NickNakorn

Do you think you've ended up with the dizzy 180 degrees out?

Good point Smashed, I don't know - I imagine it would pass because many club racers have road-registered cars with non-standard tanks - but I'll look into it.

Hey, thanks Smashed Glass - that might well be a viable route - I'll check it out. I've also been thinking about making one myself as it's only a sheet of steel a few pipes and fixings and a weekend's work. It won't look original but at least I'll know it's strong!

Hi everyone, I'm in the UK where the L-Series was never massively popular but I've had 4 over the years and I'm doing a rolling restoration on my old red one. The last MOT for my 1992 l-series estate was ok but for a leaking petrol tank. I dropped the tank out of the car, decanted the fuel, washed out the tank and used a tank-sealing resin to seal up the various leaks. I then put it all back in and it passed the MOT. But now it's leaking again - either the repairs did not hold or it's sprung another hole. Anyway, I need to find another tank. Any suggestions - If the price is not too bad I could ship from overseas to UK but really I'm hoping to find a new-old-stock in the UK or close. Does the tank from the MV/Brat/Pickup fit? best wishes all, Nick

Cheers Ruparts! Very handy infomation - I haven't tried looking for a new one as most parts for these cars are now almost impossible in the UK because there were so few of them imported. But I'll certainly take a look. I've noticed this afternoon that the litle pipes are braised into the tank so I'll use solder rather than weld so I don't make matters worse. Best, Nick

I think 15 or 30 seconds rather than minutes to pump up the lifters but I agree about the careful cleaning and assembly of all the valve gear. Making sure all parts are really clean is essential - http://www.nagara.co.uk/Enginefit3.htm

Hi all, My trusty 1992 UK spec 1.8 L-series 4x4 Estate failed it's MOT last week due to a leaking petrol tank. I've removed the tank today and have found very small leaks in the rear seam and, in addition, two of the outlet pipes sheared off when I disconected their rubber pipes - they were really rusty. Here's my question I hope you can help me wirth: At the front of the tank it's the outlet that has sheared off while the return is OK. At the side near the filler it is the small breather (?) that has sheared while the other pipe connection (what is it?) is OK What I need to know is, are there one-way valves built into these tubes within the tank. There was a little bit of fuel still left in the tank when I removed it and both the unbroken pipes would not drain fuel when the tank was tipped while the broken pipes pissed it out. I intend to weld on some new pipes to replace the old ones and would normally clear the others with some compressed air but, if there are valves inside, I don't want to damage them. Further, would a SLOSH tank sealant mess them up? My Haynes is no use at all on this subject and was completely incorrect concerning tank removal and does not tell me what the small tubes at the side actually do. Best wishes all, Nick

I did a very careful stock rebuild last year and the improvement in performance was amazing - it was unreliable before but seemed to pull well even with all its overheating and tick-of-death problems. Now, over 5000 miles since the rebuild, it's running very, very well. I think I'd go for a swap if I wanted proper performance - or indeed a differnt car - but you'd be pretty pleased with the results of a stock rebuild.

Thanks for the clarification - further confusion was caused by the video you posted; that buggy was not rear engined but mid-engined. Now we know what you want we can help. Be good to see some pics as the project progresses, good luck with it. edit: Hey, wait a minute - I've just looked at the pic you've posted above - that's mid-engined too! I give up (as have everyone else and now I see why)

OK, my apologies - it's just that every suggestion made here has been rejected by you. So, lets get this straight, you want a rear engined 4X4 buggy. Fine, buy a rear-engined VW synchro and use the runing gear from that or just build your driveline using a transfer case. But you do realise that a rear-engined 4X4 buggy will have very little weight over the front wheels.

look, as we have all said - if you want to go mid-engined you can use the Suby engine and gearbox as it is. If you want to go rear engined there are many firms who will sell adapters to mate suby engines to VW gearboxes. What's the problem or is this just a troll post? You say 'no one else has done it yet' well, I doubt that very much.

I think Eric the Car Guy in the video above is totally wrong. A cheap split-boot and some fresh grease costs less than £5, requires no disassembly and will increase the life of a worn joint hugely. If you use your car for work off road (as I used to do) I might replace the boots several times a year due to damage. The modern glues supplied with a split boot are really good and work very well. He also assumes that drive shafts (as we call them here) are cheap and plentiful. Not so in many many places around the world. I also think that 'waste-not-want-not' is a better policy financially and environmentally. I very much liked the vid from Miles though - I do that job in exactly the same way. The only things I'd add would be to (A) clean any parts you're working on before you take them off, clean them again when they're off and give them a coat of paint. I'd also take the opportunity to heck the bearings (have a new oil seal handy) and add some grease to the bearings before putting the drive shaft back into the hub.

The small but excellent UK mvBrat/Brumby club attended JapFest2 this weekend at Donington race track. Huge thanks to Giles, Mo and everyone else for a great day out. Marvelous to see so many trucks there and extraordinary to see the boy-racer creations up close. Here are a few snaps

Yes, when they are a compound shape, it helps to have an original capable of being used as a plug. But for simple shapes (like cylinders or even 'top hats') you can pour into cardboard shapes or make a clay plug.

Cheaper to make them here in UK (UK prices are just silly expensive - not that they're at all easy to get). See http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/136620-making-a-polyurethene-bush-or-bushing/

To make the ride even smoother, to get rid of a slight front-end clunk and to help, possibly, remove the wheel shimmy and brake judder (it's a long story!) and to firm up the anti-roll bar (sway bar), I have replaced the anti-roll bar link bushes. The pics are self explanatory. You'll see one cardboard mold is a bit crap - I couldn't find my scissors or a knife for love nor money (just moved loads of things and tidied up so I could paint the workshop floor) so it has a torn edge. Bushes very worn; one worse than another. I measured the inside diameter of the anti-roll bar end and found a socket with outside diameter same size then a socket of outside mold diameter Inner sleeve/crush tube sits in the middle of each and polyurethene is mixed and poured A reasonable result for rough and ready job. Exact dimensions were not critical and the bushes fitted with very firm pressur from both thumbs plus help from a dab of dishwashing liquid. Off on a 100 miles plus trip to JapFest2 to have the car displayed with some Brats on a classic Brat stand display (there's no L-series/leone/loyale club because there's less than a dozen left on UK roads in total) - so if the polyurethene stands up to that trip I expect it will be ok. (The rear shock bushes are still fine by the way). Toodle-pip chaps!

TOD can be very loud sometimes - if you search Tick of Death on this site you'll find loads of info - but if it's a knock you'll need to inspect the botom end.

yes, for cleaning prior to welding aluminium I agree - but for just cleaning alluminium, not really relevant; steel is fine - If i was going to weld the wheel there would be a very, very slight risk of minor porosity in the weld but the fact I've bead blasted the surface would be much more worrying than the steel! But point taken.

Hi Rust, I think you probably have a worn water pump - once the impeller is worn and impeller-to-housing clearance gets too big it just spins in the water and becomes less effective the faster it gets; or rather it's speed range for effective pumping becomes narrower. The same thing can happen if there's too much air in the water system. As far as I know, all other water problems get worse in stop-go rather than better.

Using the 4wd on a dry, hard surface can damage driveshafts, the propshaft, the rear differential and the transfer gears. The reason is that there is no central differential at all so any slight difference in front-to-rear rotation caused by, for instance, slight differences in tyre diameter (rears will nearly always wear less than fronts) will cause 'transmision wind-up' in which all components (mechanically) aft of the gearbox in the drive-line are under unusual load. I've never had to use my 4WD in dry, hard surface conditions and so I don't know why you'd want to do it. But if you're after the performance of a tarmac 4WD car, you'll need one with a centre differential.

thanks for the tip djellum - but it's not been a problem for me in 4 decades of using steel wire brushes on alloy castings! I'm not saying it can't happen but I've never seen it. I suppose if one used a very stiff wire brush on very soft alloy it could happen but one would not choose to do that because of the scratching. But I'm always happy to change my mind so please do post some pics of the problem.

Mine only broke in a couple of places and I repaired them. 'Green' lanes here are full of saplings, sticks and sharp stones so, even if they don't protect fully, I feel they do lower the chances of something getting caught in the belts.

I have a set of 1980s Subaru option alloys (UK spec, UK wheels) and it took many coats of paint stripper, many hours of wire brushing followed by lots of time in the blast cabinet to get a nice finish - I think there's no substitute for hard work unless you have a tank you can soak them in. I've seen vids on YouTube where people soak them in a tank of molasses - not sure if that is actual molasses or a slang name for paint stripper! I think I applied the stripper over 4 times and wire-brushed at each stage. Here in the UK the old-fashioned strong and effective paint stripper is now considered too dangerous to be sold to the public so we have to make do with weak stuff. - anyway it took a long time. It was a cheap way of doing it though.

Hi all, I've ordered a tow bar kit for my EA82 wagon from an e-bay seller and wondered if any of you had any tips concerning added strengthening of mounting points or the addition of triangulation to the standard kit. I'm not going to be pulling massive loads but will use it occasionally for transporting a lightened MG Midget - up to 700kg. If i remember rightly, the bar on my other EA82 was triangulated with steel straps underneath but the car is 200 miles from where I am at present so I can't check. Any tips greatly received! Cheers, Nick

Here in the UK you're lucky to find any parts at all for an L-series (Leone) so I got a couple of whole replacement refurbished axles (we call them drive shafts here) from a specialist drive shaft firm - they were the last ones he had. They seem to be trouble free. But when I had my woodland management business I used to get through boots and axles really quickly because I was often driving through brush - but one could still get refurbished Subaru ones then.