RedPhoenix

iTrader: (10)

Any CEL's on?

Blizzy

iTrader: (-1)

Oh yeah. I have not hooked up a scan tool to see exactly what codes I am spitting out; but, I assume there would be one or more for both the EGR removal and the transmission swap.

I, honestly, do not expect to be able to correct either of them. I anticipate pulling the dash bulb and adding "hooking up the scan tool to check codes" to my weekly maintenance regimen.

In my opinion, this is a small price to pay for how much fun the car is. It is not my daily driver now, so I really am not overly concerned about the daily diagnostic aspect of the CEL.

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As for the car itself, I got a fair amount of time to work on it yesterday...

I was able to adjust my mount to be of the appropriate height. This allowed me to reinstall nearly all of the interior. The shifter no longer interferes with anything in any gear.

I cleaned up the wiring from the automatic. Other than the speedo sensor plug (which I anticipate needing eventually), I got everything else completely out of sight using the factory harness clips in various locations.

Using Scott's lead, I was able to get the reverse light wired correctly. This is a small piece of the puzzle, but it is something nice to get done and out of the way.

I also took some small strides toward getting my interior ready for the gauges I intend to run. I modified my ash tray to suit my PLX wideband (I have not hooked it up yet). I will mess with the cup holder and the glove box on a later occassion.

This morning, I picked up my upper shift boot to complete my interior. The car looks darn near like it came that way from the factory on the inside (aside from the wear and tear). This means that on the transmission front, the speedometer is the only piece of the puzzle left unfinished.

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Having picked up and installed the boot, I grabbed the chance to take a few more pictures of the car as it sits currently. I know Matt was very interested in seeing how the shifter would look once the product was finished.

Here is a shot of the interior as a whole. It definitely feels good to have the interior completed to the point where I don't have to immediately answer questions about this or that sticking out or looking like it is not fully put together. For reference, the shifter is in neutral here:


The shifter feels much nicer at the appropriate height. With the mount not 1" high like it was originally (definitely my own oversight to blame on that one), the shifter no longer contacts any part of the interior in any of the gears. Admittedly, it is close in 1st, 3rd, and 5th. But, it does indeed miss everything. Again, the shifter is in neutral:


Here is a basic shot of the gauge cluster with the car idling in my garage before I pulled it out to post these photos over the internet. If you notice, the "R" on the cluster is illuminated. I have Scott to thank for doing the dirty work to sort out which wires needed tapped to get the reverse light to work.


For now, that is it.

Today, I am going to call junk yards around town to find the guy with the most Toyotas so that I can scout out an electric fan to swap in for my supercharger. I may also stop by the electronic depot in town to see what they have in stock that would help me in terms of my battery relocation. Getting both of those items out of the way would really help to make the supercharger project seem less distant.

ScottURnot

iTrader: (33)

I'm with you on this Mark, My dash is a lit up like a X-mas tree. I have Traction control lights blinking and CEL aglow. Egr, Traction control, and some transmission codes are to blame. I will soon install a stand alone and the bulbs are coming out. At this point, I really could care less what my ECU thinks is going wrong because it feels so right!

craaaazzy

iTrader: (4)

good job blizzy. so let me get this straight, this is where your shifter sits with a r154 MKIII tranny, the 2 parts from carson, and C's short shifter for the MKIII, correct? i don't know if u saw my post but the W58 swan neck shifter is an inch longer (it puts the shifter an inch further back) than the MKIII shifter. This should put the shifter in the same location as where you have your's currently by only using the MKIII R154 and W58 shifter. i'm about to verify this in a week or two when i install my new tranny.

fred

joewitafro

The only reason blizzy's shifter is so close is because he does NOT have a soarer swan necked shifter. Even the C's he bought is a replica to the Supra Mk3 shifter. Mine has more of a swan on it, that will put it in the center of that boot and be plenty away from the dash peices.

Blizzy

iTrader: (-1)

Fred-

You are exactly correct in that this is a C's shifter for the MK3 in a MK3 transmission whose shifter housing has been pushed back 1"-1.125" by the Soarer shifter housing from Toyota Japan.

I was not aware that the W58 shifter has an extra inch of bend; but, this makes sense. My Soarer shifter housing was dead center in the middle of the transmission tunnel cut out for the 5MT lower shift boot; but, my shifter is not centered in the leather upper shift boot (evidence of more bend being present in the stock SC3 shifter from the early version W58 with the swan-neck shifter).

I think you may be on to a very easy fix to the MK3 R154 swap fix: perhaps even easier than what I did (since you will not be needing any parts from out of the country). I will be curious to see what you come up with. I like your chances.

-Mark

Blizzy

iTrader: (-1)

I just made a purchase in regard to the speedo issue.

I gave Marlin Crawler a call about their VSS, and grabbed one. Essentially, it is a device that screws in just as the manual speedo cable for the transmission would, except it adapts to a three-wire electronic signal: very simple. The guys at Marlin Crawler (a Toyota truck shop) have neither had a Lexus nor a Supra customer in the past, but they have had success with this product on both W and R series transmissions. The justification for purchasing the product is that at $60, it is $150 cheaper than getting the electronic sending unit from Toyota.

To try and salvage one used, I called more than a dozen junkyards with SC300 5MTs to acquire the speedo sensor; but, no yard was willing to part the transmission like that. Even so, the SC300 sending unit requires an adapter to be made (simple, but another hassle) since the W58 speedo sensor has different mounting holes than the R154.

Regardless of solution, I know I will also be needing a speedo recalibrator . That will come eventually. For now, I want to get the speedometer to read something, even if it is off by a certain percentage (it was this way after I switched my rear end from the stock 3.92 to 4.27).

The main purpose for this is scientific in nature. Without a speedometer, it is impossible for me to record time trails for a basis of comparison as I did with the car both before and after swapping out the rear end. If the R154 gives me a significant gain in my 0-60, that may give the average SC4 owner the motivation to go for the manual swap instead of a body kit or wheels.

I am hopeful that the Marlin Crawler VSS will work to give me a signal. If it does not, there is a 10% restocking fee: big deal. If it does, I can record time trials as a basis for comparison. Then, the motor will get boosted ASAP.

Here is a photo of the device I purchased:

ihiryu

iTrader: (7)

wow that's pretty nifty!

Blizzy

iTrader: (-1)

The device from Marlin Crawler worked perfectly. I am going to give them a call to make sure that they add "Works on R154 swaps into MK4 Supras and Lexus SCs" to their possible applications.

While the device is not tunable, I may have hit the lottery on it reading the speed of the vehicle correctly without any adjustment. I wrote down a few benchmark speedo/tach readings on my way to the library here, and every rpm/mph number I wrote down was within 1mph of the theoretical benchmarks for my car as it is geared.

I was expecting to need a Yellow Box or to wire up a pulse modulator of my own; but, it appears that may not be needed. I am printing out a spreadsheet with benchmark rpm/mph in every gear to see just how off (if at all) the VSS from Marlin Crawler is interpreting my speed. This way, I can run time trials this week since the clutch is broken in. Perhaps I will be close enough that I will not have to worry about any Yellow Box: I can only hope.

For now, the R154 swap is nearly a closed book. The last piece of the puzzle is essentially complete. My efforts will focus on supercharging very strongly after the 4th. I will probably have the car on all fours after the 4th to really get to work on the supercharger project full time.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

can you post a picture of how the VSS is mounted in the R154 and did you have to do anyhting to the wiring or did the auto speed sensor plug work?

craaaazzy

iTrader: (4)

mark,
i just verified it this past weekend. take a look at post #41 on page 3 of in my thread: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=357187

this is definitely an easy alternative requiring only the swan shifter from the W58. i just needed to notch out a small section of the center so rubber boot would not apply pressure to the shifter when in 1st, 3rd, or 5th gear but u could also increase the angle of the shifter to fix this.

i'm glad you were able to figure out ur speed sensor. the w58 does fit, even the same # of teeth in the gear (just need to fabricate a bracket like u mentioned). i need to verify w/ the gps on the mph but it seems to be accurate (drove by one of those electronic speed checking devices today and it was within a mile per hour to what was showing on my speedometer). too bad people don't want to part it out separately, right? did u get the bushings from marlin as well? that really tightens up the shifter and makes shifting very precise. glad everything worked out. now to breakin the clutch, then turn up the boost! =)

fred

ihiryu

iTrader: (7)

that's pretty cool that it actually works, what's this about a "Yellow box" though?

Blizzy

iTrader: (-1)

Allan...I will post up a picture of the VSS installed when I have the car up on stands next week to begin the supercharger installation phase of my project.

The installation was freakishly easy. I screwed it in, plugged in my stock speedo sensor plug, and drove away. Nothing had to be modified whatsoever: can't be beat for $60.

Fred...that looks awesome, man. Your shifter location is altogether similar to mine.

I did not have to notch the crossbar in front of the ashtray at all to clear my shifter once I was mounting correctly, but I have only a few playing cards of play between the trim and the shifter, once you consider the lower rubber boot and the leather upper boot taking up a few mm of space.

That being said, with a few basic tools, I bet someone could give themselves the extra 0.25" of fitment required to not need to trim the interior while still swapping for an R154 by bending the shifter a hair.

Not needing to open up the transmission using your method is a big assistance to make the R154 swap that much more digestible for the average SC guy: I love the idea, and I thrilled that it came together.

Regarding the shifter bushings, my C's shifter came with a new sturdy rubber insert to firm things up from the factory rubber. I have zero complaints about my transmission or my shifter at this point. It is a blast to drive.

craaaazzy

iTrader: (4)

glad everything worked out on your end as well. luckily, u already have the rear end done. that's probably my next project. good luck w/ the supercharger install.

lexhere27

Hey Mark, hows the new tranny? Have you started on the supercharger? Been a long time; seeing if there are new updates or reviews.