legacycentral bbs

Ok, first off I love having a 5 speed manual in the turbo wagon....... but the 5 speed is stock NA 4.11 gears from before my turbo swap.. the down side is that now the transmission is making some sounds it didn't before and I daily drive the thing. Now I am making plans for a transmission change.

I am looking into putting a SVX auto trans into the car. because:
1. I have an SVX in my yard that has 100K on it ( I am using the engine for my VW van)
2. I want a lower final drive for better cruising on highway
3. want a auto for daily driving
4. it's free (I bought the car the for motor)

I have never dealt with swapping a auto before.
1. what kinds of problems do you think I will come across?
2. is it possible at all?

Thanks
Derek

I'm sure it's doable, however both SVX folks and Legacy guys move the opposite direction.

The driveshaft is shorter on automatics. You should be able to follow the various auto>manual swap guides, just in reverse.

The taller final drive ratio on the SVX trans caused many heat related failures in the OEM SVX application. The SVX guys are swapping in 4.44 autos to lower the overall load and heat. Keep your trans well cooled.

Also I have a Rob Tune ECU. I don't know if that had a factor with the ECU and TCU talking to each other.

I swapped a 97 Outback 4.44 trans and diff into my father in laws 94 SVX after his stock one started to go. It drove considerably better with the lower gearing. As stated before the taller gears cause heat problems which in turn take out the trans. Subaru geared them higher to increase highway mileage to help offset the larger motor.

The ecu should not matter wether you have an auto or manual. I have ran an ecu from an auto in my manual with now issues. However converting your car to an auto seems like a feat which may be more easily accomplished by simply buying a new wagon with an auto.

If the car is an original turbo wagon then it should be already wired for an auto as that's all they ever came with. Hopefully the TCU and related wiring is intact.