WRX EJ20 Turbo into L-Series Wagon

[L-Rex]

I've never seen anyone use 3 factory pieces for the gearbox crossmember. Looks really neat!

Cheers, I like to use as much of the factory gear as possible. Plus, powdercoat makes everything look nice.

From past experience, I know that the powdercoating bill for this build will exceed the purchase price of the L-Series, but I do like the look of it, and it's very durable

[L-Rex]

Shortened up the pitch rod, it's just the L one cut down, and fits the WRX gearbox.



Radiator hoses are often the bane of engine conversions, but I went through the Gates catalogue and found ones with the requires 32mm - 44mm ends. The top hose has very limited clearance. The top one is a slightly cut down V6 Vectra, and the bottom one is off a V8 Falcon. The top hose will have to be bled (pump the hose by hand) when the cooling system is filled up, but it's not the highest point of the cooling system, so it will remain filled. If I don't like it, I will have to find something else...





Then I started setting up the WAIC, having decided that the FMIC was going to be way too difficult to fit. This WAIC is nice and compact, and is good for 300hp (significantly more than rest of the car will take ) Got all the hoses cut down to where I need them, now I just need to make a mounting bracket, and plumb it all up.



The heat exchanger mounts neatly in the front, and will have two 7" thermo fans fitted. I just need to play around with the water fittings, run the hoses, and trim up/paint the brackets.

[El_Freddo]

Nice work there L-Rex!

With the intercooler, those two black dots in the spare wheel well are mounting points for the bracket that the space saver spare sits on. They could be a good mount point for the cooler, unless you want the cooler to move with the engine.

I can’t remember and didn’t pick it up with a quick scan of previous threads while typing this, but are you keeping the AC?

I hope my future project is half as neat as this!

Cheers

Bennie

[L-Rex]

With the intercooler, those two black dots in the spare wheel well are mounting points for the bracket that the space saver spare sits on. They could be a good mount point for the cooler, unless you want the cooler to move with the engine.

You read my mind Bennie! I'm going to pick up from those mounting points, and the front mount hole for the normal spare wheel screw. The engine won't be moving that much, given how solid the trans mount and the pitch rod are.

I can’t remember and didn’t pick it up with a quick scan of previous threads while typing this, but are you keeping the AC?

I really wanted to keep the A/C, but at the moment, I'm absolutely at the limit of space for even the necessities. I will probably revisit this at a later date, as I have a couple of ideas about where to run the condenser. I kept all of the wiring associated with the A/C intact. It's the same with the power steer, If I had gone for the GC8 instead of the BugEye, the power steer reservoir sits on the engine, and the air intake matches up with the factory MPFI air box (I have to modify the air box for this setup). Plus, there would have not been an immobiliser to contend with. But, I got a reasonable deal on the donor car and I specifically wanted the 3.9 gearing and this cruise control setup.

I hope my future project is half as neat as this!

Cheers

[El_Freddo]

Any updates L-Rex?

I’m about to fill out the paperwork to start my first engineering experience on my build. More to come on that in my build thread once I know the path I need to take for a successful, certified modification.

Cheers

Bennie

PS: what’s that line Tee’d in above the throttle body, between the TB and the WAIC?

[L-Rex]

Any updates L-Rex?

I've been pretty busy at work, but have started to get the rest of the driveline back together. D/S front CV in and suspension bolted in. More time has been spent on wiring, but not really a photo moment Rebuilt heater box and dash still has to go back in, but that will be after I run the loom and ECU through.

I've got a couple of days off coming to me (hopefully), and I plan to get the surge tank, fuel pump, etc. plumbed in. I also hope to get the WAIC plumbing sorted, am waiting on a couple of elbows to finish the parts list. Also need to mount thermo fans for the radiator and WAIC heat exchanger.

Still have to get the prop shaft lengthened, and have to build the exhaust. I have lost the heat shield from the turbo somewhere in my garage, and I have to source another one. The clutch master will get roasted without it

PS: what’s that line Tee’d in above the throttle body, between the TB and the WAIC?

Thats a Turbosmart plumb-back BOV, which replaces the factory unit that bolted to the intercooler. No attention-grabbingly illegal atmospheric BOV for me...

[L-Rex]

Had some time this week to crack along with it

CVs and front suspension is all in;



Slung the exhaust under. I'm happy with the middle section, and the WRX one conveniently ends in the right spot to run a pipe over the rear axle. I'll fabricate a 3" system that sits in the same spot as the factory L. I WILL NOT be fitting that ridiculous cannon





Got the thermo fans fitted, I'm running a Davies Craig 12" slimline on the D/S, and a 10" Davies Craig standard on the P/S. Should provide decent cooling. They look a lot closer to the pulley than they actually are.



I started to mock up the fan position for the WAIC heat exchanger. These fans will run constantly, so will provide a boost to the radiator as well. These were the smallest "push" type fans that I could get, but they will require deflection plates on the bottom, and some significant mods to the front bumper. I have almost finished the bumper mods, and will detail that in the next post. (They fans are just held on with a bit of wire to mock up).



Made up a proper mounting plate for the WAIC, it picks up the spare wheel bolt, and a couple of other nutserts that I fitted. Sits there rock-solid! Couple of zinc plated brackets from Bunnings that I still have to cut down and paint.



Pod filter fitted. I had been modifying a stock metal airbox for this purpose, but I ended up destroying the top section by backing over it with my ute I will have to make a cover for this section to make it legal, and then track down another airbox lid. At least this will get it running and engineered.



Got the fuel surge tank fitted. This was probably one of the more challenging items to find room for. The engine bay is getting cramped! I'm going to use the evap line as the return line, but just have to trace it back under the rear wheel arch to check where it actually goes. LOL. Last time I did one of these it had a fuel injected model fuel tank, which had a decent return line, not the tiny carby one.



Wasn't happy with the clutch master reservoir position relative to the exhaust heat shield, so I knocked up a little bracket to get it away from the heat. Sits in the cutout where the WRX had it positioned.



Hopefully get more done next week!

[L-Rex]

Got the tacho dash wired in. Bit of stuffing around with power, grounds and the 2 high beam wires, but everything works ok. Still have to test the tacho function when the engine is running.

Tip:; if the indicator don't work after the conversion, don't spend a couple of hours chasing wires, just plug in the hazard light switch

[El_Freddo]

Got the tacho dash wired in. Bit of stuffing around with power, grounds and the 2 high beam wires, but everything works ok. Still have to test the tacho function when the engine is running.

So hang on, are you wiring the wrx loom into the L series from front to rear? Or are you splicing in the EJ loom over the L series loom like a “standard” conversion?

Tip:; if the indicator don't work after the conversion, don't spend a couple of hours chasing wires, just plug in the hazard light switch

Classic! Just like the first time you hit the Parker light switch on top of the steering column!

Cheers

Bennie

[L-Rex]

I'm splicing the tach dash into the L non-tach loom, and then the WRX loom into the L, as is normally done.

The Parker switch had me going for a moment as well

[L-Rex]

IT'S ALIVE

Got all the wiring done, but have a few detail items to finish. I have to splice the VSS wire from the L speedo into the WRX loom, and I have 2 wires on the WRX speed sensor plug to choose from. 1 goes to the cruise control, and the other "might" go to the ECU. Still thinking about that one. Was also expecting a +12V signal from the ECU to trigger the fans, but that's not the case. I currently have the engine fans running all the time, but will investigate the trigger from the ECU. It's probably a switched ground. Was quite an effort to find space for all the various cables, relays, plugs and modules that are required for this conversion. The immobiliser caused some serious head scratching to get operational, until I suddenly realised that it's not good enough to just have the antenna and key, the WHOLE ignition barrel needs to be fitted under the dash The ECU ended up being secured inside the glovebox



Ran all the cables through the L cable gland, and used a crapload of white Sikaflex to ensure that they stay there, and no water gets in.



Ran all the cables along the inner guard, just like OEM.



Had to extend the wiring for the cruise control, trailer flex offered the perfect solution in the one cable.



Cruise control unit mounts up next to the WAIC.



Engine bay fully completed. Ran a check valve in the vacuum supply to the vent controls to prevent boost pressure getting into the system. Used the L charcoal canister vent line as the return line, and repurposed the tiny carby return line as the vent. I used the original carby fuel pump to supply the surge tank, with a check valve to prevent head pressure against the pump from the fuel return. Bosch 040 is the main pump, regulated by the WRX fuel controller. I forgot to remove the pressure regulator from the L pump output, so that's a project to complete over the next few days.



Bumper cutouts for the WAIC cooling system. They are set up to run all the time, and the WAIC remains quite cold to touch. Very happy with this result.



(Almost) finished product!



Still have detail stuff to finish; I'm trying to source a factory L console for the manual gearshift. The reverse lights are not yet connected, and The aforementioned VSS wiring. Still have to integrate the cruise control switches, but I have misplaced the master switch somewhere in the garage.

Exhaust is just dumping near the diff at the moment, with a dodgy extension pointing it down. It's fairly quiet, but I need to sort that out ASAP.

Speedo reads 10kph quicker than actual speed, but the new 14" wheels/tyres will sort that out (probably 185/70 or 75-14).

The tailshaft is a modified L, fitted with a GTR rear flange to suit the WRX diff flange. This also gives me a replaceable uni in the rear.

Test drive was awesome, this thing is seriously fast, and handles really well with the new Kings/KYB suspension. I converted it to manual steering (FYI has a different steering shaft extension to the power steer) and it feels much better to steer. Unfortunately, it developed some heavy hesitation and misfire under load; typical AFM failure symptoms, so I have to fit another one of those before I continue

[El_Freddo]

Good stuff L Rex!

The ecu earth switches the thermo fans so you’re on the right track there.

And yes, as you’ve found out, the manual rack uses a different steering extension to the power steering rack. I don’t know why they didn’t just make one rack’s output to be the same as the other for reduced production costs...

With my little EJ22 conversion I found ample space around the steering column for the ECU, factory power and fuel pump relays. My fuse panel that connects the EJ harness to the L’s loom is mounted behind the glovebox. And the aftermarket immobiliser is tucked up high well out of the way in the event that I flood the car (again - it was close last time!).

Keep up the good work!

Cheers

Bennie

[L-Rex]

I mounted the fuel pump relay, main relay, the (large-heatsinked) fuel pump controller, fuse box and WAIC relay behind the glovebox. The OEM immobiliser controller, cruise control module, 2 x ECU power relays, and the (large) complete ignition barrel went above the column. There was literally no other place to mount the ECU other than the glovebox. I was actually getting worried that I would run out of room for all the stuff

I'll be sorting out the fan relay setup today, possibly the VSS wiring, and my new AFM should arrive on Monday. Then I can get the exhaust done.

[Bumpty]

Nice job indeed!
Wouldn’t suspect a thing looking at that L.

[L-Rex]

Just about finished!

Got quite a few detail things sorted today;

• The flywheel was occasionally touching the dust cover, because it was sitting slightly on the crossmember. Spaced it up by 6mm with some stainless steel shims.

• The VSS wire from the L speedo has now been connected for the ECU and cruise control. It connects to the green/yellow wire on the loom plug to the speed sensor (not to the small separate loom for the sensor itself. I left the speed sensor connected for the ground and the data link wire, and it just tucks up under the dash.

• The VSS wiring led to an interesting discovery; if the speed sensor is not connected, the ECU throws code P500, and sets the fans to run constantly. This was the issue that I was having with the fans not working as I expected. I need to buy another relay, which will allow me to wire the fans to run of the ECU trigger.

• Was having some top end misfiring, which I suspected was the usual AFM issue that WRX's get. Turns out that the speed sensor disconnected puts the car into limp mode. Also had a bung O2 sensor on the pre-cat pipe, which will also cause limp mode (codeP0031). Fixed both those issues.

• Surge tank kept running out of fuel. I had previously heard the the L electric pump running for a short period, so I thought that it was fine. After going through the wiring, I discovered the L has an engine revolution sensor, which takes a signal from the coil and uses this to run the fuel pump.
  
  It's up above the bonnet release, on this bracket, above where it has "R" stamped. I have already removed it for this pic.
  
  
  
  You need to jump the Black/Red wire on the plug to the Blue/Red wire. The locations on the revolution sensor relay are shown, but obviously you jump the pins on the plug. Then throw the relay into the bin, it does nothing else in this setup.
  
  
  
  This allows the L pump to run continuously, as soon as you turn on the ignition. No more fuel starvation!

Last things to do before engineering;

• Fit the rear section of the exhaust. I was going to do this myself, but I decided to book it in to a muffler place instead, as I'm a bit time-poor at the moment, and I really want to get this project finished.

• Fit the 14" Scorpion wheels with some 195/70-14 or 185/70-14 rubber, and get them on. This will also make the speedo read correctly (required for engineering)

• Reverse lights; I need to map out the 4 pin switch on the gearbox, and run a relay to the L's reverse lights

• The aforementioned fan issue. Not a legal requirement, but I want the motor to actually heat up

I did take it for a spin today, and it goes REALLY well Gave it a bit of stick on the freeway, and when I pulled up the WAIC was cool to the touch, which made me quite pleased, given that I took a bit of a punt with the sizing of the heat exchanger radiator. After it's engineered, I will attend to the cruise control, as I still can't find the wretched switch

[El_Freddo]

Good work L-Rex!

With the L series pump, you should be able to reference the tacho wire from the ecu to trigger the revolution relay. Then it will work as it should and happy days - plus it keeps the factory safety factor in your conversion. I would’ve thought a hard wired fuel pump that runs all the time would be a bust in a conversion.

But I could be wrong too.

Cheers

Bennie

[pitrack_1]

Awesome stuff. Great diagnosis and problem solving.

One thing I could suggest- is it possible to take a signal from e.g. the crank angle sensor to that fuel relay you just removed? I suspect it's there to save you in a crash as it will stop the fuel pumping when the engine stops.

[L-Rex]

Good work L-Rex!

With the L series pump, you should be able to reference the tacho wire from the ecu to trigger the revolution relay. Then it will work as it should and happy days - plus it keeps the factory safety factor in your conversion. I would’ve thought a hard wired fuel pump that runs all the time would be a bust in a conversion.

Both you and Pitrack are correct, it's not ideal to have the car pumping fuel in a crash...

I looked at using the tach for a signal to the relay, but it doesn't seem to be that straightforward. When I connected the tach output to the coil trigger on the relay, the pump doesn't work It could be that my relay is a dud, but I will pull one from another one of my cars, and check it out. The circuit inside is quite basic, so it might just be a dud resistor or similar.

Reflecting on it during the evening, I also realised that I can possibly trigger the L pump from the WRX fuel pump controller, but as it runs a variable voltage, I just need to check the lower end of the scale to make sure it will latch a relay.

Failing that, I also have the option to knock up a simple circuit to trigger it from the crank sensor.

Added to the list...

[L-Rex]

*UPDATE*

Exhaust rear section done today, the car is nice and quiet now, especially on the freeway. 3" stainless over the diff. Took a bit of effort to fit a muffler and pipe up there, but it worked out (pics to follow).

Took it for a good long run after the exhaust went on, with Torque monitoring all the engine vitals. The engine cooling fans are still set up to run permanently, at this stage, but the thermostat controls the temp well, settling on ~86* in traffic, and cooling down to ~80* on cruise.

Interestingly, the fan switching is no straightforward deal. As we know, the ECU uses negative switching, however, the WRX twin fan setup also has a high and low setting. If the ECU isn't seeing a certain resistance value on the switched output, it goes into fault. I sat down with the OEM fan to work it all out, and decided to just use the spare threaded port in the radiator inlet tank to run an thermo switch. I have a couple sitting around, and will select the most appropriate one and wire it into the existing fan relay setup.

I also neglected to mention in the tailshaft mods, an automatic tailshaft needs the front section lengthened by 50mm - 55mm, and the centre bearing needs to be lowered by ~10mm to allow the shaft to safely clear the gearshift (not required if you have fitted a lift kit that uses gearbox spacers).

Also not mentioned earlier, the hole that is used for the clutch master is the one that the speedo cable goes through. Since the speedo cable gets re-routed to clear the exhaust anyway, there is a convenient grommet lower down that does the trick.

Made a centre console out of alloy chequerplate to get it through engineering (pics to follow).

Decided on 195/60-14 Michelin tyres to go on the Scorpion rims, and it looks good (pics to follow). It brings the speedo up to an acceptable margin (speedo reads 5kph fast). Also compensates for the 3.9 diff ratio. Next time I will probably go for 4.11, although this thing is plenty fast for a daily drive. I had a the opportunity to surprise a few young contenders on my travels today, when my Nanna-spec wagon (complete with dusty paint and Kayak rack) totally annihilated them at the traffic light drags

My next project will be a strut brace; you can now feel the flex when under hard acceleration However, the car feels really well balanced, and the difference between the FWD EA82 3 speed auto, and the 5 speed manual AWD, is simply awesome.

In all honesty, this is the best one of these that I have built, probably because this one was for me It also strikes me that no matter how many times I do this, you still learn things along the way, and still find things to do better next time.

For those bold enough to undertake this job I kept a running tally of costs; For parts and external jobs like the tailshaft, the cost is somewhere between $11K - $12K, but this includes all new suspension, wheels, tyres, new heater core, and other "nice-to-have" things. Take away all that, and you're probably looking at ~$9K. Don't bother trying to buy a separate motor and gearbox to fit, you will need a hell of a lot of stuff that can only come from a complete donor vehicle. Brackets, pedal box, hydraulics, wiring loom, electronic components, fasteners, mounts, etc. You would spend far more on individual parts. I would strongly suggest that if you are buying a donor vehicle BUY A PRE-BUGEYE DONOR . I went for the Bugeye this time, simply because I got the whole car for a very good price, but it did add some complexities; the air intake is better suited to this conversion on the GC8 WRX, as is the power steer, and the lack of an immobiliser.

Given that all the fabrication and other labour was mine, I didn't bother to factor that in as a cost, but I kept a rough track of time. It's north of 1000 hours of work

Everything has to be measured, designed, made, trial fitted, modified, tested, etc. Even a simple job like fully reconditioning the heater box, takes a lot of time. The wiring on this is not trivial (especially when also fitting a tach dash), and there is a lot more to consider than a standard EJ swap. There is still a gremlin on the dash conversion; the park brake lamp is either dull or bright, not off, and I went from having a functioning charge light to not. There is something backfeeding a voltage, or a partial ground that is causing an issue, so I'll be sitting down with the multimeter again There is also staggering amount of extra electronic stuff that is specific to the WRX, that you have to find space for, and sacrifices have to be made; no A/C being one of them.

I'll update this thread with final pics over the weekend...

[El_Freddo]

Made a centre console out of alloy chequerplate to get it through engineering (pics to follow).

Decided on 195/60-14 Michelin tyres to go on the Scorpion rims, and it looks good (pics to follow).

[edit]..........

I'll update this thread with final pics over the weekend...

Updates?

I also need to update a box with some contents and send it your way - I found the first piece in the shed last week, I haven't found the second one yet.

I'll get that first one on it's way though!

Cheers

Bennie