Gauging Interest in a 5mt kit

[TomsSVX]

file sent. I hope we can find a way to post it up...

Tom

[huck369]

I put it in my locker...but the file won't open from there...i don't know what the trouble is....maybe too may pics in it....

I'll see what i can do tomorrow...

[TomsSVX]

How I installed the 5-Speed in my SVX
By: William “Huck” Huckelby 10/30/01
Edited and pictures added by Thomas Johnson 3/21/06

This Swap is not for the faint of heart, nor the mechanically challenged, but with persistence and a fair share of experience (not to mention some patience), can be done by an average guy that doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty.
If you can’t afford to be without your car for 4 weeks I wouldn’t try it, it shouldn’t take that long…but always expect the unexpected!

Things you need to complete this swap:

1. A 5/6-Speed tranny with the matching rear diff. and shifter (with the boot) from a Legacy or Impreza. If using the Sti 6 speed trans, an R180 with 3.90 gears needs to be used with Sti rear axles. A R160 with 3.90 gears can also be used but the SVX carrier needs to be swapped into the new housing.

2. A Manual flywheel from a Legacy or Impreza be sure to get the flywheel bolts and the pressure plate bolts with the flywheel.

3. A manual pedal assembly. If using a hydroulic assembly be sure to get the Master and slave cylinders. If using a cable operated clutch, I believe that the best match would be the early Legacy pedal assemblies, which from looking at the diagrams seams to be close to the assembly in the SVX, but you will probably have to do some cutting and retro-fitting onto the original SVX assembly, as I had to do with mine. On a side note this is where I cut my left middle finger to the bone (5 Stitches http://www.subaru-svx.net/photos/fil...k369/1399.jpg), sort of slowed my progress till my finger healed, so be careful.

4. If you’re lucky enough to have the component drive-shaft you can have the front section lengthened 2”(as the manual tranny is 2” shorter than the auto one), if not I advise you order one. It is also and option to use a 95-99 Legacy drivehshaft as long as it is from a MT. I had an extension machined to mount to the front of the rear diff., which also meant I had to relocate the carrier bearing 2” forward, which would not be necessary if I had, had the component drive-shaft instead of the non-component one (you can’t disassemble the non-component one to put in a lathe).

5. Of course you’ll need a new clutch, pressure plate, throw-out bearing, and a new pilot bearing. I recommend getting a high performance clutch & pressure plate, as the stock Legacy one (which I used), won’t handle the extra torque that the 3.3 has under hard driving, but works fine for day to day driving. The WRX and Sti clutches are strong but I still advise an upgraded clutch for reliability

6. You’ll need some misc. steel, about 18” of ½” solid round Cold Rolled Steel (this is used for lengthening the shifter rods) and some ¼’ plate for making some modified motor mounts. And access to a welder (also for the shifter rods). And a 1” hole saw for cutting the hole in the firewall to run the clutch cable through.

- If using TomsSVX’s kit, there is no need for a welder or these pieces of steel as all is provided already

7. Of course you’ll need new grease for the tranny and the rear diff. And a couple cans of black paint (you want it to look good don’t you!) and a few cans of brake and parts cleaner, along with some hand cleaner (you’re going to need it).



Getting Started:

First off remove the negative terminal from the battery. I had to jack up the car and support it with jackstands on all 4 corners, then I started taking off the relative parts, which consisted of:

1. The auto transmission (which could be a paragraph by itself, but any good manual will give you step by step on that). First, remove the starter, Then remove the throttle body from the intake manifold and place it on the wiper cowl. Pop off the TC bolt cover and remove the TC bolts Loosen the bell housing bolts but do not remove them yet. Remove the exhaust, all heat shields in the way, and driveshaft. Place the transmission jack under the auto and support it’s weight lightly. Then remove shift cable, the 2 electrical connectors at the top of the trans and the 2 cooler lines on the driver’s side. Then remove the ball joint bolts on the hubs so the lower control arms can come down, this will allow you to pull the axles out. Use a small punch to knock out the axle pins and pull them off the stubs in the transmission. Unbolt the X-member first from the body then from the transmission mount. Then support the engine so it will not fall forward (there are several methods in doing this, choose what works best for you). Then slide the auto away from the engine making sure the TC is coming off with the transmission. Once it is clear of the mounting studs lower it down and store it whenever you want.
*TC= torque converter

2. The Automatic’s flexplate (or flywheel if you prefer).

3. The driver’s seat (for better access).

4. The center console.

5. The shifter (you can just take out the row of bolts around the bottom, remove and presto! You’ve got a big hole in your floor).

6. The steering column (a bit of a pain, but makes the pedals MUCH easier). This is not necessary but if you must…

7. If you opt not to take out the dash, you’ll still need to remove the TCU and CPU (the TCU doesn’t get reinstalled) for better access to the pedal assembly.

8. The pedal assemblies, both brake and gas pedals
****
From this point only proceed if using a hydro pedal ass.

9. Remove the brake master cylinder

10. Remove the brake booster( yes I know it is a PITA but it will come out)



That’s about it, now to start the installation:
1. Take your original pedal assembly, lay it and the manual pedal assembly side by side for comparison, if the Legacy set were to have all the same mounting points, you can just swap it in there, the XT-6 one I used didn’t. If it’s not a direct swap then you need to remove the bolt thru the pedal pivot point, and fit the manual BRAKE pedal in place of the Auto Brake pedal (cutting the sleeve may be necessary), using the longer Manual assemblies pivot bolt, the bolt should stick out on the Clutch pedal side, slide the clutch pedal on the outside of the Original assembly over the exposed bolt. Now you’ll have to cut the brackets off the manual pedal assembly that mounts the clutch cable and supplies the outer support for the clutch pedal, then weld it in place on the original assembly, make sure you use the original brake pedal switch, and also the manual clutch switch. You can now reinstall the finished assembly in to the car.

**if using Tom’s pedals, this step can be bypassed. Be sure to pull the TCU wires through the firewall into the car. Split the harness so all the wires can be routed back into the engine bay minus the 2 larger connectors from the auto.

2. Now you need to drill a hole in the firewall for the clutch cable, The ideal place is directly in line with the clutch pedal, but the brake booster is in the way (main reason I didn’t want to use a hydraulic clutch), so I drilled a hole (1” hole saw I believe) approximately 2”(please check for clearance as this is from memory) directly beside the hole for the steering column, this allowing the cable to come out without the brake booster being a problem, it does make an “S” bend in the cable, but not bad enough to be a problem. After drilling the hole, feed the clutch cable through the hole and hook up the pedal end.

**If using a hydroulic assembly, the hole drilled will need to be for the clutch master cylinder stud. Place the pedal assembly in the car as best you can and mark where the hole needs to be, you will see that the passenger side stud will pass through where the TCU wires used to be. You will also want to cut and die the brake booster pushrod at this point to suit the pedal assembly of choice


2.5-** reinstall the modified brake booster and master cylinder.

3. Be sure to resurface any flywheel new or used Now let’s crawl under the car, and install the flywheel and clutch (you did remember to get the bolts with the flywheel didn’t you? As the flexplate bolts are to short). First install the new pilot bearing in the manual flywheel, and then bolt the flywheel to the motor. Next install the clutch and pressure plate (be sure to align it with the alignment tool, that should have came with the clutch). Torque the pressure plate bolts to spec.

4. Next comes the transmission, remember what a pain to remove the auto was, relax the standard is much lighter and smaller, allowing more working room(unless you opted for the 6 speed which is just as heavy if not worse). First install the new throw-out bearing onto the clutch fork(** If using a WRX/STI trans, Install the throwout bearing into the pressure plate), then position the transmission on the jack, then raise it up and slide it into the clutch and pressure plate (using a jack under the front of the motor to raise the front which in turn tilts the rear of the motor down really helps to align the transmission with the motor), if it gets close but not quite close enough, the shaft is probably hitting the pilot bearing and isn’t aligned just perfect, my solution to this (from many clutch jobs on muscle cars), is to shake the crap out of it while still applying pressure toward the transmissionJ it should slip in. Once it is pulled up snug to the motor, torque the bell housing bolts, and install the strut rod to the top of the transmission from the firewall, the transmission will sit unsupported which will allow you to take measurements for the modified mounts to your crossmember.

** Connect the clutch line to the slave cylinder. bleed the brake and clutch systems

5. Now let’s work on the shifter, I used one from an Impreza and had to lengthen it, a Legacy shifter might have long enough rods, so test fit it by bolting it to the transmission, and seeing how it fits into the hole in the floor (where the auto shifter was). If it needs to be lengthened, cut both rods in the middle of the straight section (http://www.subaru-svx.net/photos/files/huck369/1013.jpg shifter picture) then clean up the cut ends, and purchase 2 pieces of ½” round cold rolled steel, about 2” longer than you need to extend the rods, the ½” round bar should slide up inside of the shifter rods rather snugly so you can bolt the shifter back to the transmission and mount the rear shifter brace to the floor behind the opening (you can also see this in the “shifter” picture), now you can get in the car made move the shifter to the position you want it in, then crawl back under the car and tack weld the rods in place. Then remove the shifter assembly and weld the rods up, spray a little paint on them, then reinstall. Now you’ve got a shifter!

** Tom’s shift linkage should bolt up but you still need to make a rear mount

6. At this point you can hook up the transmission end of the clutch cable, reinstall the starter, reinstall the steering column, and the CPU (but NOT the TCU). Then you have to make a jumper for the ignition lock switch at the shifter, the 4 prong plug that you had to unplug from the shifter, is the plug to jump, it’s the 2 end wires that need to be jumped.ß-(this step can be bypassed if the shift lock module by the parking brake is disconnected) *{Now you need to remove the “Neutral Safety Switch” from the outside of the auto transmission, then plug it into the original wiring harness in the engine bay, and set it to “Neutral” there is a round indention that will line up with the hole in the side lever on the NSS, to set it to neutral.}* *This is my first edit as I have now taken the NSS off completely, and now use the clutch position switch to allow the car to start, this ALSO retains the use of your cruise control where the NSS didn’t, first thing is check the clutch position switch, it has to be a closed circuit when the clutch is depressed, if not you need a Position switch that does, they come both ways, (I used one off the XT-6’s brake pedal) once you’ve gotten one with the correct function, you need to run the 2 wires through the firewall, and to the smaller of the 2 wire harnesses that hooked up to the auto transmission, the 2 wires need to be spliced into the Black w/Yellow tracer and the Blue w/White tracer wires of the harness (they are next to each other in one corner of the connecter). Now it will start when the clutch is depressed, and will kick the cruise off when the clutch is depressed also. Now reinstall your front axles. At this point you can start the beast (very loud as you’ve not installed the pipes yet), and run it through the gears to be sure everything is working (clutch, Shifter). If so and you’re doing this to a FWD SVX then put the pipes back on and dress out your console for the shifter boot then you’re done, go out and roast those tires!

7. As for the rest of us with AWD, the next things is to take the ring and pinion out of the rear diff you got with the 5-speed, and install it into the original LSD rear diff (you have to do this to use the original axles, and to retain the “Limited Slip Differential”). “Note: the LSD axles don’t have the spring pins to retain them, they just pop out of the rear diff.” Now reinstall the original rear diff with the new gears and fill with LSD grease.

** this is only necessary for those of you with 4.11, 4.44, or 3.90 geared transmissions, the WRX transmission users do not need to touch the rear. 6 speed users can either swap in a R180(certain modifications need to be done to fit it) with Sti axles or swap out the SVX carrier into a 3.90 R160 and use SVX axles.

8. Take the front section of the component drive shaft to a machine shop that does drive shafts and have it lengthened 2” (again it wouldn’t hurt to check this measurement, in case your transmission is a different length than mine, easiest way would be to measure your original auto transmission and then your 5-speed to calculate the difference). Once you get it back from the machine shop, put the drive shaft back together, and reinstall it into the car. (Don’t forget the heat shield that goes above it!)

** this is an easy part. Source a driveshaft from a 95-99 legacy with a manual transmission and use that. Cut the dust cup on the driveshaft ½” back and it should be a direct bolt up. If using the Sti 6speed there is no need for dirveshaft modification.

9. Install the custom X-member

10. Reinstall the exhaust system. (Wow an easy part!)

11. Fill the Transmission with grease. (Another easy one!)

12. Reinstall the Console, Driver’s seat, and dash lower trim panel, the shifter surround may need to be trimmed to accept the manual shifter boot, a Dremel tool works pretty well.

13. Well now for your maiden voyage! Take it for a spin, to see if you need to adjust the clutch (make sure it’s out of gear the first time you start it, in case the clutch isn’t releasing). It’s a good ideal to get back under it after a short drive to check for loose bolts, leaks, ECT.

Well it kicks butt, doesn’t it!! All the hard work seams worth it on that first drive.

I’m still working on some things I’d like to do different, such as using the clutch switch to act as the NSS so the cruise will work, and hooking up the reverse lights, but will try to edit this as I get these things worked out.

I hope this helps anyone interested in doing a 5-speed swap, either by giving them a guideline to go by, or by convincing them it’s too big an undertaking to mess with without a good deal of mechanical experience.

Sheeeeesh, my fingers are numb.
*updates.
** for hydro clutch users and for TomsSVX’s kit pieces

Below are several pictures that are relevant to the swap. They should do some explaining themselve’s


This is a picture of the plate used to cover the hole in the fiewall behind the clutch master
Modified Brake booster

Rear Shifter mount

Well I hope my edit and picture addition helps. Don’t forget, any questions will be yielded by myself and many other members of the network as long as you are not afraid to ask. Good luck with your swap!!!

Tom AKA- TomsSVX

[TomsSVX]

minus the pictures

Tom

[huck369]

Yeah, I could open the file you sent me, the picures really help the write up....I don't know why it wouldn't load into my locker right...must just be because of the size of it with all the pics....

[Earthworm]

Send it to me and I'll update the SVXipedia version.

svx@svx-iw.com

[TomsSVX]

I will when I get home. I have it saved on my comp but I am in school right now in one of our comp labs... let me see if I can get it off of aol since I sent it to Huck

Tom

[TomsSVX]

nm email sent to u david, let me know when you update it so I can get the link

Tom

[Earthworm]

I'll update tonight when I get home from work.

[AFBeefcake]

"If using TomsSVX’s kit, there is no need for a welder or these pieces of steel as all is provided already"

Sweet, I need to start saving for a swap using Toms kit. My auto is allmost dead.

[SomethingElse]

I skimmed over it a couple times but i didnt see where you hook the speedometer up? Is the 5 speed sensor/connector used? or does it have to be swapped from the auto?

[huck369]

Originally Posted by Kulaid

I skimmed over it a couple times but i didnt see where you hook the speedometer up? Is the 5 speed sensor/connector used? or does it have to be swapped from the auto?

Just unscrew it from the auto, and screw it into the manual....just have to splice in a little extra wire to make the connector's pigtail long enough.

[TomsSVX]

woops missed that part. Anyway, its really simple

Tom

[Earthworm]

Originally Posted by huck369

Just unscrew it from the auto, and screw it into the manual....just have to splice in a little extra wire to make the connector's pigtail long enough.

I will add that I initially kept the WRX speed sensor. I was also able to cut the grommit at the firewall to give enough wire length to reach the sensor without splicing.

[TomsSVX]

well I mostly forgot because I am in the process of doing a 6mt swap. Which does not require anything but plug the svx connector into the STi sensor.

Tom