otismaxi Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 Any opinions or experiences with imported Japanese AT transmissions? I might need a new tranny, and the remanufactured units go for ~$3500 installed, versus ~$1700 installed for the Japanese pull offs. One mechanic said the Japanese transmissions have low miles and are typically in good shape since the Japanese get their cars off the road after just a few years. At half price, I could replace the tranny twice if I get a lemon. Six month warrantee with the used, versus 12 months with reman. Thanks! O Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 Any opinions or experiences with imported Japanese AT transmissions? I might need a new tranny, and the remanufactured units go for ~$3500 installed, versus ~$1700 installed for the Japanese pull offs. One mechanic said the Japanese transmissions have low miles and are typically in good shape since the Japanese get their cars off the road after just a few years. At half price, I could replace the tranny twice if I get a lemon. Six month warrantee with the used, versus 12 months with reman. Thanks! O Make sure the final drive is the same as in the US. I havne heard any complaints. Shift point calibration is in the tcu, so there shouldnt be a probelm there either. But how are you going to convince it your in the wrong seat nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 i wouldn't do either. if you're spending that kind of money, get a low mileage tested used unit with a warranty. subaru transmissions are resilient and have very few issues, most of which are resolved with proper care - don't overheat them and change the fluid. people are so anal about engine oil and never change their trans fluids/oil, that trips me out. go used any day. two people have bought JDM engines on the xt6.net group this year (i am one of them). both had bad headgaskets. i know that's engines and not trans and plenty of people on here are driving good JDM motors right now. but these "low mileage gems" can easily burn you and the "warranty" consisted of them offering me a headgasket set which i never received either. i'll probably avoid the JDM route myself, but you can get a good unit from them, plenty of others have. go used is my vote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quidam Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 Just some thoughts on JDM in general. It seems to be a crap shoot sometimes. If you can't put your hands and eyes on the ACTUAL engine and or tranny. Insist on pics of the actual part in question. Anecdotal JDM info. '89 carby Justy 1.2 L nine valve 3 cylinder: Ebay purchase, $390.00 shipped from California to a business address in Ohio. Would have been $50.00 more shipping to a residence. The ebay picture showed the engine with no accessories, no intake, carb, or exaust manifold. The engine arrived complete, air cleaner to oil pan and even had the flywheel with a powder clutch assy. for the ECVT transmission attatched. It also had the air conditioner compresser, alternator, and power steering pump. Now, to my knowledge, Justy's weren't sold in the U.S. with power steering. The Cat converter had two O2 sensors where the U.S. version has one. The engine is up and running like a champ, and was very clean inside. The oil pan was removed and the guts inspected, timing belt tightened up a bit, and the valves adjusted. The pick up coil assembly in the distributor was bad and it didn't fire up the first attempt. Swapped distributors and it fired right up. I'm speculating here: The reason the car may have been taken out of service in Japan in the first place "MAY" have just been the bad pick up coil. How does this pertain to a JDM transimission? Well, it seems you never know what you'll get. On this engine, I got lucky. It's been said that you don't need luck if you're good:). hummmm Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 Ok ive been reading interesting things on the SVX board. DO NOT get a JDM transmission. It is possible that not only does it not have a clutch pack, but the duty c solenoid operates totally opposit of what it does in america. http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/showthread.php?t=36400&page=2 nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manarius Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 Ok ive been reading interesting things on the SVX board. DO NOT get a JDM transmission. It is possible that not only does it not have a clutch pack, but the duty c solenoid operates totally opposit of what it does in america. http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/showthread.php?t=36400&page=2 nipper I'd disagree with that a little. You can get JDM trannies depending on the type. As in, getting a 4.11 geared 5MT would be nice (JDM only). But, that's only for MT's.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 I'd disagree with that a little. You can get JDM trannies depending on the type. As in, getting a 4.11 geared 5MT would be nice (JDM only). But, that's only for MT's.... We were discussing AUTOMATIC transmissions, not manuals. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 Ok ive been reading interesting things on the SVX board. DO NOT get a JDM transmission. It is possible that not only does it not have a clutch pack, but the duty c solenoid operates totally opposit of what it does in america. http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/showthread.php?t=36400&page=2 nipper i take it you believe this to be all jdm suby trannys, not just svx? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 i take it you believe this to be all jdm suby trannys, not just svx? Thats what they hint at, as the common fix on the svx board is to convert the svx to a legacy transmission. I just dont want to see somone post on the board how they are having JDM/austrailain transmission issues. It is worth investigating. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
123c Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Don't do it, I had nothing but problems with mine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. RX Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Not say all cars in Japan are driven this way, but when I was in Japan driving, everytime the light changed, it was like a drag race to the next light. I would say it depends on how long you are planning to keep the car, the rebuilt should come with some type of warrantee, the JDM tranny probably will not, you might have to replace the JDM tranny two or three time before you would have to replace the rebuilt one. If it is a matter of cash flow, then you only have one option, since you probably can't afford the rebuilt one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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