5 Speed Swap in 2003 Baja

[hocrest]

We got a 2003 Baja with 36,000 miles a couple of weeks ago and it's been sitting since then. The front diff of the 4EAT is completely fragged, I had to pull one of the front axles to get it off of the tow dolly and into my driveway.

Today I began taking things apart to get started with the tranny swap. I'm using a 5 spd out of a 2001 Fozz that I've had setting around for a bit. I didn't get much done, but did get the exhaust off. I had to cut one of the engine studs with the speedwrench. But otherwise it all came apart pretty easily.

I still need to gather some bits for the swap;
- I have a 2 piece 5spd driveshaft, but found today that my Baja has a CV type driveshaft so I'll probably try to source the same type as a replacement.
- 4.11 rear diff
- Will probably need a MT ECU to avoid any CEL's?
- Shifter surround? I have a boot out of an Imp, but I'm not sure if the hole in the AT shifter surround is large enough to allow for the linkage to move?? We'll see shortly

[hocrest]

Had a little bit of a scare. I downloaded a 2000 Legacy FSM to check out the ECU pinouts and some other schematics. It showed not just a different ECU between auto and manual, but different engine sensors,, a different set of O2 sensors and many different pin locations between MT and AT... A few thoughts turned to calling off the swap and finding another AT to go in...

Then did some more research and found a 2004 Baja FSM. According to this pinout the AT and MT share identical wiring and possibly ECU's? Did some probing on my 03 and found that it matches up with the 04 FSM I found.

So now it's just back to the wiring issues that I originally anticipated; reverse lights, neutral switch, speed sensor, shift lock/key lock.

In other progress; the AT is out, I have new bushings in the shift linkage, the brake pedal is out and the clutch/brake is ready to go in.

[themoneypit]

awesome!! keep us posted, id love to convert mine to a 5spd some day too..

no more xt's hocrest?? ive still got a couple, and one of them ill be doing a 5spd f/t4wd swap on soon and get rid of the auto f/t4wd. funny how us oddball subie lovers go from xt/xt6's to a baja. i love my 05 turbo baja, poor xts dont get driven much since i got it...

[hocrest]

Mine is still in the driveway, although it is sold and just waiting to be delivered. Melissa (subbyru89) still has hers, but that will probably be up for sale soon too. Trying to cut down on the fleet. Hopefully it will settle down to the Baja, the 2 SVX's, the Brat (and the E150).

[hocrest]

Couple hours here, couple hours there... Eventually this will get done.

- I have the transmission bolted up.
- The linkage in place
- The pedal box in place and the clutch bled
- The wiring under the dash is done

I ended up with a crossmember from a Legacy so I needed to make some modifications to allow for the dropped trans/engine/prop shaft. I measured where the tailshaft on the 4EAT would have been and calculated that I needed to drop the legacy crossmember about 5/8". I used a couple of large nuts for the front and some square steel tubing for the rear...






To do yet;
- Finish wiring inside
- remove snapped exhaust stud
- replace prop shaft
- replace exhaust
- swap rear diff from 4.44 to 4.11

[hocrest]

It moved under its own 5 speed power today
Moved it around in the yard a bit, but it's still not road ready.

It wouldn't start at all so I went through all of my new wiring from the clutch pedal, tying in to where the shift indicator tells the car it's OK to start. Cut my connections and just tied the wires together so it will start with no clutch pedal and it would still just click.

Started to suspect the starter that I grabbed from the junkyard. Pulled it out, hooked it up on the work bench and the gear popped out but wouldn't spin. Gave it a few whacks with the BFH and it worked. Put it back in and it started right up.

Still have a few things to do;
- Swap 4.44 for 4.11 rear diff
- Wiring inside to get rid of CEL, get a speedometer, have working CC.
- Hang the back 1/2 of the exhaust
- Install new stereo
- Re-install the interior that has been completely removed for cleaning.

[hocrest]

Just about done.
Took it for a ride on the road to verify that the speedo works.

The wiring is all tied up. Wiring at the ECU was actually easier than I thought. I had to tie in a signal, 12v and ground for the speed sensor. I had to add a ground that acts as a indicator to tell the ECU that it's a MT. And I had to run a wire f rom the neutral switch on the trans to indicate when it's not in gear.

The ABS is still in error. I'm going to swap out the ABS control for one from a MT. Not a big deal, it will pass inspection and I'll eventually find one at the junk yard.

Here is the wiring at the ECU, you can see there is very little added;


Now all I need to do is install the stereo/nav unit and re install the interior. Should have it registered and inspected later this week.

[PenguinSub]

Nice work, man!

What kind of nav/radio are you putting in?

[hocrest]

Pyle -http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004HJ ... 00_details

Got one for my SVX a few months ago. The best feature is it's price. The Nav works good, the interface for the music is not real user friendly, but 70% of the time it's just using the aux input for Sirius, the rest of the time, playing from a SD card.

[hocrest]

Finished up with the swap this week, got all of the interior back together and got it registered yesterday

A few other additions I made;
- I had to run the GPS antenna to the roof so I removed the small trim piece in front of the roof rail.

- I drilled a small slot in the tab so there was room for the wire along the tab.

- I then used some silicone to make sure everything stay's sealed and pushed the cap back in place.

- I got a subaru block heater a few years ago and never installed it, I wanted to change the rad hoses and thermostat anyway, so I figured now was a good time.



The mudrat bumper that came on it was beginning to get some flaking and surface rust bubbles, so I took it to a body shop to get blasted, primed and painted. Going to get it done a gloss black. We think that will look better with the dark blue than the silver did. For now I have the stock bumper in place so we can drive it and get it inspected.

One thing I noticed is that there was a good bit of surface rust on the body where the bumper attaches. I'm not sure if this is because of the tube bumper or if this is something that may be a problem with the stock bumper as well???

At this point the swap is complete with the exception of the ABS computer. I still need to get one from a MT equipped OB (2000-04) or Baja (03-07). Eventually I'll come across one at the junkyard.

[hocrest]

Another thing I wanted to mention about the transmission I used. It is out of a 2001 Fozz. Unfortunately the specs arnen't listed in this transmission chart other than the fact that it is a 4.11 FD.

But after driving it around last night my RPM's were under 3k to run 70mph. Not quite as low as the SVX, but better than my Leg and better than my friends Baja. I used one of the online calculators and it seems that this trans has a .780 5th gear. The speedo is also about as accurate as it can be.

[Pilotpeat]

I'm getting ready to order one of those block heaters. I can't tell exactly where you've got that into the engine. Is that pic looking up from the bottom and the wires tied up to the dip stick tube? Is that the threaded block heater that is called out in the Subaru acc catalog?

Pete D

[hocrest]

Yeah, on the bottom of the block right by the dipstick, right behind the water pump. You will need a 14mm allen to remove the freeze plug and a 27mm socket to turn in the heater.
But other than using 2 tools that aren't used anywhere else on a soob it was easy.

[hocrest]

The ABS is still in error. I'm going to swap out the ABS control for one from a MT. Not a big deal, it will pass inspection and I'll eventually find one at the junk yard.

It only took a year, but I just wanted to update this for the record.

I got an ABS pump/computer from someone on another board. I needed one from a MT Baja (any year) or a MT Outback (2000-2004), the key according to the FSM is that it will have a "CJ" stamped on the top. I got the pump this past summer and finally got around to swapping it out. It was very easy to do, 2 bolts hold the pump in place and then the 6 brake lines. The hardest part was bleeding all four corners when I was done.

Without any other wiring changes, I now have no "ABS" warning light and working ABS.