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El Freddo and a few others have been talking recently about the EJ/L Series gearboxes and I was just wondering if I could drag on the experiences of a few others.

How does an L Series box (say a 3.7) in 4WD Lo stack up against an EJ box (assuming it has modified low to 1.592)? Does the lack of locked centre diff cause anyone dramas with EJ boxes for offroading?

I know the final ratio on an EJ box/diff would be much improved for offroading.

I had a standard 3.7 L box - and now the 3. 7 Full Time box with a modified low. The boxes give the same result for offroading when my centre diff is locked.

I am not asking "which is the better box" - just want to know if the lack of locked centre causes troubles. Thanks!

L series box - no matter what you have a 50 - 50 split of torque fron and rear

Lib AWD box - limited slip center will give your 50 - 50 split as far as it can hang on. A standard center coupling is 4kg, you can get much tighter (up to 20kg i think) centers out of later model STI boxes. They will hang on alot longer.

In reality the AWD boxes seem to work just fine. I am sure some of the manual box guys will share their experiences. Im an auto man myself

I'm going to replace my awd ea box with a d/r ej one soon. Mainly because the ea clutch starts to slip a bit when the EJ20G gets to 14psi boost...

I'm actually quite surprised how good the ea awd box is without the center locked. I think the open center awd in the L series is only just worse than the locked center in the MY I used to have.

Fang wrote:Does the lack of locked centre diff cause anyone dramas with EJ boxes for offroading?

By offroading you mean tyres off the ground, deep low speed mud & steep loose climbs then yes a standard Liberty manual causes a few dramas. There have been situations in my series 2 that I could have faired a lot better with a part time 'box locked in 4WD.

Fang wrote:
Does the lack of locked centre diff cause anyone dramas with EJ boxes for offroading?

That's news to me... i didn't realise that the EJ boxes came without a centre diff lock, i just presumed they were the same as the L's. Anyone know where one could be fitted and if it can be fitted? (now wondering if one can be adapted from the L box)

El_Freddo wrote:That's news to me... i didn't realise that the EJ boxes came without a centre diff lock, i just presumed they were the same as the L's. Anyone know where one could be fitted and if it can be fitted? (now wondering if one can be adapted from the L box)

If you can fit a lockable diff to an EJ box - I'd be there. The other solution would be to put a 4.XX diff into an L Series Full Time box. But I don't think that can be done

now wondering if one can be adapted from the L box

I have been wanting to try this for a long time, just need to get a hold of one first.