Engine conversion complete!

[sphell]

Well as some of you know I was doing an EA to AU engine conversion and as of 2:30AM last night we got the AU engine up and running! Firstly thanks heaps to Damo and Sunny for all their help, they were full-on dedicated and just as keen as me to see the thing run for the first time lol!

Unfortunately the new 255mm Xtreme clutch (thanks to AU II Forte for that one!) is still sitting on the shed floor. Turns out the EA 3.9 flywheel is NOT the same as the 4.0 flywheels as the bolt holes for the 4.0 pressure plate (which is larger) don't match up. There was no way I was gonna get a 4.0 manual flywheel on a Sunday and I'd already hired the engine crane so I just put the old clutch back in for now. So if anyone has a 4lt manual flywheel lying around I'd love to hear from u! ;)

Other than the clutch issue, everything else went fairly smoothly. The EA bellhousing all bolted up ok to the AU motor apart from the lower 2 bolts which don't line up. There were no clearance issues with the crossmember and sump either. There's about 4mm clearance there. All the NOS gear is installed and the bottle will be filled by tomorrow. It fired up first go although the timing was retarded and the exhaust leaked a bit. It was a bit noisy to keep running at 3 in the morning so we left it at that.

Here's a few pics.....the engine bay needs a good clean and degrease but I'll get round to that.







Today I fixed the exhaust leaks with some sealant, re-set the timing, got a new accelerator cable and did and oil change with Castrol R synthetic. Took it for a bit of a spin before and first impressions are that it feels a lot more 'revvy' than the old EA motor. Particularly with the 3.9 diff gears, 1st gear is gone in no time. It also feels smoother but it's still just as loud and I can hear the AU injectors through the firewall!

All up for the engine, clutch kit, machining, accelerator cable, paint, a few tools, oils/sealers etc it cost about $1400 and took about 3 weekends. Not a bad price IMO and I'm pretty happy with the results

[Walkinshaw]

Top work mate! The AU in phils EB has the same injector noise of which you speek.

Hope this one lasts a bit longer.

[Damo]

Good sh!t Doug, it was running sweet last night. Good you got it going even better. :P

[neb]

nice good to see you got it up and running... now fill up that nos bottle ;)

[TUFED6]

I'd be waiting on BOC's doorstep when they open!

- John

nice one doug! need to paint that rockercover but, looks a bit plain in there, but im sure youve got something planned.

where did u get that induction pipe from?

[XRated]

Looks tops Doug! The black engine bay looks sweet as.

[CruizinEB]

good one mate

[Kenaz]

Nice work Doug! The engine bay looks great as well.

Ash

[1TUFEA]

Yeah that looks hot as !! and as John_xr6 asked where did you get that induction pipe from i so want one !

[mcflux]

Great job guys!

Oh my god I'm so sad... When I read "NOS" I was thinking New Old Stock py:

Someone shoot me!

[dansedgli]

Good job guys!

When is the NOS getting run?

[EFFalcon]

good stuff
do the AU injectors work properly with our ECU's?

[neb]

yes.. where did you get that induction pipe from!

[EFFalcon]

Originally Posted by neb

yes.. where did you get that induction pipe from!

keep in mind doug made his own cooler piping back in the day :P
looks like a 90 degree 3" mandrel bend, they don't cost much.

[ned]

Originally Posted by EFFalcon

do the AU injectors work properly with our ECU's?

I got the AU injectors in my car, and they work fine, I was getting 15.5L/100km with the EB ones, and now with the AU's I'm getting 13.9L/100km.

Looks great Doug, congrats on the completion.

[steven95falc]

anyone near hallam vic can get the pre bent 3" pipe from truck bits near the big roandabout on the gippy highway cost 23 bucks for it pre bent mandrel. hope this helps they also have it in any size from 2" up

[1TUFEA]

i so want that pipe !!!!!!!!

[ilsautomotive]

Well done Doug, hope you can sort the injector issue. I'm going to be using EA injectors on mine, I heard they have a different resistance or something.

[Psycho Chicken]

You don't stuff around!

[LUXO_8]

awesome doug..... cant wait to see what kinda times its got in it with nos:P

[Papa Smurf]

Very good job Sphell. I have hope for my EB then

[sphell]

thanks guys. the induction pipe is just a 3" mandrel bend like John said...just get it from an exhaust place. I had to cut about 7cm off the end to fit it up to the throttle body. TUFED6 - I actually rang BOC and they don't fill NOS bottles!! Nor do SupaGas. I was like :! Don't worry it's sorted though, the bottle was filled today at my mates mechanic, picking it up tomorrow

Jack, just use the AU injectors mate. They are 1ohm different. The EA ones are rougly 15ohms the AU's about 14. No big deal, they work fine, they just 'tick' louder than the EA ones.

John XR6 - yeah i'll get round to either painting or polishing the rocker cover....got a few plans yet on how I want the engine bay to look, a bit more detailing is required ;)

On another issue, the idle is a bit high (hovers around 1000rpm). Tonight I put a metal restrictor plate under the ISC but it made no difference. The idle screw is screwed right out and the throttle plate isn't stuck open at all. Anyone got any ideas? Possible manifold leak????? Or would it just be the ECU learning the engine still? I've only done 30km with it so far.

[EFFalcon]

did u adjust the idle screw correctly by doing it in self test mode?

[sphell]

nup. how do i do that used:

[galapogos01]

jumper the wire near your brake booster to earth. its the lower right one in the weird shaped connector if i recall.

id say your idle is more than likely a vacum leak, check hoses, manifold bolts and all that nonsense.

awesome work on the conversion, cant wait to see how the engine bay turns out.

[needfordspeed]

This is Sundeep;

Yeah but using diagnostic mode wont make a difference because the throttle arm is nowhere near the adjustment screw. There's probably a leak somewhere.

To do the idle you need to earth that wire, then run the car, then turn it off for 60 seconds or something, then turn it on and adjust. It's all confusing so I always go bush mechanic and just adjust the screw to where it's all sweet. That's what it should say in the book lol.

Sundeep

[sphell]

yeah i checked the book and ur right cause the idle screw is no where near the arm it won't do sh1t. anyway, i already realised what it is when i went out before. Remember we didn't use a throttle body gasket cause it broke?! Plus I only put 3 bolts into it lol. That's what it will be. I blocked off the inlet pipe and it made no difference so its sucking a fair bit of air through that small gap.

[Damo]

LOL! I remember you asking me if I thought it would be ok. I didn't even know they had a gasket. : Hopefully that will sort out your idle.

[galapogos01]

haha, you bloody dodgy pricks.