Offroad-Express

Gidday. Has anyone put a subaru 1800cc engine and box into an SJ suzuki? Saw one for sale a couple of years ago and liked the idea as the sub engine is light and great low end torque. On the other side have heard can't get the engine low enough (due to chasis rails) to get the output shaft angle to transfer case right BUT someone had done the one I saw and it went well. Would appreciate any words of wisdom. Ta.

I tried with a EJ20. It's a lot of trouble. I gave up in the end, there were too many problems above my level.

The main one is the physical width of the engine. The exhaust manifolds sit on the chassis rails when the engine's in the right place. Unfortunately, the right hand head is dierctly in the way of the steering shaft, so you'd probably have to use hydraulic steering or find a way to route it around the head and back to the steering box. Not a particularly strong setup.

Another is the length of it. The engine and gearbox combo is pretty long, i would've had to move my transfer case back and up a fair way. there was an issue withthe gearshift that i can't remember at the moment, something to do with the shifter design. Probably not an issue if you were using an autobox.

Which leads to the next issue. The subaru box needs to be made RWD - the front output shafts are useless. I'm not sure if an auto can be done in the same way, haven't had one apart. Doing this one wasn't too hard, just have to pull the output housing off, take the centre diff out, and weld it solid. The front output shafts are sealed, but you'd need to put the old CV shells back on to keep mud out of the seals. If you want, you can take the front diff out as well, but i couldn't be bothered, plus i'd be left with two big holes in the case.

That's assuming you want to run with the SJ transfercase, otherwise you could try adapting something like a hilux box onto it. Depending on the engine/box you get, you many not have to lock the diff.

I bought the Legacy because Leones were all too expensive around the place. People seem to think they're worth more...

In the end i sold it all on trademe and bought a 2L hilux engine for it. Diesel's better anyway.

have a look in here, it's my project thread on another forum:

http://www.gpforums.co.nz/thread/303682/2/?s=
there's a bunch of pics from trying to set the engine up on the chassis (no cab). Don't mind the engine hoist

and a thread from ORE about it:

http://www.offroadexpress.co.nz/Forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=12647


Was there a buggy in the national trials series last year running a rear mounted legacy engine, anyone?

Would suggest the only practical (use that loosely) way would be use and auto, weld up diff and rear output. Mount the engine mid vehicle turn the motor 90 deg and run shafts from the front wheel drive section to the front and rear diffs. No high range, but awsome low range due to havng 2 diffs (gearbox and suzki diffs) Width is a major issue. SR20, CA18, 4age (ze) would all be easier options. IMHO

Thanx guys. I'll keep looking as I remember the guy saying he only used one drive shaft (axle maybe) thru the sub gearbox and into the suzuki trans. Must even have had the sub trans in there too as he talked of an extra low ratio. I printed the info and now can't find it. I'm not an engineer or millionaire so am trying to do this on a tight budget (u know how it is) so I guess I'll have a look at some diagrams on the net and see if I can make sense of it. Ta. Rob

unadunted wrote:Thanx guys. I'll keep looking as I remember the guy saying he only used one drive shaft (axle maybe) thru the sub gearbox and into the suzuki trans. Must even have had the sub trans in there too as he talked of an extra low ratio. I printed the info and now can't find it. I'm not an engineer or millionaire so am trying to do this on a tight budget (u know how it is) so I guess I'll have a look at some diagrams on the net and see if I can make sense of it. Ta. Rob

there are couple of vehicles in the trial scene running subby motors,
one i know about has a mid mounted fwd gearbox with the diff of the mid mount welded to act as transfer, has had issues with drive shaft thru center , has a custom built chassis to get motor low enough to get reasonable motor hieght, the clutch is subby and is directly off the motor, then drive shaft to g/box,

I would suggest if you got access to lathes and machine tools, and know how to work them then it will be a challenging project, if you have to pay some one to do the tricky bits then it will be a expensive project

Cheers