Part 5 - VW Bus with Subaru Engine-SUBARUGEARS auto transmission reversal kit installation

Installing the SUBARUGEARS automatic transmission reversal kit into a Subaru 4EAT AUTO transmission, this will be going into my daughters 1974 VW bus, along with a 2.2 Subaru engine. Follow our build series !

[@momohsen1873]

This is awesome! I’ve been dreading the install bc subarugears video is not as clear. Your process seems very straightforward and sound and video quality is great. Thank you for this!

[@WolfofWisco]

Thanks, it’s actually a pretty simple install with a few hand tools, grinder, and if you buy your own bearing for the driven gear, there’s no need to use a press. Good luck!

[@SUBDUB67]

Awesome mate, I’ve done the 5 speed transmission and it was a lot more complicated and time consuming. Your explanation was 5⭐️, I’m actually thinking about doing this one and go for the flat 6 engine in my Kombi. Thanks again awesome 👏

[@vonwesty3544]

Great video! Thanks for sharing the process!

[@WolfofWisco]

Thanks for watching!

[@masterakg7980]

Great job 👍

[@montycrain5783]

Do another video like this on the Subi Gears manual transmission reversal kit if you get a chance. Very well done.

[@stephenroman9015]

This is really interesting

[@matta5534]

I've seen folks subi swap to og vw trans but had no clue this Subi trans kit was a thing!? Such an awesome series! U do a great job of narrating as you go along as well as being super thorough! Love it, buddy.. Keep up the killer work! ✌️

[@WolfofWisco]

yes, its a unique swap to reverse the auto trans direction. I already had the scrap car with the auto trans - easy decision to make the swap?

[@jwgmail]

Great video, but if you don't have a brass hammer, just put a piece of wood between the surfaces! You've clearly been doing this longer than me, I'm just surprised...

[@lashlarue4242]

You make it look so easy

[@WolfofWisco]

I have a lot of shop/fab experience- you can do it for sure!

[@craigmonteforte1478]

thanks for the tips and the Video , i do hope to do a Subie Conversion in a VW Bus one day the Automatic might be a Option after seeing this video although at nearly 60 years of age i always thought. i would. prefer the Standard as i do really like the Boxer Exhaust note with the correct system it almost gives the Subie 4 banger a sort of Porsche sound while running through the gears IMO i grew up in a very VW Aircooled VW home and Antique British Sports Cars my first Beetle was a very rusty ,Leaky 72 i paid $ 200.00 for and a set of used tires for the car had 2. Sparkplugs dangling on their wires in the engine compartment it started and ran home in the dark. with dead tags on it. untill we got it backed up to a garage door and realized why it had o power i put Heliocoils in it and e tual y pulled themotor to throw in a brand new Brazilian made $113.00 kit of Pistons ,Rings and new gaskets everyone told me the Brazilian kits / parts were crap but that’s what i could get locally at that time. the car got my sister back and forth to College for two years and she gave it back to me i pulled the running leak free motor , scrapped the rusty. pan and body. and over 40 years later my engine has been in numerous Bugs , Sand Rails and other VWs and is still running. it’s still called Craig’s Engine. because of the way i repainted it !BTW the VW Community in South Florida is still a tight knit community and my best freind fromHigh School has a Uncle that retired as a VW / Audi Mechanic who did have his own Independent shop for ny years he is Hungarian and fluent in German where he trained as a young man in the mid 1970s i switched over to Watercooled VWs and i bought a couple of Mechanic Specials of of him the dealership used to give him “First Dibs” on. as their Lead Mechanic i would buy Rabbits already diagnosed with all new Factory Parts to put it back on the road again !

[@WolfofWisco]

Wow! Great story and the Craig’s engine has been a lot of places and Vehicles!! Lol! I’m 57, never too late to do a conversion and follow your dreams ! So many online forums and FB groups to answer questions too!

[@breandanh4912]

My dream would be to have both automatic and all-wheel drive.

[@adventureal977]

Fantastic.. my kit has just arrived.. I have heard many negative comments.. noise mainly

[@WolfofWisco]

The reversal drive of the stock ring and pinion gears is likely the cause of noise and that is not fixable. I’ll be posting videos of the noise issue once I have it on the road early summer 2023

[@jedschleisner8960]

You do a great job explaining and making it happen! Thanks

[@dennisperusse3837]

Fantastic video. It’s funny, when I heard you say that you were going to put an automatic transmission into the bus on the first video I thought that you were going to use VW’s original auto trans in it. I am quite impressed with that kit and how everything went together. Can’t wait to watch the other videos on this. :)

[@WolfofWisco]

Thanks for the comment and watching! Yes the Subaru transmission is a great upgrade and fits pretty well. It’s a crazy kit to reverse the direction!

[@hillarylevenworth8824]

Referring to that as a Subaru transmission shortchanges JATCO for all their engineering and manufacturing capabilities.

[@jamesfencl1274]

How are you controlling the trans tcu to ecu ?

[@aw9680]

I guess they arent worried about driving the coast side of the hypoid gear set?

[@WolfofWisco]

@@aw9680 correct. Driving the coast side of the Ring gear- it works! Time will tell for longevity. A lot of swaps like this going on now

[@juniorclassicvwbugs924]

At the beginning of the video I thought I heard you said this was a automatic transmission?

[@stephencarr7173]

Great vid. Just a couple of questions though: Driving the differential in the opposite direction would use the backside of the ring and pinion gears instead of the normal side. Is this an issue? Also, how do you control the trans? Do you need a controller of some type? Thanks

[@WolfofWisco]

@@stephencarr7173 there are no issues driving on the reverse side of the pinion. The stock Subaru engine controller can be used. There is a automatic transmission module that comes out of the same car that I used.

[@waynesitarz424]

I wonder if the whine is from the chain drive mod.

[@WolfofWisco]

Yes- the chain is where the noise is from. Everyone was saying the chain is the source of the whine but I was told yesterday that there’s a new kit being developed that has no chain, it uses 3 gears to reverse the drive direction and it has NO whine.

[@2001JohnC]

Any Chance you took a Picture of the Inside of the End Plate?

[@WolfofWisco]

I didn’t take pics of the inside. Sorry.

[@juniorclassicvwbugs924]

Ok towards the you validated it is a automatic tranny. Is your bus automatic or stick shift?

[@WolfofWisco]

The original bus was a 4 speed manual. Swapped to the Subaru automatic transmission. The old VW trans had a bad 4th gear- and I wanted to go auto.

[@nilsopereira5657]

Hello, I'm from Brazil, I would like to know where to buy this kit, I'm putting together a project, with this transmission, if you can inform me, I'd be very grateful.

[@WolfofWisco]

The kit for the transmission is sold by SubaruGears. Google them- they have many different kits . This kit was $2500 USD. Free shipping from Australia. I was also told that in early 2023 there is another kit being offered for sale in the USA, but don’t know anything about that kit. Good luck!

[@quicknickel3085]

What did you end up doing with the unused speed sensor?

[@WolfofWisco]

I zip tied it to the side of the transmission, still plugged in to the harness. Wrapped in electrical tape. They can be cut off as well, that’s what I’ve been told anyway. Thanks for watching!

[@quicknickel3085]

@@WolfofWisco ​ Thanks! I'm starting the process of converting a Vanagon to Subaru engine and transmission. I'm prepping the engine and waiting for my Subarugears kit to arrive, so it's nice to be following your progress just a few weeks behind.

[@quicknickel3085]

@@WolfofWisco I'm considering using the rear, unused speed sensor as the VSS for the ECU.

[@danielfrazier840]

So the diff is now spinning backwards, which is the coast side of the gears?

[@WolfofWisco]

Yes. And now there are 3 companies making this similar kit. 2 are using chains, one company is using 3 gears to reverse the drive.

[@dorsk84]

That is usually a bad thing. But the way this transmission looks like the input for the front diff is offset to the centerline, just flipping the ring to the other side of the pinion is not an option. The manuals look like the flip method might work, but I would need to have to do way more research to see if it's even possible to do.

[@WolfofWisco]

@@dorsk84 yes, Subaru manual transmissions can flip the differential- I think companies make a kit for that, this automatic transmission won’t work to flip the differential, thus the need to spin the ring gear opposite direction

[@hillarylevenworth8824]

The noisy side!

[@WolfofWisco]

@@hillarylevenworth8824 the new chains are supposedly quiet and the Reversaru gear kit is also quiet, so the noise is not from the differential, all along it was from the chain and gears with an incorrect tooth to chain mesh.

[@user-zz1tn2ue5z]

Can I get this kit conversion

[@WolfofWisco]

Yes. This kit is from SubaruGears- it’s a chain drive kit. There’s also a new kit on the market that uses all gears and is very durable and quiet, from a company called Reversaru. I’d suggest doing some research and check them out.

[@lashlarue4242]

What is the diameter of the 2 gears

[@WolfofWisco]

4.424”. Same for both of the stock Subaru gears. I didn’t measure the chain SubaruGears sprockets-

[@lashlarue4242]

I was wondering the O..D .of the suba sprocket