Starter stud options for the 6spd

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Legacy777
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Starter stud options for the 6spd

Post by Legacy777 »

As some of you know, the 6spds use an 8 bolt pattern vs. our 4 bolt pattern. With the newer 8 bolt pattern the lower starter mount is secureding using a bolt vs. the older setup of a stud and nut.

The lower starter mount hole on the 6spd has a diameter of 0.475" on the engine side and a diameter of 0.445 on the outer side. I mention this because somewhere in the middle it tapers down however, I don't have any way to measure that and determine where that takes place.

The stud on the 5spd is a M10x1.25 stud. The threaded part is about 5/8" on either side with a none threaded part in the middle. The total length of the stud is about 1.75".

I have two options I'm looking at, the first is to drill and tap the hole for a larger stud and then just drill out the hole on the starter. This is probably the easiest option. However with the size hole that's already there, I'm going to need to drill it out to .5" and then tap it for an M14x1.5 stud. This isn't too much larger, however on the starter side, I've got to go even larger to accomodate the stud passing through the opening. I don't have a size chart on how big an M14x1.5 bolt is though, and haven't looked it up yet.

The second option is to use a helicoil to try and reduce the size stud I'm using. However I don't know if it's really worth it to go through the added effort.

Thoughts?

What did those that have done this before do?

Thanks
Josh

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Re: Starter stud options for the 6spd

Post by dscoobydoo »

PM Jake. He did the 6 speed. And since they have a Subaru shop, I know they did it the "right" way.
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Re: Starter stud options for the 6spd

Post by Legacy777 »

Thanks, I'll PM him and see what they did.
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Re: Starter stud options for the 6spd

Post by Legacy777 »

Well I've been doing a little searching and finding an M14x1.5mm stud is pretty difficult. I think what I may do instead is buy a bolt, which I can find, cut off the head of the bolt, and then chase the threads at that end with a die to clean them up. I need around a 50 mm long bolt. I'm going to call a few hardware stores tomorrow and see what I can find. I'll also need to pickup a M14x1.5 die. I've got the tap, but not the die.

I'll keep everyone posted on what I end up doing.
Josh

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Re: Starter stud options for the 6spd

Post by Someperson »

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Re: Starter stud options for the 6spd

Post by Legacy777 »

I'll take a look there. I think what I may do before I go drilling holes is verify the starter bolt hole's diameter profile with a wax or filler. The M14 bolt is a rather BIG bolt....so if I can avoid using such a big bolt, that would be my preference.
Josh

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Re: Starter stud options for the 6spd

Post by jake15 »

when i had the 2.2 in my car i drilled out the hole in the transmission and the starter then tapped the transmission for a 14x1.5 bolt (one of the rear control arm bolts). You have to tap it to a 14 because there is not enough meet in the tranny for the 12mil unless you helicoil it. i never had any issues with the larger bolt

bolt i used for reference-

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Re: Starter stud options for the 6spd

Post by Legacy777 »

Jake,

Thanks for the feedback! That's a pretty good idea. I guess I don't need to have a stud there, I could as easily use a bolt. I'll have to see if I have any of those rear control arm bolts in my bolt bags
Josh

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Re: Starter stud options for the 6spd

Post by Legacy777 »

I think I've got it figured out based up what I have available. I picked up a 45 mm long M14x1.5 bolt at a local hardware store. It's diameter is right at 0.55". I am going to use that bolt, drill the starter hole on the transmission with a 1/2" bit, and tap that hole to M14x1.5. For the starter I'm going to drill the lower bolt hole to 9/16" or 0.5625". This should give enough clearance to pass the bolt through the starter bolt hole.

I already have the M14x1.5 tap and the 9/16" drill bit, so it just makes sense to go that route, rather than buying a whole bunch of new tools, etc.

I'm going to do it tomorrow, so I'll take pictures :)
Josh

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Re: Starter stud options for the 6spd

Post by BoostedSubie »

I ran into this same problem having the 02 Forester tranny in my car. I had to do the same thing but the crappy tap/die set I had from Harbor Freight sucked and it was a pain getting the thing to stay straight.
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Re: Starter stud options for the 6spd

Post by Legacy777 »

Well I worked on the starter bolt hole yesterday, and it came out good. The tap may have not be perfectly square with the hole, but the bolt threads and everything is good.

I used a 1/2" drill for the M14x1.5 tap and then used a 9/16" drill bit to drill out the lower starter bolt hole. I chamfered the holes with a step bit, which worked really good. However, in the process I broke one of the studs on the starter solenoid. So I've got to find a used solenoid or if it's not too expensive buy a new one.

Here are the pictures from the work:

http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/s ... spdswap/10
Josh

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Re: Starter stud options for the 6spd

Post by reecers »

so i just ran into this problem, Thinking im going to heli coil just for the sake of not having to drill out every starter this car goes through
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Re: Starter stud options for the 6spd

Post by Legacy777 »

Hopefully you don't go through starters, but I can understand you not wanting to have to modify future starters.
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Re: Starter stud options for the 6spd

Post by reecers »

Legacy777 wrote:Hopefully you don't go through starters, but I can understand you not wanting to have to modify future starters.
yea, I don't know maybe I'm over thinking it. I didn't remember it being this hard to find heli coil stuff. I just hope that the hole isn't already too big for the heli coil.
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Re: Starter stud options for the 6spd

Post by IronMonkeyL255 »

On my '06 5-speed swap I had a similar issue, so I just drilled and tapped it for one of the studs out of the rear diff rear cover and widened the hole on the starter to accept it.
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Re: Starter stud options for the 6spd

Post by reecers »

ok guys i got mine done but it was the wrx 5spd don't know how or if 6spd is different, but i did a helicoil with 10m bolt so i could retain 14mm socket and i didn't have to drill the hole, the tap went right in.
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Re: Starter stud options for the 6spd

Post by Soobster »

I ran into this issue matching a 91 EJ22T to a 2006 TY754 push clutch transmission from a non turbo Impreza. This transmission case has a through-hole for a non-existent stud.

I drilled to 1/2" and then tapped 14x1.4 threads for a 10x1.25 Keensert thread repair insert.

A bit of advice. Drill the 1/2" hole and tap the 14x1.5 from the engine side of the bellhousing towards the starter side. I did the opposite with a hand drill and ended up ovalizing the hole a bit on the starter side. No big deal, just means my thread repair insert will be set back requiring a 60mm bolt. I think it would be possible to get a thread tap started successfully even if the hole was slightly out of round.

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Re: Starter stud options for the 6spd

Post by Legacy777 »

Good info. Thanks for sharing.
Josh

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