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

[T is for TURBO]

Just for archival purposes...

I didn't have a full parts car, So when I got my rear subframe, I did not get all of the "stoppers" (the rubber/steel washers that mount to the the bottom of the subrame mounting points. QTY. 4)

Attached is an image of what I am talking about with the P/N: MB948077

Also attached is a drawing I made of the steel washer that is molded to the rubber. This washer is needed if you upgrade to the boostx rear subframe bushings. It is not a perfect replica, but it should suffice if someone where in need of fabricating one. (I like to make drawings of some of the parts I buy in the event they become unavailable in the future)

 

[jdxnc]

So I'm having issues with my gas gauge. using this diagram:
2G Spyder - FWD To AWD Conversion - Columbus DSM Forums
there's two yellow/black wires on the second sensor and was wondering which one I need to tap into the fuel pump harness?

I had the same thing, I think theres a difference between the ABS and non-ABS cars. It took some playing around to get the right wires hooked up. I just tried switching different pairs around till it worked.

 

[mattsGSTeclipse]

I had the same thing, I think theres a difference between the ABS and non-ABS cars. It took some playing around to get the right wires hooked up. I just tried switching different pairs around till it worked.

Hmm anymore insight on this? My GST was a non abs car and the donor was an abs car so that makes sense.

 

[turboglenn]

Hmm anymore insight on this? My GST was a non abs car and the donor was an abs car so that makes sense.

what kinda troubles are you having? Usually if the gaug works at all it's hooked up right, probably have the senders in the tank crooked

And although it "works" that diagam isn't as nice as the ones in the begining of this thread, but i've been messing with the DSM fuel system for years and haven't fouind any dfference in the fuel pump/sender wiring between ABS and non-ABS cars.

all you've got to do is wire the two AWD senders in series and wire that two wires left (power to senders and signal back) into the FWD pins accordingly..

I've seen more trouble based on wether or not you've cut the harness from the AWD car or just left short pigtails on each sides sender/hanger... if you just have short wires n each side then if you've hooked the yellow/black's together and then the gauge is working or it isn't.. if you have trouble with the correct reading its' most likely because you don't have the senders in and aligned correctly and one side is hanging up in the tank

It's simple, and i just checked the manual, all 2g FWD senders arethe same as far as being 100ohm resistance, the AWD ones are only 50 ohm, so as i said wire them in series and just hook them up there's no difference, all the cars use the same gauge that's reading from a total of 100ohms for a dead empty tank and ~0 ohms for a full tan

 

[97gst_spyder]

I've never seen a difference in them either. It worked the first time.

 

[mattsGSTeclipse]

The gauge isn't working at all. I had the shop that did the awd swap do the wiring but the fuel pump sending unit that I had was junk so I replaced it myself and I'm trying to figure out why its not working. It might be the driver's side sending unit hanging up cause I did take it out at one point. Only problem is I can't get to it now without dropping the tank. Would I be able to cut a hole for that sender with the tank still installed?

 

[Gus@RRE]

Evo rear as in Evo 3? I've wondered if the stock rear LSD could be repacked the same way the Evo 3 is (if I have my facts right) to tighten it up.

I can't imagine a situation where the Cusco 35/65 would be a bad thing to have. I wish I could swing putting one in my Galant.

Sorry about the late reply, but actually i'll be running an evo 8/9 rear diff. She fits pretty good in there.

Gus

 

[eclipsh]

Yeah, I've heard about it since then. Checked into one in a local yard but they wanted way too much for it.

 

[mattsGSTeclipse]

When my swap was done, there was never a hole made for the driver's side sending unit. Could I do this while the tank is installed? or will I have to drop the tank?

 

[97gst_spyder]

When my swap was done, there was never a hole made for the driver's side sending unit. Could I do this while the tank is installed? or will I have to drop the tank?

Yes and no. Depends on how pretty you wanna make it look. I left the tank in, and tin-snipped out a square.

If you wanna do it factory looking. You would need to drop the tank, cut a circle out with something.

 

[IHeartMyHonda]

I'm about to tackle this swap here in the next few weeks. I feel pretty confident in it, since I have a running donor car as well as extra parts. Anyone have any encouraging/helpful advice before I get started?

 

[gofer]

Good luck!

 

[mattsGSTeclipse]

The gauge isn't working at all. I had the shop that did the awd swap do the wiring but the fuel pump sending unit that I had was junk so I replaced it myself and I'm trying to figure out why its not working. It might be the driver's side sending unit hanging up cause I did take it out at one point. Only problem is I can't get to it now without dropping the tank. Would I be able to cut a hole for that sender with the tank still installed?

So I found the problem, the connector for the driver's side sending unit wasn't fully connected. Connected that and swapped a wire and it works.

 

[nicknorth11]

Can anyone tell me how to wire up the AWD 2nd sender harness or what the wires in it are for? I'm trying to figure out exactly how to wire up my Full Blown setup during the swap.

 

[Cox Abele]

Since I've been doing my own swap, I felt I could add a few things.

The drivers side exhaust hanger that is located close to the emergency brake mounting tab should at minimum have it's rubber bushing removed. If you have your saw out, just cut the thing off since it won't be re-used. I found that while it clears the AWD fuel tank, it does make it a little more difficult to install since you'll have to work around it. If the rubber hanger is left in place, once the fuel tank is in, you won't be able to bolt up the driver's side emergency brake cable to that location in the frame. I had to cut mine out after the fact.

Continuing with the ebrake cables, the AWD chassis has tabs welded in place for the rear most cable mount near the wheel well. They are just thin sheet metal. You'll want to weld these in before you install the tank, but I don't think they are entirely necessary.

The position of the ebrake cable tabs on the fuel tank straps should be on the outward side of the strap. I had them facing inboard and realized that wasn't correct, but was able to move the tab along the ebrake cable and got them to bolt up. It gave me a good mount and I had no problems getting the cables fed through the body hole, but I don't have the greatest seal on the cable grommets.

 

[GRNDSM]

I have been thoroughly researching this topic, as I am performing my own AWD swap. I thought that donmagicjuan had a pretty good solution in this post: http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/151205645-post87.html . Unfortunately, I then discovered a flaw with how many people tackle this particular part of the swap. The problem is that you have two different surfaces at the existing hole: one is the frame mounting surface and the other is "main channel surface".

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When you look at the inside, you will see how they are related to each other:

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Most people drop in spacers or washers without regard for the difference between those two surfaces! Go too wide (beyond 1.6") and you will sit above the frame mounting surface:

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This is bad for two reasons:
-you put a concentrated load on a different part of the frame (the main channel surface), where it creates a gap between the top of the screw and the frame mounting surface.
-you create a misalignment between the head of the bolt and the axis it naturally wants to assume.

So, I took donmagicjuan's concept and redesigned it to work perfect with-in the actual space constraints:

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IMO, this is a perfect solution: anti-rotation and a perfect load disctribution!

I sent Jay at Jayracing a drawing and had him machine me a pair of spacers. I think they came out pretty good. I told Jay that he can have the design and make more parts for anyone who wants them. I can't imagine there being enough demand for this part, so him making these parts would be more of a service to the DSM community.

 

[nicknorth11]

Do we need an awd exhaust heat shield for under the car?

 

[bradselph]

Do we need an awd exhaust heat shield for under the car?

Not really but thats up to you if you wanna even run a shield.

 

[nicknorth11]

I'll be around 500 awhp. Will that be too much heat for no shield?

 

[bradselph]

Daily or weekend car?

 

[nicknorth11]

Weekend

 

[bradselph]

I wouldn't worry with it.

 

[nicknorth11]

Great! Thanks!

 

[GRNDSM]

Actually, the thing that really matters is whether or not you are keeping your cat. Exhausts do get hot, but they are typically farther away from the body and not as hot as the cat. Expecially if you have a clogged cat!

I removed cats and shields from pretty much all of my DSMs and never had a problem with them.

 

[jjw205]

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).

I know I'm quoting an old post, but what else is different from the FWD and AWD rear backing plates? Is it the bolt pattern for the wheel bearing bolts, or the center hole for the axle to go thru? Can a FWD one be modified to work? I can't find a set of rear AWD backing plates anywhere....