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Fitting R154 to MA61

7K views 20 replies 13 participants last post by  jtamulis 
#1 ·
Hi folks,

I know that this has been a perennial topic on the list, but ...

I'm converting to a 1JZGTE. Supra is currently auto. While I know the R154 would be a bitch to put in, getting the 2JZGE W-58 bits & peices and other W-58 bits here in Oz is also a PITA.

The main problems , as I recall, are the tunnel and box length - which both "sound" overcomable with bloody knuckles, swearing, etc.

So, would it be truelly insane to try forceing the R154 (which I am fairly confident that, once in place, will work well) in there rather than collect W-58 bits (which sound very hard to set up between the 1JZ and Supra - but easier to fit).

Any thoughts folks?
 
#2 ·
i have heard that it is not a big deal to put in this transmision, i am going to try in a couple of months, from what i have heard if you use a w58 shifter housing and bellhousing the trany fits without any real problem...
but who knows for sure let us know how it goes
 
#3 ·
W58 Shifter Housing and Small tunnel Mods-Also very small difference in length-Dont think thats Significant-Also Crossmember loses 1 bolt?-Sorry so vague
 
#4 ·
I think William B is running a R154, or at least set up to run one... tho his is behind a 7M.. so as for fitment to the motor I don;t know if he could help..but so far as getting it in there...

Also, the R154 never as mated to a j block that I know of.. so you would probably have to use a W-58 bellousing from a Mk IV... tho I don;t know if it would bolt to the tranny itself...
 
#5 ·
well, i havnt installed it yet. from what i have found, all you need to do to the tunnel is pound out a "bubble" on the drivers side of the tunnle. there is plenty of room everywhere else to clear the r154. now, ,the shifter is 2in back, so you will need to cut or grind the shifter hole in the tranny tunnel back maybe 1" to clear the shifter. it should still fit throught the consol, if not, ,just heat the shifter with a torch and bend it forward a bit to clear (off the car of coarse) and then you will need to have a custom driveshaft made. it will be ~2in shorter then the stock one. i was gonna get the front half from a turbo mkiii and the front from an mkii and cut them to the appropriate lengths and have the front for the r154 welded to the rear of the mkii front shaft. there is a drivline shop by my house that can weld and balance it pretty cheap. they wouldnt give me the exact price cause i wasnt positive the shalfts are the same diameter and whatnot. prolly less then $50. heck, for $200 i can have a whole new driveshaft made from scratch with bigger u-joints. hopefully ill never have to do this but im not making my target hp yet. when i have the money and time i will do it and as always i will take lots of pics and will do a write up for cs.com.

also, fyi, the r154 was behind the 1jzgte in the jap spec mkiii 2.5tt. now, trying to find a r154 bellhousing for a jz block isnt gonna be easy, but they do exsist. hth.
 
#6 ·
williamb82 said:
also, fyi, the r154 was behind the 1jzgte in the jap spec mkiii 2.5tt. now, trying to find a r154 bellhousing for a jz block isnt gonna be easy, but they do exsist. hth.
Duh... :silly: I only owned one while I was in japan...
 
#9 ·
LMAO!!!!!!! well, i knew it was at you. ive owned alot of supras, but never a jap spec 2.5tt. guess that is a perk of being in the military, if you get stationed overseas you can buy faster cars. lol
 
#10 ·
also, fyi, the r154 was behind the 1jzgte in the jap spec mkiii 2.5tt. now, trying to find a r154 bellhousing for a jz block isnt gonna be easy, but they do exsist. hth.


Actually, finding a R154 to go with a JZ engine is easier than a W-58 in Oz. 2JZGE W-58's are Hen's Teeth. So, when I go manual, I will probably try the R154 - though I'm gonna be Auto Boy for a while yet. Thanks for the help, folks!
 
#11 ·
well, i didnt pay attention that you were in austraillia. im sure it will be easier to find a 1jz-r154 bellhousing over there. sorry, i need to pay more attn. lol
william
 
#12 ·
the R154 that JZA61 was going to buy is in my garage on the back of a MK111 1J and after much measuring i cant see how the hell it would fit in
its way too tall and way to wide, especially on the rear extension housing.
id love to make this thing fit but i could never take welder/hammer to the supra. :(
 
#14 ·
Norbie said:
Believe it or not the V160 6-speed is slightly smaller than an R154, so it will go in a bit easier; it will still require tunnel mods though. Of course that would be a much more expensive option, but it would be quite cool to have a 6-speed! :)
Now that what I'm talking about 6-speed! What is the V160 out of ? What would be involved in putting one in the MkII? cost?

regards

will
 
#16 ·
The 6spd Getrag would be a tough fit in the MkII. The shifter position on the MkIV is way way back from the MkII and MkIII location. The shifter would likely come up somewhere around where the parking brake handle is. Here are a couple of R154 vs V161 photos that show this.

http://www.turbosupras.com/~jbstenner/images/r154vsv160.jpg

http://www.turbosupras.com/~jbstenner/images/R154andV160-1.jpg

I'm not sure whether or not that triangulated shifter braket on the Getrag could be shortened enough to come out of the factory shifter hole.
 
#17 ·
wouldn't that be an issue with an r154 as well? There being no equivent mk2 tranny to swap the shifter housing over on, you'd have to cut a new hole for the shifter with an r154 swap as well, right?

The v160s are very expensive. I'm sure you can get a used one for a lot less then dealer price, but dealer price is something around 13gs Cnd last I heard.

What about the 6 speed in the 4th gen FBodies? Thats supposed to be a getrag box as well, wouldn't supprise me if its a V160. Those should go for a little less considering their "domestic" origins (getrag is a german company). Its possible the shifter housing is in a better place on those.
 
#18 ·
The R154 is only about an inch and a half further back IIRC. I doubt it is enough to matter. The Fbody 6spds are BorgWarner T56. Same transmission that is used in a Viper (although the Viper version is "supposedly" stronger). Shifter location and tranny girth is much more favorable on the T56. They are pretty easy to find as well. The only problem is there is no bellhousing to fit a M or JZ series engine TMK. Great choice behind a small block V8 though.
 
#19 ·
well theres no bellhousing to fit a v160 to an M engine either so either way its a custom bellhousing, which isn't that hard to get made. As for the bad info with the getrag in the fbody thing, I'll have to kick my fbody friend in the ass and tell him to get his shit together :?
 
#20 ·
SilverMk2 said:
The Fbody 6spds are BorgWarner T56. Same transmission that is used in a Viper (although the Viper version is "supposedly" stronger). Great choice behind a small block V8 though.
Whoever told you that the Viper tranny is stronger blew smoke up your exhaust pipe.. its the exact same tranny. A buddy of mine used to work at a tranny shop, and had both torn down, side by side, and there was no difference at all.

And as for the "Bad info"... I wouldn't go to say he was completely wrong... as Getrag helped design the tranny for the Viper... Chrysler just decided it would be better to have Borg Warner build it, cuz they could do it cheaper.
 
#21 ·
W58 tranny and drivetrain

I'll make this as simple as I can. I build 7M-GTE MKIIs, and we use the
W58 transmission. The best tranny for the MKII is the W58 out of a MKIV
converted to work in the MKII Chassis. It bolts right up with ease, you
can get parts for it all day long, and it'll take 400+rwhp with slicks at the
drag strip all day long without fail. No modifications need to be made to
the chassis of the car at all, and if done properly looks as if it was 100%
stock. Unless you have a strong desire for cramming a different tranny
in your MKII the W58 will be just fine. The stock transmission will take
daily driven abuse at 350rwhp. A MKIV W58 will take daily driven RACE
abuse (launching with drag radials or slicks) easily past 400rwhp. I can
also promise you at this point you need to start working on the suspension
as you're not going to be hooking up at all. And a W58 will fit every motor
you could want to swap into the MKII. 1JZ,7M,6M, Chevy small block, etc.
(just need a bellhousing and clutch)

Jeff Tamulis
1985 7M-GTE Powered Joint MKII Supra project, 400+rwhp daily driver
1/4 mile performance: 12.3 @ 123mph, with a TERRIBLE 2.2 60' time.
 
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