EJ into L series

[El_Freddo]

it seems to me your project is starting now... I know you've done a lot of prep work to ensure everything from now on went smooth and I really hope it does! But it's just that thing about not having your daily drive until you finish... that "no turning back" feeling, you know...

I'm sure it will look, sound and feel great when it's finished, still good luck in your surgery and have heaps of fun!

Thanks Pedro!

It really doesn't feel like the start of the conversion to me - the gearbox was a huge step for me, I've never played around with gearboxes before and I hope to be playing some more later

This is really the climax so to speak. I can't wait to have it going, it'll be a very great feeling when it fires up and I'm able to take it for a drive!

I must admit, at one point with the electric windows and the central locking I felt like I'd bitten off more than I could be bothered chewing - now that know how they come apart I'm sure I'll be fine. The biggest task will be cleaning out all the mud and crap that has gathered all over the car from my neglect

I'm hoping to have all the wiring in on saturday and possibly the engine and gearbox removed depending on how I'm feeling about moving those parts out without the EJ and EJ cased gearbox ready to go in. Once this is in I see myself over the hump and on the home straight... Again, can't wait!

I'll get a pic up of Baz, the 1984 L series sedan I'm driving at the moment... You really have to see him to "appreciate" my now daily drive til Ruby Scoo is back on the road! Baz is another whole topic on his own...

Cheers

Bennie

 

[El_Freddo]

Oh yeah, today I dropped the radiator in for some mods and a clean out. I have already got a 3 core radiator about a year and a half ago, custom made. The inlet and outlet ports are standard L series size, these will be enlarged to the liberty size - about 40mm. With the clean out it'll mean I'll basically have a new radiator again, not that it should need much of a clean out. It should be ready next week.

Cheers

Bennie

 

[El_Freddo]

Well it's been a while since I’ve written an update...

Friday I was planning to pick up parts I’ve ordered but I scored some work so I put that off to Saturday. So Saturday I picked up a new set of front driveshafts - $330 for the pair; I got a few bits from Jaycar, including a fuse panel that holds 4 fuses, it should be enough for what I want to do.

I’ve decided to connect my speed sensor to the EJ wiring because its there – apparently you don’t have to have it connected for the EJ to operate properly. I’m also thinking of adding cruise control at a later date so tapping a wire will be easier and neater than the magnet/sensor setup on a driveshaft.

I also changed the fuel return line for another L series fuel to engine line – it had to be re-shaped to fit into the engine bay, and it’s a little longer than it needs to be but I don’t want to cut it because I won’t be able to get the flare at the end to help seal the joint. Here’s the difference between the old return and the new return line:

Saturday night with a few mates over for a bbq and a drink or two, I got most of the L series wiring installed as it should be, the rear end wiring is still sitting on the area for the back seat for now. Here’s the wiring as it went in and then with the EA MPFI wiring wrapped and tucked away safely:

I also wrapped the EJ wiring and checked out how to thread it through the L’s firewall – I’ve got a few ideas but I’m going to leave it out for now while I get the fan/AC/Heater box back in. I’ve managed to confuse myself on the AC wiring too. Long story for another time. Sunday I installed the last electric window and central locking units in the rear right door. I wired in a battery and tested the windows… All works well with exception to the driver’s window that will only go down – so I guess I’ve got my AC in winter sorted! I know the motor will go up, so its gotta be a switch thing.

I took a pantographic photo that the camera organized with three images I took, this is the mess I’ve created and how Ruby Scoo look at the moment:

Tonight I got stuck into the gearbox, and had plans to go back out after dinner but I got stuck into other things (namely this post series). After I got the seals on Friday I was able to get stuck into the gearbox closure work – below, all goo’d up:

^ I’m using some locktite stuff that a mate gave me from his work – made it very easy as it comes in a syringe like tube.

The main case sealed, all bolts torque and in sequence:

Maybe I put a little bit too much of a bead around the edge of the casing, I can clean the outside but the inside seam I cannot get to:

Tomorrow I plan to put the rest of the gearbox together after work, then look further into the electric window switch issue and hope its not a wiring thing – I’ve just taped all the electric window wiring neatly and I don’t want to be stripping it all down again…

I hope to have the EJ engine and gearbox in on saturday, hopefully I'll be able to start it on sunday with any luck, then tidy underdash wiring before re-installing the interior.

Cheers

Bennie

 

[simxs]

Bennie - Kudos to you (again!) for this big project and the progress report/photos!

One question about the gearbox - If you had wanted to, would there have been anything stopping you using the newer gearbox and full-time four wheel drive internals? (I know that the part-time four wheel drive has the advantage of locking the front and back together for offroading which the full-time can't do, but just wondering if you could have had a full-time L-Series.)

 

[El_Freddo]

Bennie - Kudos to you (again!) for this big project and the progress report/photos!

One question about the gearbox - If you had wanted to, would there have been anything stopping you using the newer gearbox and full-time four wheel drive internals? (I know that the part-time four wheel drive has the advantage of locking the front and back together for offroading which the full-time can't do, but just wondering if you could have had a full-time L-Series.)

Thanks simxs!

Two reasons really: First is that by using the EA gearbox I retain the rear EA casing that bolts directly to the gearbox without any mods - this was the main reason for retaining the EA internals (and operations).

The second is that I'm "in love" with the welded rear diff I'm running - amazing traction!

Actually there's a third due to some information I found out recently, I'm running the standard L series tyre diametre, I think its 23 inches. The Liberty ran something larger than that and it would throw out the cruising revs - it would actually push them higher. At 3100 revs doing 100km/h (62.5mph) its already a little high, something I'm going to sort out with another gearbox later down the track

Cheers

Bennie

 

[El_Freddo]

Guess what this is (apart from a messy work bench, which is actually the back of a flat bed truck):

Friday night should see it bolted to the EJ

Cheers

Bennie

PS - sorry for all the smilies, but I'm pretty excited!

 

[eden]

PS - sorry for all the smilies, but I'm pretty excited!

i think we're all excited mate. i've been watching this thread with much interest. i wish i had your knowlage about cars, then my bench might look like your's :biggrin: the best part is the Bundy can and Swiss army knife. bloody classic:lol:

 

[mr turbo]

PS - sorry for all the smilies, but I'm pretty excited!

i think we're all excited mate. i've been watching this thread with much interest. i wish i had your knowlage about cars,

You got that right mate
I too can't wait to see it either

Regards
Mr Turbo

 

[El_Freddo]

i think we're all excited mate. i've been watching this thread with much interest. i wish i had your knowlage about cars, then my bench might look like your's :biggrin: the best part is the Bundy can and Swiss army knife. bloody classic:lol:

Thanks eden - reading this from a few different members means a lot to me! I don't think I've taken on a lot of work other than the gearbox - I didn't realise it would take so long to get it all in the subi! I'm hoping to get the engine/gearbox/front-end out (EA) and in (EJ). It'll be a BIG day, with many photos

Tonight I managed to get the gearbox on with a little difficulty after fitting the flywheel, a new spigot bearing, new clutch plate and a second hand clutch pressure plate that came with the AWD gearbox. I should have gone on easily as I had everything aligned properly (I'll have pics soon to show what I did) - but I neglected to think about the tyre that the engine and crossmember sits on as it was holding the front diff from going any further forward! Got that sorted and it came together very quickly after that.

Next time I'm on here I hope to have achieved quite a bit, I don't have sunday at my disposal but I've currently got the rest of next week. The deadline (thursday) is fast approaching... fun fun!

Also, I picked up my radiator last night, I'll show a pic of those mods too when I workout how to get my phone to talk to the computer

Cheers

Bennie

 

[El_Freddo]

Saturday 14AUG09's effort:

Here's saturday's HUGE effort!

This is how it all looked when I started at about 9am - a warm day for this time of year which made things easier:

After doing some disconnecting, getting the tripod in place and sorting some "custom" jack stands it was time to get the subi front end up high enough to drop the engine, gearbox and front end out from under the subi. This is how it went:

^ I love that pic!

With the subi on the "jack stands" I've removed most of the front end at this stage - ready for removal. And here's the result after some smooth sailing with the drop out (got it on film ):

With the EA put into "storage" the EJ setup was brought in to be fitted:

The EJ setup was lifted and bolted into place without any problems - I was very happy with the whole operation. EJ engine and EJ cased L series gearbox with the L series engine crossmember and matching powersteering:

Next was to get the control arms, hubs, new driveshafts, steering, exhaust, gear linkages etc sorted before I dropped it back down on all four wheels. Here's a pic of me connecting the gear linkages:

^ You can see the new shafts in the top of the pic. I've got some new tie rod ends and ball joints coming, for now I've got the old ones installed.
This is how I seal the exhaust manifold at the head. Since using the high temp silicone I've not had one burn out unless the exhaust gets a decent knock. I was initially a skeptic and was desperate one time for an answer, this was it:

^ Remains flexible and is oxy sensor safe.

Thrusday arvo I picked up my now modded radiator. This rad is an all brass/copper 3 core custom job I ordered about 18 months ago. It had the standard L series radiator inlet and outlet port shapes. When I originally sent it in to have the ports changed I wanted them to be 40mm diametre facing straight out at the engine. After checking out a mate's L with an EJ25 we settled on this:

^ It was a big concern of mine that the radiator wouldn't fit in without modding the body work to allow more room between the engine and the front top frame of the engine bay. I was very pleased to see that it fits in easily - the radiator is 2 inches thick, the gap I had was 2 1/4 inches, then 3 and a bit inches after a fan belt guard was removed. I can't run my old thermo fan setup - I think I have more room between the EJ and the radiator but the fan belts/pulley's are spread out and in different locations to the EA. So I'll have to sort out some slim line units.

This is how I left Ruby Scoo later in the night (but with the radiator fitted) after playing with some wiring:

Here's me checking out the wiring, this is what I have to tackle very soon to get Ruby Scoo running and back on the road:

Cheers

Bennie

 

[carljwnc]

:biggrin:

Keep it coming...:ebiggrin:

 

[fandizzle]

wow im amazed at the work you've put into this! ^^x2

 

[El_Freddo]

wow im amazed at the work you've put into this! ^^x2

Thanks frandizzle! Ruby Scoo is now running after a solid three days of working on her... Now I've just gotta get the interior in and she'll be ready for the snow trip tomorrow

Cheers

Bennie

 

[carljwnc]

Ruby Scoo is now running after a solid three days of working on her... Now I've just gotta get the interior in and she'll be ready for the snow trip tomorrow

Cheers

Bennie

 

[Beigewagon]

Bennie,

You gotta find snow first.:lol:

Mind you with todays weather, anything could happen.

Beigewagon.

 

[El_Freddo]

Thanks guys! Unfortunately Ruby Scoo didn't make it to the snow this time around - we took her for the first drive at 1:30 on friday morning without a bonnet or floor lining etc. She went very well.

Now its time to tidy up my subi, finish off the little things and touch up a few other minor things - none related directly to the EJ cos its running fine - it didn't miss a beat coming up to benders last night and I love the pulling power at cruise speed up hills and at low speed around town!

I'll have some pics up later in the week - I have to get them off the camera first!

And the snow was great, we did find some all over the road on the way up... I didn't get a lot of good skiing in as I was teaching a mate how to ski for the first time - that and 2 and a half days in the snow isn't enough!

Cheers

Bennie

 

[El_Freddo]

I forgot to mention that while we were up the snow we saw loads of subarus - more than we've seen before (I enjoyed it!)

Here's the rest of my install:

This is my engine stabiliser bar - it mounts on the firewall to the gearbox and stops the engine/gearbox moving back and forth during acceleration and de-acceleration. The larger one is the stock Liberty unit with the L series cut down one beside it for comparison:

Here it is installed in Ruby Scoo:

I have also filed out the L series throttle cable hole, it was square, it now takes the standard EJ cable, and it locks in place as it does factory:

I had the L exhaust cut down by about 1.5 inches so I could bolt it to the EJ Y pipe. Here's the exhaust before it was cut down, with a pic of the part after it was cut down - I don't have one of it bolted together but it works and sounds good at idle with the best note at 2000rpm:

I swapped the fuel tank out for an MPFI fuel tank - this tank is standard in any MPFI touring wagon or turbo L series. The advantage is that they have the larger outlet pipe to the fuel pump and apparently have some baffelling or something that helps protect the fuel pump from starving...
And this is the interior at about 8pm thursday night before we headed for the snow:

This is how I mounted my ECU and fuses (that protect the EJ wiring) on the steering column, the cable ties will stay - they're sturdy and easy to remove/replace if I need to:

Here's the EJ in Ruby Scoo's engine bay:

At 1:30 am we took her for a test spin without a bonnet or bumper. This is Ruby Scoo after some circle work down the paddock before we left for the snow - it was "the runner's up" prize for not taking her to the snow with me:

^ It was a short session but a good one! The EJ got it happening very quickly and wasn't trying real hard like I would've had to with the EA...
Also, here's my room leftover between the front of the engine and the back of the radiator - about two inches all up!

I have to sort out some ultra slimline thermo fans, I would like them behind the radiator as they are with factory units. For now I have to get to the water pump to sort out a leak and to test the new thermostat, it doesn't appear to be opening/working as it should be... This started to happen yesterday, so I'm back in baz for now. I'm just glad to have driven Ruby Scoo with the EJ in it - now I'll take things slowly and finish her off good and proper :biggrin:

Cheers

Bennie

 

[simxs]

It must have been quite a buzz to drive it for the first time with the EJ in place! Looks very neat in the engine bay too.

 

[El_Freddo]

It must have been quite a buzz to drive it for the first time with the EJ in place! Looks very neat in the engine bay too.

Hell yeah it was good! The mud washed off (most of anyway) last week when I drove it to benders and back over a few days while its been raining.

The wiring is being tidied up under the dash at the moment, and the engine has been stripped to get the water pump out as I was having some cooling issues and had a small leak at the pump. The pump has now been thrown out for a new one - too much shaft play and was probabily sucking air during operation and leaking while not in operation...

I went parting with a mate yesterday and got some other bits, I'll post pics of them later

I'm now in no rush to get her back on the road - so front pads, tie rod ends and ball joints will be replaced then a new set of boots and an alignment will be done. Mean while under the dash is being sorted, a few things didn't go in as they should've the first time so its back out again.

Baz is treating me well too - this is baz before we did some straightening out (again, second time in a fortnight a few months ago - hit a roo, then stolen recovered!):

^ He's got quite a history and hasn't even hit the "golden 300" yet!

Cheers

Bennie

 

[El_Freddo]

Without pics:

I've used a fiori thermo fan and managed to squeeze it behind the radiator and in front of the EJ - its very tight, about 5mm tight! I'll get some pics when I have my camera back (left it in benders). I've already managed to have the thermo fan and PS pump make out while turning in low range - I was breaking the 180 turn in low range rule so kinda deserved it!

I'm now in the process of finishing off the last features of the immobiliser that I was keen to have - namely the remote central locking I have half a stereo installed, the rear speakers are hooked up but still sitting in the rear footwell... Its good to have some noise other than that from the road.

After some mix up with parts, I've almost got all the new bits of the front end installed that I was yet to do - the ball joints, tie rod ends and brake pads. The brake pads didn't fit and after sorting out that problem I have since found out that I have liberty ball joints. The tie rod ends have been installed without a problem.

The brake pad numbers had changed between the old and new books of the same brand. The old book had the correct number required but my local parts joint (one of my hideouts) didn't have a set in stock which is unusual. I needed these pads for tomorrow so I found another set - an early liberty set. They're the same dimensions and fit well, the only difference is that the liberty pads are about 1mm thinner than the L pads.

Its a bummer about the ball joints, but I'll get that sorted tomorrow. I was getting a new set of roadies up front and an alignment at lunch tomorrow but I'll have to move it til later - the whole thing gives me something to do tomorrow that will keep me busy...

Overall I'm VERY HAPPY with the EJ's performance! I can't wait for the lift, bigger tyres and a decent exhaust with a note to boot

That's all til I get some pics! Either friday or mid next week Ruby Scoo and I are headed up to Mt Hotham to pick up some of my brother's gear. I can't wait to start that hill climb to Hotham!

Cheers

Bennie