AU BTR transmission into AUII: Will it work?

TragicAUII · 08-03-2015, 01:19 PM

The old trans in my AUII has lost gears, or slips in normal driving. Not bad, I suppose for a 417000 km tour of duty.
I got a working trans from an AU that was running well (and no leaks, unlike mine), and now that I'm going to install it, I see there are some differences in the bellhousing (at least).

My daughter noticed the different bolt pattern, as indicated, and the whole in the centre of the drive shaft.

Will it cause any problems?

Was going to swap bellhousings, but no socket that fits the Torx head bolts, and I need the car for work tomorrow.

All help appreciated.
Les

mik · 08-03-2015, 02:33 PM

the new auto you have , does it come with its own convertor ?

mik · 08-03-2015, 03:01 PM

i wouldnt think the doover in the end of the input shaft would be a bother mate, i think that is just an aid in the machining process, as long as the splines and length are the same it should be ok , the bolt holes , the ones you pointed out look like holes for accessories or something ? sorry i have no info on those,
my gut feeling, if it where me and i was desperate to get her going as long as the dowels and main bolt holes line up , i would install the bugger and worry about accessories later( but i do cause myself grief sometimes ;) ),
on the other hand , a socket to fit the torx bolts would solve any doubts by swapping the bell housing over as you pointed out, im guessing a trip to repco would be out of the question ??
the reason i asked about the convertor , was if your putting the old one back in you might wanna try and give it flush out, as it may be full of crap.

TragicAUII · 08-03-2015, 04:47 PM

Went to Repco, Supercheap and AutoPro (all within a couple of blocks here at Raymond Terrace).
The eTorx (external Torx, in case some clown tells you it's Torx you're looking for) set I bought included E18 and E20, and the bolts in the transmission seems to be in between. It seems that E19 may be a size that is not manufactured regularly, and I could not find an E19.
Tried to fit the transmission anyway. 2 1/2hours later on my gravel driveway, it seems that the locating pins line up, but most of the other bolt holes don't.
Will be one of my missions this week to swap the bell housing. (The other will be to get to work without my car).
The replacement transmission has a torque convertor, but it's empty. I also got 5 litres of transmission fluid and a seal and filter with the second hand trans.
Looks like the end seal is leaky, when I put the tailshaft in.
I'm getting quicker at this. Just wonder how long this transmission wil last, and I'll be doing this again?
Thanks for your help, and let this thread be a lesson in transmission compatibility

mik · 08-03-2015, 06:50 PM

bugger , thats bad luck mate , wish i could help you out, never mind............. these things are ment to try us sometimes,
keep on plugging mate, let us know how you go.
cheers .

**Jastel** · 09-03-2015, 09:09 PM

Going back to ancient history for me here but I am pretty sure you can swap bellhousings between AU's and even EL's. Use the bellhousing that was on your car.
Unless the bolts have been changed they are just 12mm on every one I ever saw, though a el cheapo 6 sided hex socket WONT fit, you need a quality 12 sided socket.

Somewhere in the mix they did change the converter tangs that engage the oil pump, check the length of them.

JC · 09-03-2015, 11:12 PM

Is one from a V8 and one from an I6?

T MAN · 10-03-2015, 12:14 AM

the one marked as au is e series, either ef or el.. the one marked as au2 is a au one..
either way the boxes are pretty much the same, just swap the bellhousings over and if you have the torque converter from them keep them together

TragicAUII · 11-03-2015, 04:54 PM

I'm off to buy a 12mm double hex socket this arvo (1/2" drive, of course).
AFAIK, both are from a 4.0 six cyl engine car (mine defo is).

Thanks for the help, team.

I will keep each torque convertor with the same gearbox, although the one that came with my clean replacement transmission is drained/empty. How much fluid will I need? I have about 8 litres available at the moment.

*edit: FWIW, I have a new radiator (only 12 moths old, anyway), as I replaced it when the freeze/core plugs in the block were replaced. Should I be looking at a separate trans cooler?

TragicAUII · 14-03-2015, 02:15 PM

Got the bell housing swapped and the transmission installed Thursday arvo, with an early finish from work.

Just dropped the pan and found a bolt up against the magnet.

Had to take a photo in order to see where it fits (old eyes don't focus at that distance in darkness). Objective achieved.

Reinsert/ install missing bolt. install new filter and pan with new gasket. Fill from the engine bay via hose and funnel.

Thanks for the support, guys.

mik · 15-03-2015, 03:15 AM

glad it went back together ok mate,

on the separate trans cooler, entirely up to you mate, i do a bit of towing in mine and run a cooler, i have run it in line with factory radiator cooler for some years now, it is a nice bit of extra cooling should you need it, i dont know that AU`s suffered with the cooler failing like some ba`s ?
i have pulled the au cooler out of my tired old radiator at about 5 or 6 years old and the brass cooler was still in good nick, it looked to me to be reasonable quality cooler.
i have often wondered if the cars that had cooler problems actually had the prescribed coolant/inhibitor in them ??
if it was me and my radiator was only 12 months old and cooling system well kept..... ie coolant /inhibitor up to date, and not doing any towing, i dont think i would worry about it for a few years anyway.