El Andrew

Thanks mate! Wow doing the IMS conversion yourself is a solid effort. For anyone following along later - the tyre shop confirmed that reversing the cam bolt on the inner end of the rear lower control arm made no difference to being able to do the alignment.

Drove it to work with no oil leaks and no rear end clunks.

I forgot they were just nylon shells, so just cut them. I'm struggling to get the inner LCA bolt back in around the diff but if it came out it can go back in. Other than that it's ready for the cradle to go back in. Center bush was a pain and didn't want to go in. Ended up removing the outrigger arms anyway to give me some room to wiggle the diff and getting some bearing plate and threaded rod setup going to get it in. Edit: looks like a few people on here have just reversed the bolt on the rear LCA inner. Shouldn't affect the way the cam bolt operates and the funny washers exist on both the head and nut side. Getting an alignment this week so I guess I'll know straight away if it causes a problem!

I'll probably tackle the rest tomorrow - just wanted a head start. @Puffwagon do you normally remove the outrigger arms? If I did that I could probably get my press kit in there and not need to muck around with drilling and sawing.

Thanks! Nah I'm at home. Easy bit is done.

Got a bush installation kit, so will use a sleeve from that, a block of wood and a mallet for the diff bushes. Will use the threaded rod etc from the kit for the rear LCAs as I'm swapping those bushes (not just a complete arm swap like the others)

Thanks for that. I've just put it on ramps to measure the ride height of the suspension too as some of the arms need to have their bolts tightened at ride height which would otherwise be a bit of a guess on the uppers as they have to be done with the cradle out

I'm going to start on my diff bushes tonight. Seems like pulling the cradle out is something we all have to face at some stage!

Sorry I might have implied by the pics I did more work than I actually di! The pics are after I turned the car off and removed the front cover, and before I refitted the cover with new sealant. Didn't touch anything internal.

I did the timing cover today. Time (haha) will tell if it worked. I grabbed a new half moon seal just in case and when I got all the bits and pieces off the front it really did look like that seal could be the culprit, although I guess an oil leak could accumulate at that spot. Interesting that the new seal was a bit taller than the old one and was marked 05/06 on. Maybe it got the wrong seal when the sumo was done. Hopefully this time tomorrow when I start it it doesn't turn out I farked up something.

Haha I still haven't done my diff bushes due to Captain Yeahnah. I'm thinking the Australia Day long weekend so I have time for unexpected issues given I've never done the job before and am replacing almost everything in the rear. Went to Bunnings the other night and had to fold the rear seats down. The clunking from the rear was much louder and made me feel a bit sorry for the thing

I've given this issue some thought... While I understand your concern about ChatGPT potentially impacting car forums, it's important to remember that: Forums benefit from diverse perspectives: A healthy forum thrives on a variety of viewpoints and experiences. While ChatGPT can generate text, it lacks the real-world context and personal touch that human users bring. Human users can offer empathy, understanding, and nuanced advice that AI simply can't match. Encourage forum members to share their own experiences, troubleshoot problems collaboratively, and build a supportive community. Ultimately, the best way to ensure the value of car forums lies in fostering a vibrant community of knowledgeable and engaged individuals. By focusing on human interaction, critical thinking, and clear guidelines, forums can continue to be a valuable resource for car enthusiasts, regardless of the tools they use to share information.

Will actually be the first thing I've installed that requires cutting any factory wires - every other gauge, fan, switch, sensor I've added all come off a fuse piggy back (to either power the device or trigger relays off the battery)

Just impulse bought the FG paddle shift kit from PVS which is currently $250. I'll do a write up with photos when I install it if there is anything that ends up needing more detail than the included instructions

Assuming you mean exhaust manifold to turbo bolts, and turbo to dump pipe bolts, then yes both sets can be accessed in the car. Is going to be a combination of accessing from underneath and from above. Also is a combination of whatever uni joint, extension, ratchet handle you can get to work in each spot - is a bit of trial and error. Might also depend whether you have the factory dump or not. From memory I had to use a 1/4 inch set on one of the bolts due to clearance issues. Neither of those joins have gaskets from factory (although you can fit them). Usually this noise is caused by one of those bolts coming loose, so I'd try tightening everything before pulling everything apart to add gaskets.

Typical dealer tactics I think - put it out there at a ridiculous price and see what happens. If no one bites then make it reasonable. Good buy - everyone I know with a Mazda is very happy. I particularly like that they evolve their design language rather than drastically change it every few years. Even my brother's 2004 Mazda 6 still looks reasonably modern because you can see the family resemblance to the current models. On the other hand Hyundai and especially Kia make drastic design changes and overnight the previous model suddenly looks old.

Probably worth pointing out that Puffwagon has probably disassembled and assembled a Barra more often than I've had hot dinners. He isn't guessing or trying to screw you around - he is helping you.

Happy NY everyone. Took the kids to Jamberoo yesterday so I'm getting sleepy already tonight

Merry Christmas everyone and hopefully all that tree clearing is done Freaky and you are enjoying a beer now. In Adelaide now and big trip tomorrow. Our pet sitting fell through at the last minute and ended up having to board the dog in Shepparton so heading home via there.

Serviced the Outback 3.6R. Weird unit but easy service.

I think I spoke too soon in the above post. With the drive home on Friday and then over the weekend (in much hotter weather than it has been when I was having problems), the hot coolant level has been fine. Seems now that the cap is sorted any air pockets have resolved themselves and it is behaving nicely. I'll just keep the new bottle for when the current one inevitably turns yellow. I have a very slight coolant smell still but I need to go over it and check for any weeping connections. I remember when I replaced all the hoses in the BA it was a pain to eliminate all of the minor weeping.

I've got the same reg and gauge. Yep fits straight into the factory rail, same as the factory reg. Just need to set the base fuel pressure to 4 bar with the vac line disconnected and engine running. Personally I found that gauge was spot on for setting the pressure. Swapping from factory reg and then setting pressure via the gauge, my fuel trims were exactly the same.

For some reason I decided to move about 1200kg of soil from the front of the block to the new veggie garden at the back of the uphill block on a day that was well over 30 and humid. Had a cool bath afterwards with a Kindle, YouTube, bowl of crunchy nut cornflakes and a couple of Coopers Pale Ales.

Thanks gents. I'll try that. I bit surprised that a week of driving wouldnt have ironed out any air pockets but I guess they can be stubborn. Hopefully I'm safe on the head gasket as the issue started with the new rad and hoses. CHT has been perfect throughout all this. Have been monitoring with an OBD2 gauge I have permanently installed

Got back from travel last night and new radiator cap had arrived so threw that on. What I have noticed is the coolant level surges after the car is turned off. So if I fill to the minimum cold level, the tank is completely full after I switch off. I was thinking maybe if the cap was leaking the boiling point of the coolant is not increased through pressure, so it was boiling and expanding when the car was off and coolant temp increasing. But still getting the level surges with the new cap. This is all since the new rad and hoses went in. So I might just drain everything and refill and see if that sorts out any trapped air pockets