Sonicfrog Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 This week-end I will finally be ready to swap the crappy 3 A/T in Murphy, the $500 87 Turbo Wagon, with a 5 speed. I just got off the phone with the guys at All Engine Distributing, a local used engine / tranny reseller. They have several 5 speeds in stock, including several 3.7's. To activate 4WD, some are vacuum and some are lever actuated. Some are Full Time 4WD with hi / lo. Which in you oppinion is the best option? Consider instalation issues (if vacuum activated, where to pull the vac) and functionallity The car is not going to be doing much in the way of serious off roading, though I will be driving on the beach from time to time, and maybe a snowy Sierra Nevada mountain road or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 it sounds to me like the vacuum operated ones are the pushbutton "on demand" 4wd with no center diff, whereas the lever style is going to be your dual range. i think it was GD who said it in another thread.. give me a nice solid lever to pull any day... as for pulling the vacuum, im fairly certain that the transmissions use the same vacuum accumulator canister thats just in front of the passenger at the rear of the engine bay. that is what is used for the AC controls. I envy you, you bugger.. nixing my 3at is simply not a project i can commit to right now. :- ( i would be interested in hearing a final cost on your project though, for my own future reference. its alot wasier if i ask you ahead of time, now, and youre thinking about it before the money is all spent. my alternative would be to post a thread that might get three or four replies as vague as the respective user's memory of their swap, however long ago that was :- ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 the PT4WD and FTWD both use vaccuum lines to control the locking of the center diff so that really doesn't help you much. but if you're creative at all you could fabricate a handle/lever of some sort to manually shift the diff lock as needed rather than rely on the vacuum lines, solenoids and the mechanism that moves the lock (forget what it's called). i've crawled under and switched them before manually by pushing the lever by hand. might be worth thinking about considering the solenoids and actuators are now pushing 20 years old anyway. swap costs vary wildly. easiest and cheapest way to do a swap is to get an entire donor vehicle. getting it piece by piece can be a nightmare on a trans swap. driveshaft, pedal assembly, interior bits, vacuum lines, solenoids, shift linkages, crossmember, starter, clutch cable, flywheel, instrument cluster...lots of things can pose issues. if you have the complete car, you have everything. subaru's are a dime a dozen around here, florida is much worse i believe. but a donor car is the way to go. installation will vary so much that you won't be able to nail down an accurate price by posting here. it's a job that few mechanics ever do and many probably wouldn't attempt it. but that's where most of hte cost would be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 swap costs vary wildly. easiest and cheapest way to do a swap is to get an entire donor vehicle. +1. Let me add some caps to this - BY FAR the cheapest method. Whole running soobs can be had for a couple hundred with everything needed. No engine/tranny warehouse could get you even *just* the tranny for what a whole car with a bad head gasket can be found for. I haven't paid more than $100 for an EA82 yet.... GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 subaru's are a dime a dozen around here, florida is much worse i believe. but a donor car is the way to go. :sad::sad::sad::sad::sad: and i was looking for what it was gonna cost him to buy everything piecemeal, as I never find a dead soob for sale. I do find enough in the boneyards to get me by, and all you need is the one vehicle out there.. but the boneyard people arent very informed around here. they just all went through a modernization process that involved hiring a bunch of people who couldnt identify a wiper motor as a wiper motor if they had to, that are now running the registers and everything.. and there is the one token guy there who knows what he is doing. i havent actually talked to anyone about the possibility of me throwing them like, $150 for a blanket of whatever i would need off the car for the swap yet.. but i doubt it would fly. and I just want 2wd.......with a fivespeed. i mean, 4wheel would be nice and all...... but FAR from necessary. I'd probably only use it in the rain, although it might convince me to get some big tires on some spare wheels and go play in the mud once in a while... but far from necessary. I told myself that the only way that would happen is if i can find a donor car for 100 bux. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 29, 2006 Share Posted September 29, 2006 my best friend just left your area a couple months ago. i visited all the time. i would not have been opposed to driving down some cheap FWD soob from up here if he were still there. last year i drove down and flew home and left my car at his place so i had it there to drive when i'd visit. i finally flew down and drove back to MD. anyway....keep those eyes peeled, might be able to find something. up here the FWD are in less demand so maybe that will help you if you can find one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 29, 2006 Share Posted September 29, 2006 here's a loyale with 120,000 miles. doesn't say if it's an auto or manual though. might be worth a try, they may come down considerably in price if it hasn't sold yet: http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/car/206930877.\ keep your eye out, something will come up that fits your bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonicfrog Posted September 29, 2006 Author Share Posted September 29, 2006 I'm going to the Bone Yard this morning to do some center console reconisance. My choice of transmision will be determined by the consoles I can find. I suspect that the plain ol' 5 speed with lever actuated high low is going to be the only type of console I will find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonicfrog Posted September 30, 2006 Author Share Posted September 30, 2006 UPDATE - Went to the J Yard today to look for a center console and stuff for the tranny. I found a FT4WD Wagon with everything but the rear diff. I am thinking that, since I will most likely have to pull the tranny to get all the shifty bits, I might as well get the tranny. A. E. D. doesn't have one of these, and I'm liking the idea of having AWD with the locking diff. I would like to have the low gear option, but figure between the two options, the AWD will be more functional as the car is a street roamer and won't be doing much mud mucking. I wish the junk wagon had its rear diff., as it was probably a limited slip, which Murphy doesn't have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonicfrog Posted October 1, 2006 Author Share Posted October 1, 2006 Pulled the FT4WD from the yard today. $150 smacks. I accidently left the center drive shaft behind:banghead:. The yard I got the tranny from is about an hour away. Can I pull a DS from a regular 5 spd hi /lo or do I need that exact one from the FT4WD. I need to go to the yard tomorrow to get a pedal assy and would like to go to one ot the more local yards. Also Murphy the T-Wag has the 3.7 diff, but it's not the LSD diff . Will this cause a problem with the FT4WD? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 as long as the rear diff is the right ratio it doesn't matter whether it's LSD or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonicfrog Posted October 2, 2006 Author Share Posted October 2, 2006 Today, Mon. Oct 2, is tranny swap / head gasket day! I will take some pics and maybe video and post it when I'm done. I still need to pick up 25 spline DOJ's or half shafts, whichever is easier to get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonicfrog Posted October 3, 2006 Author Share Posted October 3, 2006 accidental bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonicfrog Posted October 4, 2006 Author Share Posted October 4, 2006 Progress Report. DAY 1 - Got the heads off and the crappy 3 speed auto tranny out of the cavity. Also had to remove both 23 spline half shafts to replace with 25 spliners. I started at about 10:00 AM and stopped around 7. Took a few breaks, did lunch, and waisted some time looking for misplaced ratchet or sockets. All in all - a very productive day. DAY 2 - The day in a nutshell. The ultimate goal - to at least get the new tranny mounted. I had some extra jobs to do today (you know the equation, work = money = more Subie parts; this is like an adiction), so I started early, 7 AM'ish. I pulled the shift lever for the automatic, then went to work for a couple of hours. During the day I went to pick up the 25 sline halfshafts. Got home and found one of the new halfshafts was a 23 spliner. Crap! That means another trip to the store. I ended up doing a lot more running around than I wanted, waisting sevaral hours. I got the crappy 3 speed auto tranny out from underneath the car. Man - that thing is heavy! I forgot to secure the torque converter, so of coarse it came off and spilled tranny fluid everywhere. Funny thing is that when I was installing it a year and a half ago, I did the same thing. At the end of the day, I got the Full Time 4 Wheel Drive tranny up into the tranny bay, plus I also cleaned the cylinder heads and prepped them for install. I couldn't get the one halfshaft to slide onto the differential stub. I fear I have the wrong one. Will try again tomorrow. I think, if I get the halfshaft issues resolved, I will tomorrow have brought Murphy back to life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonicfrog Posted October 5, 2006 Author Share Posted October 5, 2006 DAY 3 - Have more work today and again started early. I managed to get the halfshaft on the tranny stub. It was just a matter of finding the right angle of attack. The stck shift is installed too. I forgot how short the throw is on the shift. Thats all for now. Today I will post some video bits documenting the job. I worked more than I thought and only had a few hours to work on Murphy. I pulled the old auto pedal assy. (which includes pulling the steering wheel of coarse) and installed the new clutchy one. But I ended up taking the new one out to check if the accel pedal was tha same as the old one. The travel distance to the floor seemed awful short. Also, I had to dissasemble my dash because I couldn't get the speedo cable from the FT4WD tranny to stay on. So it was kinda a two-steps-forward-one-step-back kinda day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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