4EAT Diff lock switch and Handbrake mod - "Torquemada Lite"

[Silent_Kilt]

Found the band adjustment in a Haynes manual this afternoon. For the 1990-1998 Legacy "All Models." Go figure, I need to go buy another manual.. Oh well.

The "flare" in mine is so severe if you let Cruise control run things for you while going up any kind of a hill, it will knock what ever you had sitting on the front of the seat all the way to the back. It almost hits the rev limiter before engaging the next gear. Didn't let it do that more than a couple times before I became a bit more proactive.

Sorry for straying from the real purpose of this thread.

[Impreza Rider]

I recently took on this project with my 2003 Legacy L, following all the directions here. Everything hooked right up, but I will say the output from the TCU was in the same spot, but was a yellow w/ green stripe wire.

I got to test out the mod yesterday and today after 19" of snow we got here in the DC area. There is a noticeable difference in the way the car will make turns from a stop with the transmission locked. With the AWD, the car will understeer until power is transferred back, but the the lock engaged the car went exactly where I pointed the wheels. I also didn't have to work as hard to get the rear end to come around.

Great mod, and thanks for taking the time to document all this

[defcon5]

Whew! Brief panic...we lost all the images for a few. Luckily they were still on the server. let me know if anything else gets screwy.

I'm still around if anyone needs help or advice. Heck, if it comes to it, I'll build you one if you want - just PM me.

[69]

nice it works. on 96 the rwd is near the strut on the passengers side and the duty c wire is white and black strip. 3 pins in on the connect with 16 pins


had a perfect snow drift around a dead end. i felt perfectly in control while the back brushed against the snow banks around the whole circle.

[seraphinwolf187]

I'll have to double check and I don't know if it's already stated, but I think the SVX in part already has this built into the crap box. It only is active in2nd and 3rd but is switch triggered on the gear sellector. It holds in lower gears longer and such for better traction but I have a feeling it also locks into the 50/50 split. Will have to check. I basicly us it when I'm in a "need traction NOW" times knowing I'm more likely gonna have less grip coming up. I'll have to check in with other SVX peeps that know their 4EAT shit. If I'm wrong... I'll be more than happy to add this to my 94' LSi.

[69]

yes this is true. but i have heard the it is only locked in 5050 in 1st and 2nd. and what we are doing is pretty much just taking that fucntion and placing it in a single control for any gear.

[seraphinwolf187]

Second and third is the "lock" with "manual mode". I'm still gonna double check but not much point then for me if the manual mode locks in50/50 since second and third are what it would be used in. Not much point for it in first or fourth.

[Darkwhip]

I'd like to thank defcon5 for hooking me up with a "Diff Lock" had it about 1 week after my first email to him. It installed in aprox 20 min. He is the most thorough person I have ever dealt with, and one of the most outgoing. Fantastic quality and directions. If your not up to tackling the build of the board I highly recommend shooting him an email. +++ for a great guy and a great idea. Now I just need more SNOW !!!




Woke up to a small amount of snow day after install and OMG what a DIFFerence ! Wow the amount of control the car has now is unreal. i did a couple donuts in the parking lot reversed direction and slid into the garage bay completely controlled (car wouldn't do donuts before due to under-steer). If you haven't done this mod yet you dont know what your missing.

[makipsee]

lol wish i could run this we have been having snow after snow so far but i got no car AWD lol... b4 i knew about about the 50/50 lock i use 2 auto cross my legacy in D2... but the center diff didnt like that to much and now that i know about it i cant do anything b/c its burnt up lol.. but this is an awsome mod thanks!

[defcon5]

Well, a few days ago we just got our first 'real' snowfall here in the Detroit area, and let me just reinforce how freakin' FUN even a lowly 2.2l Impreza can be in the snow. I'm not Pastrana, and my car has almost no power, but when I can flip the switch and pull off a solid 1/4 mile "s-turn" drift with perfect control - nothing else seems to matter.

Ok - I'm going back to giggling like an idiot as I clean the snow off of my rear windows (proof of a good drift - maybe I'll leave it...)

FYI - With winter here, I'm getting a lot of questions about how to build the mod etc.. As good as the RS25 PM system is, it's a hassle to log in and check everytime, so I set up a new email account (defcon5industriesatgmaildotcom) to handle questions about the mod - so if you have any questions - feel free to ask.