Hey guys,

I have searched about this and there are many options it seems because some people don't prefer a swan neck shifter on early W58 and R154 transmissions. Most people want to extend farther so that they can use a straight shifter but I'd prefer not to do this.

I prefer to stay as close to stock as possible. I have an MKIII R154 and I want to send the top housing to be extended EXACTLY like the original Soarer/JZX extension.

After reading Shern's thread and looking at the measurement in his picture, it seems that the discontinued Soarer extension measures approx(?) 6&3/4" lengthwise in total. The MKIII shifter housing I have, however, measures just shy of 6&3/4" also. I am confused and I do know how to measure.

I know the factory Soarer extension is slightly longer but by how much?

Sorry if this measurement actually has been listed in a thread already but if it was I couldn't find it.

Thanks guys

 

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/3282541-post167.html

I would match those two pics and make a good guess. I have the Soarer extension and i still have to bend the MK3 shifter a little bit more. If not it will hit the plastic console under the shifter cover. You even have to trim it anyways even with a bent/modified MK3 shifter.

I think its better to have a straight shifter, If you still having a hard time figuring it out, i will get under my car and take measurements and show you the trimmed part on the console

 

I have the MK3 shifter housing and shifter, if you messed up yours

 

Thank you for that link! I didn't find that one. The side by side comparison is great although I wish Blizzy had put up a tape measure.

So according to that, it's a mere 1.125 inches longer than the MKIII housing?

As for the actual shifter, I plan to use either my stock W58 shifter or the Suprasport V3 Quick Shifter for W58/R154's. Will I still be in danger of hitting the console trim with either one? This is in a stock 5-speed car.

 

Thank you JesLet. No, I'm good. I just picked up my MKIII R154 and I haven't touched the shifter housing. I also have a brand new one with new gaskets, rubber and a new little plastic shifter bushing. I still have my stock W58 5-speed shifter in my car so I figured I could use that if it came down to it. It will come out before swapping transmissions anyway.

 

I believe W58 shifter and R154 are the same. So yes it will still hit.

No biggie on bending the shifter, clamp it on the vice grip and use a cheat bar to bend it. No need to bend it too much. You'll see once you get there, piece of cake.

 

Huh. That's interesting. So was the Soarer swan-neck shift lever actually different from the W58 SC300 swan-neck shift levers?

I thought that using the factory Toyota Soarer housing extension (or custom made equivalent) would put that transmission opening in the *exact* same spot as the opening on my original W58 transmission. If the shifter fits in there, shouldn't I have no clearance issues just like stock?

 

I don't know. I was referring to US W58 and MK3 ( US ) R154 swan neck shifters.


Yes same spot, there was a provision on my auto SC300 and I made a hole exactly where it is.

 

Awesome, JesLet! Okay, that's the information I was looking for. An exact 1.125" extra extension and (fingers crossed) no need to trim my bezel trim. If I'm wrong I'll take the risk and fix it after my swap.

Thank you!

 

Don't forget this orientation for the clutch hub and washers. If you install the cone washer in other direction, you are gonna have to take the tranny off again. No fun.

 

^^ Thank you for that! I plan to exactly follow the Supra MK3 TSRM online manual for installation. I don't want to have to take off the transmission and do it all over again first time around, no.

I'm still a way off from swap day though. I have the 1JZ bell housing installed but I need this shifter housing extended, a 1JZ flywheel, Marlin VSS sensor, a slave, new MK3 Turbo clutch (cheap and reliable since I'm NA right now) and some other bits first.

Getting the transmission was a good chunk of cash so I'm taking a short break and double-checking everything well beforehand.

 

Well did it work? Is it right the measurements

 

Yes, 1.125" in length to extend the MKIII housing and MKIII internal shift arm are correct if you want to emulate the length of a Soarer extension housing AND use a swan neck shifter.

This bolts right into any 92-94 SC300 original 5-speed chassis.

I didn't end up having this done because I acquired an OEM Soarer extension housing and matching internal arm... but it WILL work and line up exactly where the 92-94 SC300 W58 does. Most people just don't like using "swan" style shifters and would prefer to elongate the housing further to use a straight shifter. They might also have no reason to use the shorter length because they are starting with an SC Auto chassis without an existing opening for the shifter.

Again, it is exactly 1.125" difference in length between the Soarer housing and the MKIII housing. I'm using that with a SupraSport V3 "swan style" short shifter (which is an improved version of the discontinued C's short shifter design) but the OEM 92-94 SC300 5-speed shifter will line up the same as well.

I'm having the whole setup installed in a week and I plan to post a little review of the short shifter.

Just to note: the 5-speed SC's from 1995-97 use a trans tunnel opening further back exactly like the MKIV Supra 5-speeds and 6-speeds which makes this approach incompatible since those cars all began with "tripod" style W58's. For those cars a JDM "tripod" R154 transmission would be a more direct bolt-in swap.

 

I would recommend buying a soarer extension over extending the supra pieces. The soarer stuff bolts right on and you have no worries about breakage, leaks, binding, or incorrect length.

 

^^ I agree with Stockhatch first and foremost on this, since it's exactly what I did after considering getting my MKIII part hacked and extended. Personally I'm willing to pay a bit more for OEM.

You cannot order the parts any longer from ANY Toyota dealer in ANY country other than Japan but they are still technically available if ordered IN Japan. Not cheap but available. There are a few on eBay currently.