AYC reliability

[SEAN-NZ]

Hi, i was just wandering about the AYC reliability in the legnum VR4, how often they have problems, and what noises to listen for, or anything else, how often to service them? Also if anyone has ideas on rebuild/replace if something really bad happens. i can hear a faint clicking coming from drivers side back end of car, only sometimes though.

[Kenneth]

They can be quite reliable, though it depends on how you drive and how well maintained they are.

Easiest way to fix them is to buy a 2nd hand one off someone trustworthy.

Personally though, if I was hearing a clicking, I wouldn't be thinking it was the AYC... AYC is usually more of a grinding noise.

[OnBoost!]

I havent had any problems since I have had mine,bought in Oct 2008. Although a friend of mine has had AYC nightmares on his EVO 4 causing him to spend thousands....not sure if he's fixed it yet...

[SEAN-NZ]

hmmm, thanks, ive only had the car for just over a week, hope its nothing serious, sick of spending money on fixing cars

[Gly]

im on my 4th, :D

but its never been an ayc failure,always crown/pinion

its my cars yearly snack.....

and clicking... possible cv joint giving up... mostly there when turning???

could be crown/pinion chunks, but its pretty loud and dramatic when its happened to me
once locked up on main road in peak morning traffic.

[SEAN-NZ]

i think its mainly when going straight, very quiet, hopefully its nothing expensive, engine/clutch seems to be getting noisy too :(, gotta love needing to spend money i literally dont have

[Adam.Findlay]

i am also on my 4th rear diff. I have swapped ayc out for a evo 8 rs lsd and its lasting so far

[Nick Mann]

Yep - most rear diff failures seem to be down to abuse from cars with lots of torque. AYC failures are more usually to do with the pump/pressure switch, or relay.

[Adam.Findlay]

lots of torque.

or standard torque and an agressive clutch / or lots of launching

[wintertidenz]

The click is most likely CV joint - I can't think of anything else that clicks on the car when failing. Whirring noises would be diff or wheel bearings.

The AYC seems to be fairly reliable as long as you don't launch like Carsten does :P

[SEAN-NZ]

how much you reckon for that? could i do it myself if thats what it is? i avoid launches, as i like not having a stuffed clutch

[wintertidenz]

Sorry I've only done a CV boot, not a joint. I would get a mechanic to do it - not sure how much it would be.

It's more the driveline that would suffer than the clutch.

[Adam.Findlay]

standard clutch would be the 2nd to die with launching AYC being the first. cv joints are relativly easy to change

[SEAN-NZ]

i took it to a mechanic mate, he couldnt hear the rear end noise, but could hear the noise from wat i believed to be coming from clutch and said it may be the transmission, so checked oil level and color, full oil, dark grey/black colour, would anyone know were drain plug is? and do i just use the same plug i took out to check oil to refill it? anyone know the quantity?

[wintertidenz]

Drain plug should be on the bottom of the gearbox. Fill is the bolt you took out to check it.

I think it takes about 5 litres? Use GL4 75/85w.

[SEAN-NZ]

i found it, was told it took around 2.3, got some oil before, penrite 75w80 gl4, gonna do it tomorrow, hoping itl make the gearbox quit

[Gly]

if it comes out all silver/black, you have bearing problems...
most likely the input shaft bearing, fairly common issue on the manuals,
a $20 part but 8-10 hours worth of labour.

....its a grinding kind of noise and dissapears when you depress the clutch??

[SEAN-NZ]

not so much a grinding, more like a clicking, but much lower pitch, hard to explain, doesnt sound like grinding, but it does go away when clutch is disengaged, how long to actually replace the part? could get the mechanic to do a home job, hopefully

[Subaru ETA]

The bearing itself is a piece of piss to do if you have a press. It's the remove of the gearbox that takes alot of time. As said give yourself 10 hours to do the job if you haven't done it before

[SEAN-NZ]

dam, i dont think thats a job i could do, maybe, could be a good bit of experiance though, but prob better to get someone else to do it

[Subaru ETA]

While it's apart I would do the clutch as well

[SEAN-NZ]

mmm, hopefully my other car sells soon then

[SEAN-NZ]

if it is the bearing, how long could i drive it with the problem? and wat would happen if it completely stuffs out?

[Subaru ETA]

If it is the input shaft bearing the bits of metal could go through the box and damage the gear sets.

Or if it was like mine it took out the input shaft seal, causing it to dump the gearbox oil out the bell housing

[SEAN-NZ]

so not much chance of catastrophic failure? but may need to be prepared to buy a new gearbox if i leave it?

[Subaru ETA]

This is assuming it is the input shaft bearing!

Keep in mind that a manual gearbox for a vr4 are not exactly dime a dozen and you would be paying top dollar for one!

[SEAN-NZ]

mmm, quick look on tm and partsworld, with no luck, havent really had a look, but will see about getting it fixed when have some cash

[Gly]

fix what you have,

manuals are hard to find, and a replacement box will need the part changed anyway for piece of mind,
and still the 10 hours labour to change the gearbox,
you'll end up spending more than the cars worth if you wreck the box.

definitely don't leave it, as soon as i knew mine needed to be done i parked it up. but i had another car to drive.

[SEAN-NZ]

mmm, about to change the oil anyway, just dont have funds to have it removed, and i dount it would be within my skill level, but could look into it

[SEAN-NZ]

look like the gearbox is coming out, when possible, stupid noise is still there

[Subaru ETA]

Did chunk of metal come out when you changed the oil?

[scott.mohekey]

David, is pressing the bearing on easy? Or is it one of the bearings that needs to be done just right for preload reasons? I've got a manual box that I've had sitting in my garage for a couple of years, that I'm putting into my car soon, and would like to future proof it as much as possible before hand.

[SEAN-NZ]

nah, seemed pretty smooth could try see if anything in it, got pics of it
51058
didnt seem to bad to me, i may have overfilled it a little, oil was just slowly running out after i put it in.
dont know how to get rid of second pic, but that was a small amount of what came out, fair bit darker than the new stuff

[SEAN-NZ]

anyone know if this could be done at home? i know itl be a hard job, just not keen on spending +500 plus, just on labour

[Subaru ETA]

Scott - it just presses on and off - it's not part of the gear set so no preload required.

Sean - you could probably do it without a press but it would be a lot easier with one!

[scott.mohekey]

Scott - it just presses on and off - it's not part of the gear set so no preload required.

Thanks, now I just have to fix my welder so I can finish building the press that I started!

[SEAN-NZ]

i was more meaning for transmission removel, could get help with it from friends, im guessing replacing the part wouldnt be expensive if i had to take it to a shop anyway

[wintertidenz]

You can do it with the help of a few friends - you need to drain and remove the transfer case too from memory, as that's all attached. The bearing shouldn't be too expensive - the labour to pull the box is the expensive part.

The correct procedure for filling diffs, transfer cases and the gearboxes is that you fill till it comes out a bit, wait 10 minutes for any air bubbles to come out, then top it up.

[SEAN-NZ]

had a look today, doesnt look too bad, im guessing i have a stuffed mount to, as i could look through it :/

[ersanalamin]

The click is most likely CV joint - I can't think of anything else that clicks on the car when failing. Whirring noises would be diff or wheel bearings.

The AYC seems to be fairly reliable as long as you don't launch like Carsten does :P

how do we fix the cv joint, is it okay to use this to replace them? I also need the prop shaft boot kit as well

http://www.camskill.co.uk/m8b0s2340p1073/MITSUBISHI_LANCER_EVOLUTION_%28EVO_7_8_CT9A%29_-_SERVICING_PARTS_TUNING_SPARES_and_SERVICE_ACCESSO RIES_-_Universal_Joint_-_Rear_Axle_Gearbox_-_Mitsubishi_Lancer_Evolution_7_8_CT9A

[SEAN-NZ]

that part looks like itl go somewhere between the transfer case and diff, wouldnt have a clue on the required part, was never a cv issue for mine, turned out the handbrake cable had seized so the break shoe was rubbing on the drum a tiny bit