The junk yard told me that they had a 92 Legacy tranny, but the drive gear had to be switched over. They say my car has a 4:11 and the 92 Legacy has something else. I didn't realize there were 2 different gear ratios. Is there any way I can tell by looking at the car which gear ratio it has? For example, does the Legacy L use a different gear ratio than a regular legacy?Thanks.

since your car is older (they don't do this on the newer ones) there is a tag on the rear diff that most likely will be all crusty dirty but if you clean it gently it tells you the ratio.

 

If you have a 92 and you are buying a part from a 92 (if i read this right) thne where is the difference? The only thing I can think of is if one of the cars is a turbo....

 

EDIT: I read it totally worng....what year is YOUR car?

As subeman90 said, just do the same thing that you did with your Loyale to check its rear diff ratio. Yes, there were different final drive ratios on different Legacies, but I am not yet "in" to Legacies enough to tell you what is what. It has been discussed before on the Board.

it should be a 4.11, the only time it changes is if its fwd or a/t....... unless someone already traded the tranny for a newer one, and used an imoreza tranny.

Here is the gear ratios for the first gen legacies

 

90-91 AT & MT 4.111

92-94 AT 3.900

92-94 MT 4.111

91-94 AT & MT turbo 3.900

 

So depending on what trans the 92 legacy has, will depend on what the final drive ratio is.

Thanks Josh. My car...I forgot to mention is a 1991 Legacy. Looks like that tranny was only made for 2 years.

Midwst, I posted on your tranny wanted thread before I checked this thread. I am pretty sure that I was told that 90-96 4EATs would all work, but it was possible that in the context it was assumed that I might need to change the rear diff (I don't remember this being discussed, but that doesn't mean much ).

It's not that the tranny changed.....they just changed the final drive ratio and some of the gearing. I believe 1st & 2nd is different. 3rd & 4th are the same.

From what I understand the only tranny that will just bolt right in is a 1990 or 1991 Legacy. If it is a 92 or newer, the rear differential also needs to be switched over. At least, thats what I've been told by junk yards. This could be done, buts ads alot of labor cost...unless I figure out how to do it myself. This does make it hard to find a tranny when it only fits for 2 years. Josh, does this sound right?

It's really not that hard to change out the diff if you have the right tools and know how. If you have limited mechanical knowledge, I don't know if I'd recommend doing it yourself since some parts can be a little tricky.

 

I believe there are newer AT's with a 4.111 final drive ratio. However if you go too new, then you run into wiring differences.

 

I'd say if you can't a 4.111 trans, but you can find a 3.90 one, just swap the rear diff. I don't think labor costs would sky rocket.

I only know about engines, cooling, suspension, steering, a/c, electrical, brakes and exhaust. Drive trains are my weak spot. Too bad, because thats the one thing that is kicking my butt. Urgh. Would think twice about switching the rear diff myself.