Sister's Gen3 Liberty "Basil"

[El_Freddo]

Aaaand... we welcome a new subaru member to our family

My sister got a job that had a company car so she let the rego lapse on Sheldon, her old L series touring wagon.

Now she's moving jobs, only about 4 months since the rego lapsed, and no car with the new job. With a quick check over Sheldon and some talking we decided on something newer. I was aiming for a Gen3 Outback, but none were cheap when we were looking, but this Gen3 Liberty came up for an top price with a shot clutch - an RX too:



I've already pulled the engine to find it's got a dual mass flywheel. There's a solid Gen2 flywheel and clutch setup headed this way very shortly ($60 from pick-a-part ). Engine bay after a good spray up with cleaner and pressure washer - still dirty as but way better than it was!



I did the easiest driveshaft removal ever - knock the pins out, undo the hub bolt, push the gearbox one way, remove the shaft on the side the box was moved away from, then did the same on the other side. Awesome. Now to wait for the new boots to arrive to replace the generic stretchy boots that are on there now...

Downers, missing/bad paint on the front bumper and a decent ding under the rear right hand tail light. Dunno what we're going to do there just yet, it's still TBA.

It came with a set of factory weather shields, something I've not seen before (in factory trim):



I certainly didn't know they were a factory option, I've seen other ones that I believe are aftermarket units. These have "Subaru" embossed in them:



One thing that's got me concerned is a little (very small but still) puddle of oil on the passenger's bank with the engine sitting on the garage floor. It's an EJ251. I'm worried it's a HG issue. Can anyone confirm?

Other details: Some form of WRX rims as pictured.
330k km
Gen3 RX in Mica Green

Cheers

Bennie

[Silverbullet]

Cool One of the better looking Libs IMO

Are there many cars in your family that aren't subies?

[Captain Obvious]

nice find, yes the oil patch could mean HG from memory out gen3 RX had a slight oil weap as well as coolant, only time will tell. I did stop the coolant with this stuff though https://rislone.com/au/product/head-gasket-fix/ no draining or heating and cooling of the engine just put it in and forget.

Cheers
Bryan

[El_Freddo]

Cool One of the better looking Libs IMO

Yeah it was either this, a Gen3 outback or a Gen2 liberty. I don't like the Gem2 outbacks, too puffy looking with the 90s style body/door protector trims.

Are there many cars in your family that aren't subies?

Mum rides in a 2003 corolla wagon, dad in a P38 rangie (a "real 4wd" that only sees the dirt driveway), bros is a GQ patrol; sister inlaw in a swift and my wife's VT commodore - the tow vehicle for picking up Subarus in need of some TLC

Essentially there are three Subaru driver in my family - my sister, my mother inlaw and myself

nice find, yes the oil patch could mean HG from memory out gen3 RX had a slight oil weap as well as coolant, only time will tell.

Thanks Bryan. I'm going to do the HGs to get rid of this leak. I might see if I can get some high torque silicone stuff around the edge of the HG to help with this leak in the future. It's a pita to do a HG just for an oil leak!

Part of me would like to silicone it up but I think it's a pressurised oil gallery that leaks so silicone at this point won't do anything to help

Cheers

Bennie

[El_Freddo]

I've finally been able to get around to putting the engine back together.

The HGs have now been replaced to get rid of the oil leak on the passenger's bank. I didn't get the inlet gasket sorted - over looked that one

Trying to replace the oil seals on the cams was a task - the bolts were ridiculously tight! This "trick"/setup sorted it out:



With a little re-jig I was able to re-torque the bolts properly too.

Cam belt went on without a fuss.

One huge fuss (ongoing atm) was the replacing of boots on the remaining drive shaft that needs to be done. First up was the stuff around with the aftermarket boots, got that sorted - almost.

Ironically the last CV joint I got to was the one with the real issues. There was grit in the grease due to the split boot. It was the largest tear in any of the boots. So I pulled it right down to all the parts, cleaned them up and reassembled them (once I remembered how to do it - it's been a while!) - only to smash the little retainer C clip into two pieces.

This is my current dilemma. The solution I'm chasing is to use a C clip from another shaft I've got in the shed from Ruby Scoo. I had to smash the ball cage out to get the cup off, hoping I could then get a good hit on the centre piece to knock it off.

That plan was far too easy. Now it's got a centre press on it, it's had a tea light candle under it hoping the heat will expand something and it'll pop off. I'll find out in the morning. If it hasn't, then it'll get the angle grinder treatment, aiming not to cut the clip.

Now the game plan is to get this shaft sorted and fitted (super easy with the gearbox able to be easily moved left or right). Then I'll get the engine back in with the auxiliary gear installed as well. That'll leave the intake manifold and air filter system to be fitted (basically).

Then my list of things to do on this for RWC is getting shorter

Cheers

Bennie

[El_Freddo]

Sunday the weather turned on me - rain rain rain. Considering I was working out side this was not good news for me. I made a shelter with Ruby Scoo and a tarp. This gave me the afternoon to work in relatively dry conditions

That L series shaft was a right royal PITA to sort out. The angle grinder sorted it. Part of the C clip had been pinched so I cut that bit off. It worked a treat and the liberty shaft went together very quickly after this.

One tip when putting the outer CV back together from individual parts - use lube, it makes it heaps easier and things actually go back together

I got the Gen2 solid flywheel and pressure plate fitted no problem. I got a new disc for piece of mind. The old disc (looks good) might end up in the RS if it fits.

All went together well. Having the intake manifold removed makes fitment of the AC compressor VERY simple!

Now to fit:

- intake manifold
- intake air ducting system
- PS pump (need to replace the hose to the remote reservoir)
- new spark plug leads (plugs already done).

Radiator is fitted.

Steering boots need replacing (have them ready to go).

Then decide on what to do about tyres - swap with the RS or go and get a new set of tyres on the current rim.

Looking forward to starting this very soon.

Also want to throw a set of uel extractors at it to make it real Suby again...

Cheers

Bennie

[El_Freddo]

This is how Basil looked at the end of Sunday's efforts. Hold up was the inlet manifold gaskets:



Today I got the inlet manifold gaskets

Here's the end result:





Very stoked. It's got quite a bit of poke when you nail it! Pretty happy about that.

So the Gen2 solid flywheel and pressure plate worked a treat in the Gen3

Now my list is some what shorter:

- steering rack boots
- seat belt
- tyres - but am now thinking of giving these current ones a go in the RWC check. Worst case scenario we need to get new tyres - which is what we plan to do anyway. Getting a few k's from these ones would be an advantage.

That's it for now. Further updates will come in the next week or two. I'm looking at tidying up the ding on the rear quarter panel, otherwise it'll never get done I reckon!

Cheers

Bennie

[fredsub]

hi freddo

with the oil leak, why is the HG suspect ?

I'v had a oil leak getting worse for a while now, and finally now have the time to do something about it. DOHC EJ25, did the timing belts 30kkm ago, and had suspected lower left(driver side) camshaft seal - but dry as.
decided to pull the oil pump, hmm fairly much non-existent gasket. Why i didn't do this simple thing when i had the engine out a while ago?
Anyway,i'm fairly sure that is the source of my problem.
Drained the coolant into a bucket, no sign of any film of oil, so I think
should be confident not a HG issue - you had me bothered for a second though.
putting it back together again today.

sorry haven't been on the forum in ages, I guess working on the sube got me looking at the forum

cheers all

[El_Freddo]

G'day Fredsub,

The HG swap was to get rid of a common oil leak between the head and the block on the passenger's side. It seems the oil return gallery (under no pressure) easily leaks in this section. The driver's side head was good, and apparently is not an issue.

So I made the decision to swap the HG's while the engine was out. I'd hate to be knocked back on a RWC certificate due to an oil leak that I could've easily sorted while I had the engine out to do the clutch.

Sorry to say, but just moving it around the back yard I reckon I've become attached to it

Steering rack boots are done. The replacements are a little shorter than I'd really like but I'll work with that for the sake of a RWC to get this on the road!

The seat belt is definitely going to be an issue:



I didn't get a pic before I removed the interior, but you could very obviously see it from outside the vehicle. This is the current hold up on the RWC efforts. A bit of an effort just to get to the seat belt!



I also looked at the tyres a little more closely. They won't pass - the rear right is a little scrubbed out the outer edge for my liking. They'll be swapped with the RS rims for now.

Keen as mustard to have this rego'd. I saw a really sweet one while I was driving around for work this arvo - burgundy and very clean. Noice

I'm keen to just take it for a drive to get to know it a bit better - and to let the HGs settle in. While moving it around the back yard I avoid a quick start up and shut down - I leave it with the AC cranked low to vary the idle.

I've "tucked" into the rear ding to make it a bit more presentable. This is before:










.

[El_Freddo]

This is the work in progress. Most of it done with the Gen2 clutch fork that dad got with the flywheel and pressure plate - it was the right shape for the job at the time:







I need to sit the tail light back in place to see how it's going. I feel it needs a bit more shaping before I start the rust repair and sealing of the metal to avoid further rusting of this area. I don't know if we'll ever repair the actual paint colour - time will tell.

The AC climate control in this thing is mental - it drops the temp quickly and blows like a bloody cylone on the north coast of qld. Awesome on a warm day like today! You actually leave the car to thaw out

I think that's about it for now

Cheers

Bennie

[El_Freddo]

Looking good with it's big sister in the background:



Since I had the RS out for a wash, Basil swapped boots and now looks like this:



He also copped an under bonnet wash to finish off the engine bay work.

Meeting extended family:



Better pics with the 17s fitted. I'm hoping these are not too large for RWC - they're only 1 inch larger in rim diametre so should be fine:



And another pic just because:



I think these rims look better on the Gen3 than they do on the RS...

Now to sort out the seat belt. Anyone got a rear right hand seat belt available?

Cheers

​Bennie

[El_Freddo]

Seatbelt sorted, so I had to have a go at that rear panel so they couldn't knock us for rust.

After a bit of work that looked like this:





It ended up looking like this:





And this is how it used to look:



Last week it got some rust killing acid treatment. I went to paint it last weekend but wasn't happy so did another treatment, only then to have the weather turn on me so I couldn't finish the job off.

Now wire wheel and paint is this week's task before RWC, hopefully Thursday

Cheers

Bennie

[El_Freddo]

After more work recently - acid treatment, wire wheeling, sealing and "top coat" of paint it looks more like this and is much more presentable.

Please excuse the dodgy iphone pics, I should've used the big camera.









I'm hoping for a RWC inspection next week with UEL mods in there somewhere too. It'll be a balancing act...

A few other minor things need to be done before this, just little bolts and clips on the rear bar.

Cheers

Bennie

[Silverbullet]

That looks alot better than it was, you wouldn't even see it from a distance unless someone pointed it out You could have even put a lick of body filler on there to smooth it out a bit more.

[El_Freddo]

That was the plan. Body filler goes a bit beyond my patience range atm. My Sister is more than happy with it so I'm not taking it any further unless she one day gets it resprayed. And I doubt that'll happen.

Cheers

Bennie

[Suby Spanner]

Nice work El Freddo, I'm a fan of that series of liberty. The damn b4's are still expensive though.

As for the HG's leaking oil, I had a forester through last week, owner thought rocker cover, cleaned it off, let it idle for 10 minutes, nope clearly head gasket.

Not the first suby I've seen do it. But to be fair I'm no fan of multilayer steel gaskets, ALL manufacturers have trouble with coolant and oil leaks from them.

[El_Freddo]

Yeah a good B4 will hold it's value for some time to come. But you can pick up one relatively cheap if it's got a bung engine or an issue with the twin turbo system.

Today I rang my exhaust mate to organise a time to do the UEL extractors. He was happy to do it today and after some talk he almost talked me out of it. We had a go anyway and the end result is a sublte subi beat - I enjoyed driving it home!

Now it sounds like a real subi and is ready for RWC next week. I wanted to get this work done after RWC and rego but with a house move going on at the same time that my sister would like to be taking her car to its actual home I wouldn't be able to do it

I'm sure there's a better note with adjustment of the unequal lengths, but I'm happy and will be keen to see if sister will notice the change (she's heard it running and had a short driveway length drive)...

Cheers

Bennie

[El_Freddo]

Pics:



As you can see - this is in the development stage. We used the passenger's side of the original manifold, cut off the driver's side flange and reversed it. If I did this again I'd take an inch out of the two pipes that come out of the flange before welding the flange back on in reverse. The reverse fitment is needed so the exhaust outlet of this flange is now facing forward for the loop to pass around the front of the engine.

A new collector was also made rather than welding the old one back on facing the other way (which can be done to save on new materials)

This is it all welded up ready for it's install:



No pic of it installed, I got very excited once it was fitted and forgot the pic - I just wanted to hear it! The mods fitted very well without needing to fight anything to make it fit.

No sound file or video - I might get around to one (looks like I need a new computer ), plus it's got a "rally car" rasp noise when you stab the throttle. I'm not a fan of that, but I think this is the rear lukey muffler.

Anyway I'm happy with the result and I've enjoyed the short cruise I've had in it so far. The big test will be cruising at speed to see what the noise factor is.



Huge thanks to Vin for his time, effort, conversation and personal stories. That's the other bit I love about hanging out in his shed.

Cheers

Bennie

[El_Freddo]

So this went in for a RWC in Shepp as I thought it was ready and I was confident I wouldn't be doing major work on it while moving house at the same time.

Wrong. It came back with:
- cracked fan belts - replace with new
- low front brake pads and discs require machining
- new windscreen wiper blades needed
- adjust hand brake
- needs "proper taper" wheel nuts and spigot hub adaptors for the rims
- needs new rear muffler due to rust hole (no hole present)
- wiper washer jet needs adjustment
- upper and lower control arm bushes on rear suspension needs replacing (£%#¥!!!)

This list also came with a quite for each bit of work required - I really felt like I was being taken for a numpty that knows nothing about cars. The front pads had 4mm of meat on them and the discs looked relatively new (and slotted as well), the hand brake worked fine, the rear suspension looked good on the hoist when we did the UEL extractors...

I had 7 days to return the vehicle for its second inspection otherwise I pay for a whole new inspection. Yeah that didn't happen and I didn't believe half that work was needed. So with the house move we took it to m&d's (Mrs El_Freddo gave it her seal of approval) and sorted a RWC with the mob my brother recently went through. It cost a bit more but this was due to labour on an exhaust leak (not sure if it was in the UEL extractor mods or somewhere else) and a new set of wiper blades. And it's done - passed!!

Now Basil is booked in for his registration later today. I believe my sister will pick him up tomorrow. I'm a bit annoyed I won't be there to see this or go for my sister's first cruise in Basil to see what she really thinks about this Subaru. I'm sure I'll hear about it though!

It just goes to show you need to shop around for the best place for a RWC that suits your needs/or one you have a good relationship with already, I didn't go with the mob I used with Redback's RWC simply due to distance from home. Lesson learnt!

Cheers

Bennie

[pitrack_1]

Hi Bennie,


Just my 2c worth (which of course rounds to $0 nowadays ) on the 2 issues I think are the most important, even though I know you've gotten the roadworthy elsewhere:

Especially as it is your sister's vehicle.

I don't know a lot about this area but I have just been through fitting some alloys to another vehicle so I do know something. Luckily it was MX-5 wheels to a 323, commonality is big amongst Mazda parts so they matched almost exactly.

Wheel nuts
If the wheel nuts don't have the correct mating faces then the forces will be concentrated into the incorrect places and probably into touch points (or at least circles). Will cause extreme stress at the touch points and perhaps warp or crack the alloys. Think of it like the pressure points from stilettos. And/or the nuts could come loose. Correct nuts should have come with (or been with) the wheels. Look online but I'd suggest stick to steel ones. SCA seem to have a selection on their website.

Spigot hub adaptors
Might also be known as hub spacer rings, spigot rings, hub adaptor rings. The hub is designed to take/transfer the weight loads to/from the wheel. If the wheel centre bore diameter is different (larger) to the hub's centre bore diameter then the weight loads are transferred either through friction from the mating faces or through shear (lateral, transverse, sideways) forces on the wheel bolts themselves. Bolts are not at their strongest with sidewards forces (ever bent a bolt sidewards? Bet you have) and are not designed to take those type of loads. Look online for 'em.

Now combine the two...apart from the stresses on the mating points, you could theoretically end up with bent studs and a wheel no longer on the same rotational axis as the hub...just like the off-centre wheels on a circus clown's car!