Outer Limits 4x4 Board

i did some searching but have come up with nothing to satisfy me.

need a little schooling from some auto tranny guru's.
i have a g16a backed up by a sierra 5 speed in my zook at the moment and i want to convert it to auto because i have blown up my knee really good and want to get back into driving my car again.
the box i am looking at is the th180 or 3l30 as they are known. i know i can bolt up the vitara auto and either mod it to run without the t/case or go duel cases but its not really they way i want to go at this point.
i know that along with many other manufacturers that holden used the th180/3l30 in many different models from gemini's to torana's ect. as the trimatic. they all have interchangeable bell housings and extention housings as far as i know - the shafts i have no idea about.

my questions are;
1- is there any models of trimatic issued in aus that will bolt up and work with the 16a by changing the bellhousing? ( excluding the vitara issued box)
2- if not is it possible to unbolt the t/case and adapter off the vitara box and replace it with for eg. and holden trimatic extention housing to conver it to a 2wd box?

any insight would be great.
cheers.

Whilst Simcoz recently posted some excellent tech on using non-suzuki trimatics behind a G16 motor, there is no need in your case. To run a different trimatic, you'd still need a vitara bellhousing, which would mean you need a vitara auto and another one that's effectively the same - silly really.

You don't need an extension housing at all. You can use the sandwich plate that's fitted between the transmission and transfer as a short extension housing. remove the bearing that sits in there, press in a bearing that is the same ID as the OD of your existing jackshaft slip yoke, and press in a seal.

The vitara gearbox output shaft is the same spline as the sierra gearbox output shaft, so your jackshaft fits straight it, it just needs a bearing and seal to support it and stop the ATF leaking out.

I cant help on part numbers, but apparently the bearing is a Datsun 180B wheelbearing.

I don't have a photo of this setup but did help install a trimatic into a Sierra this way. The transfer case stayed in the stock spot and the jackshaft remained long enough to provide vibration free highway driving.

I have built my own tailshaft housing. It was a lot more work than what I just described, but it was about 1" shorter. Here's a photo. Using the stock vitara sandwich plate looks pretty similar.



either way, any extension housing from a car will be far too long.

Steve.

thanks steve. i guess its on to a vitara box then.
cheers.

steve i like the way you think however, my only question to this as i am thinking of doing similar is how does it go on the road? i would think at a 100ks the revs would be quite high as the lack of over drive ie 5th gear in the manual and the stall slipping in the auto i was told recently that the 4sp vitara box not only has over drive but lock up converter as well wouldnt this be a far better option? electrics aside??

if your doing it more for off road use why not go the dual transfer?

3speed has the lockup aswell, there's another thread on here that shows what I've done with mine, all be it a trailer queen on road driving will b fine

Bazooked - only Japanese market and US market TBI Escudo/Trackers have the TH180C Lockup gearbox. They aren't common here.

Offroader-rama - That's the #1 disadvantage of the trimatic - highway revs. They really only work with big tyres.

The two cars I've been involved with running trimatics are as such:

1.6 carby/trimatic/4:1 Transfer gears (1.55 high range) 3.7 diffs, 35" tyres. It's spinning about 3500rpm @ 100 on the 35's.

1.6EFI/trimatic/6.5 Transfer gears (1.7 high range) 3.9 diffs 35.5 tyres. It's spinning about 3900rpm @ 100 on the 35.5's.

They're not an easy gearbox to gear on the road.

The 4:1 transfered car is a tiny bit tall off road for our terrain, but it's very effective.
The 6:1 transfered car is very sweet for most terrain but occasionally needs high range to generate good wheelspeed in mud, especially in reverse.

Steve.

what about doing same sort of mods but using the 4sp vitara auto? why isnt that a popular option is lack of upgrade parts or the electrics? i am heading down the path of going an auto as well but cant find best option as it has to see HWY use, No point having 2 trailer queens i can only drive 1 at a time.
So i want a weekend toy to show the boys in the big toys that size dosent matter.
one thought that is crossing my mind is a isuzu 4ze1 with a sc14 dedicated to LPG and 4sp auto to suit cheap as chips plenty of touque. just chasing weight figures and over all length but being a LWB sierra its a little more forgiving there.

The 4 speed auto is a great conversion - it's stronger and more reliable than the three speed, it has a deeper first gear, a deeper converter ratio, a lockup converter and a very tall overdrive so it' s close to the perfect offroad auto.

It is significantly longer than the trimatic (about 80mm form memory) so you'll be wanting to move the transfer case back to maintain an acceptable jackshaft length.

The AW-4 is bulkier, so more trans tunnel mods are required, but that's not a big deal.

As for wiring, an AW-4 with the electronic control unit disconnected will run as per a full manual valve body- i.e all gears can be selected manually but it won't shift itself. Gear shifting on a suzuki AW-4 is 100% electronic - all forward gears are selected via solenoids. Park, reverse and neutral being cable selected.

It is apparently possible to feed an AW-4 TCC (transmission control computer) from a vitara with the correct signals to get it to shift. It needs throttle position, temperature and speed. There is no commercially available way to do this AFAIK - it would take some time with a service manual to work out what was required.

Another option is to fit a Volvo AW-4 core to a vitara bellhousing/output. The Volvo version of the AW-4 is 100% hydraulically controlled - no electronics at all.

Of course the easiest way to get factory drivability is to use the complete engine+gearbox form a G16B (or J20A) enigned vitara. then everything just works as per stock.

Steve.

so the 4 speed will be the only really suitable option for deadzook then??
having 6.5s,3.7 diffs and only on 32s it would be a bit revvy with the trimatic.

i myself would one day like to look into the auto side of things but seems to rob them up the hiway a bit?

the 4 speed is an electronic box that run a computer off the engine computer n if its not wired up u have to drive it manully.what gear u stick it in is the gear u got n u dont have second cause it runs off solinouds

^^^makes for easy paddle shift conversion without the computer and just using the solinoids lol.

if i can get a hold of an auto i will pull the 6.5's out and go duel case's using a 1 litre case. i think it would work fine for my car. i rarely sit on a 100kph, i'm happy to just cruise on 80 most of the time.

i am seriously keen for an auto set up - 3 or 4 speed. i have little use in my left knee so its kind of my only option if i am to keep my zook.
if anyone wants to help a cripple out with a reasonable price on an auto set up shoot me a pm.