SW20 Gearboxes

Re:SW20 Gearboxes (Guest)

Mon, 08 Jul 2019 13:25:58 GMT

Camry e153 internals fit in a mr2 e153. S54 being a different case, I dont imagine will work. The S54 is lighter and said to have better gearing for n/a engine.
To do the Camry e153, you need the e153 mr2 case and selector shaft (no longer available and I have tried many machinists to replicate and said no can do), preferably final drive, and oil pump.
To use the e153 Camry case, you need the front engine mount case component ($100), machining of the selector ($200+ depending on machinist) and the mr2 e153 items above being not available/cost too great.
Get the gearbox quoted by a professional, could be something’s small to something big... then make a decision.

Re:SW20 Gearboxes (TomsMR2)

Sun, 07 Jul 2019 14:34:57 GMT

I have a good condition S54 I removed from my 1991 when I did my V6 conversion , always ran on redline MT90 and all gears change smooth
It is in WA but postage can be quite reasonable

Re:SW20 Gearboxes (stuka)

Sat, 06 Jul 2019 21:01:04 GMT

Jem when you say the gearbox has seized, what do you mean, what are the symptoms?

Re:SW20 Gearboxes (Reddtarga)

Sat, 06 Jul 2019 17:14:24 GMT

I believe S54 boxes are not that rare.
Maybe check out MR2 club of Australia Facebook groups.
I recoed my S54 about a year ago and found stuff like syncros, bearings, shims, circlips etc all available from Amayama.
Not sure about S54 shafts or gears, but to check availability you'd first need the part numbers.

Re:SW20 Gearboxes (MG_MR2)

Sat, 06 Jul 2019 16:15:20 GMT

jemstar
Thanks for reply Tony.

It's NA so s54.

I spoke to my mechanic and he says he will send it away for a rebuild.

So a few thousand!!! eek!!

Oh well love the car so it must be done.

Thanks again,
Jem.

I’m similar to Tony in my knowledge of S54s but my understanding was they were a lot more common.

And as Tony said, really depends what’s wrong with it, if it’s some bearings and synchros won’t be as much as that.

Depending on your mechanic, the other thing is they really don’t want to spend time chasing a more complicated option that may work, but depending what they quote on the rebuild it MIGHT be worth trying to source an e153 out of a v6 Camry. I know 153s are very rare for MR2s and I think probably somewhat to find a manual Camry but given the sheer number of camrys out there and their long run (into 2000s) there might be good chance. I only saw one sell on gumtree yesterday for 600. I terms of what is required to get it to work on NA (i.e. shaft lengths etc) hopefully someone more knowledgeable will add some info

Re:SW20 Gearboxes (Guest)

Thu, 04 Jul 2019 18:41:18 GMT

S54 ... I don’t know much about as only playing with e153 (turbo).
Few other members would be a better point of call for info.
The thousands is worst worst case scenario, on a lot lot wrong, depends on what needs doing. Best to expect the worst to get the best outcome :)

Re:SW20 Gearboxes (jemstar)

Thu, 04 Jul 2019 18:20:46 GMT

Thanks for reply Tony.

It's NA so s54.

I spoke to my mechanic and he says he will send it away for a rebuild.

So a few thousand!!! eek!!

Oh well love the car so it must be done.

Thanks again,
Jem.

Re:SW20 Gearboxes (Guest)

Thu, 04 Jul 2019 13:24:20 GMT

Correct in Josh MR2 wreckers Australia, it is a second job/hobby/business. Email, text and when he has time, aka anything from a few hours to weeks to a month, he will get back to you.
Gearboxes are rare in good condition, best to rebuild if you know what’s needed / parts available and up to a few thousand to do it all.
Depending if you have a turbo aka e153 or non turbo aka s54? Which do you need?
Many synchros and parts are no longer available hence the price of good second hand gearbox’s has risen steeply in the past few years - however there are not many around. I jumped in early and have two gearboxes for that exact reason. Best of luck, put up a want to buy on the forum and Facebook.

Re:SW20 Gearboxes (jemstar)

Thu, 04 Jul 2019 13:05:58 GMT

Hi,
My 1991 SW20 manual gearbox has seized. My mechanic is having problems finding a second hand one. We have both tried MR2Wreckers, however not getting any replies from emails or phone.

Any suggestions.

Regards,
Jem.

Re:SW20 Gearboxes (tuban)

Mon, 12 Sep 2016 20:02:46 GMT

OK, thanks for all the tips. Advice from mechanic that did the compression test was that it was looking like turbo as compression was OK and the plugs looked OK. The turbo removal looks like easier with engine & gearbox both out. Any comment about the gearbox overhaul? Or maybe I simply get it out and have a look and then order the bits.

Re:SW20 Gearboxes (TwoDogs)

Mon, 12 Sep 2016 16:43:43 GMT

Coincidental that you mention the exhaust studs, Carmikey. I have just had a mate come over and install helicoils in my exhaust stud holes. He torqued up the manifold at the end of the job by hand, no torque wrench, even though I offered one. He said that "38ft/lbs" specified in the manual is way too much for an alloy head. He has done hundreds of engines and I trust him over the specs in the manual. Yet I see a 17000 hits for "3sgte stripped exhaust" studs - seems to support what he says, don't trust the manual!!

Re:SW20 Gearboxes (Carmikey)

Mon, 12 Sep 2016 15:20:32 GMT

Yeah, if it were me, & your thinking of doing the turbo, you might as well drop the whole engine / box and do all in one hit.

Working on turbo removal / install is a major pain when its still in the engine bay.. not to mention, if the turbo has never been off before, then cracking some of those manifold nuts / bolts can give all sorts of grief.

Most often you'll find you will need to a replace a few manifold studs whilst you are there... hopefully none of them need to be drilled out.
Drop the sump too & at least re ring it.
Regarding the clutch, best inspect 1st, you will soon see what condition its really in. Word of advice, I would never re-install a gearbox without at least replacing the release bearing too.

Re:SW20 Gearboxes (TwoDogs)

Mon, 12 Sep 2016 13:53:03 GMT

Hi Tuban, I am presuming that because the compression figures are ok that you think it must be the turbo leaking oil. I'm not sure what the smoke looks like when it comes from a leaky turbo seal, but I suspect it does not look the same as piston ring smoke. Someone with more experience could probably advise. "Under acceleration" is the classic piston ring smoke.
As for dropping the engine, well it certainly makes working on it easier. In hindsight, the extra couple of hours to get it out and in, were insignificant compared to the amount of hours I have put into the engine, but mine needed lots of work, your engine may be perfect except for current problem. How well do you know your engine ?

Re:SW20 Gearboxes (tuban)

Mon, 12 Sep 2016 11:25:04 GMT

advice please - I need to be very careful with change up to 3rd gear with my JDM SW20 E153 gearbox. I am considering pulling the gearbox out in a few months to fix the 3rd gear synchro and probably 2nd gear while I'm at it.

While I've got the gearbox out I'm going to replace the transaxle boots. If I've got the gearbox out, what else should I replace, gearbox seals, bearings? Clutch plate?

Where do you get gearbox overhaul parts? They seem to be rare, the only kits I could find were from Cobra Transmission in the US and I'm not sure about quality of seals etc. I do have the new Toyota 2nd & 3rd synchro rings but nothing else.

Engine compression is fine, about 150psi, so I wasn't planning on dropping the engine as it looks like a much bigger job than the transmission. Is it feasible to do any clutch work removing only the transmission? I'm not having any clutch problems, simply wondering if I should replace it if the gearbox is out. One part of me says that, if it's working don't disturb it. The other part says that the part I don't replace will fail as soon as I put the car back together.

I will also be removing the turbo as it is blowing a bit of smoke on acceleration & uses a bit of oil. Plus I need to do the engine timing belt and will do the water pump while I'm there.
Thanks

Re:SW20 Gearboxes (TwoDogs)

Wed, 29 Jun 2016 18:44:36 GMT

I made a mistake in diagnosing a noise from the clutch gearbox. Long story short, a noise which disappears when you press on the clutch, (ie opp of thrust bearing symptom) does not have to be the input shaft of the gearbox. It can also be the clutch. So I paid a bucketload to have the gearbox serviced, new seals, bearings, synchro and (very fortunately) he found a problem caused by a previous rebuild. Anyway while it was apart I asked about increasing the final drive reduction to lengthen the box ratios, as freeway revs are higher than I'd like and 1st gear is done in a flash.
He said he would put the parts in for me, but I would have to supply the parts. After 30 mins of looking at an exploded diagram and not knowing which of all the bits were necessary (and not cheap) I said "forget it, I'll just keep an eye out for a Camry V6 box which uses the E153 with the taller gearing". He said ok, but called me back later that day to tell me he had a Camry V6 box in the corner "would you like me to put the final drive cogs in for you?" Yes please.
The engine isn't back in yet but I am looking forward to a brand new box with taller gears, should be good. Oh yeah, new Exedy HD clutch going in as well.