Has anyone??? 4eat

carsucharda · Post by **carsucharda** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 11:48 pm

two things.

First has anyone ever tried to modify their own valve body? Ive seen the IPT kit talked about on a few threads but i would assume that someone out there is like me and doesnt want to spend the money on something they may be able to do themselves. I know there are domestic valve body mod guides that have gone over with relative success. Ive not been able to find one for a subaru of any kind.

Second. I currently have a 93 turbo awd with a non turbo 4eat out of a '90 legacy awd installed in it. i am experiencing a shift flare from gear 2 to gear 3 and my awd system is not engaging smoothly. (ie. it engages late and harsh) i was thinking that some of this may be attributed to an electronic mismatch. ive tried swapping tcms to a non turbo but it does not like that. it locks the awd and i get shift flares in every gear. so my question is whether i can stick the good valve body from my turbo trans into the non turbo trans and see any positive results.

I know i should just repair the turbo trans or switch to 5spd but i am feeling lazy so please dont suggest these options .

Post by **Legacy777** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 6:37 pm

I'm assuming you swapped over the rear diff from the 90 as it's 4.111 vs. the 93's 3.90?

What exactly are you calling/referring to by "shift flare"

wtdash · Post by **wtdash** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 9:14 pm

+1 on the rear diff issue. The tranny's diff ratio has to match the rear diff.

Try putting the FWD fuse in and see what happens.

Ratios for 4EATs:
'90-91 and '95-98 Legacy (not outbacks nor turbos) = 4.11 ratio
'92-94 Legacy, incl. turbo = 3.90
'96-98 Outback and GT (?) = 4.44

carsucharda · Post by **carsucharda** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 1:37 am

yeah i got the right front and rear diff combo. the fwd fuse does its job as well but i still get the flare. i even wired in a switch later on that would force 4WD. (coincidentally enough, zero duty = 50/50 split)

As for "shift flare" i meant that when it goes from 2nd to 3rd with my foot on the accelerator more that 1/3 throttle the engine will rev up for a second or two before it engages 3rd gear. Its sort of like a clutch slipping on a manual trans.

I am aware that it could be internal, and that switching valve bodies may or may not do anything. i would like to know that if i switch them, i wont find myself with only one gear when i am done and have to redo/undo what i just did.

wtdash · Post by **wtdash** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 3:52 am

Tranny fluid fresh?

RU running stock turbo boost? That NA 4EAT may be under too much 'pressure'.

carsucharda · Post by **carsucharda** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 4:38 am

yup fluid is fresh put new fluid in when i swapped the trans. boost is at about 8psi. No strange noises. tires are the same size. no engine misfire. no tcm codes unless i flip my awd switch mentioned above. running turbo tcm w/ stock wiring. problem was there before the switch was put in.

anyone have an answer to the swappability question? its the last thing i will be doing before complete teardown, but again i am lazy when it comes to big parts removal/replacement/repair.

my theory is that the porting/valving in the non turbo is different than the turbo valve body and the tcm is expecting to control the turbo one but the nonturbo VB doesnt respond the same way thus i get a slight 1 to 2 second engine rev before the 3rd gear clutch grabs. Like i said. if its not that then i need to tear down my used trans.

wtdash · Post by **wtdash** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 5:59 am

Last comment, and I'm out....

FWIW, I had a Turbo 4EAT in my '90 before the EJ22T swap. It shifted fine 99% of the time w/the NA TCU, but would also 'flare', as you called it, but only rarely on WOT. I swapped in the Turbo TCU and had no more tranny shifting issues.

Good luck.

93forestpearl · Post by **93forestpearl** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 7:25 am

The turbo tranny is different, and much better suited for more hp.

Trans-Go sells a reprogramming kit for the valve body. If you know what you are doing, it is better than the IPT business. Torque converters are cheap. If you paid over $200 for any amount of higher stall, you paid too much.

Or, you can make a SS 4eat hold 1000hp, and anywhere inbetween.

carsucharda · Post by **carsucharda** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 4:25 am

so let me reiterate:

has anyone ever tried doing this themselves to a subaru valve body? http://allfordmustangs.com/forums/4-6l- ... j-mod.html its called a J-mod in the ford world. Im not looking for a kit, a reflash or a swapping program.

Has anyone ever swapped a turbo valve body into a non turbo trans mounted inside of a turbo car all stock in more or less good mechanical condition? What are the results?

wfoote · Post by **wfoote** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 5:39 am

For the "flare" there is a brake band adjuster on the upper left of the transmission. If you look behind the cable connectors on the top of transmission you will see a locknut with a small square bolt. This locknut and bolt allow you to adjust the brake band.

You might try cleaning the bolt and nut then marking one side of the square bolt with a sharpie. You can then loosen the locknut several turns and screw the adjusting bolt in until it gets tight. It should turn in about two revolutions. If the transmission has a lot of mileage on it the adjuster will most likely turn in quite a bit more than two turns. Then back the adjuster out two complete turns and retighten the lock nuts. This is a good starting point. You can then move the adjuster a quarter turn at a time in and out until you get the shift you are looking for.

As for the late hard AWD engaging, try a couple of fluid changes before doing anything too drastic.

carsucharda · Post by **carsucharda** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 5:55 am

that band controls 4th my shift delay (seeing as no one likes the word flare) is between 2 and 3.

carsucharda · Post by **carsucharda** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 1:44 am

so an update. i had some spare amp wiring around so i decided to do some ground upgrading. so i ran an engine and body ground to the battery. drove the car and viola no more shift issues and my awd is acting more normally. i can still sort of feel a bit of hesitation before the awd engages but its nowhere near as bad as it was.

this fixes my immediate problem however...

no one answered my question about valve body swap. i know they are different but are they swappable? has anyone on this forum tried something similar to the Jmod posted above? i think that cheap individuals like myself on this forum may benefit from some drill mods and spring mods.

Post by **Legacy777** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 1:52 am

I don't personally know of anyone doing the valve body swap.....you may be our pioneer in that regard.

WhiteLegacyGuy · Post by **WhiteLegacyGuy** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 5:05 am

Hi all
Just changing the valvebody to a turbo one wont do shit they're the same. the turbo transmissions are built to a higher spec from the factory. there is one more clutch disk in the forward clutch(gears 1,2,3,4) the high clutch (gears 3,4) and the 2-4 brake band servo piston has a lager apply area (same band). also the transfer clutch has 1 more clutch disk (AWD).
what does all this mean, more torque capacity. of course the non turbo tranny shifts will flare on a turbo motor. your almost doubling the input torque. the tcu's are calibrated differently to match the trans and motor also.

You need a turbo tranny or better.

A properly built 4eat will hold up to a 1000 HP and cost over $5000

I have done a few JMOD's on the ford 4R70W trannys. and no there isnt anything like this for the 4eat subaru.

The Trans-go reprogramming kit for the 4eat is not a do-it your self kit. it requires disassembly of the transmission. But it will dramatically improve shift feel and increase durability. with this kit and upgraded clutches my trans should hold 700+HP

End

legacycentral bbs

A forum for 89-94 BC-BF(BJ) Legacy Owners and Fans

Has anyone??? 4eat

Has anyone??? 4eat