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AWD Conversion/Swap Guys Enter Here - Advanced. [Merged 2-07]

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Just do the front GSX brakes too, other than that you've got a great start (better than i had anyway and i just tore into it and was done in 7 days flat, that includes time to deal with frozen axles, locate a 2nd drivetrain and do the extra work i wanted to take care of while i was under there like swapping to the LSD rear, cleaning and undercoating and much more)

Don't forget to buy some bolts and 2 nuts per bolt for the gas tank mounting bolts you will have to add to the FWD body.. I used M10 x 1 (fine pitch) IIRC, the front ones i dropped through and then used C-lock or "jetlock" nuts to secure them tightly to the body so they would act as permanent studs allowing me to install/remoce the nuts for the tank straps themselves without having to hold the other end with a ratchet. The rearward tank bolts i had some issues with as that bracket/support on my unibody was rusted out pretty badly and i had to cut out and replace some sheet metal (used heavier gauge than OEM and then welded those studs into that metal so they could be installed and removed with one tool and one person again if needed)



I used the wiring diagram in this thread, what gets most people into thinking the wires are wrong is having the sending units slightly twisted when installing themback into the tank and they hang up and won't read right (it's only a hair off to cause this issue and i dealt with it cause after i did the wiring i KNEW i had it right but the thing said below E with more than 5 galllons in it, so i loosened the caps, twised the hanger/sender pieces to align them correctly and re-tightened the caps and viola it was working)

The swap is super easy, Hell i even had the studs in both driveshaft carriers being stripped when i got them so i had to cut out and weld in new studs in the rear one and on the front one i just tossed it and welded new home made studs (bolts i put on the lathe and turned the heads to fir the GS-T's locating holes while leaving a shoulder on them to increase weld area/strength)

I think the biggest PITA was swapping in the AWD trans compared to years of doing FWD R&R's it was a little more difficult to maneuver into the car and such. Other than that make sur eyou've got the AWD flywheel and make sure that you either get an AWD one or modify the starter plate from the FWD by bolting it to the AWD trans and using a dremel/die grinder on it Don't forget to double check all the trans bolts after the first couple of drives, this was something i had come loose on me and something i've never had come loose before so i'm mentioning it out of thought of that.

Also, before i welded my carrier brackets/studs into the car i had put both the rear and the trans/t-case into the car just to be extra sure they were exactly right in positioning. But for me the rear one lined up perfect and using the locating holes in the FWD's stock front area was perfect as well, i just had to make an exhaust hangar instead of having the OEM one from th bracket on the AWD car (but for me this was 1000x easier than drilling the welds out of the FWD car body as i didn'thave a spot weld cutting bit plus i didn't like the idea of cutting into the sheet metal with one on the car i was keeping when the AWD donor parts were bad to begin with andmaking my own studs was super easy)
 
I'm trying to not install and un- install these parts a bunch of times. other than the rear subframe bushings is there anything else I should upgrade befor I begin the swap.

It is a good idea to make sure all the parts are in good shape before they go in. Check all your U-joints and carrier bearings for the drive shaft. I'd also put a little sealant on the freeze plug of the transfer case yoke to make sure no oil leaks out. A new seal for the output of the t-case isn't a bad idea either.

If you're drag racing or doing hard launches you might want to add an extra mounting tab for the rear differential before putting it in. There are threads on it if that sounds important. Otherwise, check your rear main on the engine, see if the tranny needs to be freshened up, etc.

Wile everything is stripped it is also a nice time to add better bushings to the shifter assembly and do any electrical upgrades you'll want like rewiring the fuel pump.
 
I used the wiring diagram in this thread, what gets most people into thinking the wires are wrong is having the sending units slightly twisted when installing themback into the tank and they hang up and won't read right (it's only a hair off to cause this issue and i dealt with it cause after i did the wiring i KNEW i had it right but the thing said below E with more than 5 galllons in it, so i loosened the caps, twised the hanger/sender pieces to align them correctly and re-tightened the caps and viola it was working)

Can you take pictures of the way that you have the senders positions?

I'm having the same exact issue.
 
Can you take pictures of the way that you have the senders positions?

I'm having the same exact issue.

Not really able to and i'm in the middle of droping the trans right now cause the flywheel came loose. just position them like the manual shows (there's "dots" on the cap and tank, and it's shown in the manual).. or really you just need to make sure the floats are centered and straight in the baffle on the pump side and at a right angle on the other side

Another couple things to check that i had issues with.. Look for frozen caliper pistons, bad wheel bearings (or frozen calipers will also ruin wheel bearings from heat FAST) and replace the seals for the outputs of the CV's the parts stores won't know the right numbers AT ALL, i've compiled the 2-3 i've found to be correct part fits for the 2g car (or the front left CV s 90-99)

=can't find them right now sorry
 
hey guys
im in the middle of my swap and i have some questions,
where to add the tank bolts at and also what do i do with the old fwd subframe bolts in the back just cut them or pull them complety out,im referring to the bolts that hold the fwd subframe up ,i know where to put the awd ones.i know turboglenn said something about it but i wanna make sure on where to add the bolts.
thanks in advance
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You can cut the front FWD bolts off.... some fill it with foam, some weld them so they dont move and rattle.

The rear FWD bolts get replaced with AWD bolts.

Circled in blue is the fuel tank bolts
 

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Also, I highly suggest you cut the other side out for the 2nd sender under the rear seat.
 
i have the rear awd bolts droped and welded in,im working on the front bolts by renforcing the top of the bolt so it doesnt just bend underload,its surprizing that no one has said anything about front holes for awd bolts dont have the the big spacer like the awd body,i cut the 2 front ones out and will be using them but that is where the renforcing comes in play,im planing on doing a full very well detailed awd write up.
but also ive heard of using the fwd subframe bolts moving them the the front gastank spots?but how do you add the rear gas tank bolts?
thanks in advance
jacob
 
Here are shots of me doing my rear gas tank bolts.

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:dsm:
 
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The way I used it was to use a strap to slide in the bolt from the already cut holes so no cutting is involved. Used a big head steel bolt and then welded it so it does not move and thus be strong. I have no issues for 3 years now and thing it is a reliable and clean method.
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On this picture

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How do I tell where to weld the carrier bracket without having the driveshaft and differential in place?

Thanks
 
How do I tell where to weld the carrier bracket without having the driveshaft and differential in place?
It pretty much just fits there. You'll know what I mean once you try fitting it. For me, it just kind of fell into place there. It was an obvious fit.
 
the spot where it goes is about 2 inch wide and the bracket goes an inch into it,kinda hard to explain but ill put a pic up to explain it

yes my welds are ugly it was my first time welding but i got better over time :)

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this is the picture i was talking about when i was referring to i being 2 inches,it sits halfway into the tunnel and the rest on the outside.

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Thanks for the replies!!

See for my car, the tunnel back there isnt as wide as for 2g and I really dont want to modify anything (cutting into the floor pan). The dude who did it before me shortened the rear portion of the driveshaft and pulled the carrier bearing back a couple of inches and welded it on that first vertical wall.

Tunnel difference

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This is where the bottom bracket hits the tunnel on both sides. I cant tell from the picture, but I hope the top piece reaches down enough so I can bolt the carrier bearing to it before it hits the sides.

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The guy had to fab up a custom upper piece only because he didnt have the one from the donor car. The picture shows the shorter driveshaft.

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LOL, funny seeing my photos and build reposted here. To clarify, I did have the donor car to take the bracket from. I chose not to because, as shown by the photos you linked, it wasn't going to fit.

For the 7g Galant you'll have to cut the body or do it like I did and shorten the rear shaft. The tunnel just wasn't made to fit all that stuff in there. That or go with a large diameter single piece or two piece shaft and figure out where else you'll put the exhaust. If you went with a 4" diameter shaft and put the center carrier bearing in you might be ok to skip the rear one. I'd use a drive shaft calculator to check it out though. As you know my stock diameter two piece shaft broke and tore my car up in the process.
 
How do I tell where to weld the carrier bracket without having the driveshaft and differential in place?

Thanks

There is one hole that actually lines up. thats what i used. It also fits pretty naturally in that place too.
 
Just a note for others doing the AWD swap, havin the AWD system will be MUCH harder on clutches. I've had the trans off twice since my AWD conversion, and not even launching hard like i have on FWD i've seen major amounts of wear on theclutch much faster than when i was FWD and they would seem to last forever. So if you have it aprt, might as well toss a new one in there as they do go up much faster
 
Just a note for others doing the AWD swap, havin the AWD system will be MUCH harder on clutches. I've had the trans off twice since my AWD conversion, and not even launching hard like i have on FWD i've seen major amounts of wear on theclutch much faster than when i was FWD and they would seem to last forever. So if you have it aprt, might as well toss a new one in there as they do go up much faster

Learn to drive stick better silly!! :p Just messin Glenn. I havent taken the trans off the motor yet but it is out of the car. When I get to tearing it down Ill be sure to take a look at that!
 
Learn to drive stick better silly!! :p Just messin Glenn. I havent taken the trans off the motor yet but it is out of the car. When I get to tearing it down Ill be sure to take a look at that!

Thats just the thing, 98% of the time i baby my car around town, but it took no more than a few fast hops out into traffic to put the amount of wear on the friction disk that took over 50K miles to accumulate when in FWD mode... when none of the tires spin, it's either slip the clutch, stall or bogg, and believe me, I was AMAZED at how much wear went on the new friction disk (as well as the used pressure plate condition worsening from what was still very healthy)

I've only "launched" the car maybe 6 times, out of those 3 of them the clutch got hot and slipped and i let right off and the damage was still done 8) When i was FWD i use to fan my ACT 2600 at WOT in 3rd on the interstate just to setthe tires roasting (which i don't try any more) but from what minimal amount of spirited driving i've done and that's VERY minimal, one side of the friction disk was almost smooth with the grooves filled in with worn off material and the PP was glazed worse than I've ever seen it before in my life (seriousely - at least on my car that is)

I'm seriousely thinking about going with the Tim Zimmer hybrid of the ACT PP (new of course) and getting one of the kevlar or ceramic F disks he recomends because an organic just isn't suited for AWD use IMO after seeing this.. There's less than 5k miles on this new F-disk and it looks like the one that came out of my FWD at around 80k miles (was put in about 25k or so back then)

Of course i've had some issues like the flywheel rattling loose though too and i'm not sure how that could have played a roll in the wear, but it's got me looking at clutches and lighter flywheels for the AWD already and i don't hgave the money to be doing that or even thinking about it honestly.

BUT... all in all, grip vs. wheel spin... I'd say the extra clutch wear is worth the added fun, traction and head pinned to the seat action as compared to the aggrivation of feathering 1-2 and half of 3rd gears untill you finally get some grip around 100 MPH (now i can have all the fun i want and let off at 60MPH and be well satisfied :D )
 
Glenn, lock tight on the flywheel bolts much? ROFL

I did my AWD swap and ACT 2600 PP/street disk install early May '09. I put 15,000 miles on it and had countless runs down the track for almost 2 years and this is what it looked like. I couldn't believe it was holding 400 ft/lbs-tq to be honest with you, then when I pulled it off and looked at it I was surprised to see how well everything looked. I pulled it and took these pictures in Feb. '11 when I junked my stock transmission...

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:dsm:
 
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