After realising that what I thought was common knowledge for this mod is not well known I thought I’d document a guide about how to go about it and what you’ll need. I’ll add a bit about the EA81 cable swap to make this work in a Brumby/MY model relatively easily when dropping in an AWD non-turbo gearbox like we did for the MCM Brumby build.
What you’ll need:
- EA82/Gen1/Gen2 EJ clutch cable mount bracket from the gearbox
- EJ cable operated clutch fork
- holder bracket halfway down the gearbox, not necessary but helps hold the cable
And that’s about all that’s needed other than the cable itself - EA82 4wd works and no cable change is needed. For EA81s you’ll need a LHD Legacy clutch cable part# 37214AA030 (or a superseding number AFAIK). Ignore the part number in the pic below:
Here’s where to fit the cable support bracket on the hydraulic operated gearbox:
The pivot ball needs to be moved. There’s a steel gasket that partially covers the lower hole for the cable operated clutch fork. Just gently fold it over. Do not attempt to pull the input shaft housing out unless you intend to split the gearbox!
I found a generic washer under the pivot ball was beneficial in my application. At one stage I had two washers and I later worked out that this was due to the aftermarket throw out bearing being thinner than the factory unit which I’ve got fitted now with one washer.
EA81 clutch cable swap to facilitate fitting an EA82 5spd or EJ AWD gearbox
This is one way to do this swap that I think is easier and neater than going down the EA82 clutch cable route. The advantage to the EA82 route is cable availability atm.
There is no need to swap pedals or cut off the clutch cable mount with this swap unlike what I’ve seen of the EA82 clutch cable swap.
We used a LHD legacy cable clutch part number 37214AA030 for this. The RHD unit is the same length as the EA81 clutch cable!
What needs to be done to fit the LHD Legacy cable:
- remove the pedal box and EA81 clutch cable from the vehicle
- remove clutch cable from pedal box, easiest to do it by removing the clutch pedal with the cable, remove cable from pedal and keep the pin etc as this will be re-used
- on the legacy clutch cable, drill/grind out the pin at the pedal end of the cable and drill out the hole to a 6mm hole (from memory). The hole needs to fit the EA81 clutch cable pin that was kept
- on the pedal box the clutch cable mount needs the second plate removed to allow the retainer clip to fit the legacy cable end, the two yellow marks show where this second plate used to live before it was removed. A dremel was used in our swap to grind out the two welds that held the plate
- fit the Legacy clutch cable to the EA81 pedal with the original pin and pin retainer clip; fit this assembly to the pedal box refitting with the same plastic bushes and retainer clip on the pedal pivot shaft
- refit pedal box to the vehicle
- connect the clutch cable to the gearbox
That’s it. This mod only applies to the EA81 and is reversible if ever needed. Just use a couple of washes to make up for that plate that was removed.
The EA82 setup is already good to go for a gearbox upgrade as its clutch cable is the correct length.
Cheers
Bennie
