Shern's W58 to R154 swap thread
06-28-09, 08:21 PM
#18
Nice work Shern. Make sure you use the W58 rear trans seal. It's the same OD and fits perfect in the trans. But the ID is smaller and creates a tighter seal for the MKIII front shaft. Something else; if you're having problems stabbing the trans, you can loosen the motor mounts and very gently lift the front of the motor up with a jack to give you an easier angle to stab the pilot bearing. Good luck.
06-29-09, 10:34 AM
#20
Get out! With the kit below, what's stopping you? Even cheaper if we source the OEM parts.
W58 Manual Conversion Kit - Steel Flywheel
W58 Manual Conversion Kit - Steel Flywheel
06-29-09, 10:38 AM
#21
Lexus Test Driver
Get out! With the kit below, what's stopping you? Even cheaper if we source the OEM parts.
W58 Manual Conversion Kit - Steel Flywheel
W58 Manual Conversion Kit - Steel Flywheel
Really starting to need a backseat, etc...
07-12-09, 01:54 PM
#26
Crossmember
I ran into a snag with the crossmember for the transmission. The majority of R154 owners are able to use the w58 crossmember and mount. However, this was not the case for me. I did some research and found that there are actually two types of R154s.
Here is the R154 box that allows you to use the W58 crossmember/mount. As you can see, there are two mounting holes offset from the other two, the same as the W58
Here is my R154. It has all four holes aligned in parallel.
After putting the W58 crossmember and mount up against the R154 and aligning the holes on the chassis, I noticed there was just enough room to enlarge the bolt holes on the W58 mount to get 2 screws in on the R154. After lengthening the holes, everything lined up perfectly.
Here are the W58 screw holes lengthened to align with the R154 holes.
You can see the screws in the new holes in the W58
You can see the W58 crossmember with everything aligned.
Miscellaneous
The MK3 front half driveshaft with SC300 carrier lines up perfectly
New MK3 slave cylinder with MK3 hard line
Shifter lines up perfectly!
I ran into a snag with the crossmember for the transmission. The majority of R154 owners are able to use the w58 crossmember and mount. However, this was not the case for me. I did some research and found that there are actually two types of R154s.
Here is the R154 box that allows you to use the W58 crossmember/mount. As you can see, there are two mounting holes offset from the other two, the same as the W58
Here is my R154. It has all four holes aligned in parallel.
After putting the W58 crossmember and mount up against the R154 and aligning the holes on the chassis, I noticed there was just enough room to enlarge the bolt holes on the W58 mount to get 2 screws in on the R154. After lengthening the holes, everything lined up perfectly.
Here are the W58 screw holes lengthened to align with the R154 holes.
You can see the screws in the new holes in the W58
You can see the W58 crossmember with everything aligned.
Miscellaneous
The MK3 front half driveshaft with SC300 carrier lines up perfectly
New MK3 slave cylinder with MK3 hard line
Shifter lines up perfectly!
07-12-09, 02:00 PM
#27
Update!
So I finally got everything buttoned up today after waiting a week for the slave cylinder hard line. I got the clutch bled very nicely and put the exhaust back on. I fired the car up while still on the jack stands.
Shifter felt great; very solid and tight. I engaged 1st gear and all was well. I shifted through the gears..............
When I got to 4th, I noticed a nasty noise coming from tranny. This R154 may be foobar'd!
So I'm not quite sure what to do next. Do I look for another R154? Do just bite the bullet and send it to Marlin Crawler? Do I sell everything and put the W58 back in? Aye Yi Yi. Everything went soooo smooth and it ends like this.
I guess the good thing is that I can drop the tranny in about 2 hours.
Shifter felt great; very solid and tight. I engaged 1st gear and all was well. I shifted through the gears..............
When I got to 4th, I noticed a nasty noise coming from tranny. This R154 may be foobar'd!
So I'm not quite sure what to do next. Do I look for another R154? Do just bite the bullet and send it to Marlin Crawler? Do I sell everything and put the W58 back in? Aye Yi Yi. Everything went soooo smooth and it ends like this.
I guess the good thing is that I can drop the tranny in about 2 hours.
Last edited by shern; 07-15-09 at 10:30 PM.
so werent you w58 before?
07-13-09, 04:34 AM
#29
So I finally got everything buttoned up today after waiting a week for the slave cylinder hard line. I got the clutch bled very nicely and put the exhaust back on. I fired the car up while still on the jack stands.
Shifter felt great; very solid and tight. I engaged 1st gear and all was well. I shifted through the gears..............
When I got to 4th, I noticed a nasty noise coming from tranny. Shifting into 5th and it got worse. Shifting into reverse was worse. The synchro was shot and it would not engage! This R154 is foobar'd!
So I'm not quite sure what to do next. Do I look for another R154? Do just bite the bullet and send it to Marlin Crawler? Do I sell everything and put the W58 back in? Aye Yi Yi. Everything went soooo smooth and it ends like this.
I guess the good thing is that I can drop the tranny in about 2 hours.
Shifter felt great; very solid and tight. I engaged 1st gear and all was well. I shifted through the gears..............
When I got to 4th, I noticed a nasty noise coming from tranny. Shifting into 5th and it got worse. Shifting into reverse was worse. The synchro was shot and it would not engage! This R154 is foobar'd!
So I'm not quite sure what to do next. Do I look for another R154? Do just bite the bullet and send it to Marlin Crawler? Do I sell everything and put the W58 back in? Aye Yi Yi. Everything went soooo smooth and it ends like this.
I guess the good thing is that I can drop the tranny in about 2 hours.
That sucks, my trans is getting rebuilt with all MC parts now. I say you put the W58 back in for now and send the trans to MC for a full rebuild. They give a 1 year unlimited miles and unlimited HP warranty