Toyota E153 transmission swap

[nerd racing]

we did that on a 3 wheel vehicle built for off road in 3rd world countries and the bearing sheared in half while driving it, I am surprised we didn't roll the thing.

[therieldeal]

i literally went 100 yards at 15 mph, everything is fine

[nerd racing]

cool, can't wait to see some high RPM launch videos at the track!

[neuspeedescort]

word jon!

i have to to say this to be the one that said it. if not already. if you blow up this tranny by some freak chance your going to be pissed! that being said i hope its a long time down the road. like after a big turbo upgrade.

as for axel nuts. im willing to bet you could have ripped on it. thin how not easy they come out when you are trying to get them out working on the car. i ran for about 500 miles with out an inner axel clip ring on my red car after my gtx swap. only issue was a bit of gear oil leak.


NEUMAN

[therieldeal]

the problem is without an axle nut there is nothing holding the hub into the bearing, so it could theoretically slide out and then the wheel falls off

[frogi323]

after i got my tranny installed into my 323 i drove it 75 miles hot rodding it, i noticed that something felt weird then i get to work at 10pm at night i look at the hub and the guy forgot 1 axle nut, so i called him and he came to my work at 12am and put one on while i was working never had an issue.

[323driver]

Without the axle nut, don't expect the bearing to live long, there is nothing holding it tight together.

[therieldeal]

i'm not too worried about it, considering an hour after i drove it 100 yards i pulled the spindles off and replaced them with 3rd gen escort spindles with brand new wheel bearings. now the car is on stands waiting for the nuts.

[therieldeal]

(i also added this to post #1 of the thread)


time to let the cat out of the bag and get all of this info together in one place

the stuff you need to pull this off in a FWD BP powered BG:

OE parts needed:
celica alltrac ST165/185/205 shifter and cables.
some are longer than others, beware. ST165 cables are BARELY long enough, that's what i have. the camry stuff will work but the shifter base is huge.
2000ish Camry/Solara v6 5 speed trans
LSD of your choice, buy for 93-95 MR2 turbo
new bolts, bearings, speedo gear, snap ring for LSD
(note, the camry open diff ring gear bolts are TOO SHORT
also note, these transmissions are much more difficult to take apart than the good old G series.)
91-92 MR2 intermediate shaft/bracket
91-92 MR2 drivers side inner axle stub
(note: these are generally inexpensive and work for the all the aftermarket LSD's. If you want to use the stock viscous LSD from a 93-95 MR2 you will need the two parts above from the 93-95. these will fetch inflated prices.)
Celica Alltrac ST185 front axles (hybrid with MR2 inner axles above)
91-92 MR2 cable drive speedo sender
90-94 protege LX speedo cable (fits toyota sender, will also connect to escort speedo)
('88 RX7 balljoints w/ late style BG spindles) -or- (MX3 LCA's) to widen track slightly

Custom purchased parts needed:
custom clutch disc, 8 7/8" OD with 21 spline toyota center hub.
adapter plate (dur)
bushings for mounts - i used Energy suspension #9.9483

Custom machine work and "machine work":
machine off weight ring on back of flywheel to clear plate
deck flywheel down an extra ~0.10" (or have fun last-minute clearancing the bellhousing like i did)
notch bellhousing for starter nose, drill hole for starter mounting bolt
notch bellhousing for front/top adapter plate to engine bolt head
lots of bolt shortening for "blind holes" in the adapter plate

Sh!t you have to make from scratch:
Plate to cover old shifter hole in floor, to bolt new shifter base to
engine/trans mounts and brackets (all four for FWD)
subframe for front/rear lower mounts (you may be able to modify the stock one to work, i didnt bother)
bracket for intermediate shaft bearing
bracket and line for clutch slave (use camry slave, stock master)

Specific tools/skills:
BFH
Welder / how to weld
Torch
drill press or punch
hydraulic press
grinders, cutters, nippers, band saw, etc etc etc

Materials:
Plate and angle steel in various thicknesses and widths (we ranged from 1/8" to 1/2" thick on this project)
round or square steel tubing for subframe (we used 1" square 1/8" wall)
1.5" ID 1/4" wall DOM for mounts (if you use the p/n above)
1/2" diameter bolts for mounts (again)
lots of M10x1.25 and M12x1.5 bolts in various lengths
a handful of nuts, same sizes
a few oddball fasteners, for example the bolts at the front of the subframe were m12x1.0 IIRC

tips:
the engine and trans need to come bothforward and up roughly 1". its hard to say precisely how much. the main issue with the stock drivetrain location is that the inner cv joints hit the K frame, this is the problem you need to solve. i wanted at least a finger's thickness clearance on everything spinning/moving. the frame rail on the drivers side also tries to occupy the same space as the trans by about 1/2". options are notch and box the frame rail, or hit it with the torch and BFH. we went with the BFH, everything seems to be just fine.


i'll be happy to answer specific questions from anyone attempting to do the swap, however i hope that i covered this pretty well. if you feel i have forgotten something major, please let me know so i can fix it.

i know the guys in NZ were first, but as far as i know this is the first FWD toyota conversion in the continental US. i give credit where credit is due, i ask that you all please do the same

[jinx]

well done. I'm curious to see how well this holds up and performs.

[therieldeal]

thanks :D

the nuts should be here wednesday or thursday, then i have some driving to do to get my clutch broken in ASAP

[nerd racing]

awesome, now we just need someone to get the AWD setup going

[yunvmyegt]

cool, now with all the time i got ill have to start rounding up parts..... money will be the only hold up for the bit ..... good work jon.....

oh and anybody gonna sticky this?

[SgtRauksauff]

awesome, now we just need someone to get the AWD setup going

I'm pretty sure Jay's already on that. I can't WAIT to see his car on stage. and then immediately duplicate as much as I can, so my 4WD can play in the dirt too!).

Jon, this just kicks ass!! Kudos for taking the time and energy to pioneer what wasn't easily available, and for staying focused on the project!!!

--sarge

[jay]

Offseason is coming, along with more time to get this *&%^ beeyotch back on the road...