Level 10 Transmissions
 

Has anyone in here ever used a Level 10 transmission or parts from them? My tranny is going bad as fast a Bush's support rate. :eek: I am not doing another junkyard swap this time. Three swaps is enough, and my wife would throw me out.

I am going to have the tranny rebuild by The Transmission Shop here in Wayzata, MN. Cost is up to $2,200 including a torque converter rebuild. Is this about right for the cost of a rebuild? He said that if he uses Level 10 parts that I would get a 12 month 12,000 mile warranty. And I get to keep my 4.11 gears:D .

What has been others experience with rebuilds? Any advise on what I should ask or look out for?

Steve

I had my transmission done by Level10 back in the days when people said Level10 transmissions were indestructible. They fixed my transmission and it ran really sweet - for about 4 years/40K miles.

Then it failed again :mad:. Probably this wasn't level10's fault, they are good guys and know their stuff. I contacted them after the failure and they offered me a very good deal on another rebuild, but I couldn't take them up on it so they sent me a rebuild kit for free and I got a local specialist to install it.

Here are some threads about it:
http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/showthread.php?t=20951
http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/showthread.php?t=24232

My advice is that if the price for their parts is similar to what you have been quoted elsewhere then go for it. If they are a lot more expensive then don't pay the extra in the hope of your transmission lasting longer.

Phil.

<subliminal>5 speed</subliminal>

I rode in Stevebsy's SVX with the Level 10 tranny. Shifts were quick & firm. His car seemed peppy even with stock gearing. (most likely due to the modified torque converter)

The cost would be $1242.00 for parts and then the transmission shop rebuild cost is up to $2200.00. The $2200.00 is with there parts and the owner would reduce the cost of the rebuild based on the what parts I would supply.

The rebuild tranny is my original SVX with 3.90 gears. I will supply the 4.11 front diff and pinion which they will install and setup at no extra cost.

How is your L10 rebuild lasting now?

Steve

It seems OK except for the centre diff has been intermittantly binding up ever since the rebuild. I took it back once and the transmission shop said that they couldn't find a problem and maybe the new parts just needed to bed in. I know that it's not quite right and I was hoping that it would fail properly before the warranty ran out, but no such luck.

These guys may have used the Level10 parts I gave them but I don't think they had Level10's expertise.

I have the Level 10 Stage 2 kit and reworked valve body installed on my 96. Shifting is definitely firmer, expecially when cold. Starting to loosen up with some mileage on it. The valve body was somewhat expensive but when you are hard on the car it feels like it's putting power down quicker and not slipping between shifts. I like it. Their might even be a perfomance improvement due to the quicker shifts.

I have a Level 10 Tranny in one of my 93s. Shifts are firmer and solid. I like it. I bought Stevebsy's Level 10 as well. :)

They all sound great. I have consulted with my financial adviser, my wife, and she has informed me that I am just going to be allowed the non-Level 10 rebuild. I will be having a local shop do the rebuild with a torque converter rebuild too.

I really wish I could do a Level 10 but, she told me that if something went wrong because of the Level 10 parts I would be out on my arsh, and divorced. I love my SVX but I love my wife a little more. She really hates the SVX with a furious passion. I also have to fix some other stuff too. This is the only way I get to keep my SVX.

One day when I have a job that makes more than her I will get my manhood back and then I can fix the SVX up. On the bright side of things I get a rebuilt tranny, new struts (Koni's), A\C recharge, and half shaft. If there is left over money new brakes w/ rotors.

Is the shift kit from Small Cars a good investment on a rebuilt tranny or should I just let it be?

Steve

Yep..I just pulled my level 10 out to send to Earl. It is a good transmission, but it is somewhat expensive. Back in the old days (2001) there weren't many other options...Huck had not yet completed his now famous swap, so it was dealer or Level 10 or local guy.

Now there is the 4.444 swap (which is what I'm doing), 5mt, 6mt, etc...

If I was in your boat now, I would probably have done the 4.444 or 5MT swap rather than the Level 10, but they are definately good people to work with.

I sent you a PM Steve. :)

I would choose a valve body upgrade (Especially a Level 10 Valve Body upgrade) over the small car shift kit. There IS a performance improvement with the shift kit. Trust me! On my Outback Sport, torque between shifts went up to 50% more than my normal output. Shifts are REALLY firm to harsh. When I requested this at the Level 10 shop, they (Pat-the owner, and the mechanic) both laughed at me and the mechanic said, "Don't worry, it'll be nice and firm". I couldn't be happier. It is NOT for everyone though. It may be too firm shifting for some. It can actually snap the steering wheel left or right between shifts if you are not careful. No matter how much abuse I threw at the OBS afterwards, the tranny still ran and still runs much stronger than it did stock. The BIG downside to having a valvebody upgrade done at Level10 is the cost. From what I remember, it was between $1200-$1300 ($700 for valvebody and approx $500 labor). I got raped for the labor since I waited 8 hours for it to get done. Pat Barret (I believe that is his name..he's the owner of Level10) showed me around the shop and kinda taught me what they did with the insides of the trannys. He had various trannys out and apart of Hondas, Mitsus, etc and was showing what gets done on a tranny rebuild and valvebody. He also showed me his photo albums of the shops and people he does work for (and train) over in the Middle East. There was a shiek or two arriving that day but I was not around long enough to meet them. With the class teaching and personal attention, I shrugged off the extra cost of labor.

On another front, for those that do not have a bad tranny, talk to a tranny shop to see if they can upgrade your valve body. I talked to a shop here in Delaware (Claymont) called Benchmark Transmission. The shop's owner is Michael Neubaur (sp?) and he talks and talks and talks. Shows what gets done the the valvebody with and upgrade and likes to talk about the ins and outs of transmissions. He upgraded both of my valvebodys in both of my autotranny XT6s (FWD and AWD). My 2nd-3rd gears aren't as strong as my Level 10 valvebody but they are much better than stock and better than if I unplugged my tranny resistor to have the affect of the Small Car shiftkit.
And from what I remember, the valvebody job at the tranny shop cost between $200-$300. Very affordable and doable. Call your tranny shop to inquire about this. You may be pleasantly surprised if they guys can be trusted and they know transmissions.

I am considering a valvebody upgrade on my SVX despite it being 4.44 with a small car shiftkit. The shifts between gears isn't quick enough and I have this aching feeling something bad is going to happen. Maybe that is because before upgrading my scoobies, both my XT6s and my Outback Sport had a tranny that failed. :mad: Lots of $$$ and a learning experience. I have no doubt that those trannys will last a LONG time now no matter what. I want the same for my SVX.

So, a regular tranny with a valvebody upgrade and tranny cooler installed. That is all I think you will need.

I did not get it Earl. Were did you pm me?

Steve

Hey SVX-FF,
 

Keep us informed on how it goes. I had my SVX in at Brooklyn Park Subaru for a fluid and filter change and it's parked now until spring. I dont know if I'm going to have issues or not. Seems to be running fine now. Going to add a cooler before I bring it back out for the summer. Would like to know how they treat you.

John

Sorry - Stevebsy is who I PMed. :o :)

I had them do my valve body as well. I did the install myself, and found it to be easier than I expected. If you have the manuals it's a piece of cake. I made a sketch of the valve body on corrugated and put each bolt into its corresponding spot because there are two diifferent lengths of bolts. I estimated it took an hour to take out because I was careful, but it's really a 20 minute job to remove if you've done it before.
That was 5 yrs ago and it still runs great! Before the valve body was reworked, I couldn't hit "power" mode w/o overheating it, now everythings fine, and can drive it like I want to.