Few Questions

Shark · Post by **Shark** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 2:09 am

Hey all, by now i guess everyone knows i got myself seagulls, well mine now lifted liberty..

I got a few issues im trying to sort through and would appreciate if some of you guys out there can shed some light on some possible solutions..

- WTF is with the fuel economy... I know right foot has alot to do with it but to be honest i havent been going too crazy and i got 6kms per litre on the first fill... Thats less than my mates 2007 xr8....just seems a bit crazy..

-It has a 3" body lift and there is some serious scrubbing on the body ( Inside arches ) Is there any way to alleviate this?? Hammer??

- Also what is a good way to check the operation of the steering as there seems to be some clunking going on under there when turning at low speeds and the power steering doesnt seems too powerful?? Is that from the big tyres..Only 27"

-Anyone know of a cheap place to get your aircon regassed..

-AND for some bloody reason i cannot get the front door trims to fit.. It seems like they are too tall for the door and things dont line up. So im thinking that there is either a problem with the door trims or the doors.. Is there anyone out there that can loan me a door trim for 10 mins one day..Or even sell me a cheap one if you dont like lending stuff..

-And there is a leak at the transmission pan and is it okay to rip out the old gasket and replace it with a decent squirt of ultra blue or something like that??

-Anyone got a semi-decent steering wheel they want to sell..

Thanks in advance

MArc

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 10:37 am

Shark wrote:Hey all, by now i guess everyone knows i got myself seagulls, well mine now lifted liberty..

I got a few issues im trying to sort through and would appreciate if some of you guys out there can shed some light on some possible solutions..

- WTF is with the fuel economy... I know right foot has alot to do with it but to be honest i havent been going too crazy and i got 6kms per litre on the first fill... Thats less than my mates 2007 xr8....just seems a bit crazy..

Automatic will have abit less economy than the manuals around town, you will probably find it's better on the open road. Also the increased wind resistance from being lifted and the larger tyres will reduce economy around town (altho bigger tyres should help on the open road). Are you putting premium fuel in? You will need to being a JDM motor/ecu, it will ping with regular and I think get less economy.

-It has a 3" body lift and there is some serious scrubbing on the body ( Inside arches ) Is there any way to alleviate this?? Hammer??

You may need to "massage" the inner guards with a hammer yes, but there shouldn't really be that much scrubbing. Difficult to tell without seeing the car but I wonder if it has Outback struts, if not it's possible it might be scrubbing on the strut springbase. You might also need to think about different wheels with a wider offset, that could help.

- Also what is a good way to check the operation of the steering as there seems to be some clunking going on under there when turning at low speeds and the power steering doesnt seems too powerful?? Is that from the big tyres..Only 27"

For the clunking have a look at the front end components for play.... ball joints, steering rack tierod ends, swaybar bushes - if something is loose or worn it will cause clunking. Otherwise if it's maybe more of a *clicking* noise it's possible the outer CV joints are worn. The steering should still be fairly light even with larger tyres. Have a look at where the steering coupling bolts onto the rack...if it's a "sporty" rack from a Legacy frontcut it might have an electrical connector...if it does then it will definitely be heavy without 12V+ applied to it.

-Anyone know of a cheap place to get your aircon regassed..
I've used Deerings Autotronics before, didn't seem over the top price wise. Otherwise there is a guy some of us know, Johnno, works at AutoSpark in Rockingham (I think). He is a lifted suby fanatic from way back so should be interested in your car

-AND for some bloody reason i cannot get the front door trims to fit.. It seems like they are too tall for the door and things dont line up. So im thinking that there is either a problem with the door trims or the doors.. Is there anyone out there that can loan me a door trim for 10 mins one day..Or even sell me a cheap one if you dont like lending stuff..

I might have some without power windows I should be able to check later today.

-And there is a leak at the transmission pan and is it okay to rip out the old gasket and replace it with a decent squirt of ultra blue or something like that??

I don't think those are under much pressure so gasket goo should be okay but I'd say its not hard to source a gasket for it.

-Anyone got a semi-decent steering wheel they want to sell..

I have a genuine Momo you can have but it's farked, needs new leather

Thanks in advance

MArc

Just some suggestions of mine there but Seagull is probably best to answer though, he'd have the best knowledge of the vehicle.

BrennyV · Post by **BrennyV** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 11:01 am

Shark wrote: - WTF is with the fuel economy... I know right foot has alot to do with it but to be honest i havent been going too crazy and i got 6kms per litre on the first fill... Thats less than my mates 2007 xr8....just seems a bit crazy..

mix match engine, ecu, injectors, turbo is the biggest killer as its all going haywire. i recommend good aftermarket ecu and tune or a ecu flash/upgrade tune eg verso could be an option to get the most out of it.

Shark wrote: -It has a 3" body lift and there is some serious scrubbing on the body ( Inside arches ) Is there any way to alleviate this?? Hammer??

check were its scrubbing and a small 'massage of the arches never hurt anyone, i would also check ur offset and trya nd get those wheels out as much as you can.

Shark wrote: - Also what is a good way to check the operation of the steering as there seems to be some clunking going on under there when turning at low speeds and the power steering doesnt seems too powerful?? Is that from the big tyres..Only 27"

check ur uni joint on the steering, id amuse some sort of modded one to cope with the lift.
also sounds like your pump could be on its way out as even flat 27"s on a EJ rack cope fine.

Shark wrote: -AND for some bloody reason i cannot get the front door trims to fit.. It seems like they are too tall for the door and things dont line up. So im thinking that there is either a problem with the door trims or the doors.. Is there anyone out there that can loan me a door trim for 10 mins one day..Or even sell me a cheap one if you dont like lending stuff..

i know door trims from s1 and s2 never match up 100% to the doors. could find they have been mixed up?

vidler · Post by **vidler** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 5:05 pm

your best bet for the pan seal is getting it done with the proper cork seal. i supplied the gasket and the local workshop put it in for $100. i buggered up the first by over torquing the bolts

L-BJ · Post by **L-BJ** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 5:22 pm

+1 for checking suspension bushes in relation to the clunking, these get farked easily, replace w/ Nolathane or Poly-...something, they're blue.

Shark · Post by **Shark** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 2:10 am

Hey thanks all for all the help so far. Im gonna try some gasket replacement stuff on the pan gasket this weekend and see how we go.. A couple of the bolts above the pan seem to weep fluid aswell so dont know how im gonna go there..

With the srcubbing im gonna use a hammer and gently massage...LOL... the area in and when i have that sorted im gonna get myself a jack, jack it up and get some one to turn the steering for me and just lay underneath and have a look...

Am waiting on you andrew in regards to the door trim.. I cant do much about that until i have a trim to try, who knows where these doors came from... Send us a pm about the steering wheel and how much u want for it..

Oh and to be honest im def not happy with the steering its quite crap to be honest. Gonna get onto that as soon as i have some time...

And one other thing with the auto... With foot flat to the floor in second it wont change into third gaea it just stays aat 7500rpm bouncing on the rev limiter...Can u adjust this at all so it changes into third..

MArc

Shark · Post by **Shark** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 2:17 am

Oh and i filled it again, still 6kms per litre and thats taking it real easy... Seems really crap hey... Yes im using premium.. Any thoughts, cause if it stays like this it will be back up for sale real quick...lol...no im not joking... Im getting about 50kms per quarter..

stamp_licker · Post by **stamp_licker** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 8:00 am

Shark wrote:
And one other thing with the auto... With foot flat to the floor in second it wont change into third gaea it just stays aat 7500rpm bouncing on the rev limiter...Can u adjust this at all so it changes into third..

MArc

Sounds like a mixed up tcu.What tcu you got controlling the auto?When you foots flat to the floor ease it up a bit and see if it changes to third.You can get codes of the tcu it might tell you something.

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 9:50 am

or it could be missing the TCU all together, i've heard thats roughly how they behave in that situation. Pretty sure that car has a twin turbo automatic. Otherwise perhaps it is just low on fluid, they work on oil pressure so this is important.

Regarding fuel economy it could be the O2 sensor. I've heard of people getting hundreds extra kms out of a tank by putting a new one in (with the old one not even causing a ECU code error). There are probably 500 other things it could be though.

Regarding the steering it does sound like something is wrong there. Maybe Seagull will be nice and give you a replacement steering rack and/or pump, he probably has 20 of each in his shed

I have two front door trims, blue, no electrics, from G1S1 LX liberty - not sure if these will suit but I can get them to you next week, I'm away for this weekend.

Take a look at the steering wheel before you commit to it, it's pretty tatty

(btw, put some wheels and axel stands before you lie under a a jacked car

)

vidler · Post by **vidler** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 10:54 am

this doesnt help much but mine uses a heap of juice too. yet to crunch numbers since i drove it over, but coming over from QLD i used 14.5 Litres per 100km. that was on cruise control and taking it as easy as possible coz i was nursing a shagged water pump gasket. i'll calculate what it is now, coz its had a good dyno and tune since then, but im still glad i work away coz if it was my daily, i'd be broke on the fuel cost alone

Wilbur · Post by **Wilbur** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 11:12 am

WTF 14.5l/100 is not heaps for such a modified vehicle imho. Maybe a little more that it should be but not heaps. Over 20L/100 would be heaps

Suba · Post by **Suba** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 11:35 am

It's ok Andrew I get 5.3klm per ltr

Mike.

Shark · Post by **Shark** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 1:34 am

Hey thanks for everyones comments so far.. I managed to borrow a door trim today off a 91 2wd sedan and it fitted perfectly so i dont know what the deal is with the ones i have, think brenny might be right there, so anyone know where im likely to get a front pair, any good wreckers around??

I also have a problem with the climate control as its very weak, i have removed the glove box and one of the seals is very dodgy and leaks alot of air but i can feel it leaking in other places aswell.. Is it hard to remove the top section of the dash??

And in regards to fuel economy i was only having a whinge because from what i have read and what i have been told it uses alot more than what i thought it would.. Where do i find the o2 sensor?? Would a a lack of cat have anything to do with it..

I know i could prolly find the answer to this in the search area but i dont have much net at the moment ( Stealing next doors), how hard is it to adjust the boost on these babies and whats a safe ammount to rasie it by, can u notice the difference much??

Thanks again guys, cant wait to get it out there..

Marc

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 10:42 am

O2 sensor should be in either the exhaust crossover pipe on the driver's side if its a header from a jap car, or it could be located about halfway down the dump pipe after the turbo. Just unscrews with (i think) a 19mm spanner.

I don't think a Cat will make any difference to fuel economy, but why on earth does the car not have one? It makes virtually zero difference to power levels, there really is no gain to removing it. Next time you get some exhaust work done you should put one in otherwise you'll have dramas over the pits if you ever have to take it for an inspection.

Not sure on the dashboard as I've only ever removed them in their entirety. But if you want to check out a dashboard from every possible angle to see how they fit together I've got two complete ones sitting on the floor at my place.

tex · Post by **tex** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 11:20 am

The dash in my Lib came out from the bottom up mainly in big pieces but I also had the windscreen out at the time! And if you are cocerned with fuel economy I'd be waiting untill after you finnished playing with the boost levels etc then check it after getting it tuned and running right! And personally with the transmission leak I personally would be making the other stuff more of a priority first! But their just my opinons apart fom the dash (series 2 though)

Subafury · Post by **Subafury** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 12:42 pm

might wanna check that there isnt a hold button- keeping it in second gear. also i think with most autos theres an economy or power button. just some thoughts.

vidler · Post by **vidler** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 1:45 pm

White_Lightning_Rex wrote:WTF 14.5l/100 is not heaps for such a modified vehicle imho. Maybe a little more that it should be but not heaps. Over 20L/100 would be heaps

well im sorry then. Make you feel better about yourself? congratulations. wanker

Wilbur · Post by **Wilbur** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 1:56 pm

Ease up tiger. I am assuming you were talking about the goldfish, ex BYB01 car. If so I've personally seen it get alot worse than that so that is therefore my reasoning on why 14.5 isn't too bad for it. Put a lift kit and monster tyres on a modified car like that you can't expect to get good economy.

And if you want to start a school boy fight, you've picked on the wrong bloke. I will not be drawn into a battle of wits with an unarmed man.

vidler · Post by **vidler** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 2:32 pm

White_Lightning_Rex wrote:Ease up tiger. I am assuming you were talking about the goldfish, ex BYB01 car. If so I've personally seen it get alot worse than that so that is therefore my reasoning on why 14.5 isn't too bad for it. Put a lift kit and monster tyres on a modified car like that you can't expect to get good economy.

And if you want to start a school boy fight, you've picked on the wrong bloke. I will not be drawn into a battle of wits with an unarmed man.

ha ha yeah good one. i got nothing for that one:)

i've never expected good fuel economy from it, i was just letting shark know that thats what he could expect from his. So there was no need for the "WTF" in your post, as i wasnt having a whinge. got it?

Wilbur · Post by **Wilbur** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 3:14 pm

I wouldn't expect an stock EJ to get that economy though. My wrx gets 10L/100. All it has is front mount cooler and exhaust.