I've been investigating different transmission options on the web for a little while now being I'm having issues shifting into 4th and 5th at high speeds - I initially thought it was the clutch going but then my clutch really started to die and I realized it was something different. My brother who is a mechanic thought it was a synchro issue but wouldn't know for sure unless he pulled the tranny which we didn't have time to do. I have an 01 RS with 130k and I'd like to do something relatively quick and easy(ie not a 6speed). I've seen rebuilds with different gears for around $4-5k. IonPerformance out of Canada sells cryo-treated transmissions for $2700. Anyone ever hear anything about these or any other cost effective solutions? This is like half the price of doing a rebuild. Or should I just take it to Subaru and have them fix my existing tranny? I'm going to be throwing an exedy stage one clutch and light flywheel in hopefully in the next week or so and then having the engine built so the tranny is only going to get more abused over time(it's tough looking at the clutch/flywheel in the box every time I go into the garage - it came already on Thursday and btw Nino's Auto Accessories has been awesome to work with). I plan on buying a new car this winter(used S4 or new Legacy) so then I can go crazy on the RS's engine and the tranny(if I can't get to it before I get the new car). Sorry I've like posted a novel here Any advice would be appreciated!
Odds that their "cryo-treated" gearsets are done down in Bloomington? Find an OEM gearset and send it to Diversified Cryogenics down there and they'll cryo-treat your gears for something like $300 or something. I think it was entire engine blocks they charge $500 for? They gave us the rundown when we were there picking up our brake equipment for the group buy Russ so generously put together for us last spring. Other than that I'm in that boat with you but with a little bit more of an issue. I can put out some gear-rending torque pretty quick to that already-weak gearbox. I've looked into semi-dogs like Modena, MRT, and even Gettrag. They're expensive though, like in the $3-4k range for all but the MRT. I think now with the USDM STi the best bet would be to find a 6sp STi transmission. IIRC it uses a drop gearset like the RS. I can't recall if it uses the same final drive though, likely not. STi folk please correct me.
If you have about $1400 +labor laying around, you can replace your gearsets with Cryo'ed Sti gearsets (RA or non-RA). I was looking into these gearsets due to the fact that they are stronger than the OEM gears and will fit into the Impreza 5-speed tranny.
Who sells those treated STI gearsets? That might be an interesting option to check out. Pardon my newbee ignorance but could I just pick up a stock gearset,synchros,forks etc. at the dealership? Then take them somewhere to have them treated. Or could I find them cheaper somewhere other than Subaru? This could potentially work out well being I may have a hookup to do the tranny rebuild. IonPerformance cryo-treats everything including the case which leads me to another question. With a rebuild can I use my same case again if I were to have it treated or is that something I would want to replace(although wouldn't that be the same as buying a whole new tranny[xx(])? The mechanical stupidity shows Thanks for the help guys.
I already stated this in my previous post but here's the link: http://www.diversifiedcryogenics.com/ We get a discount on parts at Morrie's BP Subaru. Notice where the company whose link I posted is based.
