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

[DSMGraveyardinc]

Ok, now the kit has 3 Long and 2 Short. Also price dropped to $24.99

Picture is still not updated, but will be soon!

Here is the new link:
DSM Graveyard - Your #1 Source for Used DSM Parts!

Thanks for keeping us in check,

Jon

 

[assault187]

For anyone who is doing the swap and found that their top bolt is seized in the knuckle bushing, You DO NOT have to replace the knuckle to get the new bushings. Mitsu will tell you this as well as many others, just shoot for the polyuranthane bushings. You just have to remove the knuckle, press them out, and press the new poly bushings in place. I couldnt find a kit on any website but I did find a seller on Ebay that carries them ZPartshouse. Currently the seller has the bushings for ONLY the top of the knuckle where it bolts to the upper control arm for about $40 and also has a rear bushing kit that supplies these bushings as well for around $100
Also, The FWD knuckles will NOT work on the AWD, the holes for the wheel bearing assembly differ greatly.

EDIT: thanks to daren p I found the kit on Extremepsi. It included the 2 trailing arm bushings (each side) all 3 knuckle bushings for each side and 2 upper control arm bushings for each side for $67 Rear bushing kit found here

 

[daren_p]

For anyone who is doing the swap and found that their top bolt is seized in the knuckle bushing, You DO NOT have to replace the knuckle to get the new bushings. Mitsu will tell you this as well as many others, just shoot for the polyuranthane bushings. You just have to remove the knuckle, press them out, and press the new poly bushings in place. I couldnt find a kit on any website but I did find a seller on Ebay that carries them ZPartshouse. Currently the seller has the bushings for ONLY the top of the knuckle where it bolts to the upper control arm for about $40 and also has a rear bushing kit that supplies these bushings as well for around $100

Also, The FWD knuckles will NOT work on the AWD, the holes for the wheel bearing assembly differ greatly.

Just to confirm, your talking about the upper knuckle bushings that connect it to the upper control arm? If so the complete ES kit has these bushings & goes for $125 from extremepsi. I already bought this kit for my car & replaced all the fwd bushings, now that I'm swapping to awd I got new suspension pieces & didn't want to bother removing the ES bushings from the rear fwd components, so ES also makes a kit thats just all the rear bushings (knuckles, upper control arm, trailing arm) & it goes for like $67 from extremepsi.

I started my swap this past weekend. Pulled the rear suspension & dropped the rear subframe. Removed all the interior from the back seat back. Transfered the parking brake components from the fwd backing plates to the awds (the parking break shoes have a different part # from fwd & awd but from what I can tell the appear to be the exact same). The levers are different on each model & while I bought new awd parking break cables, it appears the fwd ones can be used (difference is one mount on the cables). Also removed part of the front suspension & axles.

I'm just waiting on my V3 ECMLink chip to give the car a test run with it, then I'll drop the gas tank & exhaust in the next couple days. After that the weathers supposed to turn cold again, so I'll probably be taking a break from garage work for awhile

All the doner parts are coming together, most were rust free Cali parts but I'm still re-doing them. Some are being powder coated while others are getting a special rust barrier (rust bullet, extremely durable) & then coated with a chassis coating. Transfercase is back from Jacks, after a complete rebuild. Rear diff is all disassembled & cleaned up ready for a rebuild. So its coming together. Goal is to have it running by May 1st, so we'll see.....

 

[daren_p]

I removed the 2 fwd fuel tank brackets tonight & gave the awd tank a quick test fit. Have a couple things I want to confirm. Looks like the fwd exhaust hanger on the drivers side that sits about mid tank doesn't cause a clearance issue? (was just going to leave it installed). It looks like the one fwd fuel tank mount bolt on the passenger side (the one towards the front of the car, not the rear one with large bracket thats already removed) is going to cause clearance issues? Didn't see this mentioned anywhere, so did I just have the tank sitting to high & this isn't an issue or are people just taking the cut off wheel to the bolt & didn't mention it?

Lastly on the awd straps, the back portion has a curved up piece of metal. It looks like people are leaving this intact & adding a nut to the tank mounting bolt, which both secures the bolt & gives the clearance needed for this loop? I haven't seen the awd fuel tank strap setup on an actual awd car which is why I was first wondering if adding a nut to hold the strap mounting bolts in place would make the tank sit lower then in the factory awd car (leaving the tank to have some play) but it appears the awd must have had some kind of different system (atleast at the back of the straps) where the straps were attached? So by adding the nuts, the tank will actually end up in the same position as it sits in a factory awd car?

 

[assault187]

the only exhaust hanger I removed was the one in front of the tank where the rear carrier bearing bracket gets welded. I had no clearance issue with the other one that sits next to the tank installed and in tact. As for the loops on the straps and the nuts, I threw a nut on each of the 4 bolts to keep the bolts from moving or spinning and retained the loops on the straps. When I bolted the tank up it was super snug so there is absolutly no play with the gas tank and no clearance issues.




Question for somone with the completed project: The swap is finished but I removed the knuckles to replace the bushings (PITA!) when I reassemled the knuckes and installed them on the car it seemed as if there was no place to mount the e-brake cables..... I used the AWD cables with the AWD knuckes and all but the brackets dont seem to have a home near by. Could the brackets have simply moved out of place? I didnt look into it any further after I broke my pinky finger somhow installing the knuckles, but if anyone has a pic it would help.

 

[daren_p]

the only exhaust hanger I removed was the one in front of the tank where the rear carrier bearing bracket gets welded. I had no clearance issue with the other one that sits next to the tank installed and in tact. As for the loops on the straps and the nuts, I threw a nut on each of the 4 bolts to keep the bolts from moving or spinning and retained the loops on the straps. When I bolted the tank up it was super snug so there is absolutly no play with the gas tank and no clearance issues.

Thanks for the confirm, thats exactly what I was thinking. The only other part in question is the second fwd tank mounting bolt thats on the passenger side (the front one at the side). I've removed the two large bracketed bolts but this bolt also seems to be a clearance issue?

Question for somone with the completed project: The swap is finished but I removed the knuckles to replace the bushings (PITA!) when I reassemled the knuckes and installed them on the car it seemed as if there was no place to mount the e-brake cables..... I used the AWD cables with the AWD knuckes and all but the brackets dont seem to have a home near by. Could the brackets have simply moved out of place? I didnt look into it any further after I broke my pinky finger somhow installing the knuckles, but if anyone has a pic it would help.

I have both the fwd & new awd parking break cables. They are basically the same except one mount is different on each cable. Where they attach at the trailing arm front mount is in a different location between the two. I'm not sure if the bracket on the trailing arm mount is the same between fwd & awd & it can be relocated or if the brackets themselves are different.

 

[assault187]

Thanks for the confirm, thats exactly what I was thinking. The only other part in question is the second fwd tank mounting bolt thats on the passenger side (the front one at the side). I've removed the two large bracketed bolts but this bolt also seems to be a clearance issue?

Are you talking about one of the two bolts for the mounting of the FWD gas tank that facing the front of the car just a couple inches away from the exhaust/driveshaft tunnel? If so, I left those in there too with no clearance issue. The only things I removed were were the gas tank bracket towards the rear of the car, the braket mid tank on the passenger side of the car, cut the old fwd bolts (spyder) and i removed the old exhaust hanger from the very end of the tunnel closest to the tank. hope this helps

 

[daren_p]

Are you talking about one of the two bolts for the mounting of the FWD gas tank that facing the front of the car just a couple inches away from the exhaust/driveshaft tunnel? If so, I left those in there too with no clearance issue. The only things I removed were were the gas tank bracket towards the rear of the car, the braket mid tank on the passenger side of the car, cut the old fwd bolts (spyder) and i removed the old exhaust hanger from the very end of the tunnel closest to the tank. hope this helps

No, not the two bolts at the front closest to the tunnel. There's 5 bolts/mounts (well atleast there is on my car). So its the only one that you didn't mention in your post . Guess shoulda though of this before, but a pic probably helps.

So you can see (circled in red) its the forward mount on the passenger side. With my test fit the tank was hitting the bolt before the tank appeared to be all the way up but I've never heard it mentioned before & you just confirmed you didn't cut this bolt of either, so more then likely I didn't have the tank in the correct position 100% (as it was just sitting on a jack). Its hard to tell from the pic but that isn't the passenger side mount that is one of the two tank mounts that are always talked about to remove (they have already both been removed)

 

[assault187]

Quick question.... FWD parking brake cables OR awd parking brake cables are used with the swap? The AWD cable brackets dont match up to the mounting holes on the car....

 

[99gst_racer]

I used the AWD cables on mine. I can't remember if I had to get creative with the mounting brackets or not, though. I just wanted to avoid disconnecting the cable inside of the hub.

 

[v8s_are_slow]

As far as e-brake cables, is anyone using the fwd cables on theirs? My donor car got hit on the driver's side and the seat is pushed over the console to where I won't be able to access the cable to get them out. I wanna use the fwd cables and just disconnect them at the hubs to make my life easier if possible. Any input? I'd definitely appreciate it cause I have to figure something out very soon.

Oh yeah, and this is a 2g of course.

 

[tehehodi]

As far as e-brake cables, is anyone using the fwd cables on theirs? My donor car got hit on the driver's side and the seat is pushed over the console to where I won't be able to access the cable to get them out. I wanna use the fwd cables and just disconnect them at the hubs to make my life easier if possible. Any input? I'd definitely appreciate it cause I have to figure something out very soon.

Oh yeah, and this is a 2g of course.

I dont' see why they would be different? I'm doing teh swap now and going to be using fwd cables, i disconnected them from teh hub of course, wasn't to bad.

 

[daren_p]

The cables look the exact same except for one bracket but I haven't compared them side to side (I'll try to do it when I get a chance). I know the levers that pull the parking brake assembly are different between fwd & awd & think the ends where the cables attach are slightly different between the two but I'm think you can still make the fwd cables work.

I just bought new awd cables to be on the safe side (think they were just over $30 a piece from Mitsuparts) but if I get a chance this weekend I'll compare the two.

 

[daren_p]

I compared the awd & fwd cables & it looks like the awd cables are about 1" or so longer vs the fwd cables. So you can probably make them work but may not fit right with the factory mounts.

 

[assault187]

the AWD cable on the driver side for mine was a few inches longer then the fwd one. I used the FWD cable on the passenger side so I could use the previous mounting locations and just made the driver side AWD cable work with different mounting

 

[eclipsh]

Great thread, I wish I'd read it before starting on my project. I have one other tidbit for those of you who for one reason or another cannot use the AWD subframe bolts. I picked up a pair of grade 8 6"x1/2" bolts at the hardware store for $5 each with washers and nuts. They fit great and saved the trouble of cutting up the AWD donor to get at the factory bolts.

Incidentally, most if this thread also applies to converting a 7g (94-98) Galant to AWD if anyone else feels like trying it.

 

[assault187]

Thanks again! I ended up cutting them flush and then tack welding the ends in place.




I have a question regarding the fuel tank wiring. I just did it last night, and I made this diagram of how I did mine. Can someone verify that this is correct before I soder the connections? Please let me know if I did it correct or incorrect. Thanks in advance.

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I was going to wire this up today and noticed my 97 spyder wiring differs from the diagram here. The diagram lists a 2 pin and a 3 pin FWD connectors, My car has the 2 pin (black & black/blue wires) and a 8 pin connector utilizing 7 pins. Do I only use the 3 listed wire colors in the 8 pin connector? I also have 2 yellow/blue wires in said connector, one is thicker...which do I use to match the listed diagram.

8 Pin connector:
Pin 1: Yellow/red
Pin 2: Grey/ red
Pin 3: Yellow/blue
Pin 4: N/C
Pin 5: Thick Yellow/blue
Pin 6: Grey/blue
Pin 7: Black
Pin 8: Yellow

Any idea what the functions of these other wires are? I read through this whole thread for searching sake but didnt come across this....Although I did read somthing about a purge selenoid...

 

[Gstclipse69]

Hey guys, I am almost complete with my awd swap as well. The rear end is done and the tranny/transfercase is bolted on and ready to go. My question is concerning the axle carrier bearing bolts. I see where the carrier bearing bolts up but does anyone know what thread pitch the bolts are or how long it is? My ac bracket is still there but I have previously removed the ac compressor.

Edit: If anyone is interested the thread pitch is m10x1.25 and I used at 40mm bolt.

 

[daren_p]

I was going to wire this up today and noticed my 97 spyder wiring differs from the diagram here. The diagram lists a 2 pin and a 3 pin FWD connectors, My car has the 2 pin (black & black/blue wires) and a 8 pin connector utilizing 7 pins. Do I only use the 3 listed wire colors in the 8 pin connector? I also have 2 yellow/blue wires in said connector, one is thicker...which do I use to match the listed diagram.

8 Pin connector:
Pin 1: Yellow/red
Pin 2: Grey/ red
Pin 3: Yellow/blue
Pin 4: N/C
Pin 5: Thick Yellow/blue
Pin 6: Grey/blue
Pin 7: Black
Pin 8: Yellow

Any idea what the functions of these other wires are? I read through this whole thread for searching sake but didnt come across this....Although I did read somthing about a purge selenoid...

Did you figure this out? I just did my re-wire & didn't run into any issues. Your probably talking about the main harness connector? You don't need to worry about all the additional wires (leave connected as is, if you want to keep them functioning), their for ABS & possibly a pressure sensor. I left the large connector & just tapped into the required wires further down the line. I used Pauls drawing & had the factory wiring diagrams to compare & his drawing appears to be correct as far as I can tell.

Oh & I also had to remove the second fwd fuel tank bracket thats along the passenger side (removed 3 brackets alltogether). I didn't completely remove it with the spot welds, just cut it off at the portion that drops down so where the tank rests on it is basically flush with the rest of the bottom of the car. I'm not sure how other got away without removing this, as it defently held the tank out from being seated in properly.

 

[gofer]

hey daren_p...
im bolting up the gas tank first thing tomorrow and a picture would be worth A LOT right now sense ive got no idea which one it is your talking about???? thanks in advance and this swap is actually going really smooth (so far) and its going to be very rewarding. im excited to get her off the jacks and back out onto the street again, soon... maybe.

 

[daren_p]

I didn't happen to take a pic of the modified bracket & my gas tank is already installed, so to late to take a pic now. Though you can see the bracket I was talking about, back in post #198, where I posted a pic.

 

[99gst_racer]

Daren - Did you wire your fuel tank just like my diagram shows?

I also check my PC at home to see if I could find pictures of the hangers that I made and I cannot. I must have deleted them. But basically, all I did was re-create the AWD hangers with some moly tubing I had laying around. It worked out nicely.

 

[daren_p]

Daren - Did you wire your fuel tank just like my diagram shows?

I also check my PC at home to see if I could find pictures of the hangers that I made and I cannot. I must have deleted them. But basically, all I did was re-create the AWD hangers with some moly tubing I had laying around. It worked out nicely.

I had the factory wiring schematics printed out to use but I think I ended up throwing them out with some other papers so I just quickly made a note of the connections from the factory wiring diagrams & used this & your drawing to hook it up. Basically was going off yours & then just looking at my notes to verify we got the same answer.

No problem on the exhaust, I think I'll be able to locate most of the OEM brackets & if not I'll do what you said

 

[sd_ff22]

Just wanted to check in and say that I am doing this swap right now and it is going very well so far. Gofer and I are doing a bit more than most as we are going from fwd auto to awd manual. We have about 12 hours into the swap right now working after work and on weekends when we can. We have all bolts removed for the GST set up and all bolts installed for the AWD rear subframe, both tunnel hangers are welded up and the gas tank is installed. Waiting to get another buddy to help install the rear subframe then we are done out back. As for the front, both axles are out, auto tranny and shifter are pulled, and clutch and brake pedels are installed(as well as the cluthc master cylinder). We are doing a whole bunch of "while we're at it's" such as changing springs from sportlines to a pro-kit, installing rmdsm sways, all prothane motor mount inserts and so on. I'll get back to it on thursday. scheduled is reinstallation of the manual shifter and cables, re-wireing the fuel system for awd and putting the interior back together.
I've taken a ton of pictures too so look for those soon. We should have this done in the next week or so depending on when the dealership can get parts we need.

Daren, good to see you are doing the AWD too! Did you ever get any testing results from the evo3 IM?? Gofer now has the one that was in my car and I still wish I could have gotten before and after tests!!

-Danny

 

[sd_ff22]

Rear subframe installed. Had a quick question. I wired the fuel pump according to sources here. I was trying to test its proper operation. I put the key in the ignition and turned it to on. Pump is a 255 and used to be quite loud. Now there is no sound. Does it only turn on when it gets signal that the car has started? Also having trouble getting the spacer out of the crank to replace it with a act chromoly fw.