CVT Transmission Swap

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Bill
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Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 4:30 pm

CVT Transmission Swap

Post by Bill »

Hi. I would like to swap my 5 speed manual transmission with a (CVT) Continuously variable transmission. Has anyone attempted this? I have pulled the engine and transmission together from my Subaru. It was almost pleasant as it is relatively light compared with the older cars and vans I have had in the past with cast iron engines. There is nothing wrong with my five speed although sometimes it gets stuck in 5th gear. I have done some relatively short preliminary research on compatibility but come up empty handed and just plain frustrated. This new fly wheel and clutch plate are aftermarket products. See attached snaps. I followed the instructions to the letter and the clutch is still chattering and rough. I am now not sure if it is the material in the disc that causes this or just that it was the install. I wonder if an (OEM) Original Manufactures kit would have been a better option at almost twice the price.
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mike-tracy
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Posts: 181
Joined: Wed Jun 05, 2019 9:30 pm

Re: CVT Transmission Swap

Post by mike-tracy »

Nobody has swapped one into a Baja. You should lookup what it takes to swap canbus electronics into a different subaru than it came from. Nothing is impossible, but if it will cost $4k+ between computers and labor to rewire the car (if you can find a shop willing to tackle it), would it still be worth it?

If you can handle the old 4-speed automatic, then that should be significantly easier: trade your bulkhead wiring harness with a member wanting to swap to manual, along with the cruise computer and ABS computer and probably the ecu. Install the auto trans, TCU, appropriate rear diff, and auto driveshaft.
1992 Legacy SS, 5mt and heavily modified
2000 Impreza RSTi Coupe
2003 Baja, H6 and Dual Range 5mt swap
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kamesama980
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Re: CVT Transmission Swap

Post by kamesama980 »

manual to CVT??? BURN THE HERETIC! good god why?

What are the brands you bought? You bet that's very aftermarket, probably meant to be a "race" setup which is going to chatter if you try to run it like a standard soft OEM clutch. Could also be assembly issues. without knowing more about you or the product you got it's hard to say. What product did you get and where? generally, you get what you pay for. cheap clutches generally aren't the best clutches especially when they're painted bright colors. Did you do any asking around on here or other forums about which clutches to use?

Lightened flywheel will definitely make it more finicky. If that's an up-rated pressure plate and clutch, the different friction material could certainly be more grabby and not like your driving style if you're trying to slip it at low rpms like trying to extend the life of a slippy OE clutch.

Have you contacted the vender or manufacturer?
-Russell
"You don't get to judge me for how I fix what you break"
03 sport 5mt
05 turbo 5mt vf39 and other STI bits, 3" turbo-back
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