EJ into L series

[mr turbo]

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!

Can't wait to see the pics.
Better still, I can't wait to hear all about the hill climb. :ebiggrin:

Regards
Mr Turbo

 

[El_Freddo]

Better still, I can't wait to hear all about the hill climb. :ebiggrin:

Mate, it was SOOO GOOD!!! The subi cruised up - no need to push the motor hard to get her moving, the power steering was awesome too! I've never heard so much tyre squeal - namely due to the road having a little warmth in it, but it was still good!

I also got some good fuel economy results - even with the run up the mt, then back down again and cruising home I did it easy on one tank of fuel - only needed 41 litres to fill it up after 401km! I was very happy with it. Can't wait to drive to Adelaide next time, it'll be a one tank affair I reckon!

Downer is that at 110km/h the EJ feels like its outta its league - pulling 3500rpm for some time doesn't feel good... That will eventually change when I drop a different box in and add the larger tyres Changing the 5th gear ratio is a lot harder in the EA box compared to the EJ box as the rear casing on the EA doesn't come off as one unit like the EJ box does so is not really an option before the other box goes in...

I've got some pics, but you'll have to wait til tomorrow. It did snow while I was up there but most of it was gone by the time I got outta bed, Ruby Scoo kept a little bit for me to see :biggrin:

I'm still very impressed with the conversion and would recommend it to anyone that's after a good power/torque upgrade for their L. If you're good with wiring diagrams, tearing hair out, working it out then doing it you shouldn't find it a hard conversion - I think... Doing it yourself is not for everyone...

I still love feeling the subi surge along with a push of the right foot at 110km/h - or any speed for that matter!

Cheers

(One very stoked) Bennie

 

[El_Freddo]

Here's a few things that went on before the Hotham pics, its the general tidy up while I was replacing the water pump...

The below pic is the wiring wrapped up without the heater box installed - the 'knuckle' of the wiring has been tucked behind the heaterbox and isn't interfering with the operation of the heater flap:

I got hold of a fiori thermo fan - its the slimmest one I could find at the yards. With a bit of work I've managed to fit it behind the radiator and works very well. There's not a lot of room there and I've already had the PS pump pulley kiss the shroud while in 4wd low on an attempted U turn (I know you're not meant to do that but I decided to break the rules that time). I'm looking at getting another thermo fan for the passenger's side and investigating the ECU AC fan wire to trigger a relay that runs the fan. Here's the clearance:

I'm loving the torque and power at any speed, it's great to drive along the freeway at 110, put the foot in a little and feel the subi surge a little - I don't remember this with the EA. Overtaking is a dream now - no need to drop a down a gear, just put the foot in a little to get the subi moving. Keeps me

Here's some pics of the hotham trip:

And one at home showing off the EJ:

That's about it for the EJ conversion now... Other things will happen from time to time and I'll update this thread accordingly. Next project will be engineers report that incorporates the EJ, lift and 27's.

I re-read through the start of the my conversion thread on ausubi where I started asking questions for my conversion. I must say that I was very naieve! With the knowledge and experience gained through the conversion it seemed that someone other than myself wrote the first posts!

I'm still stoked, and its a delight to drive now!

Cheers

Bennie

 

[mr turbo]

Glad to hear that you had a great time & made it to the top with ease.

Thanks for sharing your conversion with us. It was very informative & amazing to watch the entire process from start to finish.

What else is there to say.... El_Freddo your a legend

Regards
Mr Turbo

 

[carljwnc]

What else is there to say.... El_Freddo your a legend

X2!!! Awesome work, glad it's all come together and working great.

 

[eden]

love your work Bennie! don't know which pic i like better? the one in the snow or the one in with the BBQ in the back ground:biggrin:

 

[fredsub]

good work, but gee thats close v belt to fan....
it would have me worried about any minor collisions like a roo....
those roo bars don't help much, i had one once, actually cause more push in damage below where they mount, causing push into the radiator.
don't know what the solution could be though,
is it the same old L series radiator?

 

[El_Freddo]

Thanks guys! I dunno about going as far as legend status... Many people have done this conversion before me - there is a touring wagon in WA and Tas that has a twin turbo, six inch lift and 31 or 33 inch tyres! Makes my project look like small fry...

I agree with your worry fredsub - but I'm not really worried about it. I've had them kiss already, but this was during a U turn in low range (a no-no) where the drivetrain experiences a lot of binding which twists the motor and gearbox on their mounts. It wasn't nasty, just a horrible noise.

is it the same old L series radiator?

The radiator, its a 3 core custom job. I don't want to mount the thermo fans on the front of the radiator as there'll be less room in there once I've got my AC sorted again.

The roo problem around here - I've hit a wallaby at 100km/h with that bar and it saved the front of my subi. While a wallaby is smaller and lighter than a roo I would imagine a better outcome with the bar rather than without in the even of hitting a roo. It is also good for seeing the exact corners on the front of the subi when out 4wd'n...

Oh, and the plan is not to hit a roo!

Cheers

Bennie

 

[simxs]

That black cover over the engine looks neat. Most newer subies don't have that!

Great job on the whole. Good to hear it's working well for you on road and off.

 

[El_Freddo]

That black cover over the engine looks neat. Most newer subies don't have that!

Great job on the whole. Good to hear it's working well for you on road and off.

Thanks simxs. After telling a mate how hard it is to get hold of the black cover and its mountings we saw two out in the yards that day. Glad I got the first one at $8 rather than $25 at the other joint!

Can't wait for a lift - but have to as the $$$ arn't there for it yet. Give it some time...

Cheers

Bennie

 

[El_Freddo]

Well I need certification. I went to change the engine number at Vic Roads and due to the EJ not being a factory option for the L series I need to have an engineer certify the conversion.

So I've emailed one from the list they gave me, I'm hoping to get everything done in the process - lift etc... Just waiting on a reply now to see if it can be done and how much it'll cost.

Bugger. Anyway...

Cheers

Bennie

 

[eden]

spewin! hope it works out ok.and cheep

 

[mr turbo]

Hopefully everything will work out ok with the engineering cert.

Regards
Mr Turbo

 

[El_Freddo]

So, for the engine certification its gonna cost $800 - $1000. So its pretty much money that's needed there - no mention of brakes...

As for the lift and the wheels: Only 2 inch lift and 15mm increase in diametre for the wheels is what anyone will certify so far. I'm starting to think of just getting the EJ certified and make sure the lift and tyres are covered under insurance...

I've still gotta get my floor lining in. Also, had a ball at deni It got a little hairy at one point but it was a good time.

Cheers

Bennie

 

[El_Freddo]

I've written up a "how to" for this install if anyone's interested. I'm not sure that there's a lot of interest on this forum as there is on others but I've got it there if need be... I might post it anyway

In other news, after reading the VSI 8 I don't think I'll need an engineer's report so long as the EA82 turbo power/torque figures are relatively the same... We'll see how it goes anyway. The VSI 8 doesn't mention anything about capacity increase, just power and torque figures being relatively the same and that the motor is not substantially different to the original unit - eg 6 cylinder to 8 cylinder etc.

Just gotta visit my local dealer and see if I can get some power/torque specs from them on the two motors so that its from an official source rather than some manuals that could've come from anywhere.

Thats it for now.

Cheers

Bennie

 

[Barry]

Good luck with that Bennie. It really is sad if you aren't allowed to build an intelligently thought out 'retrotype' / 'prequel' which is within the realms of what Subaru could've done.
Not as if it is an OBW H6!

 

[Beigewagon]

Bennie,

People I have met in the past with the EJ22 conversion, have said it has more power and torque than the EA82T. Not sure how much more, but they were also getting better fuel economy (30mpg+ off road).

Beigewagon.

 

[El_Freddo]

People I have met in the past with the EJ22 conversion, have said it has more power and torque than the EA82T. Not sure how much more, but they were also getting better fuel economy (30mpg+ off road).

Yeah true but the figures state MAX power and torque. The EJ22 produces its power and torque lower down in the rev range, where as the EA82 turbo does it later in the rev range so on paper they look about the same but in reality behave very differently.

I'm getting much better economy with the EJ22 than I had with the carbie EA82, but that wasn't tuned or running right. I don't think I'll get the same fuel economy from the EJ as I did the EA82 MPFI that was a fresh motor. Best I got was 730kms from Adelaide and it was still going. Unfortunatly I can't put that into a L/100km figure as I didn't completely fill it up from that point That EA used to get me 10L/100km with some heavy footed driving no problem. The EJ can drink more than that if I cane it everywhere - but that's not why I put it in.

So far I'm getting just over 10L/100km with a bit of spirited driving, freeway driving and around town driving. I'm happy with it and don't mind sacrificing a bit of fuel for the torque that keeps me from dropping down a gear on large hills to maintain my speed

Hopefully I'll have both figures from ausubi forum soon.

Cheers

Bennie

 

[Beigewagon]

The EJ22 produces its power and torque lower down in the rev range, where as the EA82 turbo does it later in the rev range so on paper they look about the same but in reality behave very differently.

A member of the Vic Subaru 4wd Club came out with me a few months ago, and could not beleive how well a carby L-Series could pull up steep hills. He used to have an EA82T, and had to stay above 3000rpm to climb anything. I was still pulling up at aroun 900-1000 rpm.

Mine is down on power, but still pulls down low like a tractor.

Beigewagon.

 

[El_Freddo]

A member of the Vic Subaru 4wd Club came out with me a few months ago, and could not beleive how well a carby L-Series could pull up steep hills. He used to have an EA82T, and had to stay above 3000rpm to climb anything. I was still pulling up at aroun 900-1000 rpm.

Mine is down on power, but still pulls down low like a tractor.

Yeah the turbo needs to be on boost to be any good - below boost revs its got some serious lag. Its also got a lower static compression compared to an NA carbie job. The other thing with the high revs is that he may have a "dodgy" low range of 1.19:1 that the turbos came with - I'm pretty sure all turbos got that ratio. The NA L's got a healthier 1.59:1, which is why your carbied L pulls down low like a tractor. You think the EA pulls like a tractor, you should try the EJ! Love it!

Also, I pulled some figures from the mighty reliable wikipedia:

EA82 MPFI turbo:

Power:
- 111 bhp (83 kW; 113 PS) @ 5200 RPM (1985-1986)
- 115 bhp (86 kW; 117 PS) @ 5200 RPM (1987-1990)

Torque:
- 134 lb·ft (182 N·m) @ 2800 RPM


EJ221 Naturally Aspirated
- Horsepower: 135 PS (99 kW; 133 bhp) @ 5800 rpm
- Torque: 186.3 N·m (137 lb·ft) @ 4800 rpm
EJ222 Naturally Aspirated
- Horsepower: 142 bhp (106 kW; 144 PS) @ 5600 rpm
- Torque: 149 lb·ft (202 N·m) @ 3600 rpm

Dunno what the difference is between the EJ221 and EJ222 as I'm not aware of these variations.

Cheers

Bennie