L series gearing issue

DanTheMan · Post by **DanTheMan** » Sun Aug 22, 2010 9:46 pm

Hi guys I am fairly new to subi's as I have always owned bigger 4wd's. I recently baught a 93 sport wagon with a EA82 with 200k on the clock. Today i decided to take the subi down a sand track and noticed going from high to low didnt make much diffrence. When i put the gearbox into high there is no dash indicator telling me it is in 4wd but when its in low it shows on the back diff "lo" which i would obviously think is low range. When i drive in low the vehicle doesnt seem to make much diffrent even from high or 2wd..... Am i just an absolute newb with this sort of gearing or has anyone else had this in mind or "Problem" a response would be greatly appreciated , cheers

RSR 555 · Post by **RSR 555** » Sun Aug 22, 2010 11:38 pm

Very strange.. I have never experianced this myself but find it odd that you wouldn't notice the difference

as there is quiet a large reduction in the ratios between high and low. I would recommend you find a car yard that is selling one and pretend that you are a prospective buyer and then find a nice clean bit of gravel to try out the 4WD or drive a friends L.Series Dual Range.

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Sun Aug 22, 2010 11:45 pm

It could be the turbo low range'd gearbox, I believe the turbo'd L's have the same crap low range as the EJ's generally do.

Cheers

Bennie

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 9:14 am

I have experienced this with my wagon back when I first got it, when it was unmodified.
Putting it in 4x4 high worked fine, putting it in 4x4 low continued to work fine, but didn't actually seem to lower the ratio at all. I had come straight from my previous L series and knew what it should feel like. It felt fine going into gear too.
Unfortunately I never resolved this. I just drove it like that offroad and coped without low range and then did my EJ engine and gearbox conversion.
It's certainly possible I had the turbo low range gear swapped into the car before I bought it. A previous owner could have swapped in a replacement gearbox without knowing about the low. Who knows.
Good advice to check it against somebody elses car to confirm the problem 100%. Might have to have the selectors checked out to make sure it's actually selecting low range properly. Otherwise you might have to swap in a replacement gearbox, good ones can be had pretty cheaply if you can find one.

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 10:25 am

After reading andyT's post I reckon you've got a problem with your selector, specifically for the low range.

What you need to do is locate the low/high range selector near the bell housing on the driver's side of the subi. This should have a rod connected to it that heads back towards the rear of the gearbox.

Once you've located this get someone to change from high to low range, making sure they're not moving just into the "neutral" position. The little selector arm should move forward for low range when the 4wd gear selector in the cab is moved. If not there's an issue with that rod (if its there) or theres an issue with the selector mechanism inside the gearbox, it could be that the box has been opened up before and is missing one or more of the ball and springs that make the whole thing work. Its complicated and frustrating to get them back in once you've worked out where they live etc, but it is doable.

If the little selector arm does move, make sure that the shaft it is mounted on moves as well. If everything is moving as it should be I'm stumped at this stage.

Could you also let us know the type of rev difference between high and low at a set speed? Say 2000rpm in 1st at the displayed speed, then do it again in low range at the same displayed speed, it should be a lot higher than 2000rpm.

Cheers

Bennie

Post by **Alex** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 11:04 am

or perheps he is just use to bigger fourbys where low range really is low range.

dont expect any kind of reduction like in a big fourby

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 11:50 am

yer the reduction in an L is still very noticeable though.
I did confirm in mine that (externally at least) it was selecting correctly. It "felt" right, and also could see everything moving, the rod etc, from outside while I had someone sit inside operating the shifter. Must have been an internal issue in my case, sounds similar for you.

RSR 555 · Post by **RSR 555** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 11:59 am

I wonder if AlpineRaven has played with any RX Turbo boxes.. is there a coding system on them like the later boxes? I have 3 RX Turbos but funny enough I have never used low range in them

I will try this (once I get home) now I've read this and will report back.

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 12:12 pm

I think it may have only been the "AWD" L series boxes that had the "not-so-low" low range, but not certain on this.

Venom · Post by **Venom** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 2:05 pm

I have a turbo l series box and the low range is definitely a noticable difference. The car will be revving it t*ts off if you try to drive around normally low range.

DanTheMan · Post by **DanTheMan** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 5:26 pm

Thanks for the advice guys i will check out the gearbox and selectors. i will try and keep the revs about 2000rpm and see if the speed diffrence is noticeable. Is there any way i can tell wether its a turbo box or standard dual range without opening it up? At the moment its my daily driver so i wouldnt have to the time to pull it apart.

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 11:44 pm

My GLTM (pretend RX) has an 87 L Tour wagon box in it and that low4 is noticeable and great for crawling up walls etc