Built manual transmission or where to get sychros

[Dipstik-sportech]

The r154 is not an option either due to its top mount shifter design. It would necessitate cutting the top of the trans tunnel 12" from the stock shifter forward to clear and it's too tall to say drop it down without the engine being on a less than desirable angle.

The Frozen North

[Fr-s.h]

Originally Posted by Dipstik-sportech

The r154 is not an option either due to its top mount shifter design. It would necessitate cutting the top of the trans tunnel 12" from the stock shifter forward to clear and it's too tall to say drop it down without the engine being on a less than desirable angle.

The Frozen North

Dont tell me that

I know that when I was working on my sc400 r154 swap the shifter would have to be extended/adjusted to sit in the center of the shifter collar, I figured on our cars this may have been the case as well, but 12 inches, damn.

I guess It may be a good time to start a v160 fund now. Woot woot money pit.

[Dipstik-sportech]

Yeah the issue is our transmissions are rod shift. Meaning they have a rod that goes into the back of the trans and the shifter is mounted on a tower like the v160. It also makes our bell housing to shifter distance very long not good for trying to find compatible trannies

The Frozen North

[Black86]

Take from my experience the r154 is a shitty shifting trans, I have it in my mk3 supra with 2jz swap (700-800whp) v160 is awesome but the price is crazy..I'm def waiting to see if anyone will release a build for our transmission betting that won't be cheap either. I'm sure someone will find a way to swap a different trans in for cheaper route.

[alexisfire02]

Originally Posted by Dipstik-sportech

Yeah the issue is our transmissions are rod shift. Meaning they have a rod that goes into the back of the trans and the shifter is mounted on a tower like the v160. It also makes our bell housing to shifter distance very long not good for trying to find compatible trannies

The Frozen North

What about a turbo 400? I've seen those in lots of high powered cars down at the strips.

[themadscientist]

Well, it seems this box comes in several flavors in many cars.

https://kaizenfactor.wordpress.com/2...e-know-so-far/






I see the S15 listed there. I remember when that came out people were grenading them so I guess this box doesn't have a lot of extra beef in it. I see the Miatas seem to have got one, would that box be close?



This whole state of affairs concerns me. The rental that I test drove had a synchro going out so it seems like a forgone conclusion on that part. I beat the living crap out of a gearbox too so it's especially problematic. I will let Subaru swap boxes for me under warranty, but if somebody doesn't come up with an answer before that expires I am going to have a problem. Right now the repair parts are expensive, but is there likely to be secondary sources for the parts at some point?

[wheelhaus]

TBH I am surprised there's no aftermarket (or at least specialist rebuild shops) for it yet.

Yeah replacement boxes are "cheap" but that's a band aid. Fortunately for me my box is getting smoother as the miles accumulate, and I occasionaly get some notchy shifts. I'm looking at the JRSC in the next year or so, and while its not crazy power and I consider myself a smooth shifter, I'd really like an alternative.

[Koa]

I swapped cryo'd RA gears into my shitty wrx 5mt and good lord, what a night and day difference. After grenading second on the stock box and reading about the similar problems people are having, I'll forever be wary of what subaru considers baseline/OEM quality. I recognize Aisin is not Subaru's go-to box, and probably was Toyota's recommendation, but still..

would be nice to see a stronger gearset available. I love how this transmission feels compared to the 5 and even 6mts from the EJ series subis.

[Dipstik-sportech]

Originally Posted by alexisfire02

What about a turbo 400? I've seen those in lots of high powered cars down at the strips.

That's a HUGE transmission and it's an auto.

[shellslinger]

Originally Posted by Norton 850

I don't know of any shops that are rebuilding these AISIN gearboxes. The dealer told me that they don't fix them; they pull and replace the complete unit.

It's a pity, really. I like the short throws of the gearbox but that second gear synchronizer "scrunch" greatly lowers my opinion of this gearbox, and the car, for that matter.

And even if we can live with this problem, what will prospective buyers think when trying to sell the car when the time comes? I can just imagine the excuses when the buyer goes for a test drive and experiences the scrunch: it's normal; they all do that; your not holding your tongue just right; or... .

There are ways of getting rid of that 2nd gear crunch. You can just switch out fluids. I switched over to Motul and I don't have that issue anymore. Made shifting even better than before.

[Koa]

Originally Posted by shellslinger

There are ways of getting rid of that 2nd gear crunch. You can just switch out fluids. I switched over to Motul and I don't have that issue anymore. Made shifting even better than before.

ehhh.. motul is thicker at cold... actually motul's performance is worse cold than OEM. well documented here members have similar results.. the oil is great when temps get up to speed. I have it in my tranny, have had it in the past 7k miles

One of the prevailing techniques to avoid the crunch is to keep the car in 1st a little longer than usual, hang the initial start off to 3k rpms or so and hold it for a second or so before shifting. Has helped lots of others too

[wheelhaus]

Originally Posted by pepelocuas

The weakest point on this car is definitely the AISIN transmission I just blow my second transmission and car is use only to go to work and back. Each transmission lasted around 9000 miles, both started with shifting problems then noise coming from the tranny on any gear and then all of the sudden driving in 6th gear at 70 mile/hour it just bang and lock up. When transmission removed I check oil level and was fine but it was BLACK and thick. I am going to put my third transmission and I am going to sell this garbage for whatever I can get.

To be honest if you're on your third transmission in less than 20k miles and it's all been simply commuting to/from work and it's siezing up while just "driving in 6th gear at 70"... I don't want to sound rude, but that's pretty hard to believe.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by pepelocuas

The weakest point on this car is definitely the AISIN transmission I just blow my second transmission and car is use only to go to work and back. Each transmission lasted around 9000 miles, both started with shifting problems then noise coming from the tranny on any gear and then all of the sudden driving in 6th gear at 70 mile/hour it just bang and lock up. When transmission removed I check oil level and was fine but it was BLACK and thick. I am going to put my third transmission and I am going to sell this garbage for whatever I can get.

Sounds like you beat the piss out of them.

[Icecreamtruk]

Originally Posted by pepelocuas

Come to my house and I'll show it to you. This coming Saturday a mechanic from subaru is stopping by to take both transmissions apart and see if they are fixable. I'll take pictures and I will post it here. Used transmissions are available for around $650 with about 20000 miles on it. LKQ has 3 for sale.
But first I want to take them apart and see why they broke.
If I would it take to the track it would blown after 10 laps.
I rather take my CRG shifter Kart to the truck is a lot more fun

What kind of crazy power are you pushing out? Because I track the car (have been for 4 years) and know a good amount of people who track the car and only 1 had transimition problems, and that was a turbo car at around 250whp.

Im not gonna be like others who dont believe you, I will say rather that yhou might be doing something wrong to have them break easily or you are pushing power way out of the same limits of the tranny, then yeah, it will brake, nothing you can do about it.