All posts by Sean Sosik-Hamor

WRX 4EAT to BC6 5MT Conversion

By: Andrew Hobgood

So, my conversion is complete, and except for a few tiny issues, it works incredibly well.

For the overview, the patient is a MY02 WRX (GD2) with the 4EAT transmission (TIN TVA14YN1AA). It suffered one center differential failure (input sun to epicyclic diff gearset failed and sheared, as did contact faces on the input side of the planets). This was replaced to the tune of over $2500 in parts and labor. About 9 months later, the transmission started shifting poorly and flaring on cold fluid (winter here in New Hampshire). One morning, the car refused to go into any gear and wouldn’t move. Shavings were found, and the current best guest is that the oil pump in the transmission disintegrated.

Now, tired of dealing with not being able to repair an automatic, I decided to replace it with a 5MT gearbox. This would give me less driveline loss and better overall acceleration performance, and I was tired of being harangued for not knowing how to drive one. The auto tranny has its definite advantages — but it was time for me to move to something else.

I bought a 1990 Audi 80 quattro ($800) to get around while the WRX was off the road, and to learn the minutiae of driving a 5MT.

I came across the 5MT (TIN TY752VJ1AA) from a MY93 Legacy Turbo (BC6). It had about 150k miles on it… but it was already out of the donor car and sitting in the garage of a friend, attached to the motor. The price was right ($100), and figuring out how to separate it. I pulled it, deadlifted it into the back of the Audi, and brought it home.

The front final drive was now dropping to a 3.90 from the original 4.11 of the auto WRX. Unlike the 5MT WRX, the BC6 transmission used a 1:1 center transfer ratio, so I needed a 3.90 rear differential. I didn’t want to give up LSD, so I had two options — get a 3.90 LSD from a Legacy Turbo (only available in LSD for one MY, and would require different axles), or do a ring/pinion conversion on my stock 4.11 unit.

I decided to do the latter. I obtained a 3.90 open rear differential unit from a friend who had it sitting in his closet after a Legacy Turbo LSD conversion into his Outback Sport. Again, the price was right — it was free for the taking, since he needed to clean out his condo. Conditional on this was that I take the axles off his hands too — spares for the rally car! 😀

I had Bill’s Driveline in Manchester, NH do the ring/pinion conversion, since I lacked the experience, equipment, and parts to do it myself. $200 later, I had a 3.90 LSD that would use my stock axles, and was assembled to the right tolerances, and re-shimmed by a professional.

The new transmission crossmember and starter were obtained from a 5MT 1992 Legacy wagon (BF4) at pick-apart yard in Worcester, MA. I also took the pedal kit and some shifter interior pieces in case I’d need them. We also rolled a 1993 1.8L AWD Impreza onto its side and pulled the propshaft, with the hopes that it might fit… $21, and I had all of the above.

The pedal set and propshaft from above didn’t end up working, so I ordered a WRX pedal set, clutch master cylinder, clutch hard line, soft line, bracket, and slave cylinder for $180 from Suzuki Subaru Kia Parts in Rancho Cordova, CA. The propshaft from a 5MT WRX was purchased for $185 from F&S Auto Parts in Roxbury, CT.

Clutch, flywheel, and pressure plate were out of a WRX with approximately 9k miles, and were nearly pristine. I got them for free from a little birdie at a local dealership, as they were removed from a vehicle under the clutch shudder TSB. I also received an STi short shift linkage (without lever) for free from another birdie at another local dealership.

Throwout bearing, vehicle speed sensor, some wiring harnesses, and other miscellaneous bits were ordered new from Exeter Subaru and Manchester Subaru. I also ordered various hardware pieces, most notably a $40 part to mate the STi linkage up to the 5MT’s shift linkage shaft. I also bought a lot of nuts and bolts. While the car was apart, I also put in WhiteLine rear subframe bushings, rear subframe locking kit, STi transmission mount, STi pitch mount, a Kartboy short shift lever and Knuckleball, and a gutted WRX up-pipe.

We removed the stock 4EAT and rear diff by following the instructions in the manuals, more or less. We had hard copies of the factory transmission and wiring manuals, as well as the Haynes Legacy manual. The remainder of the important manuals (chassis, primarily) were electronically available on a laptop in the garage.

The rear diff was re-geared, put back in with the new subframe bushings and locking kit, and the rear suspension was reassembled.

While the 5MT was separated, we swapped out the stock Legacy linkage for the STi short-shift linkage. Particularly, this involved removing a double spring pin that held the linkage joint to the main shift rod. Using a punch and hammer, drill, mallet, etc., we made no progress. No lubricant would penetrate, and the metals appeared seized together. The smaller inner pin drilled out with no problem, but we broke drill bits trying to drill out the bigger one. We ended up using a small bolt, C-clamp, and O2 socket, as well as a ball joint puller and breaker bar, to force out the spring pin. Conservative calculations say that it took about 30 tons of force to get the pin out — wow. Once the pin was separated, the joint wouldn’t come off the rod… we ended up Dremeling it off one chunk at a time until the whole thing came off.

This accomplished (over two days, probably dumped 10 or more man-hours into the freakin’ thing), we cleaned up and oiled the linkage rod and attached the new joint with a bolt, nut, and lock washer.

The 5MT went in by following the manuals as well, with the new mounts going in. The front pair of holes for the 5MT transmission crossmember had little plastic plugs in them, but were pre-drilled and tapped. Score another point for parts-bin engineering. Alignment was a *****, but we got it all to come together.

We did the up-pipe in here too, which involved draining all the coolant, as it was all coming out of the turbo lines anyway.

The hydraulics went in, as did the pedals. Once again, parts-bin engineering prevailed, as the holes were already cut in the firewall and the firewall insulation for the clutch master cylinder. The starter wire needed a little massaging to stretch all the way to the terminal on the MT starter, but it wasn’t a big deal.

The WRX propshaft rear section was perfect length from the bearing to the diff, but the front section is about 1cm too short. Realistically, there’s plenty of spline engaged in that sleeve yoke that there’s plenty of strength, and no leaks. The only way to do this right is to use an Impreza rear section and a Legacy front section, or to lengthen my existing one. I might do this if it proves to be a problem as time goes on.

Now, with everything hooked up, I filled the gearbox with Redline Shockproof Light (pureed Smurf!) and the rear diff with Redline 75W90NS. All synthetic oils… expensive, but I need all the protection I can get.

I made a custom wiring harness using the vehicle speed sensor extension wire from a WRX, the reverse/neutral harness from the BC6 transmission, and the harnesses from the 4EAT… one harness tricked the starter circuit (the P-N sense switch on the inhibitor switch harness), and the other harness brings vehicle speed, reverse, and neutral sensors all into the driver’s footwell, where the TCU would normally reside, without running new wires through the firewall.

I then set to work splicing, getting the vehicle speed sensor wired up to send its signal on what used to be the vehicle speed output signal on the TCU. I pulled ground from a nearby harness, and ignition supply from what used to supply the TCU. The N and R wires are still unattached, so my reverse lights don’t work yet.

After that, she ran perfectly. Started fine, idles great, no problems. It occasionally throws a P1596 (AT diagnosis signal high) CEL, but it doesn’t limp… I just need to figure out how to get it to stop looking for the TCU. 😀 At the worst, this would be an ECU swap, but as it stands now, the CEL is barely a problem.

Important parts and approximate prices:

  • transmission (TIN TY752VJ1AA): $100
  • 3.9 open rear diff (from MT OBS): Free
  • rear diff conversion labor: $200
  • shudder takeoff clutch, flywheel, pressure plate: Free
  • clutch master cylinder, lines, slave, and pedals (WRX): $180
  • WRX 5MT propshaft: $185
  • junkyard MT starter motor: $15
  • junkyard tranny crossmember: $6
  • new WRX vehicle speed sensor: $60
  • new WRX VSS harness: $25
  • STi transmission mount: $90
  • fluids (gear oil, coolant): $50
  • STi short shift linkage: Free
  • Kartboy shift lever: $100
  • Kartboy Knuckleball: $30

So, all told, a bit over $1000 for the important stuff, and $1300 including new bushings, short shift stuff, and other optional items.

Important tools…

  • Breaker bars (suspension components!)
  • Torque wrench (don’t overdo it, kids…)
  • PB Blaster (beats WD40)
  • Engine assembly lube (with moly, lithium, and graphite… for throwout bearing)
  • Spray lithium grease (for other random greasing)
  • C-clamps and patience (for removing that odd Spring Pin of Doom)
  • small Frenchman (proved invaluable at fitting in small spaces)
  • transmission jack (getting the tranny into the car
  • would be virtually impossible without this)
  • ratcheting box wrenches

Big thanks to:

mad-dog999 — Can’t thank him enough. This guy used his unnaturally long arms and skinny hands and body to fit into spaces that my 6’3″ 275lb frame simply couldn’t. He was there every weekend, through every last hour of this job. He kept encouraging me when I though it would never happen, and proved to be the best assistant that money can’t buy. 😀 There’s a reason we’ve got him as the crew chief for our rally team… 🙂

IggDawg — for the garage, muscle, mechanical advantage, and comic relief.

Sephro — thanks for letting us use your tools, and break them… 😀 also, mad props for finding a transmission jack.

wac — for the free diff and wiring suggestions

Darshu — for the nearly free transmission, and paying for my shaft. 😆

dano — for grabbing my shaft. :p

Sean, webkris, LinuxGuy, and anyone else who stopped by — thanks for labor and encouragement. 😀

North Ursalia and subaruwrxparts.com — thanks for putting up with my parts questions, searches, orders, returns, re-orders, etc… and mad phat dealz y0!

joe z and Sully at Manchester Subaru — more parts and such…

First off, it’s working great so far! 😀

The car is so fast now… between the drivetrain and the up-pipe, it just pulls and pulls…

Unfortunately, there aren’t a whole lot of pictures… neither mad-dog999 or I own a digital camera, and we were too busy actually doing the work to get pictures. 🙂 Sean and webkris occasionally stopped by to snap some pictures, so I’ll see what I can dig up.

Most of the process is well documented in the shop manuals, except for the actual bits that needed “conversion”…

Interesting key notes:

  • Converting the Legacy Turbo cable speedometer to use an electronic sender was relatively easy. They both use the same diameter and thread pitch. I had to file down the upper part of the plastic housing for the electronic VSS to get it to clear the transmission case. After that, it just hooked right up.
  • The clutch system of the BC6 tranny is identical to the WRX (pull-type hydraulic). All of the parts (including release bearing, clutch disk, pressure plate, and flywheel) are WRX parts. Same thing with the slave cylinder and other hydraulics… bolt patterns were identical for the slave cylinder, and the slave piston indent in the release fork was perfectly placed.
  • Pressure plate bolts need to be bottomed out… the torque spec on them is 11 ft-lbs, but it takes way more than that to get the plate to seat onto the flywheel. Do them slowly and evenly until the plate is seated all the way, then just check and make sure that they’re down to your 11 ft-lb spec.
  • Do NOT try and use old flex-plate bolts to attach the flywheel to the crank. We damaged the threads in one of the bolt-holes on the end of the crankshaft, and it was mangling threads on the bolts. We ended up re-tapping the hole before attaching the flywheel… it took a 10mmx1.0 (ultra-fine pitch, not the 1.25 fine pitch) tap and steady hands (on mad-dog999’s part) to make things right again.
  • The wiring manual is invaluable for modifying the harnesses. Make sure you mark which page you’re working from so if you get distracted or lose your page, you come back to the right one… I screwed up at least once and made half of my wire colors for the turbo diagram, and half for the non-turbo. I realized this early, but it added some extra splice time to my efforts.
  • On the inhibitor switch, only one wire is necessary to fool the starter… there’s a specific Park/Neutral starter interlock wire that is separate from the gear indicator wires… short those two contacts together. If you’re anal, you can connect these over to your neutral switch or make a starter interlock relay. I’m not that anal. 😀
  • The other harness can be used to interface to the bulkhead harness to bring all of your signals into the car without running more wires. Use it. The TCU doesn’t need it anymore. 🙂

Right now, cruise control is broken, my reverse lights don’t light up, and I can start the car without the clutch in (though, some would argue that this is a feature). The car occasionally throws a P1596 MIL, but it doesn’t limp. I can check/clear the code from my in-dash SECS unit, so it’s no big deal.

Stub harness — this attaches to the inhibitor switch bulkhead connector to convince the starter to crank.

Custom bulkhead harness — this takes the VSS wires, neutral switch wires, and reverse switch wires and brings them into the car on the old signal I/O wires that used to go to the TCU. These come out on the B54/B55/B56 connectors that now no longer go into the bottom of the TCU under the steering column.

So, the one-week update…

Starting on Friday night, as the car was parked in its space overnight, it leaked a little bit of gear oil onto the pavement… I spent Saturday driving around, returned to my apartment, and when I opened up the hood, was greeted by smoke, which was more gear oil landing on the exhaust and burning off. Kept watching my level like a hawk (it had been slightly over-full) and did an autocross yesterday… the leak got progressively worse as time went on.

webkris, Mr. The Plague, Sean, and I put it up on jackstands last night, pulled the exhaust system and tranny crossmember and found the leak. The rearmost seal on the transmission was oozing fluid every time the shifter lever was moved. The rearmost seal is directly in front of the lower shifter pivot plate, and both are held to the transmission with a single (!) bolt. This appears to be factory standard on the older transmissions, and the newer ones use only two bolts. End result, the end plate on the transmission was flexing, causing the gasket to flex, and gear oil to ooze out.

Still, that plate has an additional four holes and two studs coming out of it which are all pre-threaded. I found some matching bolts and nuts in my box of Subaru parts, and managed to secure the plate better. Take it gradually when tightening, and don’t overtorque — it’s an aluminum case, and you will strip out threads if you try to put too much force onto them.

Bolted the transmission crossmember and exhaust back up, and it looks like there’s no more leaking at all. All in all, I lost a little over a quart of gear oil. I’m ordering some more to top it off and to have a stash around for if something like this happens again.

Solo II Novice Handbook

Now that the autocross season is officially upon is, it’s time to get the novices out on course to start teaching car control. Kate Hughes from the Glen Region SCCA has put together a Solo II novice handbook to help new autocrossers out with their first season. Although originally written in 1996 and last revised in 1998 virtually all of the information can be applied to any autocross series.

Although some larger autocross clubs harbor cliques and extreme competition within each class the smaller clubs are usually much more friendly and family oriented. All you need to do is ask. Anyone, anything. If they can’t help you, they’ll point you to someone who can.

Corbeau releases FX1 as inexpensive alternative to Sparco Evo

Corbeau has released the FX1 line of fiberglass composite race seats as an inexpensive alternative to the more expensive Sparco Evo. While the FX1 is designed for medium sized drivers and is similar in dimensions to the Sparco Evo 2, the FX1 Wide is claimed to be the largest race seat in production with dimensions slightly larger than the Sparco Evo 3.

Many thanks go out to Brett Setliff over at SOLORACER.com for doing the research on these seats before they were released and drop shipping them to Hatch Manufacturing, our cage builder, for installation into our Subaru Impreza rally car the minute they became available! We are quite impressed with the FX1 Wide but, as with any other inexpensive product, we have found a few quirks.

First impressions…big and mean!

First of all, the FX1 Wide seats are absolutely huge! Both my navigator and I had major concerns about finding proper seating due to our 44″ waists and birthing hips. We both had issues just barely squeezing into the Corbeau Forza and the Sparco Evo 2 so we knew we needed to find larger seats. We initially looked at the Corbeau Forza II but decided to wait for the FX1 to be released. We knew we’d chosen the right seats when Brent Hatch of Hatch Manufacturing called us and voiced concerns about physically fitting the seats into the cage!

At first glance, the FX1 Wide appeared to be just as good as the Sparco Evo 3. The fiberglass composite shell is extremely sturdy and slightly flexible with high quality outer fabric and padding. Major friction points are reinforced with leather patches and the colored padding can be removed for washing. As a bonus, additional colored inserts and padding can be installed for a better fit.

Quality/price/performance…choose two!

As with virtually all products, the old adage of you get what you pay for certainly rings true. At $299 and $344 respectively, the FX1 and FX1 Wide can hardly be called cheap. Compared to the more expensive $549 and $599 Evo 2 and Evo 3 seats as well as the $819 Corbeau Pro Sport, however, one has to imagine that the price difference is justifiable. Fortunately, the inexpensive price of the FX1 seems to be due to Corbeau designing the seat on a budget and not cutting corners.

Minor gripes and concerns.

Since the FX1 is a first generation seat and we are some of the first guys in the US to take delivery we fully expected there to be some issues. Most of the issues were quite minor:

  1. To simplify installation we purchased the Corbeau seat bracket designed to fit the FX1 Wide into our GC8 Subaru Impreza. The holes in the bracket did not line up exactly with the feet on the seat and had to be modified slightly with a die grinder. Corbeau verified that this as a minor issue that happens occasionally.
  2. The outer fabric on one of the seats let go in shipping and had to be reattached. This was a simple matter of unhooking the removable tension wire and realigning the fabric.
  3. The glue on one of the plastic harness slot inserts let go and had to be reglued. Since the inserts are flat and the back of the seat is curved it appears that this may be an issue if not enough glue is used to attach the inserts at the factory.

Installation procedure.

Actually fitting the FX1 Wide into a car becomes a game of inserting a square peg into a round hole. Stuffing the FX1 Wide into the GC8 Subaru Impreza chassis required liberal use of a sledgehammer to dent in the transmission tunnel just behind the shifter. Taller drivers who use the seat farther back on the slider may not have a rubbing issue but the fit is still extremely tight. The Corbeau driver seat bracket fit perfectly on the first try and there was plenty of clearance to use both the stock bolts and the eyebolts included with our Sparco six point harnesses to attach the bracket to the chassis.

Since a custom bracket was fabricated to mount the navigator seat as close to the floor and as far back as possible, installation of the harness eyebolts became an issue of chicken and egg. The eyebolt could not be torqued to attach the bracket to the chassis while the seat was on the bracket but, once the bracket was torqued to the chassis, there was not enough clearance to reattach the seat to the bracket. Creative use of physics and folding of the time space continuum, however, allowed everything to be attached properly. We’re still not 100% positive how we got it to work.

Long term comfort and seating position.

It takes some getting used to the new seating position of the FX1 Wide on the Corbeau brackets. Because the base of the FX1 Wide is thinner with less padding than the stock seats the overall seating position is just over two inches lower than stock. This drastically lowers the center of gravity but completely changes the dynamics of driving the car. Adjusting the steering wheel all the way down with the stock seats just barely touched my thighs where I now have over two inches of clearance with the FX1 Wide. Shorter drivers may have an issue with the steering wheel position being too high even in its lowest setting.

Although the padding is much thinner and not as contoured as the Sparco Evo 3 the seats are extremely comfortable, even in a daily driver. Both my navigator and I feel quite at home in the FX1 Wide and I personally have had no comfort issues during both two hour drives and my 30 mile commute to and from work. My navigator has complained of minor discomfort during spirited driving but that can easily be rectified with padded inserts.

Installing the Corbeau FX1 into the Nissan NX2000.

By: Brian Vecchiarelli

I installed the Corbeau FX1 in my 1993 Nissan NX2000 with the seat rails supplied by Corbeau. Installation couldn’t have been easier: 1 Philips head screw to take out some trim and four 14mm bolts to get the stock seat out. The FX1 went in just as easily. The Corbeau rails matched up perfectly and, four bolts later, the seat was in! The whole install took no more than 15 minutes.

The seat is very firm, even for a race seat, but all padding is removable and upgradeable. The seating angle is ideal and the shoulder bolstering is perfect. The seat by itself rocks.

Unlike the lower seat rails for the GC8 Subaru Impreza, the seat sits quite a bit higher than stock with the Corbeau sliders for the NX2000. At 6’1″ I have to slouch down if I don’t want my head to hit the sunroof so there is definitely no helmet clearance and, with a harness, I’ll never sit in the seat correctly with the supplied Corbeau seat rails. All this is easily fixed by a using different mounting scheme or fabricating custom brackets by hacking up the stock sliders.
According to Brett Setliff at SOLORACER.com Corbeau also makes sport rails to lower the seating position.

How to remove stubborn wheels from rusted rotors and drums

Now that Spring is officially here it’s time to take off the Winter beater steelies wrapped with snow tires and put the Summer alloys and tarmac tires back on the car. Unfortunately, after sitting all Winter in the snow, ice, salt and slush, quite a thick layer of rust can form on the rotors and permanently bond the steelies in place. Removing the wheels can range from annoying to outright impossible…fortunately, there are a few simple methods that can be employed to easily remove stubborn wheels.

Zero bleeding knuckles:

Jack up the car.

Be sure to use a hydraulic jack to jack up the car from your preferred jackpoint. Also have jackstands available to place under the car while trying to shake things loose (not required but a safety precaution for weak jacks). A sledgehammer, otherwise known as the Persuader or the Prodrive Tool, will be required to attempt to bang the wheels free.

When it comes time to put the new wheels back on the car be sure to use a wire brush to scrape off as much rust and dirt as possible from the rotors and the backs of the wheels. Spraying WD40 or PB Blaster on the back of the wheel before installing will also prevent rust buildup and make for easier removal come Spring.

Also, when torquing the wheels to desired spec (usually 60 to 70 pounds), take into consideration that the lubricant used in the first suggestion below will lubricate the studs. Lubricated studs require less friction to tighten so be careful not to overtorque the lugnuts. 60 pounds on a lubricated stud is like 75 pounds on a rusty stud.

One bleeding knuckle:

If the wheels won’t budge, remove the lugnuts and spray a little bit of lubricant through the stud holes and let it soak in behind the wheel. Make sure that no fluid touches the rotors! After waiting a few minutes for the lubricant to work its magic place jackstands under the car, grab hold of the wheel and shake like mad. If you’re lucky, the wheel will pop right off.

Two bleeding knuckles:

If the wheel is still stuck, keep the jackstands in place and lightly tap the wheel just outside the stud holes with a Persuader taking care not to bend or dent anything. Rusty dust should fall out of the wheel and form a little pile on the ground. If you’re lucky, the wheel will pop right off.

An alternate two bleeding knuckles method is to violently kick or whack the tire with the Persuader taking care not to hit any bodywork or innocent bystanders.

Three bleeding knuckles:

Put the lugnuts back on the studs and tighten them with your fingers. Once the lugnuts are finger tight, back them off by half a turn to a turn until there is a very small gap between the wheel and the lugnut (very important…failure to put the lugnuts back on could bend your studs).

Remove the jackstands, stand clear of the car and drop the hydraulic jack by twisting the release valve as quickly as possible. This will violently drop the car to the ground and the force should disintegrate the rust on impact. Jack the car back up, remove the lugnuts and the wheel should pop right off.

Four bleeding knuckles:

Time to bring out the big guns. This could damage your studs so this is where you need to make the decision whether to continue on your own or bring the car to your local shop. Go back to three bleeding knuckles by jacking the car back up, finger tightening the lugnuts and backing them off just a bit.

Violently drop the car again with the hydraulic jack, remove the jack from underneath the car and get into the car. Start up the car, slowly roll forward about five feet and then slam on the brakes as hard as you can. If a gut wrenching clang emanates from your wheels then they have broken free.

Get out, jack up the car, back off the lugnuts and the wheel should pop right off. Repeat four bleeding knuckles for as long as you dare to risk damaging your studs. It took six or seven tries to get the wheels off the rally car that had been put up on jackstands the day after an ice race…the worst possible combination of accumulated salt and slush being transferred to a warm garage to start the rust process.

Five bleeding knuckles:

If the wheels still won’t come off, you’re out of luck without professional assistance. Put all the steelies back on the car, torque appropriately and take the car to a shop to have them pop the wheels. At least then, if something gets damaged in the process, you’ll have someone other than yourself to yell at.

Roll Cage Construction

The Impreza will be shipped to Hatch Manufacturing next week for roll cage installation! Hatch is the company that Team O’Neil uses for all of their roll cage construction and we were highly impressed with the quality of their work on the Neon.

Contact Information:

Hatch Manufacturing, Inc.
Attn: Brent Hatch
38 Power House Rd.
Groton, VTÂ 05046
+1 802 584 3253

Keywords: subaru, impreza, wrx, dodge, neon, rally, roll, cage, clubrally, prorally, construction, installation