Lib engine Xmember & Ctrl arms to L series
Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 10:56 am
Anybody done this before?
From what I've seen/discussed/thought about so far this looks very do-able. I pulled the motor and gearbox out of my wagon last night to mess around with a few dummy fits too.
The main difference between the two engine crossmembers is that the Liberty one is in total 20mm wider than the L series one. The actual mounting holes are identical, just 10mm further towards the edge of the car on both sides.
Advantages;
- Can run the big Liberty sway bar as standard
- Can run the Liberty power steering rack and tierod ends as standard
- Can run all the Liberty front hubs, brakes, balljoints etc as standard
- Can run Liberty front driveshafts as standard
- Will be running Liberty control arms, which means no more weak L series radius rods!
- Will be running the correct angle for EJ engine mounts, and no need for washers as spacers etc
- Will be running EJ struts and springs (which will bolt up into the L series strut tops okay).
Hurdles to overcome;
- Adapt either side of crossmember lift blocks to be offset by 10mm
- Adapt rear control arm mounts to bolt to L series body (or lift blocks)
Offsetting the engine crossmember lift blocks should be very easy as its only a slight difference, a minor brace can be added to ensure there is no structural disadvantage.
The rear mount for the control arms might be slightly harder to make but after a dummy fit they basically line up exactly underneath where the three radius rod body mount points are so a plate at the bottom of the lift blocks could be made. Infact it looks like the L series radius rod plate could be modified to suit - two of the holes in that look like they will come very close to lining up with the two bolt holes in the Lib control arm mounts.
90Brumby - I'm interested to see some photos of how you did this control arm mount on your Brumby.
but yeah, just wondering if anybody has actually done it to an L series?
From what I've seen/discussed/thought about so far this looks very do-able. I pulled the motor and gearbox out of my wagon last night to mess around with a few dummy fits too.
The main difference between the two engine crossmembers is that the Liberty one is in total 20mm wider than the L series one. The actual mounting holes are identical, just 10mm further towards the edge of the car on both sides.
Advantages;
- Can run the big Liberty sway bar as standard
- Can run the Liberty power steering rack and tierod ends as standard
- Can run all the Liberty front hubs, brakes, balljoints etc as standard
- Can run Liberty front driveshafts as standard
- Will be running Liberty control arms, which means no more weak L series radius rods!
- Will be running the correct angle for EJ engine mounts, and no need for washers as spacers etc
- Will be running EJ struts and springs (which will bolt up into the L series strut tops okay).
Hurdles to overcome;
- Adapt either side of crossmember lift blocks to be offset by 10mm
- Adapt rear control arm mounts to bolt to L series body (or lift blocks)
Offsetting the engine crossmember lift blocks should be very easy as its only a slight difference, a minor brace can be added to ensure there is no structural disadvantage.
The rear mount for the control arms might be slightly harder to make but after a dummy fit they basically line up exactly underneath where the three radius rod body mount points are so a plate at the bottom of the lift blocks could be made. Infact it looks like the L series radius rod plate could be modified to suit - two of the holes in that look like they will come very close to lining up with the two bolt holes in the Lib control arm mounts.
90Brumby - I'm interested to see some photos of how you did this control arm mount on your Brumby.
but yeah, just wondering if anybody has actually done it to an L series?