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"World First" Dual range H6 lockable centre diff Liberty!


el_freddo
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G'day all,

 

Well Venom (ausubaru.com) has finished his gearbox build for his H6 liberty. The gearbox is an L series AWD with lockable centre diff with the 1.59:1 L series low range cased in EJ gearbox front casings so no adaptor plate or funky clutch arrangement either.

Also a front and rear diff have been installed - the front is mechanical and the rear is clutch pack.

 

Here's a link to it's first group offroading trip last weekend:

 

 

He's loving it's offroad capabilities now since being stuck with a single range gearbox for some time - I don't know how you guys manage without a low range, even if it is a crappy one by big 4wd standards! He's also enjoying better fuel economy now that the final ratio is 3.7, changed from the 4.44 of the sti gearbox that was previously installed.

 

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the video. I hope I've dropped it in the right spot, it could go in so many different areas of the forum, I thought this would be the best one.

 

Cheers

 

Bennie

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Since I'm a professional Subaru mechanic, I'm going to see what it would take to make an EJ box capable of putting the dual range in it... We'll see

 

It would take some serious machining to make the bearing surfaces. The early cases have the shape to clear the gearset....but it'd still be a project....

 

 

 

Very cool project, and well-made video. Although, I have to admit, with bordering on the ultimate combination of torque and gearing (only thing missing is 4.444s), he sure does use momentum and wheelspeed a LOT. Might just be the tires letting it down....

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Unfortunately for us, we never got a dual range EJ transmission and it appears that's what case he used :(

 

Since I'm a professional Subaru mechanic, I'm going to see what it would take to make an EJ box capable of putting the dual range in it... We'll see

 

Yeah I realise the US missed out on the EJ dual range, I think in the new subaru line up we've lost the dual range gearbox too :( It's a real bummer to see subaru go down the luxuary SUV line...

 

It would take some serious machining to make the bearing surfaces. The early cases have the shape to clear the gearset....but it'd still be a project....

 

Maybe a cut and shut from the EA dual range is in order??

 

 

 

Very cool project, and well-made video. Although, I have to admit, with bordering on the ultimate combination of torque and gearing (only thing missing is 4.444s), he sure does use momentum and wheelspeed a LOT. Might just be the tires letting it down....

 

Yeah I agree about the diff ratio - but he's built this for daily driving and offroad capability. I can tell you that the dual range makes a HUGE difference even with the 3.7 diff ratio compared to the single range with 4.44 diff ratio! And the H6 is the ultimate torque engine for offroading or for flogging on the black top - loads of torque throughout the rev range!!

 

Thanks for the positive comments about the video! I enjoy making them and since I was passenger on the last trip for the first time ever, I made the H6 liberty my subject :D But I'm still thinking of pushing out a video about the trip with the clips I've got...

 

Cheers

 

Bennie

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That edit of my first run up that climb was with 28 psi in my tyres and i went totally off my line. Trophy run was my second attempt with 16 psi and a proper line. It would be good to have some footage comparing a stock dual range driveline to the diff lock and LSDs.

 

4.44s were removed from the car for 3.7's. Much better suited to the torque of the H6, trust me. 4.44 would be great for rock crawling but this car is a daily driver first and foremost. H6 with 4.44 was a constant dissapointment at every gear change when all it wanted to do was keep on pulling, 3.7 just hauls rump roast through the rev range.

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So what did you change, the HG in the car or a diff lock tranny in the car.

 

HG? Head Gasket? No head gaskets change with the H6!

 

What was changed:

 

- from a version something STi 4.44 gearbox

 

- to the L series AWD gearbox with locking centre diff - cased in an EJ dual range front cases so a stock EJ clutch setup could be used, thus a stock EJ non turbo clutch has been used.

 

- L series 1.59:1 low range and front mechanical LSD installed

 

- Oil feed lines above the low range gears were built into the case to maximise low range longevity on those climbs that starve the low range gearing - I'm going to do the same on my next gearbox built too.

 

That's about all that's been changed, the L series gearbox came with the 3.7 diff ratio which has turned out better for fuel economy overall when compared to the 4.44 gearing.

The H6 still pulls like a Trojan through the gears with the 3.7 diff ratio - this final ratio probably makes the most of the H6's torque and power curve as it actually makes it do a little work when compared to the 4.44 final ratio.

 

Cheers

 

Bennie

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  • 2 weeks later...

Its a shame we didnt get the ej dual range trannys. Last summer I contacted Foreign Engine in lynnwood,washington and they had one. I was quoted just under $900 bucks. When I questioned the cost I was told they usually dont have much control over what transmissions they get out of Japan, and most of the trannys the japanese market received were autos.

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Yeah it's a bugger, we still get paid out by the big 4wds for having a crap low range - and that we shouldn't be driving "those things" offroad...

 

But that said the low range is better than nothing.

 

And to get around the dual range issue you can fit an EA82 PT4wd or FT4wd 5 speed to later model subarus with an adaptor plate. The only problem with this is that you're stuck using the EA82 clutch setup which I don't think would be up to the task if you're upping the berries from the donk...

 

This H6 runs a stock EJ22 clutch and pressure plate, it was decided that the clutch would be the weak point hopefully - rather than have the gearbox go bang, you can change the way you use the clutch, but there's not much you can do with a blown gearbox!

 

Cheers

 

Bennie

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How hard are those transmissions to find in Aussieland? Perhaps you could get into the business of salvaging and shipping them stateside. :clap:

 

Are you talking about the RX AWD dual range gearbox or the EJ dual range gearbox?

 

The EJ dual range gearbox is one of the most common gearboxes we've got over here. Shipping them stateside wouldn't be too difficult if a shipping container was organised, just the initial collection of gearboxes would be difficult.

 

Then there's an issue with people paying - I know it's all good to say you'll be up for something but it's another thing to have it organised and pull out of the deal.

 

It can be arranged, I know of a gearbox that's been purchased for a member in the US, I don't know if it's been shipped yet - but we've hunted around for sometime to get the right unit...

 

Cheers

 

Bennie

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...and EA clutches don't hold up to the power of an EJ.

 

The guys over here take their EA clutch to a specialist and have the pressure raised to help combat this. This is done when the Ej conversion is done on an L series, which would be the same as what you'd be doing with the liberty/legacy over your way.

 

So yes, it is possible to ship it over, but with the aussie dollar near/at/over parity with the US dollar you'll be paying much more than you would have been 3 or 4 years ago! But if you're willing it can be arranged. Working out shipping from Oz would be the difficult part, I've not done it before!

 

Cheers

 

Bennie

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How hard are those transmissions to find in Aussieland? Perhaps you could get into the business of salvaging and shipping them stateside. :clap:

 

Hi tried to organise this back in 2010 and ended up with nothing but grief from some members on here.

In the end the idea died............the gearboxes I had lined up ended up in the scrap metal yard.

 

Here's a link to the original post http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=103125

 

 

Kiwi

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Damn, that stinks. I'm not really seeing the drama you're referring to in that thread. Looks like it mostly came down to a price issue.

 

Just out of curiosity, any rough idea of what shipping and cost of the trans would be these days?

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  • 1 year later...

My car is now running a DCCD dual range gearbox with the L series low range. Cusco 1 way LSD in the front and KAAZ 1.5 way LSD in the rear diff.

 

This is the newest video i have of the car in action.

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