EA to EJ SPEEDO conversions

L-Raiser · Post by **L-Raiser** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 9:53 am

Hi all, I know that there are a building number of us who have done this conversion, yet there isnt a thread yet on HOW to get a functioning and engineering legal SPEEDOMETER.

So how is it done guys....???

Ive heard stories of a mechanical to electrical speed impulse converter ( or something like that ) that you can get aftermarket. Do they exist, if so, where can you get them from and how hard are they to install?

What have you other EJ'd MY & L guys done for a speedo...?

Myself, I have an EJ engine, gearbox & ECU but have kept my stock L-Series dash and instrument cluster.

I'd sure welcome your feedback / advice....

L-Raiser

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 10:02 am

Unscrew the electronic sensor from the gearbox, throw it into the bin, screw your mechanical L series speedo cable in instead. Done.
I did this on my L series wagon (EJ gearbox from an Outback). It was litterally that simple.

It will likely be very slightly out of kilter due to different sized wheels and different final drive ratio of the gearbox, but you can get this fixed by getting your speedo cable cut in half and a small box put in between which has some mechanical gears which allow you to adjust it to be correct. There are places which can do this for you but I don't have any details of which, would need to hunt around.

L-Raiser · Post by **L-Raiser** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 10:53 am

Ooooo wow is it really THAT simple....I sure hope it is!

My last mech got to a point where he threw his hands in the air said, "Sorry, I dont know where to begin on the speedo" and threw me the keys for me to deal with.

Thanks for that Andrew. If you do happen to come across those contact details of for the 'speed adjuster' box do let me know.

Im just hoping that my 04 box wont be too different from your outback one. Subaru has a habit of making small changes to the little things over the years Ive learnt. What may fit one box one year wont fit one 2yrs later. ( fingers crossed ).

The final drive ratio I wouldnt have thought would be too far out as I have all the driveline of the Forry, right down to the wheels n rims. But Ive got my GPS handheld to determine my exact speed for me in the short term.

Regards,

L-Raiser

brumbyrunner · Post by **brumbyrunner** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 11:20 am

There are different speedo gears available but unfortunately you have to split the gearbox to change them.

After you hook up the mechanical speedo cable (and it really is that easy), determine the error and we'll go from there.

Mechanical speedos have always been a bit of mucking around (which usually means $) compared to electronic speedos which are easy to adjust with an aftermarket gadget that lets you keep adjusting as you change ratios and tyre size.

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 12:06 pm

brumbyrunner wrote:There are different speedo gears available but unfortunately you have to split the gearbox to change them.

yeah that's why it's easier/cheaper to do it externally by modifying the mechanical cable and putting gears there. From memory a mate of mine paid about $100 to get it done by a place, drive-in drive-out service (but this was about 7 years ago!)

Vidler/Lapsed old L series wagon had one of these mods.

"Mechanical speedo cable ratio corrector boxes"

This is what I mean....
http://www.gaugeguys.com/ratioadapt.htm

Here's a place in Australia that does them...
http://www.marks4wd.com/products/tyre_m ... ction.html

Storm · Post by **Storm** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 12:47 pm

AndrewT wrote:Here's a place in Australia that does them...
http://www.marks4wd.com/products/tyre_m ... ction.html

I can personally vouch for these from MarksAdaptors. I have one on my car. To fit it you simply remove the speedo cable from the G/box fit the adjuster box to the G/box and then refit your speedo cable. You can get them so that they will tell your ECU how fast your car is going to.

SuBaRiNo · Post by **SuBaRiNo** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 12:51 pm

When i researched into getting this done a while ago i ended up here http://www.aisat.com.au/

They said they could do it... try em.

Dave

L-Raiser · Post by **L-Raiser** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 2:59 pm

Awesome! This is great. Thanks guys!

AlpineRaven · Post by **AlpineRaven** » Wed Dec 31, 2008 2:06 pm

Another thing is to get hand held GPS or GPS that does show correct speed reading, they're 99.5% accurate, that'll give you an idea how much is it out or not.
Cheers
AP

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Wed Dec 31, 2008 2:12 pm

L-Raiser wrote:...But Ive got my GPS handheld to determine my exact speed for me in the short term....

___________
lol

PeeJay · Post by **PeeJay** » Thu Jan 01, 2009 9:54 am

If you've got the same sized wheels on your car as the car that the gearbox came from it should be fine. On my RX it's within 1-2%

AlpineRaven · Post by **AlpineRaven** » Thu Jan 01, 2009 10:10 am

PeeJay wrote:If you've got the same sized wheels on your car as the car that the gearbox came from it should be fine. On my RX it's within 1-2%

But dont forget... foresters has 16" rims/tyres where L series is either 13/14" so its a big difference. You'll have to change the speedo gearset inside the gearbox to correct one which means have to open the box up.
Cheers
AP

SuBaRiNo · Post by **SuBaRiNo** » Thu Jan 01, 2009 11:52 am

Just a note on having to open the gear box to correct the gearing... I have seen an inline gear box thingo that went half way up the speedo cable that changed the gearing to make the speedo work right. I belive this was on Vidlers old wagon when he first got it.

I think the place i posted the link to does this.... no opening of the box and im sure it could be re-calibrated if you changed wheel size down the track.

Dave

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Thu Jan 01, 2009 4:16 pm

correct. as already detailed - the external speedo correction boxes makes opening the gearbox completely unnecessary.

90brumby · Post by **90brumby** » Thu Jan 01, 2009 4:21 pm

or just leave the speedo out the 1 in my brumby is bout 20% out so when its says 100 im doin bout 120 lol

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Thu Jan 01, 2009 7:28 pm

90brumby wrote:or just leave the speedo out the 1 in my brumby is bout 20% out so when its says 100 im doin bout 120 lol

Yeah but I think L-raiser is going for an engineer's report and 20% out would not be acceptable...

Bennie

jzk25 · Post by **jzk25** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 7:58 am

Unscrew the SG speed sensor out of the gearbox and screw your L cable in. Speedo now operates. It will not be accurate, but it wouldn't have been accurate after you put big wheels on it anyway. All that's required here is getting the speedo head recallibrated by an instrument technician. They will ask for some basic info like diff ratio and wheel circumference and callibrate it so suit.

To get the signal for the ecu(this is a must, you will have issues without it), you can do two things.
One is to use the reed switch that *may* be in the rear of the speedo head already. This is what I have done previously but it is probably a bit complicated for a beginner so I would go for option 2.

Use a VDO 412-009 speed signal generator. This is a complete kit that allows you to cut the speedo cable and make a join in between houses the signal generator. Add power and earth and connect signal output to the ecu and you are done. This is what I do with brumby's as there is no reed switch in the cluster.

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 9:59 am

jzk25 wrote: To get the signal for the ecu(this is a must, you will have issues without it), you can do two things.

What issues are there without it? I don't have the speed signal connected on any of my 3 EJ converted suby's and I don't have any issues at all. No error codes related. I don't think any of the other EJ converted cars I've seen have this either. I thought this only mattered if using the EJ automatic gearboxes and electronic dashboards?

D3V1L · Post by **D3V1L** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 10:19 am

might have something to do with the much newer engines andrew. im pretty sure ive seen a speed sensor problem with a version 6 sti engine in a brumby kept flashing lights around etc

jzk25 · Post by **jzk25** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 2:10 pm

A speed sensor code will cause havoc on a turbo engine, it causes an early engine cut at a certain AFM voltage.
On NA engines(gen 2 on at least, can't remember if Gen 1 do) it will trigger the fans to come on permanently and the idle control will not work very well.
Some people don't care about this sort of stuff but it shouldn't be that way. Running around with hard codes in the ecu is not a good thing.
Late model ecu's are very intolerant of lack of vital signals.