Evening from the middle of nowhere I.E. Perth

[Lord Loki]

Name: Nickname is Loki, it's my preferred handle.

Daily Ride: Currently don't have one.

Project/Weekender: '88 Mazda FC3S Series 4 RX-7, currently yellow stickered, unregistered and with bits and pieces missing.

Location: Rockingham, WA

Daily Mods: N/A

Weekender Mods: S5 13b turbo engine, S5 high flowed turbo, HKS SSQV BOV (suspected copy), Microtech LTX-8, locked diff, HKS coilovers (they're set legitimately rock solid), HKS camber tops, front & rear strut braces, pod filter, Magnacore leads, ARC top mount, Autometer boost gauge, Alpine headunit, Aftermarket alarm/keyless entry/turbo timer, 18" rims, aero side mirrors, vented headlight cover, boost controller switch, full 3" exhaust with 4" dumpy tip, S5 tail lights, DBA crossdrilled front rotors, EBC green stuff pads, super pro sway bar link bushes. Previously had a full BN kit on it, but I replaced it for the stock kit so it's not so grass cutter spec. Also came with a Cobra fixed bucket seat, but I hated it, so I sold it on to a friend.

Daily Plans: Buy new daily. Once obtained, will review the options.

Weekender Plans: Rip out alarm/keyless/turbo timer, replace with new alarm/keyless unit, pull out gearbox and replace with S4 gearbox with fitted short shift kit, check removed gearbox for damage/problems, if none found trouble shoot what was giving me shifting issues before being stickered, sand back and respray black, start jumping through hoops to get it re-registered, fix tabs on + install mesh + fit carbon fibre headlight covers, take it on a long (and expensive) cruise because I've missed driving the damn thing. Oh, and probably bash the limiter in it a few times. I love that sound.

Occupation: Apprentice Boilermaker/Welder

Year of birth: 1988

Interests: Game, chill with friends, hit up the nightlife, attend festivals, go cruising, the usual sort of things someone my age likes to do, I guess.

Previous Rides: From first to last;
Nissan Datsun 260c, nice car, but needed a rebuild and I couldn't afford it.
Hyundai Excel, cheap geat around.
Ford EB Falcon, decent enough car, but this taught me to stay away from autos.
Toyota Mark. IV Supra, introduction to the world of JDM and what converted me from being a Ford boy. Was probably lucky it was N/A, I'd be dead if it was a turbo. Met an unfortunate end one night out in the hills.
Hyundai Excel, another cheap daily. She got written off not long ago. Shame, she copped a lot of abuse and never missed a beat.

Pretty much, the Excel had an unlucky run in with a steel plate whilst cruising down the highway. If the plate had of been horizontal, it'd have come through the window and gone straight through me. So the car's been written off and I've been hunting for what I want in a daily since then. Since I've had fairly focused criteria and not having a massive budget to spend, I've had a frustrating time trying to find something I'm happy with. I spent a fair amount of time considering picking up a BA/BF Falcon due to it having most of the things I wanted (newer & nicer, practicality, cruise control, decent power and not another FWD), but I couldn't quite settle on any one I found. At some point, I started looking at what else was available and had c/c. I eventually came across a '99 Liberty GX that looked nice, so I did a little research on it. I liked what I saw, but the power figures did leave me wanting. Then I found out about the RX models. After doing some more research on them, I decided this sounded like it might be the next type of daily for me. The AWD, the cheaper running and insurance costs really brought it in for me. I'm currently looking at two that are for sale and am going to try and set up a time to take a look at them in the next couple of days.

Here they are;
http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=11910621
http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/subaru-liberty-2000-13022018?base=1216&vertical=Car&cr=1&eapi=2&__N=1527%201216%201246%201247%201252%201282%204294963801%204294963605%20904%201622&num=15&silo=Stock&Range=Price:Min,15000~1&sort=~Price

I've pretty much come here to ask a few questions directly and because I'll hopefully be a Liberty owner myself in the near future. I just wanted to know;
1) Is there anything in particular I need to keep an eye/ear out for whilst looking at those two cars?
2) I've heard about the usual ticking the EJ motors are apparently common for and I know it's normal, but would anyone be able to give me any help on what the normal ticking sounds like and ticking that probably means problems are on the horizon?
3) I find that I'm more partial to the wagon, but what's the dual range transmission in them like? I'm frankly not fussed for it as I don't have any real plans to go off road in the car, so I was just wondering if it would be any more problematic then the standard 5spd the sedan has.

Any other handy to know info, thoughts, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much, folks.

[Rupert Pupkin]

I wouldn't bother with the first one, seen it in person.

It seems they are having trouble selling it, I went and saw it in about April

[Lord Loki]

Really? Yeah, I'll be giving that a miss then. Thanks for letting me know, man.

[rooby]

Welcome.
I love a good rx7, hopefully you get it back on the road soon.
And good luck with the liberty hunt.

[Gordon Freeman]

hello and welcome!