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Well, the front pump on my transmission started making a loud whine and the shifts got soft and I could feel the trans slipping. I have an Aristo tt auto trans leftover from the 2jzgte I bought for my 84 supra. Luckily I kept it as a spare so swapped it in this weekend. For some reason I couldn't find a write up to explain what is needed for the swap, so here it is. I finished the swap today and it drives great. Shifts firmer than stock, though I did not install a shift kit. Did not have time to wait for one to arrive so will order it later. No engine light, no weird issues, etc.. Car runs great with this trans.
You need the Aristo trans complete with the tq convertor and the flexplate. You will need a 30mm deep well socket, and a strong impact gun. You will need the front and rear trans seals and a new filter with gasket. The only place that had the correct rear seal was NAPA. Part Number: NOS 16531. The other one they had listed is apparently for the SC300 with the slip yoke extension housing and will not fit the Aristo trans.
Anyway, onto the swap.
Once you have the original trans out of your GS300, you will want to roll both of them upside down so the pan side is up. MAKE SURE THEY ARE EMPTY OR YOU WILL HAVE A HUGE MESS TO CLEAN UP!!! You will need to remove both pans, and then disconnect all of the electrical connectors from the solenoids on the valve bodies. The Aristo has 5, the GS300 has 4 and a cable that needs disconnected (it is self explanatory to remove from the valve body inside the trans and very easy. Forgot to take a pic of this part, may add one later). You will then need to remove the 17 bolts that hold the valve body to the transmission leaving the bolts in their spot( See valve body pic at the bottom of the post). Gently lift it out of each trans. You can then pull the wiring harnesses out of the transmissions.
Put the GS300 harness in the Aristo trans, and set the GS300 valve body in as well and bolt it down. The bolts need tightened to 80in/lbs. Then remove the plug for the cable port from the Aristo trans and install the line pressure cable from the GS300 trans. Make sure you hook it back onto the cam on the valve body as it was in your old trans. (again easy to do, I will try to find a pic of it later)
Reconnect the harness to the solenoids. Install the new filter and gasket and trans pan. Pull the tq convertor out and replace the front seal, then reinstall the convertor. Be sure it seats all the way in the trans. The flat spots with the threads for the tq convertor bolts should be inside of the bell housing. Use a straight edge on the bell housing and make sure these "pads" are not sticking out.
At this point, you will need to roll them back onto their pans. Use the 30mm socket on the impact gun and remove the nut holding each drive shaft flange. When the flanges are removed, remove the old rear seal on the Aristo trans and install the new one. (Napa Part Number: NOS 16531)Then install the GS300 flange onto the Aristo trans. Use the impact and socket to tighten it back down.
You will then need to remove the shift lever arm from the GS300 trans and install it onto the Aristo trans as the Aristo one is too short and bent differently. It is easy, just pull the clip out, then slide the pin out on both transmissions, then put the GS300 shift rod onto the Aristo, reinsert the pin and then the clip.
Lastly, you need to remove the heat shield, the temp sensor, and then the fitting for the front most trans line connection, and swap over the straight unit from the GS300 trans, otherwise your front trans line wont bolt back to the trans.
After this has been completed, remove the flexplate from the engine. Replace the rear main seal. BE CAREFUL! You do not want to push it in too far as it will leak. It needs to be flush. Clean the bolts and apply a small amount of thread sealer to them. Be sure to install the spacer plates in the correct location from the original flexplate with the Aristo flexplate, one goes between the flexplate and crank, the other between the flexplate and bolts. You must use the Aristo flexplate as it is a different bolt pattern for the tq converter then the GS300, and the splines in the trans for the tq converter are different, so you MUST use the Aristo converter with the Aristo trans. Also, the bolts that bolt the flexplate to the converter are a larger diameter, and use a 17mm socket instead of a 14mm socket.
Once the flexplate is on the engine, at this point, the rest of the install is the same as reinstalling a normal gs300 trans. I have some pics below with crucial items circled, along with some notes for reference.
Aristo trans (J3 on the bell housing)
Note the check valve circled in Yellow. If you install the transgo "A340 HD2" shift kit with the trans in the car, this will fall out when you remove the valve body. Be sure to put some trans assembly grease on it and put it back in with the spring going up into the trans and the ball visible. Saw some vids while researching and people didnt know where this thing went, so making sure I point it out in case someone searches this thread.
GS300 (J2 on the bell housing)
+
Here is the pic of the valve body removed. I have marked each of the 17 bolts that needs to be removed with a red dash. DO NOT REMOVE ANY OTHER BOLTS!
Side note, the SC300 has a J1 on the bell housing, and it is deeper than the J2 and J3. The J3 is just larger around to fit the larger converter. Also the SC300 uses a slip yoke like the r154 trans on the output instead of the 3 spoke flange which is why the write-ups for the swap into the SC requires drive shaft mods. Using the GS300 flange on the Aristo trans allows it to bolt to the stock GS300 drive shaft.
No driveshaft mods. That is the point of swapping the flange that bolts to the drive shaft from your GS300 trans to the Aristo trans. Stock drive shaft then bolts right up, no issues.
Should be the same trans. Thing with the sc300 is, I recall they have a slip yoke like an r154. so the tail shaft and housing must all be swapped. I have never done that so do not know what is involved. A swap into an LS400 or N/A mk4 should be the same though.
How would this go with 99 gs300. Will it work the same way?
Originally Posted by williamb82
Mods might want to sticky this.
Well, the front pump on my transmission started making a loud whine and the shifts got soft and I could feel the trans slipping. I have an Aristo tt auto trans leftover from the 2jzgte I bought for my 84 supra. Luckily I kept it as a spare so swapped it in this weekend. For some reason I couldn't find a write up to explain what is needed for the swap, so here it is. I finished the swap today and it drives great. Shifts firmer than stock, though I did not install a shift kit. Did not have time to wait for one to arrive so will order it later. No engine light, no weird issues, etc.. Car runs great with this trans.
You need the Aristo trans complete with the tq convertor and the flexplate. You will need a 30mm deep well socket, and a strong impact gun. You will need the front and rear trans seals and a new filter with gasket. The only place that had the correct rear seal was NAPA. Part Number: NOS 16531. The other one they had listed is apparently for the SC300 with the slip yoke extension housing and will not fit the Aristo trans.
Anyway, onto the swap.
Once you have the original trans out of your GS300, you will want to roll both of them upside down so the pan side is up. You will need to remove both pans, and then disconnect all of the electrical connectors from the solenoids on the valve bodies. The Aristo has 5, the GS300 has 4 and a cable that needs disconnected (it is self explanatory to remove from the valve body inside the trans and very easy. Forgot to take a pic of this part, may add one later). You will then need to remove the 17 bolts that hold the valve body to the transmission leaving the bolts in their spot( See valve body pic at the bottom of the post). Gently lift it out of each trans. You can then pull the wiring harnesses out o the transmissions.
Put the GS300 harness in the Aristo trans, and set the GS300 valve body in as well and bolt it down. The bolts need tightened to 80in/lbs. Then remove the plug for the cable port from the Aristo trans and install the line pressure cable from the GS300 trans. Make sure you hook it back onto the cam on the valve body as it was in your old trans. (again easy to do, I will try to find a pic of it later)
Reconnect the harness to the solenoids. Install the new filter and gasket and trans pan. Pull the tq convertor out and replace the front seal, then reinstall the convertor. Be sure it seats all the way in the trans. The flat spots with the threads for the tq convertor bolts should be inside of the bell housing. Use a straight edge on the bell housing and make sure these "pads" are not sticking out.
At this point, you will need to roll them back onto their pans. Use the 30mm socket on the impact gun and remove the nut holding each drive shaft flange. When the flanges are removed, remove the old rear seal on the Aristo trans and install the new one. (Napa Part Number: NOS 16531)Then install the GS300 flange onto the Aristo trans. Use the impact and socket to tighten it back down.
You will then need to remove the shift lever arm from the GS300 trans and install it onto the Aristo trans as the Aristo one is to short and bent differently. It is easy, just pull the clip out, then slide the pin out on both transmissions, then put the GS300 shift rod onto the Aristo, reinsert the pin and then the clip.
Lastly, you need to remove the heat shield, the temp sensor, and then the fitting for the front most trans line connection, and swap over the straight unit from the GS300 trans, otherwise your front trans line wont bolt back to the trans.
After this has been completed, remove the flexplate from the engine. Replace the rear main seal. BE CAREFULL! You do not want to push it in too far as it will leak. It needs to be flush. Clean the bolts and apply a small amount of thread sealer to them. Be sure to install the spacer plates in the correct location from the original flexplate with the Aristo flexplate, one goes between the flexplate and crank, the other between the flexplate and bolts. You must use the Aristo flexplate as it is a different bolt pattern for the tq converter then the GS300, and the splines in the trans for the tq converter are different, so you MUST use the Aristo converter with the Aristo trans. Also, the bolts that bolt the flexplate to the converter are a larger diameter, and use a 17mm socket instead of a 14mm socket.
Once the flexplate is on the engine, at this point, the rest of the install is the same as reinstalling a normal gs30 trans. I have some pics below with crucial items circled, along with some notes for reference.
Aristo trans (J3 on the bell housing)
Note the check valve circled in Yellow. If you install the transgo "A340 HD2" shift kit with the trans in the car, this will fall out when you remove the valve body. Be sure to put some trans assembly grease on it and put it back in with the spring going up into the trans and the ball visible. Saw some vids while researching and people didnt know where this thing went, so making sure I point it out in case someone searches this thread.
GS300 (J2 on the bell housing)
+
Here is the pic of the valve body removed. I have marked each of the 17 bolts that needs to be removed with a red dash. DO NOT REMOVE ANY OTHER BOLTS!
Side note, the SC300 has a J1 on the bell housing, and it is deeper than the J2 and J3. The J3 is just larger around to fit the larger converter. Also the SC300 uses a slip yoke like the r154 trans on the output instead of the 3 spoke flange which is why the write-ups for the swap into the SC requires drive shaft mods. Using the GS300 flange on the Aristo trans allows it to bolt to the stock GS300 drive shaft.
Trying to do this aristo tt swap into 99gs300. How would this work? The same way
This should definitely be a sticky!!! Thanks so much for this information!!! I am really considering doing this swap since my transmission is whining and slipping. Early in this thread you said that the GS300 valve body has 4 solenoids and the Aristo valve body has 5 solenoids. Is that correct? I only ask because I want to install new solenoids when I do the swap but all of the solenoids kits I have found only list 3 solenoids for the GS300. Just want to be sure before I order them. I also noticed that 4 gear in the J3 transmission is slightly taller. Have you noticed any major RPM differences between them while at cruising speed on the highway? Thanks in advance for the information!!!
Finished this swap about a week ago. It runs and shifts great. Thanks for all of the info it really helped. The transmission I bought didn't come with the larger torque converter bolts so I took a chance and ordered a set for a TT Supra and they were a perfect fit. I also noticed that the top section of the GS300 trans dipstick tube didn't sit flush inside of the Aristo pan. I am wondering if that is because the Aristo pan is deeper and if that is the case then the dipstick may not be perfectly accurate. Did you notice that? I wonder if a Supra TT dipstick and dipstick tube will fit better and give an accurate reading?
03-30-15, 09:55 AM
Swapping Aristo TT trans into a GS300
