Starting my 5 Speed Install! Help requested.

[AvPPoW]

Originally Posted by rmjjensen

I'm going to try Subafreak for a crossmember - anyone else make them around here?

Originally Posted by AvPPoW

Man, if you need help, just gimme a call. Cell is (609) 879-1116. I'm also not too far so if you need help with reassembly or something I can prolly stop up on a day off. If you need your 2 piece driveshaft lengthened or crossmember made, we can do that too. I did the swap last month (hyrdro 4.11) and can answer almost any question you have. The pedals truely are the toughest part. Don't give up, it's not as hard as people make it out to be, especially when you don't have to worry about the rear.

-John

Tomssvx has seen my crossmember, he can vouch that it's decent.

[TomsSVX]

yeah his x-member is pretty good. Also might want to invest in the sti Group N motor and trans mounts, will take away a lot of that slop but not all of it

Tom

[rmjjensen]

There's about 700 miles on the transmission so far. but I have a problem

On the highway - at speed 65mph+, if i let off the gas completely it sounds a little bit like marbles are rolling around. If I get on the gas slightly (1/8th trottle), the sound gets loud. If I get on the gas a little more the sound goes away. WTF?

There's no driveability issues and it only does it (or is noticeable) at highway speeds. My first instinct is bad output shaft bearings (which f***ing sucks) but I'm not sure. Wouldn't bad bearings make noise regardless of trottle/load?

Could it be the angle on the transmission - too much/not enough?

Thanks in advance.

[TomsSVX]

The angle of the trans will make that noise... I had the same issue with my old X-member. Try shimming it down with some longer bolts and put spacers between the x-member and the body. See if that makes the noise go away, if it does, you have found your problem

Tom

[SVX10]

Originally Posted by rmjjensen

I had to make:
...L brace for the rear of the shifter linkage (emulates what was on the WRX that I took it from)
...had to modify the SVX gas pedal mount and WRX pedal box slightly
...had to enlarge part of the hole in the firewall for the push rod on the clutch master
...had to bend the brake lines

I'm resurrecting this thread because any time I look for info on the 5 spd swap, it's here.

So, could you explain the 4 mods that I've extracted from your earlier post.

Unfortunately, I don't have a donor car to go look at the L-brace, and I didn't see it in the shift linkage diagram at subaruparts.com.

Is the pedal mod you did the same as the one in Huck's write up, even though you used a hydraulic clutch?

What tool did you use to make the hole?

Please explain the bending of the brake lines. Tools, new routing, etc. Pics would be nice for that one.

Thanks. I'm trying to figure it all out before starting. Even once I do that it's going to take 2x longer than necessary, but figuring out stuff like this beforehand cuts it down from 5x

Mat

[rmjjensen]

Q...L brace for the rear of the shifter linkage (emulates what was on the WRX that I took it from):

A-> I didn't take a picture of this but you'll understand when you install the shift linkage. There's no rear support so without some sort of bracket or plate the shifter will just move around. It's self explanatory once you start doing the swap - don't worry too much about this.

Q...had to modify the SVX gas pedal mount and WRX pedal box slightly

A-> Just some trimming with a grind wheel and an air saw. The SVX gas pedal would interfer with the clutch. Subaru's clutch mounts where the gas pedal is ...so when you try to push the accelerator pedal it'll get stuck on the horizontal rod going from the left of the assembly to the right. The best way is to make the accelerator rod shorter by cutting and welding. Trimming it down will work but allows little room for error - I found this out the hard way after having the SVX redline multiple times when the clutch was pushed in. Turns out the clutch would cause the gas pedal to remain open ...nice - again you'll see when you start doing it. No big deal.

Q...had to enlarge part of the hole in the firewall for the push rod on the clutch master

A-> I just used an airsaw. It's a tight squeeze so I don't think any other tool will do the job. Airsaw is a must.

Q...had to bend the brake lines

A-> You can do this by hand, just be careful.

Q...Is the pedal mod you did the same as the one in Huck's write up, even though you used a hydraulic clutch?

A-> The pedal box from the WRX will interfer with wiring routed in the SVX when the clutch is pushed down. It's really no big deal. But this: (http://www.expertwebcreations.com/pe...31-05_1920.jpg) will hit this (http://www.expertwebcreations.com/pe...31-05_1921.jpg). Resolution: cut it off: http://www.expertwebcreations.com/pe...31-05_1925.jpg

The tools I used for fabricating were: Grind Wheel, Airsaw, Nibbler and a Welder. Then there's the basic mechanical tools (ratchets, air gun, jacks ...all that stuff). But the metal tools are a must - a good grind wheel and airsaw definitely.

It's not hard - you'll be surprised, the members on this board will help you out every step of the way. My one piece of advice is: make sure you have plenty of time and don't rush anything - I know it sucks and you get anxious but it'll be better in the long run.

Good luck

[svxcuseme]

Q...L brace for the rear of the shifter linkage (emulates what was on the WRX that I took it from):
A...The L brace is a bracket that is mounted to the back of the Trans tunnel. Just behind the square opening wgere the shifter goes. It's a bracket that has a rubber mount in it. One end of the shifter linkage inserts into the rubber mount and keeps the linkage from flopping around. Suggest you crawl under an existing car in a junk yard somewhere...if you're into that sort of thing.

Q...Gas pedal.
A... I bent the Gass pedal rod about 30 degrees CCW to make it fit. I also cut and reinforced the SVX gas pedal bracket to make it fit. Best advice is to get the Clutch pedal asembly in and worry about the gas pedal last. It's the least of your concerns.

Q...had to enlarge part of the hole in the firewall for the push rod on the clutch master
A. I bought some drill bit attachements for my drill and filed away the necessary material to get the Clutch Master to fit.

Q...had to bend the brake lines
A...Save yourself some time and buy a brake bending tool from Pep Boys or other. You will prevent the lines from kinking during the bending process.

[SVX10]

My 5MT swap is ALMOST complete. Unfortunately, my x-member design interferes with exhaust...that's my main problem.

However...I also did something wrong with wiring...my brake lights stay on always, and I cannot get the car to turn to the off position. It will only go as far as accessory. Reverse lights work, neutral safetey works (only will start in neutral), but I can't get my key out

So, here's the wiring I did based on friendly advice from a forum member...

There are really only two bits of wire. First is the neutral switch. Looking at the clutch pedal you should notic two switches. One that is depresed when the clutch is normal and one that is depressed when the clutch pedal is pushed in. The one that gets pushed in when using the clutch is the one u need. Wire 2 lengths of wire from both terminals on the switch to the Black/yellow and blue/white wires.

Next is th reverse lights. Find the reverse switch on the trans and wire the two wires to the green/red and brown wires. I think these color are correct but if you look at the connector the reverse and neutral wires will be in a straight line of 4 in a row.

Anything else I need to do?

Thanks!

Mat

[Johnybeas]

hey i'm to the point in my swap where there are very few things left for me to do and I am curious one of the things I missed about the whole shifter linkage extention is how much it needs to be extended and what all needs to be done to it so it will work I'm doing my swap with an 02 WRX 5spd into my 92 LS-L also I read about that nutral safety switch wiring thing and I'm confused as to what needs to be done because I know that there is a white plug that fits into one of the two that are on the clutch pedal but I'm confused as to what yall are referring to with that part and the reverse and cruise control thing I can find the wires from the harness on the wrx side but I'm not quite sure which to cut and sauder them to on the SVX side. There are the two big plugs with the seems like bajillion different wires goin to um and it is just a mess of wires and I'm confused as to which ones to connect to. Does anyone have any pictures of before and after what ones go to what cause Tom and John have both told me stuff and I've looked at wiring diagrams and I'm still kinda confused. can anyone help? Can't wait to be done with the whole swap I may very well be the first in my state to do it? all the ones I've seen here have been auto so that'd be cool

[TomsSVX]

the connector that goes to the Position switch on the side of the trans. Has a row of wires. Two of which are Blue/white and Black/yellow. The two following in the row are the neutral wires. I cannot recall their colors as of right now but they are directly in line with the two mentioned above. The blue/white and black/yellow are the neutral wires and need to be wired to the clutch swtich that is on top of the assembly.

Tom

[SVX10]

Originally Posted by TomsSVX

the connector that goes to the Position switch on the side of the trans. Has a row of wires. Two of which are Blue/white and Black/yellow. The two following in the row are the neutral wires. I cannot recall their colors as of right now but they are directly in line with the two mentioned above. The blue/white and black/yellow are the neutral wires and need to be wired to the clutch swtich that is on top of the assembly.

Tom

Yea...that worked, Tom. For whatever reason, when my brake switch was in closed position, it wasn't closed. I took it out, tested it with a multimeter, it was fine, I put it back in, and my brake light problem went away. So, thanks for the help It's all up and running. Got some tuning to do, but overall it's great

[rmjjensen]

Good to hear everythings in order!

I'm not gonna lie ...the SVX manual tranny takes some getting used to but once you get it....man ...the thing is a beast.

Have fun out there!

[SVX10]

I think I'm used to it already. My tuning boils down to grinding down a few things that interfere with each other. I had absolultely no driveline vibration during the maiden voyage, but it might have just been masked by the fact that the #6 injector wasn't working. Not sure if I somehow ruined it during the swap, of if it just got disconnected. I'm pretty sure that's it, though. During decel in gear when fuel cut is active it's soooo smooooth I'm lovin' it!

[SVX10]

Hey fellas. I've got a non-driveline related vibration...

Vibration is totally engine RPM related. Even at idle it's pretty rough. Is it possible I screwed up my engine mounts when installing the trans? What about engine angle..would that affect smoothness even in neutral? My impression was that the engine angle only became apparent at speed.

Any ideas are appreciated. Got the exhaust fixed today, so now all I need are an alignment and a fix for this vibration!!

Mat