craaaazzy's W58 to R154 swap
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thanks for confirming sc1jzgte. i won't be using the w58 housing. i think the easiest would be to simply increase the angle of the shifter (this is not necessary though) instead of adding an inch via cutting/welding.
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with the welded shifter have you kinda sat next to the tranny and tried shifting it? in the other thread about extending the R154 housing i read that the angles will be off if you do this. like when you shift into 1,3,5 you will kinda have to push at an "up" angle and in 2 and 4 its almost like your pushing down on the top. it only being 1" diff i dont think it would be that noticable. have you noticed anything like this?
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smp142, yes, what you described is correct. shouldn't be too much of a difference with the extension but based on geometry, that will happen.
i have yet to modify the shifter. i'm going to first install it totally stock (i want to prove that no modification is required) and later will modify it if necessary.
i have yet to modify the shifter. i'm going to first install it totally stock (i want to prove that no modification is required) and later will modify it if necessary.
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Hey Craaazy, when do you think you will do this, prove that modification isnt required) if I had a lift i would to it this weekend, but i am working on the ground with not enough tools! I only want to do it once! Maybe I'll wait until you find out(although I'd love to be the pioneer)
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i'll be using my buddy's 4 post at his house but scheduling is tight. vacations, wedding, etc...it's looking like it'll be 4 weekends from now. ur more than welcome to attempt it...but like u said, i would not want to be doing this on the ground. i've done this several times and it's killer...i'm old enough now where i've learned to be patient. =)
#38
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with the welded shifter have you kinda sat next to the tranny and tried shifting it? in the other thread about extending the R154 housing i read that the angles will be off if you do this. like when you shift into 1,3,5 you will kinda have to push at an "up" angle and in 2 and 4 its almost like your pushing down on the top. it only being 1" diff i dont think it would be that noticable. have you noticed anything like this?
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Good luck and great progress btw.
Jon
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update guys, r154 installed yesterday.
a MKIII R154 with a W58 swan neck shifter does in deed fit. i did not have to trim the tranny tunnel at all. the shifter does not hit anything...but here's the problem: with the rubber boot installed over the shifter, the shifter and boot combo touches the support piece in the center console (without the boot, it's shifter is fine). it puts pressure on the shifter when in 1st, 3rd, and 5th and will cause it to come out of gear with the slightest touch. not good. what i'll be doing is bending the shifter back and increasing the angle a bit. this should resolve this issue. =)
here's some info that will be useful to some (again from w58 to r154):
-did not have to hammer in the tranny tunnel to get r154 to fit
-used w58 tranny mount (it's slightly off but u can get it in there)
-used w58 speed sensor, did not change gear as it had the same # of teeth, just build bracket to hold it in place
-replaced shifter bushings w/ after market parts from http://www.marlincrawler.com/ shifter is tight
a MKIII R154 with a W58 swan neck shifter does in deed fit. i did not have to trim the tranny tunnel at all. the shifter does not hit anything...but here's the problem: with the rubber boot installed over the shifter, the shifter and boot combo touches the support piece in the center console (without the boot, it's shifter is fine). it puts pressure on the shifter when in 1st, 3rd, and 5th and will cause it to come out of gear with the slightest touch. not good. what i'll be doing is bending the shifter back and increasing the angle a bit. this should resolve this issue. =)
here's some info that will be useful to some (again from w58 to r154):
-did not have to hammer in the tranny tunnel to get r154 to fit
-used w58 tranny mount (it's slightly off but u can get it in there)
-used w58 speed sensor, did not change gear as it had the same # of teeth, just build bracket to hold it in place
-replaced shifter bushings w/ after market parts from http://www.marlincrawler.com/ shifter is tight
#41
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97-sc300, i don't have a pic of that but it's pretty simple. i just used some aluminum to make it. something like the following (don't mind the dot's as i need those to push the | a few characters to the right):
|_
...|
here is a pic of the tunnel inside the cabin w/ the tranny installed:
![](https://lh5.ggpht.com/flchiang/SGfgh3iOlSI/AAAAAAAAAgY/Rle01CiIOBk/s400/Lexus%20057.jpg)
here's the shifter w/ the boot hitting the support piece (in 3rd):
![](https://lh5.ggpht.com/flchiang/SGfgiqXHC2I/AAAAAAAAAgg/wEeoaHR4UYs/s400/Lexus%20058.jpg)
instead of bending the shifter, here's what i've done. i notched out the support piece a little as well as on the trim piece. doing this helped a bit. 1st and 5th take the usual effort but 3rd still takes little effort (currently researching this). here's the pic:
![](https://lh3.ggpht.com/flchiang/SGfi6WZSvqI/AAAAAAAAAhI/ggCWvQ89hhA/s400/Lexus%20060.jpg)
here's how the shifter sits in neutral:
![](https://lh5.ggpht.com/flchiang/SGfi6iUzwEI/AAAAAAAAAhQ/Xlt-vxnVWZ8/s400/Lexus%20061.jpg)
in third, side view:
![](https://lh3.ggpht.com/flchiang/SGfi65iUjOI/AAAAAAAAAhY/F3AvMAJ_oIQ/s400/Lexus%20062.jpg)
in third, back view:
![](https://lh4.ggpht.com/flchiang/SGfi7M9csCI/AAAAAAAAAhk/yUwXfwScPKU/s400/Lexus%20063.jpg)
in forth:
|_
...|
here is a pic of the tunnel inside the cabin w/ the tranny installed:
![](https://lh5.ggpht.com/flchiang/SGfgh3iOlSI/AAAAAAAAAgY/Rle01CiIOBk/s400/Lexus%20057.jpg)
here's the shifter w/ the boot hitting the support piece (in 3rd):
![](https://lh5.ggpht.com/flchiang/SGfgiqXHC2I/AAAAAAAAAgg/wEeoaHR4UYs/s400/Lexus%20058.jpg)
instead of bending the shifter, here's what i've done. i notched out the support piece a little as well as on the trim piece. doing this helped a bit. 1st and 5th take the usual effort but 3rd still takes little effort (currently researching this). here's the pic:
![](https://lh3.ggpht.com/flchiang/SGfi6WZSvqI/AAAAAAAAAhI/ggCWvQ89hhA/s400/Lexus%20060.jpg)
here's how the shifter sits in neutral:
![](https://lh5.ggpht.com/flchiang/SGfi6iUzwEI/AAAAAAAAAhQ/Xlt-vxnVWZ8/s400/Lexus%20061.jpg)
in third, side view:
![](https://lh3.ggpht.com/flchiang/SGfi65iUjOI/AAAAAAAAAhY/F3AvMAJ_oIQ/s400/Lexus%20062.jpg)
in third, back view:
![](https://lh4.ggpht.com/flchiang/SGfi7M9csCI/AAAAAAAAAhk/yUwXfwScPKU/s400/Lexus%20063.jpg)
in forth:
![](https://lh5.ggpht.com/flchiang/SGfi7eN0UtI/AAAAAAAAAhs/3WoxGtnGcPU/s400/Lexus%20064.jpg)
#42
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so from research, the coming out of gear is due to a bent shift fork. not sure exactly what's involved in replacing this but it would at least require taking apart the housing. i'm just going to keep driving it until it pops i guess, first 500 miles will be easy since i'm breaking in the clutch.
#43
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hey craazy, got this from some site btw, might want to take preventive measures..
"most shift forks are made out of cast aluminum and they usually break before bending. If this has occured, all the pieces are now little tiny pieces floating around in between steel gears and like a hand put in a meat grinder....it's now a really big mess. Best bet, drain the tranny fluid into a white plastic container and look for shiney, glitter floating in the fluid. If you got that, you got problems"
"most shift forks are made out of cast aluminum and they usually break before bending. If this has occured, all the pieces are now little tiny pieces floating around in between steel gears and like a hand put in a meat grinder....it's now a really big mess. Best bet, drain the tranny fluid into a white plastic container and look for shiney, glitter floating in the fluid. If you got that, you got problems"
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thanks for the info sc1. haven't read that before. tranny was already drained when i got it but i opened it up and there was nothing shiny coming out of it.
drove around yesterday and it has the usual amount of force if i'm accelerating a bit. once i lift, that's when it is very easy to shift out of 3rd.
drove around yesterday and it has the usual amount of force if i'm accelerating a bit. once i lift, that's when it is very easy to shift out of 3rd.