I have a MY04 Forester 5 speed manual and I am chasing info on converting it to Lo range with what I think would be an L series gearbox.
With so much info out on the net I am a bit confused about what exact gearbox I need and what is the process.
I thought I could use a Brumby box but think that is incorrect.
Can anyone please guide me to the correct information.
Thanks
MY04 Forester 5 speed Lo range conversion.
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El_Freddo
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Re: MY04 Forester 5 speed Lo range conversion.
Hey GWH,
You’re on the right track with the L series gearbox if you’re after the lowest Subaru low range possible - it must be from an NA for the 1.59:1 low range. Turbo are the same as the Liberty at 1.19:1
You will need to have a dual range gearbox from your forester, or at least a donor box from another forester with the same diff ratio. Foresters are usually 4.111:1 diff ratio.
You will need to fit the L series gearbox input shaft into the forester’s input shaft bearing housing. For this an interference bush needs to be made to fit the L shaft in the EJ bearing as they’re a slight difference between the two.
You will need to use and modify the L series low range selector fork. This will need two tabs brazed onto the fork for the dedent ball that holds the selected gear. That said, apparently Phinzina got away with turning down the L series selector ring to fit the EJ selector fork. I’ll add a link to his write up at the end of the post.
Lastly, you’ll need to shave the crown wheel to clear the low range gears. You don’t remove any meat that the pinion gear runs on. If you don’t move the “sundials” that hold the diff bearings you can bolt it all back together and be done with the conversion. But it is a good time to replace these bearings and this will require the backlash or preload tone adjusted - I can never remember which one is which.
You can add some auxiliary oil lines that dribble oil over the low range gears to keep them cool on long climbs. If you’re not doing sustained climbs it’s not really worth it.
http://offroadingsubarus.com/outback-lo ... ck-part-1/
^ part one to get you started
Cheers
Bennie
You’re on the right track with the L series gearbox if you’re after the lowest Subaru low range possible - it must be from an NA for the 1.59:1 low range. Turbo are the same as the Liberty at 1.19:1
You will need to have a dual range gearbox from your forester, or at least a donor box from another forester with the same diff ratio. Foresters are usually 4.111:1 diff ratio.
You will need to fit the L series gearbox input shaft into the forester’s input shaft bearing housing. For this an interference bush needs to be made to fit the L shaft in the EJ bearing as they’re a slight difference between the two.
You will need to use and modify the L series low range selector fork. This will need two tabs brazed onto the fork for the dedent ball that holds the selected gear. That said, apparently Phinzina got away with turning down the L series selector ring to fit the EJ selector fork. I’ll add a link to his write up at the end of the post.
Lastly, you’ll need to shave the crown wheel to clear the low range gears. You don’t remove any meat that the pinion gear runs on. If you don’t move the “sundials” that hold the diff bearings you can bolt it all back together and be done with the conversion. But it is a good time to replace these bearings and this will require the backlash or preload tone adjusted - I can never remember which one is which.
You can add some auxiliary oil lines that dribble oil over the low range gears to keep them cool on long climbs. If you’re not doing sustained climbs it’s not really worth it.
http://offroadingsubarus.com/outback-lo ... ck-part-1/
^ part one to get you started
Cheers
Bennie
