Bdub215

iTrader: (1)

So this thread will probably wind up gettng moved but i hope it doesnt as this is pretty important and needs to be seen by as many possible.

So back in september, I bought a tripod R154 for my 92 SC knowing full well it didnt fit the tunnel in my car. I had zero plans to cut my car. By sheer luck i was able to stumble on the 91-94 Soarer R154 shift housing and shifter rod (Thanks Freed!)
one issue: It didnt fit 100%. the rear holes were perfect. everything else was off. and the housing was short since the tripod face and shifter housing are about an 1/8 inch longer. luckily. when measured to fit, the housing and rod sat at 27" just like the w58.

so i did what any genius does. modifies **** to work, i extended the front of the older soarer housing to fit the tripod trans while not affecting the overall length. also had to oval out the two middle holes to properly bolt the shifter down. next i had to shim the rear of the shifter up a bit as it wouldnt go into gear because i couldnt use that huge gasket the R154's come with. but now, i have a internally shifted late model R154 that can be reverted back to a tripod and is easily swappable to another trans. This is specifically for 92-94 manual SC owners looking to not cut their cars up. this is the way to do it.

PICS






TRIPOD SETUP(Sold already)


Current setup



Video in action
VV

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

Interesting. This is the first I've heard of the '91-'93 Soarer R154 extension housing not being fully compatible with the mating area on a later Tripod R154. It's possible that Tripod R154's had a revision at some point but my guess is that the shifter design didn't change after JDM 1995+ for these transmissions.

So it seems that the 1986-1992 MKIII R154's and 1991-1993/1994 R154's with the extension housing are the most closely related. I've got that same JDM Soarer extension housing and internal shift arm in my MKIII gearbox (from a 1989 Supra Turbo 5-speed). In that application it all bolted right in.

At this point a reproduction of the upper Soarer R154 extension housing is now being made by one company (Xcessive Manufacturing). One of those can be hacked up just the same. It's too late now but I wonder how common is it to find the entire tripod shifter setup you sold. My only concern would be you or anyone else finding all those very and rare unique parts again to revert the gearbox to a tripod setup if so desired.

I can completely understand why you wouldn't want to cut your original 92-94 5-speed transmission tunnel. This was my concern as well (I have a 1993) and it's what led me to find an MKIII R154 and locate the same OEM Soarer shift housing extension kit. It bolts in just like the factory non-tripod W58, is just as easy to use with the SC300's stock shifter and you get to re-use all the factory transmission tunnel rubber seals for sound and heat insulation.

The alternative (other than cutting) would have been converting to a tripod transmission tunnel with all its little parts such as 97-SC300 did a few years back.

As a bonus that (former) tripod R154 has the correct mounting holes for the SC300/MKIV transmission rubber mount which uses your stock W58 crossmember and you don't have to convert the mechanical speedometer drive to the three-wire VSS since that's already built into any Soarer R154.

The only thing you should keep in mind for the future (so as not to confuse anyone) is that early non-tripod R154's and tripod R154's use slightly different bearings and synchros in their respective rebuild kits.

I looked at your video of the shifting action and indeed it looks and sounds right. Nice job!

Bdub215

iTrader: (1)

I spoke with xcessive for about an hour about the housings. The one they sell is too long for the early SC tunnel. Which is why I went this route. The main issue is the angle of the shifter and the length. The OEM internal shifted soarer housing is perfect. Extending it to fit the tripod face wasn't so bad. And yes the tripod has a slightly bigger face then the MK3 r154.

The Early soarers basically were using MK3 transmissions except they had electronic speed readout vs the cable. The Tripod models had all the updated parts, better shift quality and feel but as far as I'm aware no one has backdated one. Plus my trans has all the MC bits in it so it feels incredible on the table.

Also I figured out about the mount after I already bought the driftmotion kit. Going to be selling it soon. Waste of money 😞

CatManD3W

iTrader: (18)

Nice work but you know to make the tripod work you could of just swapped in the V160 tunnel...its fairly easy to do.

But I understand you didnt want to cut up the car so this is the choice you made to modify the swan neck style shifter to adapt to tripod r154.

Bdub215

iTrader: (1)

I dont have the ability to do such extensive welding of tunnels and yes didnt want to cut the car. this for all intents and purposes, cost me wayyyyy less then swapping to the V160 tunnel. also if i break this R154 and cant get another, i dont have a Tripod W58, i have a swan neck w58. It doesnt screw me over. its a good business decision. W58 can go back in. Logic> all.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

They seem to sell two versions of their replica Soarer R154 shift housing. Perhaps this is what you ran into? One being an identical length copy while the other is longer? Did Xcessive's representative explain what application(s) they had intended their housings for if not even one of them fits a 92-94 SC300 5-speed tunnel? I'm curious and I'd like to know. I thought they had made an identical replica.

I like it on my MK3 R154 also. I have my stock shifter but currently use a SupraSport V3 short throw shifter (which will work in your near identical setup also). I've also had mine rebuilt with MC parts. Run only Redline MT-90 transmission oil, allow the gearbox to warm up for about 10-15 minutes from dead cold and it shifts very smoothly. It's a got a precise, chunky shift feel with very moderate shift effort required.

^^ Yep. They are basically the same gearboxes (early R154's) with all the differences you stated, plus the rubber mount required being identical to SC300/MKIV W58 mounts. Sorry you got unnecessary parts before realizing but you will sell it. Someone will need one of those kits.

With an R154 rebuilt with all the Marlin Crawler (and I assume the additional Driftmotion shift forks?) upgrade parts you won't break it without trying very hard. Slamming and powershifting gears very abusively might do it over time (especially into 3rd gear) but outside of truly abusive shifting or pushing well into 700whp+ you won't be going back to your W58 which wouldn't last long under much boost or aggressive use under boost.

Unless you're shooting for very high horsepower your rebuilt and upgraded/reinforced R154 should last for years and years if taken care of.

Bdub215

iTrader: (1)

When i spoke to Xcessive, the shortest housing they said they sold was an extension of 2.5". That's great for an IS300. Not for a early SC.

i have 4 quarts of MT90 being delivered today on top of the 3 i already have sitting at home. doing it right

my trans has all the upgraded goodies minus the 5-R billet fork. of course i noticed this when i opened the case myself to examine it. not a huge deal.

Currently i dont run alot of boost (10-13 psi on a S366 on stock motor) and the W58 has held up but wheel hop has slowly killed the w58. its making some bad noises. it still works but for how long.....

I expect this to be the last transmission i buy but in case of an emergency, i'd like a back up plan. I broke last year with no back up trans and had to get towed 150 miles home and had to pay the tow and source a trans. now i at least have a back up.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

That's very disappointing : ( I had assumed they had made a direct copy. Well... at least it means there is a housing available even if cutting and welding it is still required for 92-94 SC300 5-speed transmission tunnels. Although if you already have an MKIII non-extended housing you'd do almost the same amount of work anyway... plus the internal shift arm has to be lengthened with plate steel regardless.

I'm glad they have decided to provide additional aftermarket support for the early R154 but with two versions of that housing in their product line not having a direct copy of the Soarer housing is disappointing. As you say... great for the IS300 though and probably some other popular chassis.

Awesome! I don't have the Driftmotion 5th & Reverse billet shift fork either (it was released a few months after I bought all my MC & DM upgrade parts and after I had my R154 rebuilt). I'd certainly like to have it in there and I may purchase it to hang onto for the future but as it stands now I have no reason to open my gearbox for any work. I also won't be pushing it anywhere near its limits at what will be 16 psi max on my upcoming setup. Currently it is not being stressed at all with no boost.

For me that last upgrade shift fork is would be a longevity consideration since the factory Toyota/Aisin shift forks are all cast and it's billet but... even so as you say... it's not an issue until you get much farther up there in power and torque. The MC 1-2 shift fork, DM 3-4 shift fork, MC front bearing retainer plate and MC chromoly 1st gear thrust washer are far more important. Plus the slightly upgraded heavy duty bearings and synchros included in the upgrade rebuild kits.

Hmm. Depending on how long you ran the W58 with 10+ psi it may not have as much life left in it as before especially if it's making noises. I'd actually recommend you have it fully rebuilt while it's out and set aside. That will only help whatever usefulness it has later on. I'm not sure who else works on W58's closer to you but Jacks Transmissions and SpeedForSale both do (at least SpeedForSale). There are no reasonably priced upgrade parts for the W58 (although very expensive upgrade gear-sets do exist for them) but a standard rebuild with new bearings and synchros should be around $500-$600. Better to attempt a reconditioning of it now rather than later on with something having broken. Although I would also leave it up to your transmission builder to determine the condition of the shafts and OEM gear-sets.

I wouldn't suggest running it against boost again though. It probably has potential for any future low power or NA application post-rebuild (again, depending on what a teardown inspection reveals as to the overall condition of the gears, shafts, etc).

I agree with you about your rebuilt R154 being a long term gearbox. Rebuilt and upgraded it should last a very long time and should not need replacing if taken care of and not run at extremely high power levels at or exceeding 700whp (max holding is said to be 750whp. This probably reduces the OEM duty cycle aka lifespan somewhat but that is the power figure threshold after which people report breaking them). 500whp+ is when some owners report high internal pressure that can overwhelm the old style shift extension housings or rear tail seals but this varies depending on overall setup and usage-- and still people run more than 500whp on these without issue. The Tripod and JZX100/JZX110 shift housings reportedly have less of this internal pressure symptom beyond 500whp. I would not concern yourself unless you actually notice any of these symptoms.

Alternatively you could pick up an AR-5 5-speed manual (VERY similar to the R154) and convert that for JZ application as a spare. Or a CD009 or even a Tremec T56 Magnum. Certainly your R154 solution is the only one that does not require cutting your transmission tunnel to use a stronger transmission in the first place.

Bdub215

iTrader: (1)

Got the trans installed today. What a process that was. I did learn some things:


The W58 crossmember isn't quite the same as the R154. W58 had to be slightly modified to fit although I am using my original trans mount.

The W58 rear driveshaft does work with the MK3 front half but no one really mentions how tight of a fit this is. Had to assemble the driveshaft on the car lol

I also see no way of getting the top bellhousing bolts in this transmission. It's simply massive in the tunnel.


Other then those things smooth sailing. Shifts smooth and a little chunky. Gonna take getting used to. As will the clutch. The lightened flywheel is bad to drive with but the early spooling had at low rpm is gone.

In car video. Sounds healthy.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

It sounds good! Nice, normal action. A tip for when you first start driving with it: in R154's (at least the early ones) there no synchro on the reverse gear. This can make for occasional grinds into reverse if you go right into it. A simple way to avoid this is to throw into 1st (or any forward gear) and THEN select reverse. Also, in some rare instances if the transmission doesn't want to go into reverse, simply select 1st and roll forward very, very slightly... it doesn't need to be much... and then depress the brake and then select reverse.

It's a weird quirk but this is a transmission first designed in 1986. I have understood that V160's also lack a reverse synchro. It is possible that the 1994+ Tripod R154's like yours (or at least the Tripod R154's first released in 1996+ VVT-i facelift models) changed this along with the newer synchro and bearing design but I couldn't say.

Congratulations!

Bdub215

iTrader: (1)

This drops right into reverse. I've been told about the unsyncronized reverse and I don't seem to have that issue.


I've put some miles on it already and actually have dynoed my car. Trans feels solid. Even in boost, it's a much more solid feeling coming from the car vs the W58 where you felt on edge all the time.

Even at cruise, 65 mph doesn't seem to bother this trans as much as it did the W58.

And yes my speedo is off but only by 4mph. Better then running the TT 3.76 and being off by 10 lol

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

Hmm. Maybe the reverse quirk is limited to the very early MKIII R154's.

The speedometer inaccuracy can be corrected with a Yellr YellowBox V4 (or whatever their latest model is). They also sell an optional plug and play harness for the MKIV and SC that fits our VSS in the W58, R154 and V160. Works like a charm for me. Set it and forget about it.

I did a small writeup on its installation and how to route the PnP harness starting from this post:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/per...ml#post7250024