Possible sticky?

Since so many people are interested in the limited number of soarer r154 transmissions i have come up with a solution to not being able to have a strong enough manual transmission for a decent price . This modification was done on a w58 but the shift linkage and rear assemblies are nearly identical as the mk3 r154 and can be done just as easily with costs being at a minimal. i think the supplies for this modification totalled at around 7 dollars including welding gas and wire used.

by looking at the tail housing for the r154 in the top part there is a linkage that can barely be seen

the exposed view shows that part 33521 comes through the top of the last picture. 33521 in the shift linkage off the shifter

after removing the ball housing off the top of the transmission, the linkage needs to be cut and extended. the piece is shown already cut with piece of steel welded in to lengthen the linkage 2.5-3 inches and ground down here

and here

and lastly here, remember that a smooth surface upon grinding is key to having better fatique rates than with having a built up weld. by gridinging off the bead you remove weak spots at the toe of the weld, thats why you never see any welds on nasa parts

next the ball hinge for the shifter needs to be cut on a 45 degree angle right infront of the ball hinge to allow for a linkage tunnel to be made to relocate the ball and housing.

install the lengthened linkage into the transmission, isnt she pretty and looks to be long enough now. next cut some square tubing i think this was just over 1x1" for the aluminum square tubing. lengthwise it should be damn near close to the amount extended in the linkage.
. Both cut on 45 degrees on both sides and weld this into place (this needs to be aluminum and thick enough to handle some torsional stress so dont get too thin of wall but not too thick to get in the way of the linkage. Anything with ac welding capabilities can do this (tig mig even stick but i dont recommend this).
Before (sizing shown against a volvo transmission that is of proper length of this project but again will work for the r154 into an sc or mkiv.


the final product lengthened to fit the shifter hole


again this was done on a w58 that needed to be lengthened but will work for the mk3 also as i have researched and found that the tail housing between the two transmissions are very similar. I originally planned to do this on my beast and then make this post but after seeing so many posts that ask the same question i thought i might as well post up a solution as ill still get credit for doing it, just not on my car . all that is left is to source a soarer driveshaft, 1jz or mk3 clutch plate, pressure plate and flywheel and a 1jz bell housing, throw in an lsd and tear some tire without having to worry! Simply put, this is a poor-man's soarer r154.

 

This is excellent. Thank you for your contribution!

 

Awesome!! Good contribution.

 

very nice stuff,,,, good job

 

where did you get the aluminum?? thats some pretty nice welds. great job

 

THANK YOU!!! I thanked already at clubna-t but I'll thank you again

For the people that have msged me before about this... THIS is the extension of the "tailshaft" or shifter linkage that I was talking about... its not hard to do, you can compare it to your W58 when both are out of the car to get the right shifter position.

A good exhaust shop can accomplish this... luckily my neighbor has a TIG, MIG, and an arc welder just next door

THIS NEEDS TO BE STICKIED!!!!

 

Actually lowes in my area had the correct aluminum. Other places to search would be mcmasters online or really any place that sells steel. Most home improvement companies should have it lying around, so call around and see what is in stock. Or if you plan to have a machine shop do it for you they will have some there, most likely.

Ill get aluminum conversion for my mig soon and will offer the service of doing this modification for a fee once i have the ability at my own place of residence. it wont be as pretty but it will work in the interum until i can afford an ac/dc tig machine. Ill keep everyone updated for when i will be offering the service.

 

that's awsome man, thankyou for the post.

 

Im more than happy to help the community. keep an eye out for new mods to be coming soon....hopefully. ill keep everyone posted as to when i will be able to offer this as a service. thanks for the compliments fellas.

marshall

 

THANKS! Please let us know asap when you start selling the conversions. I'm ready to buy

 

If you happen to know exactly what other components are needed and could offer it as a package that would be truly awesome and I would definately buy it. Even if the price is $1500 for everything, it would be easier to pay for a package (r154 with shifter mod, driveshaft, bellhousing, etc) than trying to round up my own stuff, buy wrong stuff, get ripped off, etc. This is a perfect alternative to a v160 swap!

Thanks man!

 

well hopefully ill beat out boost logic in being able to do that. the problem for me but not for you is that some kid over supraforums hit up boost logic upon seeing my post to get them to possibly build them. he says they want him to test it. funny things I already know it works ha.

 

if i do a swap i will PM u b4 i consider BL.

 

yeah I will pm you as well.

 

you guys are the reason why i love the lexus community. the greater amount of the crowd is extremely positive and even more so loyal. this is why i shared the info, its my payback to the community for all the free information i have gotten on doing gte swaps, other innovator's projects, and part interchangeability through different models. cheers

marshall