L-series - liberty motor info

trx850 · Post by **trx850** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 9:12 pm

hi got a question that has been on my mind for awhile now. i have an L-Series touring wagon thats EFI not carb and i was wondering would the fact that it is an EFI model make it easier to fit a 2.2 litre liberty motor than a carb model? what is involved in fitting a 2.2 motor to an L? do they bolt up to the standard L gearbox? can you use the wiring harness that is in the car? i am assuming that a 2.2 motor would be a better option than an EA 82 turbo motor. i am thinking that the turbo motor would not be as torquey off the mark due to lag and the fact that turbo motors atre usually lower compression. is this the case or have i got it all wrong. anyway any help would be great.

Suby Wan Kenobi · Post by **Suby Wan Kenobi** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 9:20 pm

NO they wiring is different you would have to either pick out the EJ22 motor loom and then pick your ea engine control out and splice together your new loom. Or remove your Lseries loom and put in a carb loom and then lay the EJ22 loom over it. And the gearbox to motor has a different pattern however Brett can sell you an adaptor if you need one

trx850 · Post by **trx850** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 9:38 pm

bugger sounds like an ea82turbo would be the easier option. is the lag on a turbo something that makes them a bit of a drag around town or off the mark on sand for instance?

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 11:43 pm

Fitting an EJ motor to an EFI L series is easier than fitting one to a carby model.
1 - the fuel system is already done.
2 - the wiring is easier because you can splice the EJ loom straight into the EA loom where the existing ecu connectors are - easier than finding all the separate wires in the carby models.

You will have to use the EJ22 wiring loom and ECU and run it at the same time as the EA loom. There are only about 10 or so wires that need to be spliced in. There are places that will cut the EJ loom down for you and send it to you complete with fitting instructions specifically for plugging into an L series...

No it won't bolt up to the existing gearbox but you can just use an adaptor plate for this. Either make one or buy one from BYB.
You are spot on with your thinking about torque/quickness off the line etc. I think the EJ22 is a better option than the EA82turbo. The EA82turbo will be slightly faster overall but have much more chance of failing (older motors, older design, its an EA!).

EJ22 into L series is an easy and affordable conversion - do it!

trx850 · Post by **trx850** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 11:56 pm

thanks for your opinion Andrew T if i go ahead with the idea could i have your ok to contact you for any further advice?

PeeJay · Post by **PeeJay** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 7:29 pm

EJ20 Turbo is much more fun! Makes me wonder why people would even bother with an EA82 Turbo any more.

Suby Wan Kenobi · Post by **Suby Wan Kenobi** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 8:42 pm

Being one of the few people that actually like the EA82T i would also recomend the EJ20T over the EA82T now as they are more plentiful and in better condition than the EA82Ts that are around 2nd hand these days.

trx850 · Post by **trx850** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 9:27 pm

i was considering an ea82t because i could use my EFI ecu. and i would have thought that it would have been the easiest conversion. i do like the idea of the 2.2 litre though , its just a matter of how much is involved in dropping one in.

Subafury · Post by **Subafury** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 10:18 pm

apart from 4wd starts (eg boggy stuff) which are ok but sometimes annoying the ea82t is great fun driving round in my opinion-but ive never driven anything else. i dont know but itd probably be cheaper to add a turbo to the higher compression of the n/a block and efi set up like i have than to do a conversion.

trx850 · Post by **trx850** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 10:46 pm

are you saying your car is a normally asperated EFI model that has had a turbo bolted on? when you say boggy 4wd starts are a bit annoying what do you mean? how do you find the car around town is the lag annoying?

Suby Wan Kenobi · Post by **Suby Wan Kenobi** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 10:51 pm

The Yanks have been adding the turbo to the NA bottom end now for a while but they seem to go through bottom ends quiet quickly so i would stick with the EA82T bottom end. All things considering the EA82T are not a bad motor and many people on this MB have used them for long periods of time and have been abusing them for even longer. They seem to last a long time if you make sure the head gaskets are fine and ring piston condition is fine.

trx850 · Post by **trx850** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 11:24 pm

are the big end bearings different or is it just the fact that the turbo motor has a lower compression. if so could you get copper head gaskets made up that are thicker that would lower the compression of a n/a engine to allow a safe turbo bolt on? also are the carb heard and the efi heads different? if so are the efi and turbo heads the same.

Subafury · Post by **Subafury** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 11:44 pm

yes i have a n/a car that has been converted to turbo (when i got it). Lag is fine around town -it spools up pretty quick being a small snail- and is just as fun to drive on the road as off. as for the annoying bits thats only because it obviously has lag and not as much torque as the ej series engines. it still gets through all right tho, just hasnt got the starting off power which helps in the slow stuff.
also as far as i know the heads are the same.

Suby Wan Kenobi · Post by **Suby Wan Kenobi** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 11:49 pm

If you have bigger wheels on than the 13s then it will come on power earlier as Subi says they are a pretty small turbo. As far as torque goes on paper the EA gets it about 1000rpm earlier than the EJ

trx850 · Post by **trx850** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 11:58 pm

what about the questions regarding the use of an EFI engine with thicker copper head gaskets to lower the compression to what a turbo motor would be. also are the heads the same on a turbo and efi engines? i dont want to sound like im harping but i was just thinking that it could be a fast and easy and cheaper way to get some more power. what about the big ends are they the same for an n/a motor and a turbo?

Gremlins · Post by **Gremlins** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 8:50 am

The heads on the turbo and NA EFI are essentially the same. The RHS turbo head has a couple of attachment points for oil and water feeds, that will need to be drilled and tapped on the NA EFI heads. Not sure how thick you'd need to have a copper head gasket to make a significant difference to the comp ratio, but one thing to remember with the boxer motor is that if you move the heads further out from the block with thick copper gaskets or what-ever you will start to have difficulties with things like the intake manifold that will no longer line up properly with the intake ports on the heads.

fredsub · Post by **fredsub** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 9:10 am

A completely bent suggestion:rolleyes:
The NA pistons, since they are not forged or anything, could they not be machined down some, then sent to the ceramic coaters ?

Suby Wan Kenobi · Post by **Suby Wan Kenobi** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 4:31 pm

The NA pistons dont have a crown as thick as the turbo ones to start with