ARGH! Missing transmission code

[Shale]

So to get the crossmember I want, Strong want a tranny code since it's an oddball box.

Had a peek...and the sticker's gone, it's been replaced with a string of six numbers.

It worries me as much as it annoys me.

Any advice?

[Shale]

Yep. Not so sure about the 4ATs though It's got a strange mount for the crossmember.

[Guest]

switch to a manual. solved.

[Shale]

That would have been so fricken' handy. The box I have is a '96 and hates my old crossmember. As for the diff ratios...only one way to find out if it's the same since there's no code on the damn thing...try it, see if the car gets stuck.

Jake - I don't have the cash to throw at it for the conversion YET, so it's not much of a help. The other car's transmission is going into it when the Impreza gets the 6MT installed, but that's a few thousand dollars down the track. For now I'm stuck with a generic 4AT, because the old one blew up

[Guest]

so you're going to spend money on another POS 4AT? great idea!

[Shale]

Let me make it just a little more clear...

1) Auto gearbox I bought for $150 was rebuilt prior to sale and had been run in the car. It just needs a crossmember so I can get the car running and redo its WOF and rego, which are both expired.

2) I have less than $2000 available, period, and a $2500 loan to pay off...and I'm in the first tax bracket. Ends meeting...a precarious balancing act.

3) Getting a proper manual setup into the Legacy is going to be a good grand or so I simply don't have.

The aim of the game is to get the car on the road ASAP, considering people keep on breaking my other one. Converting to manual would be NICE, but considering the only option would be to get ANOTHER loan, I reckon it would be irresponsible to do it right now financially.

So auto it is. When it comes to major things like conversions...do it ONCE do it RIGHT.

[Guest]

I reckon it wore a really pretty dress, which is why shale likes it so much. I don't. 4AT sucks. oh, and let me make myself more clear: harden the ____ up. you can fill in the blank.

[Shale]

Hey now, let's not forget that we're not allowed to make derogatory or hateful remarks at each other on the new forums There is a rule about pointless comments or those that add no value from memory, too.

I might note at this point that I too hate AT, but there is a practicality aspect involved here too; I intend to let my parents drive this car around a fair bit before it gets STi'd, and with Mum's iffy left knee she'd prefer it auto for the time being. Thinking of others as well as myself

Keltik - did you use a turbo box and new clutch, or sneaky in alternatives? There's a fella that's got the same sort of total as you, but it was a 1.8 N/A donor car for the setup...while it's strong enough for a GT with a VF10 so far it probably won't handle much more punishment than that (which is why it'd be plan B rather than plan A).

As far as the disagreement goes, yeah...they had a fight. One was wearing pink, the other was wearing red...the bolt pattern is different and they won't line up. The new box is on diagonals compared to the old mounts...I know that doesn't make much sense, and it certainly gets lots of WTFs when wreckers try and line up the plate from the box and the old crossmember. I may have to go and collect the parts from the panelbeaters (since they're in the other car) and take some photos of the mismatch. Strong reckons if they can find the mounts they can just shove those on the old crossmember, but it's finding the rubber mounts that's proving difficult.

[Guest]

I haven't said anything hateful to you. yet. just towards automatic transmissions. get over it.

[Shale]

Haha you totally got the better deal with that one ;D Can be done fast too.

The box is one of the small few deviants that wanted to be different. It's from a 1996 TT Legacy of some description, and it's going into a 1990 GT wagon...so far this is one of only a few issues but definitely the major...the only one that's stopped it from going in so far.

Far as I can tell from the code the old broken box was also out of a BD/BG, but is completely different again...

Manuals are FAR EASIER to deal with!

[Guest]

Diff ratios rae easy to find without code

Count number of teeth on crownwheel through the drain bung hole

39 = 3.900 (10 tooth pinion)

37 = 4.111 (9 tooth pinion)

40 = 4.444 (9 tooth pinion)

Don't drive to check as ratio differences can be hidden with the operation of transfer clutch

Make sure you dont have the newer VTD (variable torque distribution) as it wont work correctly with your TCU

the rear case's are different for the VTD transmisions

[Shale]

<3 Long you long time!

Looks like there's some tooth counting to do when I get home.

Thanks!

[Guest]

A trick to try, is to clean a tooth with brakleen and mark the tooth with twink /paint / vivid marker

Have one front wheel held still while someone turns the other wheel, that way all you have to do it count !

Recheck twice to make sure you have it correct

[Shale]

Is that while the box is in the car?

[Glen]

 Shale said:

Is that while the box is in the car?

Ummm.

[Shale]

 keltik said:

My suggestion would be to just find a crossmember out of a turbo BG legacy and try that. Should definately fit the trans and will certainly fit the car side

I'll have to give Pick-a-part another go and see if anything lines up. Strong had nothing that matched their BG boxes...

Glen - reason I asked is all this talk of holding and turning front wheels. Which could be a problem.

[Guest]

 keltik said:

VTD only came in BH onwards so i doubt its that. Just FYI those boxes have a 3.54 front diff and a 4.111 rear. They 'can' work with standard TCU's as the bloke who bought mine did just that in his outback.

My suggestion would be to just find a crossmember out of a turbo BG legacy and try that. Should definately fit the trans and will certainly fit the car side

Never seen 3.54 ratio , doing the calc's 3.54 to me impossible, what teeth numbers does it have ?

All my data shows BH with 4.444 in N/A and T/C models for front diff

TCU communictaes with VDC ecu and will log code 45 for incorect TCU specification i am interested how this worked!

[Guest]

Yes it was , but what TCU did he fit?

What about that odd ball ratio you came up with? What teeth #'s ?

[Guest]

Yes I know getting off topic a little

My reasoning behind MPT TCU is that early systems ran 95% duty at low throttle and 5% duty at full throttle

Where as later systems where opposite ie 5% at low throttle and 95% at max

What about that gear set ratio?

[Shale]

Don't worry about the off-topicness, it's all good info

*sits back and enjoys*

[ReubenH]

Just FYI. We were SO close to getting a GT auto crossmember... but... Those ever so wonderfull TT's that i love so much made it impossible to get out (atleast from where we were lying) without taking the exhaust off. The Y-pipe was trapping the f'ing thing in there.