489 replies to this topic

[duncanm]

Well - so when I put new engine and trans mounts in, seems the (little) clearance I had to the driver's-side dump vanished and I had the thing banging against the front trans crossmember.  This is probably due to the fact that the exhaust was designed for an auto.

 

So today before it got too hot, I pulled the whole trans subframe out (piece by piece) and notched it with a flapper disk. 

Quick spray with some HT enamel, then it was wrestle the pieces back in.  Problem solved. 

 

With that noise gone, I can definitely hear that my gearbag is on its way out.  I'm guessing the first main shaft bearing has gone, as its noisy in all gears, whine rises with engine speed, and the input snout seemed to have a fair bit of play when I had the engine out for the new clutch.

 

I guess 350k with 250k of those behind the '208 has finally done its damage.

 

So the first question is - full rebuilt gearbox or cheap and cheerful wrecker job... and do I go for a 5sp rex box, or another dual-range ?

 

Second question is how long can I expect this box to last before catastrophic damage to something else in it leaves me stranded?

 

EDIT: OR (and I'm not sure I want to do this) a 6sp conversion ?

[Barbbachello]

6 speed these days is probably worth more than the car unless you get lucky with a cheap gen 4 from the auctions. They do make a great touring box as the TT can get them moving at the 2500~ they cruise at

WRX boxes are for the most part going to be pull type which means a new clutch OR are push type but dont have the speedo drive. You can get the ABS VSS boxes but something to think about

 

[duncanm]

yeh - rebuilt 5sp box and 6sp conversion both worth more than the car and are similar prices, 6sp more effort.

 

 

The other thing I need to consider is just how much life does this bucket have left in it? 

[Barbbachello]

Have as much life left in it as money youre willing to put into it

[duncanm]

indeed.. and it'll still be less than some other (history unknown) shitbox

 

Couple of TY856 six speed conversions going around locally for about $5k. Tempting.

[Barbbachello]

For your reference you will need

• Pull type clutch and flywheel. Can be 5 or 6 speed spec but has to be matching obvs 
• Starter motor from a manual. Most 2000+ manual ones are same same
• GDB Shifter (these are cheaper new than most people want used)
• Auto outback tailshaft
• Matching ratio diff. Doesnt need to be R180
• You might need dumps but being auto spec they might fit
• Depending on which box you get youll need front CV shafts if the box doesnt have stubs. 
• Depending on box something to generate a VSS signal
   

Funnily enough a mate of mine has a gen 4 EZ30 box package for sale if youre interested. Asking $3500 + shipping for box, diff, starter. Just need to source a clutch, flywheel, shifter, VSS solution and front shafts (im running ebay GD ones). It is a wrecker box flip so obvs cant confirm its condition but basically what theyre all like

[El_Freddo]

Personally I’d throw a junkyard box in with a warranty and roll the dice on that one. You’ll know pretty quickly if it’s good or not.

To me, if you like the car and it’s doing what you want it to do I don’t see why you’d need to move on from it. In my opinion the newer the vehicle the more unnecessary crap comes with it that interferes or distracts from you driving the vehicle, plus you don’t know it’s history like you know the vehicle you have now.

Vehicles these days have throw away items and this now includes major drivetrain components such as engines and gearboxes - they’re just too bloody expensive to rebuild unless you’re after a performance engine in which case you’ll have a set goal in mind. Same for gearboxes.

It’s hard to say how long your gearbox will last. Worn bearings that are badly worn allow more movement in the shaft they support which in turn mis-aligns one gear resulting in odd wear and increased stressors until you lose a tooth or twenty - that’s when you’ll find yourself will many bits in your gearbox and one or all gears un-useable. Avoid that point!

Second hand gearboxes are relatively cheap depending on where you’re sourcing them from. I also don’t see how the flywheel is different between a push and pull clutch setup unless the pull clutch uses a bolting pattern that’s not symmetrical like the push clutch flywheel. Swap pressure plates if using the pull type clutch and add the appropriate slave cylinder if you go that way.

The wrx boxes aren’t any stronger than the NA boxes other than some NA boxes having the dual range, even then they hold up for a long time.

It’s your call as to where you want to go with this. You need to work out how much energy you’re willing to personally put into this, how much money your willing to drop into it for the gearbox replacement or another upgrade and how long you want to keep the car for - and at which point how much are you willing to put into a replacement vehicle (plus mods).

Hope this helps!

Cheers

Bennie

[duncanm]

Thanks guys -- your thoughts align with much of my thinking.

 

Car constantly reminds me how much fun it is.. and I can't see getting this sort of bang-for-buck unless I embark on another project.

[Beckers]

Thanks guys -- your thoughts align with much of my thinking.

 

Car constantly reminds me how much fun it is.. and I can't see getting this sort of bang-for-buck unless I embark on another project.

As everyone has said above 2nd hand 5 speed is the way to go.

Yes the 6 speed does lower your rpm @ highway speeds, mines got the super long ratio, 113 km/h is 2450 rpm ( full boost on the primary turbo).

Around town you rarely get in to 5th gear, can only be used in 80km or above zone and 6th is 100 km +.

If I wasn't going to a big single in the near future I probs would of stayed 5 speed.

[duncanm]

new (170k wrecker dual range SG Foz) gearbag went in over the last two days.  Wasn't too much of a drama changing the box in the driveway with a crane and a couple of floor jacks.

 

No strange noises, higher 5th is nice. Center diff seems ok.

 

Only minor concern is that I left my axles and CV's in place and just swapped the inner joints (tripod and cup). The male inner joints seem to be a little shorter (box to cup outer edge) than the old style and the Foz wrecker one I sourced has a correspondingly longer axle. Joints were almost popping out at full droop.

 

I'll have to re-measure, but I'm doing the front hub bearings some time soon, so I figure I'll check / swap the axles then if necessary.

 

Anyone want a dual range box suitable for rebuild ?

 

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