re pulling away at the lights from a stand still. Frustrating! EJ conversion with AWD box is in the wings at some point! Cheers Bennie

Welcome to the forum! Why did you replace the radiator? If you’ve been for a drive at highway speeds this will sufficiently bleed the cooing system if you’ve got enough coolant in the system already. When you top up the radiator, run the engine up to temp with the cap off, then watch for bubbles in the radiator. If these show up there’s a high possibility that you’ve got a blown head gasket. Cheers Bennie