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How does the speedo work....

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That is, in the '96 and later legacys and foresters. Specifically, a '96 Outback Wagon, and a 2000 Forester?

 

I know there is a tone ring on one or both of the front axles, does the signal come from anywhere else?

That is, in the '96 and later legacys and foresters. Specifically, a '96 Outback Wagon, and a 2000 Forester?

 

I know there is a tone ring on one or both of the front axles, does the signal come from anywhere else?

 

there is a speedo drive gear on in the front diff on the passenger side. which drives the speedo driven gear which is located underneath (down in the hole) the speed sensor on the passenger side of the auto trans. different cars have different sets of speedo gears depending on the size of the factory stock tires.

Wlel yes and no. If the car is OBDII and an auto there are two gears in the trannf, front and rear. They drive two vehical speed sensors. The signal goes to the TCU, which shares it the ECU, then goes to the spedo.

 

 

 

nipper

  • Author

Ah now I remember, when I had my trans apart I saw the speedo gear being driven off the pinion shaft on the side of the case.

 

So the Auto has two of these set ups, front and rear, as well as the tone ring on the axle or instead of?

 

The manual has the one on the trans and the tone ring?

Ah now I remember, when I had my trans apart I saw the speedo gear being driven off the pinion shaft on the side of the case.

 

So the Auto has two of these set ups, front and rear, as well as the tone ring on the axle or instead of?

 

The manual has the one on the trans and the tone ring?

 

90-99 the tone ring is only for the abs system. beyond 99 i don't know. i think at some point, some year, the tcu/ecu compares to the wheel speed but in the 90s they do not.

 

the 90 - 99 autos have the speedo gear in the front diff and a rear speed sensor in the rear extension housing on the trans. it is a simple "magnetic" sensor like the crank sensor. it measures the revs of the output shaft to the rear wheels. the ECU / TCU, one or the other or both combined measure the speed difference and tell the trans when to send more output to the rear.

 

manual trans do not have the rear speed sensor since the poewer transfer to the rear is through a viscous coupling or clutch? not an electronically controlled transfer clutch.

 

tone rings are for the abs system not all cars in the early 90s have them. some of the early 90s cars have a speedo cable that runs from the front diff to the speedo and actully spins at the speedo. the computers then take their info from there.

  • Author

Ah I see again,

 

So If I were to put the '96 manual trans into the 2000 auto Forester, as far as the speedo is concerned, what needs to change?

 

I'll be using the 2.2l ecu and cruise computer. But I'd like to keep the Forester gauge cluster which tops out at 120 as oppose to 140 for the '96 OBW. Will it read correctly? If not, is it just a matter of changing the driven gear in the trans?

 

Thanks!!

there are only 2 ways i know to make the speedo work correctly, swap the speedo gear/s, i don't really know which one drive or driven. or change the tires to match the the trans, speedo gear.

 

as far as the ecu, i'm not sure it matters, either one is going to be looking for the second speed sensor unless you have the correct pinout for a manual trans. the auto and manual ECUs are the same, but some how there is a pin groundes out ?? to let the computer know it is a manual.

 

swapping an auto trans from a 96 lego to a 200 forester is not a common or easy thing to do . there is a change in the trans and the wiring harness around 99. i do not know if going to manul makes it doable or not.

 

some one with auto to manual experience may know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

  • Author

Thanks for the help. I've read a few write-ups here and in other places about going auto to manual, but they all deal with pre 2000 stuff.

From what I've read, the bellhousing bolt up, but the 2000 and later (or '99 and later maybe) have more bolts. The old holes are in the same locations, there's just more off them. The "fix" is to just not use the extra bolt locations. As for the wiring harness, I have all the correct plugs, it's just a matter of a date with a soldering iron if things don't plug up.

 

Seems to me that using the 2.2 ecu is preferential, but I don't know if the Forester's harness will accept it.

 

If I'm to figure out the speedo accuracy business, I need to know the:

 

stock tire size

driven gear tooth count

drive gear tooth count

final drive ratio

 

For both vehicles, correct?

Edited by lostinthe202

Seems to me that using the 2.2 ecu is preferential, but I don't know if the Forester's harness will accept it.

 

If I'm to figure out the speedo accuracy business, I need to know the:

 

stock tire size

driven gear tooth count

drive gear tooth count

final drive ratio

 

For both vehicles, correct?

 

final drive is irrelevant, the speedo gear is after that.

the gear count is not so important, just pull the gear off of one trans and stick it in the other. i don't know which are the the same if either are, the drive gear or the driven gear. some one posted a 'pic' of the different ratios for the different legacys, but my searching has not found them.

 

i think the driven gear is way easier to swap, since it comes out the same hole as the speed sensor, i think. the drive gear has to come out through the axle stub, diff bearing access do-dad thing-a-ma-gig on the side of the trans. be sure to record very precisely the number of turns it takes to open it up so you can re-install it the EXACT Same Way.

 

as far as the 2.2 ECU goes, the 00 engine may be different and not run on the 96 ecu. there are a lot of differences.

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