Dynamic Entry's 4EAT to 5MT Swap (Angel -> Demon)

[Dynamic Entry]

At the end of August, I flew to Portland and bought Redlined's 1993 SS 4EAT, "Angel".

Back in the summer of 2010, after my Winestone SS died, I parted it out. But somehow I didn't manage to sell my CES exhaust, 5MT, LW flywheel and WRX clutch (and some other bits). As time went by, I decided that instead of giving the stuff away I should look for a Legacy turbo that needed transmission work so I could swap my stuff in and put it back to good use. I didn't really want to swap Auto to Manual, but it isn't very common to find Subaru's with a sick 5MT and healthy motor. Also, in Calgary it is impossible to find a first gen Legacy without rust. I saw that Redlined was selling his 1993 SS 4EAT. He had built up his motor and suspension and had a rust-free Pacific NW chassis, but continued to have trouble with his 4EAT. He could no longer keep Angel, so I decided it was finally time for me to take the plunge.

I flew to Portland, OR with my GF and we drove back to Calgary, AB via Washington, Idaho and Montana. We camped along the way and loved the roads and scenery. There was some expectedly unexpected trouble on the way back, stranding us in Spokane for a day. The drama and a few best pictures from the trip are here.

Some non-transmission-swap issues include the wiring short, a leaky injector, no tune on the piggyback and need of a general tune-up. But I decided (and was encouraged by my friend lending me his work-space) to start the transmission swap immediately, and tackle all the remaining troubles afterward.

I put the car in the air on Saturday, September 8. I was tempted to track how many hours this will take, but I am a slow worker so it isn’t really a telling measure. I expect to have my car back on the road before the month is over. I didn’t have all the parts when I started, but have found many, ordered some more and only have a few left to locate.

The Auto -> Manual swap is so well documented by Josh and other members that there is little need for another How-to. But I will use this thread to organize my thoughts, ask questions, link to answers and document my procedure. In the coming days I will post up what I have done so far, and then continue to update going forward.

In the meantime here are some tables of my progress in Parts and Process. I am going to update and repost these tables as they change. They will help me organize and document, but also serve to update my current progress. As always, please feel free to share comments, suggestions and questions.

[Legacy777]

Andrew,

Good start to the documentation of the swap.

How would swapping clusters work with the registration? Do they look for odometer tampering when registering, or because the car is from outside the country, it's not as big a deal.

[Dynamic Entry]

How would swapping clusters work with the registration? Do they look for odometer tampering when registering, or because the car is from outside the country, it's not as big a deal.

In Alberta, the registration process and requirements is fairly non-invasive. As long as you have proof of insurance and a bill of sale that shows you own the vehicle, you can register it. The registry only looks at paperwork, not the vehicle.

So, the responsibility of road-worthiness is placed upon the insurance companies, who again rely on paperwork from certified techs.

However, again it is pretty mild in many cases.

Examples:
- no motorbike requires an inspection, if you feel safe riding it they will insure it, over the phone.
- if your car is newer than 15 years old, you do not need an inspection, they will insure it over the phone.
- if 15+ years old you need an insurance inspection, you pass and fax it to insurance company, and they insure you over the phone. (There are guys on local classifieds who are happy 'inspect' your car for $50 cash, and well, let's just say they are not motivated to sell you parts or further labor)
- if a vehicle has continuous liability coverage, it will not require an inspection due to age, even while passing the 15 year threshold (if insured before it is 15 years, an inspection will not be required until a new insurance policy is sought, either from different company or by different owner)
- we do not have any emissions testing or legal requirement of catalytic converters

The standard bill of sale has a place to make note of mileage, but it is more of an optional disclosure item, and is not verified by techs, registrars or insurance companies.

Any car that is imported from outside of Alberta must pass an Out of Province inspection. Certification to do OOPs is more specialized (no local classified $50 specials), but people in the auto-sports communities know where to get friendly & supportive inspections done.

The only concern I have with the cluster is that it will have an operational speedo and tach.

[Dynamic Entry]

OK, first update/question is about the rear differential.

I have a 1991 3.90 VLSD rear diff that I have never run. It was really dirty so I cleaned it up a bit.






I won't know how mechanically fit it is until I run it, but one thing is amiss already. The white cap on the top, I assume it is a vent, freely comes out with no force applied. If I leave it like this it will just jump out going over a speed bump in the parking lot. The vent on the open diff I pulled off Angel is securely on there, I cannot pull it off with my hands. I'm just not sure how it is meant to be affixed, and what my options are for making it right before installing the diff.




While on topic of rear diff, I used this guide to pull it, since I wanted to leave my wheels on.
How to remove rear diff, by AWD_addict

The only place my process differed is disassembly of the 'front' member. In this picture he shows having removed the hardware that holds the front of the diff to the crossmember. On the right you can see the studs that go through each side, and they are attached at the top.


I was NOT able to remove these, or get the diff to swing enough to come off them, until AFTER I removed the front member completely.

I did not touch the bolts holding the parking cables, I just left them. After removing all the member bolts and brackets, I let the member swing down towards the rear of the car, which (since I had already removed all rear and front nuts from differential) allowed the diff to rotate and swing down toward the front.

Only then could I get the diff to move forward enough to clear the rear studs from the rear member.

And then it dropped down just fine.

[Legacy777]

Andrew,

Good details on the registration info!

Regarding the diff, I'd suggest pulling off the rear case housing and inspect the inside. Then you can reseal that so you know it won't leak. I'd probably also suggest doing the bearing end cap o-rings & axle stub oil seals. Here are pictures from when I did mine.

http://main.experiencetherave.com/subar ... /reardiff/

For that vent, just use little bit permatex ultra grey to keep it in the diff. You'll use the same stuff if you pull the rear diff cover off.

[Dynamic Entry]

Next question is about brake booster.

I have a single stage / single puck to install.

The diameter if the main housing is smaller than stock, so it is far easier to squish past the fuel lines and PCV/etc hoses.

But,

The diameter of the stem, the part that protrudes through the firewall, is 10mm Larger.

Stock is about 80mm and this single puck is 90 mm.

I could find any mention of this from people who have installed these.

Did you just bash the firewall opening? Dremmel it or drill it? Something more sophisticated??

Sent from my Nexus of the Universe using Tapatalk 2

[Legacy777]

Any chance you can take a picture of what you're talking about? I swapped in a single diaphragm booster in my Legacy without any modifications whatsoever.

[Dynamic Entry]

It sounds like my replacement booster is not the same as what you put in. It may not be from an Impreza at all. It was included with the purchase of the car and I have made no attempt to verify just what it is from.

I will take pictures on Thursday. I am doing all my work just outside of the city, and am waiting for a few parts to come in before I go out this weekend.

[Legacy777]

Don't forget the key interlock controller under the dash, or you won't be able to get the key out.

[Dynamic Entry]

Thanks for the heads up, I'll grab that little black box out today.


I have not paid enough attention the to the electrical requirements yet, but finally gave your electrical page a look today and realize there are a number of things I need to figure out.
http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/swa ... rical.html

Regarding cruise control,

After looking back at the cruise setup I could have probably just left the AT cruise computer in there, along with the inhibitor relay. If I did that instead, I would have snipped pin 2 of the AT's B83 connector and spliced it into the wire I ran over to the cruise clutch switch. The only unknown with this setup is, "Would the AT cruise computer be looking for the TCU, and try to shift gears?"

I will probably try to setup the cruise this way, if no one has done it yet. I don't mind being a guinea-pig if it means less work!

[Legacy777]

Also, I forgot, you should remove the shift lock controller. It won't do anything, it's just added clutter.


I had thought someone tried doing what I suggested, but I don't recall if it worked. So yeah, give it a shot and let me know if it works.

Thanks

[Dynamic Entry]

I did open up the LSD to take a look.


I used some of the copper based gasket maker when sealing it up again. A bead of excess pushed out all around the seam, about 1/16th of an inch thick.

It seems natural to assume that some of the rtf also pushed out on the inside of the diff housing. Will this be problematic, to the point that I should try again. I have not filled it with fluid yet, so it is just time and permatex that I would be spending.

[Dynamic Entry]

Any chance you can take a picture of what you're talking about? I swapped in a single diaphragm booster in my Legacy without any modifications whatsoever.

This brake booster was included loose with the car. I do not know what vehicle it came from but I was told it is single puck. The label includes a large GB, whereas the stock booster had AG.


Here you can see that it (on Left) is smaller than the stock booster that was in the car (on Right)


However, despite having a smaller housing diameter, the stem of the GB is larger around.


The GB stem diameter is about 2.195


While the stem of the AG (stock) is just over 2.07


My original measurement was with string all the way around the stems, and the GB was 90mm whereas the stock AG was only 80mm.


The GB lines up nicely, but only goes this far in. I tried rotating it 90 degrees and 180, but the results are the same.



I marked the inside to confirm where it 'bottoms out'.


Here you can see the whiteout showing how much of the stem (GB again) protrudes past the inner firewall. I was pushing and angling the booster a bit trying to get it to go and the scratched portion below the whiteout shows the limit of how much could pass through the firewall hole.

[Legacy777]

That booster is not a single diaphragm booster, and is just a tandem booster. I wish I took better pictures of the single diaphragm booster, but you can see from this pic that it is much smaller in thickness.

http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/ima ... oster2.jpg

Unless you can find a true single diaphragm booster, I'd suggest just using the booster that came with the car.

[Legacy777]

I did open up the LSD to take a look.


I used some of the copper based gasket maker when sealing it up again. A bead of excess pushed out all around the seam, about 1/16th of an inch thick.

It seems natural to assume that some of the rtf also pushed out on the inside of the diff housing. Will this be problematic, to the point that I should try again. I have not filled it with fluid yet, so it is just time and permatex that I would be spending.

I would recommend redoing it, not really because of the bead inside, but the fact you should use a different type of RTV sealant. You should use Permatex Ultra Grey silicone. It's used in almost all situations where you need sealant.

Here's a quick reference.

[Dynamic Entry]

I went back to the picknpull looking for speedometer cable and cluster.

Was very surprised that the 1990 they have is RHD! Never seen that before.


I got a manual KM/H cluster with 262,000 km on it, and a speedometer cable in nice shape.

One thing is that the Fuel and Temp are on opposite sides as USDM, so I guess I will have to re-route the harnesses accordingly....


It didn't have glass headlights, but it had a nice bonus for my white SS. Although, its gonna take more custom wiring...


The A,B,C pillar trim was finished in synthetic microsuade, so I pulled the front belts and the entire trim.

Also, the headrests had knobs on the side that adjust them forward and backward, so I took those too.


This was all a nice surprise that compensates for the fact that my dealership ordered me NA release fork, despite all my efforts to ask for Turbo.

They called my car "ancient".

Nice.




Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk 2

[Dynamic Entry]

Don't forget the key interlock controller under the dash, or you won't be able to get the key out.

Also, I forgot, you should remove the shift lock controller. It won't do anything, it's just added clutter.

"The shift lock system is used on the automatics to keep you from moving the gear selector out of park unless your foot is on the brake. It is also tied to the key interlock system, which doesn't allow you to remove the key unless the gear selector is in park. Since we don't have an automatic any more, and we don't need the key interlock system, we can simply remove the controller. This will eliminate the issues of not being able to remove the key if you left the controller in place. The controller is found up under the dash."

Your site gave me the above impression that the shift lock controller is what causes the key interlock to lock the key. With this black box removed, is anything more needed?

[Dynamic Entry]

That booster is not a single diaphragm booster, and is just a tandem booster. I wish I took better pictures of the single diaphragm booster, but you can see from this pic that it is much smaller in thickness.

http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/ima ... oster2.jpg

Unless you can find a true single diaphragm booster, I'd suggest just using the booster that came with the car.

I really don't want to stuff that big stock booster back in, when I could get better feel and use less space.

I am looking at a locally available STi brake booster. From what I can see the STi master cylinder has different routing for the hard lines, so I am wondering if my SS master cylinder can bolt up directly to the booster.

STi booster/MC



This thread describes putting an STi booster in the LGT. It says you need to use the STi master cylinder also.

"Should have said this earlier, but the STi MC won't bolt up to the LGT BB, that's why you change both on the LGT. On a earlier legacy you can probably just switch the MC out and avoid the check valve deletion problem."
This thread seems to indicate that the LGT has different check valve requirements, but that on the 90-94 Legacy you could use the STi booster with stock Legacy MC.


I haven't found mention of anyone using the stock SS MC with an STi booster, and I am not sure if it is because that won't work.

[Dynamic Entry]

A second glance allowed me to realize that the RHD cluster and speedometers cable probably won't work.

The speedometer and its input is on the other side of the cluster, putting it further to the drivers side of a LHD.

Front=RHD


The RHD cable is also shorter, since it would be on the close side of connection to gearbox.

Orange=LHD



But my existing LHD cable is definitely busted.



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[Legacy777]

I went back to the picknpull looking for speedometer cable and cluster....

Andrew,

Nice find on the RHD Legacy!!

The gauge cluster has a 7.5k rpm redline!! very nice! You can use that speedometer and tach if you want. You just need to remove them from the cluster, and replace them with the ones in your cluster. Check out this thread for pics on how to do it. It should be pretty straight forward.

http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=48636

Nice find on the electronic folding mirrors too. I wouldn't mind a set of those

[Legacy777]

Your site gave me the above impression that the shift lock controller is what causes the key interlock to lock the key. With this black box removed, is anything more needed?

You're right....I had a brain fart. You're good with just removing that controller.

[Legacy777]

I really don't want to stuff that big stock booster back in, when I could get better feel and use less space.

I am looking at a locally available STi brake booster. From what I can see the STi master cylinder has different routing for the hard lines, so I am wondering if my SS master cylinder can bolt up directly to the booster.

I haven't found mention of anyone using the stock SS MC with an STi booster, and I am not sure if it is because that won't work.

I honestly don't believe you will get much, if any better feel with the STi booster & MC. It's still a tandem booster, plus you have to mess with the brake lines. If you're going to do anything, get a single diaphragm booster....otherwise, I'd just stick with what you have.

[Dynamic Entry]

I honestly don't believe you will get much, if any better feel with the STi booster & MC. It's still a tandem booster, plus you have to mess with the brake lines. If you're going to do anything, get a single diaphragm booster....otherwise, I'd just stick with what you have.

You answered a question that I didn't ask directly. I didn't know if the STi booster was single diaphram or not.

I definitely want a single, so now I will have to figure out what cars they are found on.

Here is a first hint, from this Nasioc thread
"All first gen legacies have tandom diaphragm boosters. There is no such thing as dual stage boosters, only tandom diaphragm boosters. The single diaphragm boosters came on the early 90's imprezas with drum brakes."

I might have trouble finding one.

[Dynamic Entry]

I did re-seal the rear diff with Ultra Grey, and re-installed the rear end.

It takes a bit of coordination to re-install it. I wasn't sure if I would be able to rotate the axle stubs independently of each other to line up the holes for the pins, but it was simple in the end. Once I had one side splined on, I could easily turn the other side by rotating the input shaft.

After the axles were on, I was able to get under the diff and bench press it up at an angle to hang the rear studs on the rear member. Then propped up the front of the diff while I re-installed the front member bolts and secured everything from front to back.


I am still waiting for a shift fork, so aside from putting the flywheel on I can't do much else with the drive-train this week.

[Dynamic Entry]

You can use that speedometer and tach if you want. You just need to remove them from the cluster, and replace them with the ones in your cluster.

Yeah, I guess that would work, and that way I wouldn't have to mess around with flipping the Temp/Fuel guages or wiring.

But, it would still leave me with the Gear Indicator lights in the middle....

Annnnnd, I will be bouncing off the rev limiter long before I get to 7k

I wonder if someone with an RA motor that actually redlines at 7.5 would like to have this tach. I guess I will ask in the parts shed.