20g'd wagon with a 6speed!

[ansonowicz]

Here's a post from 3/11/2007 


Okay, just a teaser.  I have a lot of work ahead of me.  Thanks to the many posts regarding the STI transmissions, I landed a 2006 USDM STI transmission. It came off a wrecked STI @ 15k miles (rear ended from what I was told).

[ansonowicz]

Here I was, ready to post my writeup and forum goes down for a few days


Here goes, it's a lengthy read:


The project took approx 1 month. I worked on it for a couple of hours 3-4 times per week. I took my time, examined every single bolt, nook & cranny, measured 4 times before cutting, etc.

Well, that last remark was a figure of speech but this was the first time i've ever attempted anything as remarkable....by myself.

Parts acquired:

- 2006 STI transmission (used, 15k mi, center diff is 1.1:1 ratio)
- 2006 STI driveshaft (used 800 mi, so the seller claimed it was an 06
- STI 6 speed shifter assembly (new)
- STI 6 speed gearshift knob (new)
- ACT STi Streetlite flywheel 13.9 lbs (new)
- ACT Streetlite STI clutch kit (used, 8k mi)
- 2003 Rear Diff (freebee...Thanks ERIC! 3.54 ratio, final drive = 3.9)
- Neetronics DCCD standalone controller (new)
- 2 Circlips for 2006 WRX Front Axles (new, dealer)
- 2 compression washers for clutch master cylinder (new, dealer)
- about a dozen M10 x 1.25 pitch bolts (various lengths for bellhousing, turbo studs, etc) with Lock washers and hex nuts

Parts Re-used:

- Front Axles (2006 axles do not require new seals or stubs)
- Rear Axles
- crossmembers
- exhaust hanger (on transmission)
- all wiring connectors & plugs (except one plug)

[ansonowicz]

Removal:

Since I had FMIC assembly, removed all piping under the hood. Removed starter, some vacuum lines, ground wires, battery, downpipe, mid-pipe & cat.

Jack up the car...had to use several stacked 2x8" planks to get the car up as high as possible. This part was dangerous by myself. As the car got higher either the rear stands would tip & skew as the front went up (and vice versa). wish i had room & funds for a 2-post lift

Remove front tires, unbolt struts, disconnect swaybars from endlinks, remove axle nut (32mm), pop the axles using a pry bar. the axles popped out easy, but it took a bit of wiggling, rotation and pulling to clear the circlips on the axle.

Transmission jack, support weight of the tranny & remove 2 top bellhousing bolts (14mm). Undo all wiring for transmission From underneath, remove crossmembers, driveshaft center support, and driveshaft. Unbolt all bellhousing bolts. Remove in-cabin gearshift boot, rubber assembly, support bolts for shifter assembly.

Slowly pull back transmission. Since the jack was on wheels, I was able to bench press & wiggle the transmission loose. Of course, it didn't help having carpet underneath the transmission jack....it caused the wheels to stick. BUT the carpet made things quite comfortable all those nights underneath the wagon.

Remove rear wheels, unbolt lower strut bolts, unbolt traction bars?, rear axle nuts, pop the axles. Remove all supporting rear diff bolts, drop the rear diff.

[ansonowicz]

Assembly (part 1)

Thhis tranny is probably about 80lbs heavier than the 5 speed. It's heavy....VERY heavy. My $80 transmission jack from Harbor Freight was very useful.

Even though the wagon was propped as high and safely as possible, it was still too short to roll the 6speed in on it's jack. I had to lay the tranny on several layers of heavy duty garbage bags (yeah, HEFTY super strength) and pulled it into position (laying down under the wagon)

Luckily, I was able to sit upward with my upper body in the tranny tunnel & facing the flywheel. All of this room allowed for easy clutch & flywheel exchange. One thing to note, the WRX flywheel and STI flywheel bolt up identically to the block. However, stock flywheel has 6 bolts for pressure plate vs 9 bolts on STi. I didn't have an alignment tool, so I rigged something up using several sized sockets and extensions to get a good alignment.

Well, to re-emphasize, that tranny was a heavy sonofabitch. Laying down under the car, I had to figure out a way to get it back onto the tranny jack. Using a floor jack, the stock jack, elbow grease, ingenuity of simple pulley systems (motorcycle straps, wheel chocks, etc), I got it back up on the tranny jack. Best part, I only crushed my fingers once

Re-alignment was a difficult thing to do alone under a constrained space. I wasn't able to see the top or angle from above, so i enlisted the help of my friend. He was able to guide the transmission from above the engine bay while I attempted to align from under the wagon.

Now was the time to finish all wiring and planning out the connectors and DCCD wire taps. All connectors & harnesses matched up....except for 1. This connector provided the signal for Reverse light and neutral position. Stock WRX has 4 pins, the STI transmission had 6 pins. On top of that, the service manual labels the harness incorrectly so I chased my tail for quite some time. Since battery wasnt' hooked up, I had no way of metering out the pins.

The motor mounts did exactly what it was meant to do....absorb energy. With every bench press heave-ho, the tranny and motor would move together...after getting angry and going to hardware store to get more bolts, my friend suggested removing motor mounts or propping it up to keep it from moving. Since the block was waay too high for my floor jack, I improvised with a pull-up bar and wooden blocks. this prevented the engine from pitching foward & backward (funny enough, the subaru manual sells a jig to prevent the block from moving during tranny installation & removal).

Now that everything lined up, I bolted up the bellhousing in opposing fasion (similar to lug nuts). I went slowly & torqued to spec since the aluminum was relatively soft

[ansonowicz]

Assmbly (Part 2)


Align the clutch fork assembly, and finally connect all harnesses and grounds. With the exception of the before mentioned connector, I ended up cutting off all keys to the connector & using the 4 pins I needed. Re-install all crossmembers and supports systems. Also re-asemble shifter assembly, rubber boots and check to ensure all gears engage (including reverse lock).

Rear diff. Piece of cake, nothing to report.

Driveshaft....I should have checked fitment beforehand. When it was time to mate it up, the so called STI driveshaft I had was about 2.5 inches too long. Nothing lined up. Being here in Long Beach, I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by tons of hot rod shops & fabricators. I was able to drive over to the driveshaft shop, provide all of the necessary dimensions he asked for, he chopped & balanced the driveshaft .

After instaling the driveshaft, I was finally able to mate it up....it fit perfectly. Re-assemble center supports, covers, etc.

[ansonowicz]

Clutch Bleed:

it was a pain by myself. I read up it was supposed to be a 1/4" I.D (inner diameter) tube...it wasn't as snug as it could be...so I went back for a 3/16". I got about 3ft worth, connected to bleed connector and duct taped upward onto open hood. the elevation let air bubbles rise while keeping the fluid towards the system.

1) fill resevoir & keep bleed connector closed 2) depress clutch pedal 3) use pull-up bar & move seat forward to hold clutch pedal down. 4) release bleed connector about 3/4 turn & wait 5min 5) close bleed connector 6) release clutch pedal 7) repeat & keep an eye on fluid levels until all air bubbles are out .

This took about 10 cycles or so...I spent a few hours of trial and error before I found a procedure that worked for me.

[ansonowicz]

Concluding Assembly:

Finally re-install starter, FMIC piping, vacuum lines, misc ground & electrical.....

Put the tires on and drop the wagon onto ramps & wood planks. re-connect sway bars, double check all bolts, links, axles, etc. Double, triple, quadruple check everything.

Raise it back up, fill tranny fluid & diff fluid. while on jack stands, startup the wagon. Nothing, the starter didn't even click. WTF? oops, found a stray cable, it was the ground to the starter.

Try again, fuel system good, it fires right up. While it's on stands, I ran idle for a few min, then let it run each gear for a minute or two while listening for anything strange. Nothing sounds strange...so I decided to go for a road test

[ansonowicz]

FINAL SUMMARY:

The tranny has a high-pitch whine to it (ie PPG gears from YouTube posts). My boost lag very tolerable now. In stock tranny I'd punch the throttle and wait 1-2 seconds before a surge of torque set in. It would climb through the gears & had plenty of time before I hit redline.

Now, I punch the throttle & the car accelerates smoothly until spoolup. When the spoolup occurs, I'm at redline before I know i and it's time to shift. Now I have an idea of what all the modded STi drivers are experiencing

The ACT Streelite system is stiffer than stock and engagement window is much shorter. The RPM drops like a brick between shifts, so i have to move faster than before...at the same time though the acceleration is worth it.

At 80mph on the freeway, I'm running about 3250 RPM vs 3k on stock tranny (3.9 STi vs 3.7 WRX final drive).

I dont' have enough road around here to really "test" the tranny and play around with the DCCD controller. I need to find a large lot or some gravel road to see what the Neetronics is all about.

I put the car up on ramps & planks again to re-tighten all sway bars, crossmembers, suspension, etc.

So far the swap is about 3days old. I'm going on a roadtrip this weekend, so we'll see what the new MPG is vs stock.

** NOTE ** Having everything apart was a good time to repack wheel bearings, lube bushings, inspect the undercarriage, and a perfect opportunity to switch to stiffer bushings. As much as I would like to spend the money, this is still my family wagon. My son would probably shake his teeth & tailbone loose, so i opted not to. By the time I need to change the clutch again, we'll have another family car and I'll see what my options are by then.


Special thanks to ERIC (Fahren), Chris (birdman), Alan, SoCal F4, and everyone who egged me on.

[StuSSYsporT]

^nice!! when we gonna swap for 6-speed in my car??? 

[ansonowicz]

as soon as you have a 6speed in your posession, i'll be there with my tools 

[StuSSYsporT]

thought u were gonna buy one for me? for my birthday and introducing (or recommending) ginger to you hahaha. m mmmm ginger! love that delicious delectable!

[ansonowicz]

just wait until you see precious.

[hytek714]

lol

[dragonwrx1]

waah cool!! this is soo beautiful !! 

[Z3RO]

waah cool!! this is soo beautiful !! 

its a bitch actually. 

[StuSSYsporT]

^yes it is!

[hytek714]

hey anson how do you like you act clutch? im thinking of going with act cuz of the price, but i really wanna go with exedy

[ansonowicz]

hey anson how do you like you act clutch? im thinking of going with act cuz of the price, but i really wanna go with exedy

Well, the ACT streetlite kit I got still wasn't enough to hold the power I had, it would slip in 4th.  I currently have a SPEC Stage 3+ clutch.  When I received the ACT clutch, it said EXEDY on the disc and ACT on the pressure plate.

[hytek714]

ic...ill just probably get the exedy then...its probably worth it

[hytek714]

how long does it take to install a clutch? did you change your clutch lines as well?

[ansonowicz]

how long does it take to install a clutch? did you change your clutch lines as well?

With experienced techs, good tools, comfortable environment with no stuck bolts...it's about 6-7hrs.  I would safely set aside an entire weekend starting with Friday night.

Replacing the clutch lines wouldn't hurt, but not really necessary.  The fluids should be flushed though.

[StuSSYsporT]

^from what ive heard....... Don (ahh think that is his name) from Harman can install a clutch in about an hour 

[hytek714]

probably cuz they have a lift....

[ansonowicz]

probably cuz they have a lift....

I think Harman's approach is hoisting the motor out of the way.  Removing the downpipe, starter, and loosening the motor will pop that sucker right out.

Chad, Gus & I are well aware an hour to remove Trans & put it back (regardless of a lift) is impossible.  Yes, IMPOSSIBLE!

[StuSSYsporT]

BUMP for the DROMO1 meet!!

check the thread:
http://www.socalf4.com/forums/index.php/topic,112.0.html

[er0k]

Dude anson...I finally got to hear that thing after the Dromo meet...all I gotta say is....FUCK!!!  that thing sounds NASTY!!!! (in a good way )  I could hear your turbo start to spin when I was driving like 4 cars ahead of you!!  And it was louder than my exhaust!!  Awesome job man!!

ps...im gonna steal your front mount when you arent looking!

[ansonowicz]

Dude anson...I finally got to hear that thing after the Dromo meet...all I gotta say is....FUCK!!!  that thing sounds NASTY!!!! (in a good way )  I could hear your turbo start to spin when I was driving like 4 cars ahead of you!!  And it was louder than my exhaust!!  Awesome job man!!

ps...im gonna steal your front mount when you arent looking!

When we were smashing on the 57, I missed 5th and popped it into 3rd because of greeezy hands.  My motor got super pissed off at me

You can take my FMIC and I'll take you're DCCD  & gauge cluster.