motorheaddown

Greetings!

I'm providing my '95 5-speed sc300 to PowerHouseRacing (http://www.powerhouseracing.com) as a project car so they can develop various staged turbo kits for the sc300 Lexus community.

I'm in the process of removing the 5-speed tranny in preparation for the 6-speed swap. I have the drive-shaft out and the rear engine support removed so that the tranny is tilted down about 4 inches. Here's the question: How do I get access inside the bell-housing to remove the pressure plate from the flywheel? On the getrag 6-speed there are access covers on the lower part of the bell housing to unbolt the pressure plate. On the 5-speed there are no such covers. I only see access for the release fork and some vents on top of the bell housing.

Am I missing something here? I hope I don't have to pull the engine and tranny out together just to remove the 5-speed.

Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks in advance!

-Scott

P.S. I'll let you know how the project comes out when it's complete.

TurboB6

I might be a little confused but why not remove the bell housing bolts attached to the block and pull the tranny out? That way you have access to the complete clutch assembly etc...

motorheaddown

TurboB6,

Thanks for the reply... Well, if the 5-speed is like the 6-speed, you have to remove the pressure plate from the flywheel first before the tranny will come out. Are you suggesting that I leave the bell housing attached to the block and remove the gear case? If so, wouldn't I have to remove the release fork first?

Sorry for the stupid answer to your question. I have the 6-speed in my garage and supra manuals to remove/replace it. Unfortunately, I don't have any sc300 shop manuals describing the removal of the 5-speed so I'm wingin' it.

Thanks,
-scott

motorheaddown

False alarm... Sorry to trouble you with this thread.

I stopped by the Toyoto dealership and confirmed what the Supra new product feature book has documented. The 5-speed uses a push-style clutch cover while the 6-speed uses a *pull-style* cover. That explains the access covers on the 6-speed and why they're *not* needed on the 5-speed.

Consequently, the 5-speed should just fall off when I remove the bell-housing bolts, and the pressure plate should remain on the flywheel. The 6-speed requires attaching the pressure plate to the flywheel with the transmission bolted to the engine. Ergo the need for access covers. :-)

-scott

philauldridge

scott is right..

The stock SC300 trans shaft will just slip right out... Just remove all the bell housing bolts, and pull it out. The pressure plate comes off AFTER you have removed the tranny. I've had mine out several times (took a few false tries to find the ultimate clutch to handle 450HP)

kmn5

hi Phil,
mind if I ask what clutch you are using?
thanks
Ken

motorheaddown

Kmn5,

This thread is kinda old. I'd either start a new thread or pm Phil directly.

-scott

SC300T

Actually, I'm interested in what clutch he's using, too. So far, I've heard bad things about every 5spd clutch except Clutchmaster stage 4 or 5 (can't remember). Heard bad things about the ACT and RPS (which I have- -should have been called POS). From what I gather the Clutchmasters will hold the power but will give up tranny parts.