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5MT to 4EAT swap? anyone do this?


superu
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So I have a 5MT in my strut-lifted 95 legacy, running 3.90 final, but I'm thinking of swapping to a 4EAT (probly 4.11, maybe 4.44 final). I think it would be better for towing (particularly backing and positioning a camp trailer off pavement in the woods) and off road (particularly the steeper stuff), but I'm kind of a die hard manual transmission guy. :confused:

 

Anyhoo, I'd like driving impressions of basically the same rig across transmissions (like if you've driven a stick outback and an auto outback, etc... in a basically same trimline, model, etc...).

 

ALSO, I've seen folks to the 4EAT to 5MT tranny swap, but I can't really find (through a cursory search) anyone who has gone from stick to auto.

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stick to auto would be a hard core swap.

 

you'd need the entire transmission body side wiring harness and TCU. not sure how it's all integrated but i'd imagine you've got some splicing and stuff to do, not sure how much is plug and play or not. i'd have the FSM and wiring diagrams available to compare MT and AT stuff.

 

easiest route is to get an entire car - like a wreck or blown motor - blown EJ25's are easy enough to find cheap so you'd just need to find one with a manual trans. piecing together the swap gets really annoying as you start needing all sorts of little things to complete it.

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easier than an engine swap.....but similar. I highly disagree with the above statement, it's definitely do-able, and probably easier than getting a new car and modding it to your liking.

 

mechanically, not any more difficult than the other way around. driveshaft, crossmember, starter, torque converter, shifter/cable, pedal box, etc.

 

 

wiring would be interesting. same idea as an engine swap, donor harness, remove all wiring related to transmission control, and integrate into your harness.

 

Or, just swap the whole bulkhead harness. pulling the dash out isn't too bad, and will make the pedal swap much easier. and get a BD 2.2/4EAT donor harness, and swap it. Done!

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I agree with Chux.

 

The only thing the TCU needs as far as engine wiring is a Tach signal, VSS and TPS signal. All of which could be spliced in easily. Other than that, the trans wiring is all seperate. Provide it with power and ground and go.

 

The wiring for the P/N lockout and all the other indicators is all on the side of the trans in one switch assembly. Might take some careful studying to ID all the wires......hook up the Reverse lights, and the mate the Manuals Neutral switch wiring to the N position of the selector.....and if you want to go all out rewire the Clutch safety lockout to the P/N lockout circuit (seperate from neutral indicator)

 

If you aren't concerned with having an indicator display on the dash, you shouldn't even need to mess around up there.

 

Oh and ground the wire for the AT identification on the ECU.

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Hmmm, do-able maybe, but doesn't sound like my cup of tea...

I'm not too interested in the wiring side of things.. Just looking at pix of what ppl go through for EJ swaps REALLY turns me off :lol:

 

Maybe its a lack of experience in that deep of moding or maybe lack of tools, time and luxury to have the car out of commission for so long...

 

I'd be psyched to help or get in on another project like this with other folks WAY more in the know than I, but not so much on my rig as a first go...

 

Thanks for the good info thogh! It helps me stay on my original idea of an aussie D/R AWD... Because truth be told, I'm REALLY a stick shift guy. That way, a stick AND a low gear (similar to 1st in an auto)... More happier for the clutch and me..

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if you're interested, I could make a standalone 4EAT harness with the stuff I have around. I think the last one I did, I pulled the trans control stuff out together instead of cutting it. Would probably only require half a dozen splices to install. let me know if you're interested, and I'll look more closely into it next week and give you some more detailed info.

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