Regearing a 4eat

Veganpotter

Veganpotter

Forum Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2021
Messages
191
Location
Salt Lake City, Utah
Car Year
2006
Car Model
Forester X
Transmission
4eat auto
I'm looking to get a built transmission for better off-road gearing with big tires on my 06 Foz. With the stock tires, I'm sorta ok with it but I'm going to 28" tires and I know that'll make the sorta ok gearing worse. I'm getting better brakes thrown on so that'll help for downhills. But I'd like my gearing to take care of most of that. And it would be nice to go a bit slower when in first on uphills. I'm looking for something in the neighborhood of a 30-35% lower first, 15% lower second and 5% higher 4th gear.
I messaged a transmission shop about getting the gearing I want. They say they can do what I want for +/- 3% for each gear. But they said they don't know anyone that can reprogram the TCM and the car won't be driveable without that. I messaged Cobb and they said they don't have anything to help me. We both figured they'd be the place to look if anyone did it. Anyone here have any guesses to who I should contact? I know it's a longshot. My car has 220k miles on it with 40k on a rebuilt engine. But it has the original transmission. While it doesn't miss shifts and shifts smoothly, it's definitely not shifting nearly as fast as 4eats I've driven with over 150k on them. I plan on keeping this for a long time and I'll replace it with an off the shelf, Level 10 transmission if it fails anytime soon. But if it'll last me another 20k miles, I'd like to get the transmission built the way I'd want it.

*I live in Utah and I'm regularly on steep off-road trails between 1500m to +3000m. I plan on getting a Torq locker by April. I know that'll help a ton but I still want better gearing.
 
How long since you changed the transmission oil?

Just a thought.
 
I just bought the car. But it had new fluid added with the engine install 40k miles ago. It actually looks extremely clean, even thought it's due for another flush soon. The guy I bought it from didn't drive it hard at all and put 100k on it. The engine rebuild was thanks to a bad timing belt. But other than that, he took great care of it.
 
I know that the 4EAT version of my SG has recommended oil changes at 50,000 Kms/24 months, whichever comes first.
 
I will add to that. Heavy work or towing requires halving the mileage and time interval.
 
I've read that that's more of an inspection interval.. It really does look almost as clean as what's in a new bottle.
 
Ratbag said:
I will add to that. Heavy work or towing requires halving the mileage and time interval.
Click to expand...
I'll definitely be adding a transmission cooler to keep things cooler on long climbs. I'm never going to tow but I am building an overlander so it will be under stress very often. But it's going to be an ultralight build. Maybe only 150lbs heavier than an empty, stock Foz when my water tank and fridge is full
 
Veganpotter said:
I've read that that's more of an inspection interval.. It really does look almost as clean as what's in a new bottle.
Click to expand...
Not in the Australian service book. Inspection is every service, replacement is 50Kms/24 months. Half that if towing or heavy use.

In Australia, a full 4EAT rebuild costs about $5,000+ ...

A tranny cooler is already built in (probably). It was standard on our 4EAT Sportshift SH.
 
Ratbag said:
Not in the Australian service book. Inspection is every service, replacement is 50Kms/24 months. Half that if towing or heavy use.

In Australia, a full 4EAT rebuild costs about $5,000+ ...

A tranny cooler is already built in (probably). It was standard on our 4EAT Sportshift SH.
Click to expand...
Our money is different but without the gear change I want, this company's 4eats are $3500 and pretty bombproof. I only paid $2800 for the car. But I'm prepared to pay $4000 for a new transmission when I need it. I just want different gearing as an option when I do. My job is up in the air with Covid. If this were 2 years ago, I wouldn't hesitate on getting a custom transmission long before the lifecycle of this one was up.
 
An oil change is still much less than 1/10th the price of a new tranny!

If you aren't sure when it was last done, it would not hurt to do it. Most of Utah appears to be similar to most of Australia (without the kangaroos and wombats ... ;) ). Really hot and dry - a nightmare for engine and transmission oils.

I had them changed in both ours when we bought them.

I run Shell Ultra 5W-40 fully synthetic in both engines. That might be illegal in the States.
 
Ha, yeah, but this guy totally just used it for getting to work and carting kids around. Not a road trip type. There's barely any rust underneath which means he didn't drive it much in the snow/salt)we get a lot of it). We also have very low traffic so not a ton of sitting still in the heat. I'll probably change the fluid anyway sometime soon. I'm barely going to drive it for the next two months as I make 70% of my income from Dec-March and I'll be busy driving my work van.
 
Is your 4EAT a Sportshift, or standard?

If it's a Sportshift, the TCU can be 'trained' for your specific driving mode. It does not need to be in full Sportshift mode. Just pull the lever into the middle position. This enters learning mode.
 
I just bought mine from a private seller. I don't know if I'll ever buy a car from a dealership other than when I replace my work vehicle
 
Our consumer protection laws provide significant, if limited, protection to the buyer if purchased from a dealer. These protections do not apply to private sale vehicles.
 
We definitely have that here in the US but it's different from state to state. If I was buying a used car over $10,000, I'd probably go to a dealer.
 
Totally!!! I know I'm beating this thing up and cutting it to bits. So I didn't even want anything in great shape. But I'm extremely happy the engine is practically new.
 
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