4.44 into L Series box

[ratters]

Hi guys,

I apologise in advance, I know this topic has come up before but my searching around in the various Subi forums isn't quite getting me the finer details I need.

My L-Series EA82 D/R box just did an output shaft bearing, so in the meantime I am just throwing another second-hand box into it to get me going again but now that I have a spare gearbox on hand I'll be popping it open with the intention of fixing the bearing + hopefully some mods.

As I understand it you can transplant the 4.44 ring gear from an SF GT 5Spd box. And that it should fit OK with the L-Series 1.59 low gear after some grinding so it clears. The part I am unsure about is do I need to swap out the pinion as well, or will the L-Series one be OK? Any other requirements or considerations? I know at this point I could also put in a front LSD but they look pretty cost prohibitive and I probably wouldn't be able to justify it.

I already have a rear R160 with 4.44 gears from a WRX sitting around so I assume it could be fitted with the earlier stub axles, either that or swap the 40:9 ring gear into an L-Series diff perhaps.

Cheers!
ratters

 

[Red XS]

Pinion and ring gears need to match, so definitely change the pinion gear over with the one from the 4.44.


I put 4.44 gears in a Forester, so I don't know the L Series specific things but others here will.



If you swap the ring and pinion gears into your rear diff, reuse the shims/spacers/washers that were in your old diff. This will more then likely set your pinion offset and backlash correct as the spacing seems to be diff casing specific, but still always check afterwards.

 

[El_Freddo]

Welcome to the painful world of the L series [MENTION=15927]ratters[/MENTION] !

The 4.44 ring gear will physically fit with the grinding you’ve mentioned. You will need the matching pinion gear as [MENTION=12952]Red XS[/MENTION] has said. The issue is that the PT4wd box has an integrated pinion shaft with the lower gearsets. You would have to remove all of the gears etc from the pinion shaft and have it welded properly, then most likely machined down so the new section of the pinion shaft fits the way it should in the L series part time setup.

Alternatively, find an L series AWD box and use the EJ drive gears etc (MUST be phase 1 box - the “four bolt” bell housing) in the L front cases, drop the good L low range in and... cut and shut the pinion shaft for the 4.44:1 diff ratio.

Or phase 1 EJ awd box with the diff ratio swapped out to 4.44:1, ring gear shaved, L low range fitted (mods required), shoved in L front cases (dedent spring placement will need to be built in for low range fork - you’ll need a mate with a mig for this) with the EJ centre diff and matching housing hanging off the back.
This will also need custom gearbox crossmember, modified shifter links and a modified tailshaft. And run MPFI drive shafts or swap the diff output stubs while the box is split.

Any of the options requires a “fair” amount of work to achieve what you want to do. Once it’s done your L will be one hell of a beast off road for an EA82 and a weapon if you’ve got an EJ22 under the bonnet!

The L series AWD box with the locking centre diff was done with 4.44s years ago and ran the turbo EA82 out the front. What I’ve seen of it the thing went well offroad with hill climbs.

I hope this “helps”. The stock part time box modded with 4.44:1 would be very unique!

Cheers

Bennie

 

[ratters]

Thanks El_Freddo thats pretty handy info! Was hoping it would be less dramatic but I'm not against having a go. Reasonably well equipped for a home shop, have a lathe, mig, shop press etc so its possible I could do it at home but having said that I might want to get it welded by a pro..


I'd prefer to keep the EA type box, I guess I can put up with the crappy nature of it just because it works so well offroad. Plus I'm on a budget so any parts I pick up for projects tend to be "well priced" :lol: So I doubt any of those rare AWD locking boxes will be coming my way.


I'm still languishing in EA82 land, no EJ conversion yet, its on the cards, has been since 2012! Have a rear suretrac LSD that I picked up cheap and been meaning to throw that in as well but it's still on the shelf waiting its turn.


It sucks mucking around with a knackered gearbox when I'd rather be doing fun stuff like an EJ conversion but I will get there eventually. Will resurrect this thread when I start playing around with gearbox mods though!

 

[ratters]

One step closer to having a crack at this. Found a local fellow wrecking a 4.44 WRX box and got the bits. All looks very clean and tidy no chips or damage or odd wear so I think it should be good. Apparently it came from a box which was worked on by a mechanic trying to rebuild it, then could not engage reverse to drive it out of the workshop and they gave up. My gain I suppose!

 

[Ben Up North]

Win!

 

[El_Freddo]

Nice score! So what’s the game plan for the build now?

Cheers

Bennie

 

[ratters]

My next thoughts are can you still get new EA gearbox synchros? It would make sense to replace those if its all coming apart. Also which gearbox do I rebuild, I have 3 and the one in the car is good, but not as good as the one I replaced, which only has a bad 2nd gear synchro. And I have an untested one with 380k on it in my parts wagon which is supposedly good but how good can it really be with high km like that.

Ideally I would replace synchros and bearings while its apart, and I'd like to say front LSD but I don't have the spare coin for one of those and they apparently never come up for sale second hand, not that I have seen.

Next steps probably will be open up the box with the bad 2nd synchro and get the pinion shaft out and remove the gears off it. I am guessing I may need to fab up a custom gear puller?

In regards to making the custom shaft, my feeling is the right way to proceed would be turn one half down and bore the other part so that they would be a tight press fit, then a slow build up of welds and machine back to spec. Something like that.

 

[El_Freddo]

Hey Ratters,

The method you describe is bang on. Mine had each edge beveled as well. So the slot in one part and the stub on the other was pressed in by a hydraulic press. This left a little valley as such to fill in with welds.

It was then checked for straightness (out but 0.4mm I think from memory) before a cap weld was put on then shaved flat.

As for removing the gears off your PT4wd pinion shaft, you’ll probably need a hydraulic press to do the job efficiently. You *might* get away with one of those hand press units that use a threaded rod to apply pressure on the shaft and behind the gear.

It’ll be interesting to see if it’s possible to mate this with the PT4wd pinion shaft and still remain a strong shaft.

Cheers

Bennie

 

[ratters]

I do have a hydraulic shop press but its only a small one, 6 tonne bottle jack type but I get creative with it when the need arises. It helps having a lathe too though so i can make custom pieces to hold or press with.

I'm no expert on transmissions but if I am imagining it right, depending on where the shaft is joined it may not be taking torsional stresses at all in certain gears. I dont fully understand the innards of these gearboxes yet though so that could be totally wrong. Perhaps that would be a good consideration that if possible the weld does not take torsional stress whilst in 1st gear because that is where all the fun happens off-road obviously.