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View Full Version : craaaazzy's W58 to R154 swap


craaaazzy
07-02-2008, 12:10 PM
okay guys, after a lot of research and compiling information, I have finally done my W58 to R154 (from a MKIII) swap. I posted this on CL and wanted to share w/ u guys as well, only after I confirmed my findings. so here it is:

first off, i must say that i've read a bunch and have done a lot of late night reading on this swap so there is plenty of info out there, especially here on CL.

now, i have not started the actual swap yet and am still collecting parts. just waiting for them to get here. Listed below are the parts I have or have coming to me:

-used R154 from a 1JZ (which does not have extended shifter housing)
-new 1JZ bellhousing and bolts (seller kept his)
-used MKIII driveshaft (from research, will only need front half)
-new HPF ferramic clutch and Spec pressure plate
-new stock 1JZ flywheel, flywheel bolts, pressure plate bolts
-used clutch release fork, slave cylinder
-all new snap rings, washers, release bearing, pilot bearing: ttp://cygnusx1.net/Supra/Library/TS...aspx?S=CL&P=11

some info about my w58: the measurement from the front of the bellhousing to the 2 pins of the shifter housing is 26 7/8 inches. shifter is swan neck type.

some info about my r154: the measurement from the front of the bellhousing to the 2 pins of the shifter housing is 26 inches. shifter is swan neck type.

now most of you know you need to do some sort of modification so the shifter comes out in the appropriate spot. i initially chose to do the heat and bend method to the stock MKIII shifter. well, come to find out the shifter is not a solid piece from the bottom to where the knob screws on. the vibration dampener is actually hollow right in the middle with rubber above and below. this is a good thing...

now i start thinking out of the box. i remember when i had my engine/tranny out, the shifter from my w58 looked very similar. so today, i go out and take my w58 shifter out. guess what, the MKIII shifter fits in it and the w58 shifter fits in the R154.

now here is the interesting part: though the shifters are similar, the MKIII shifter is tilted towards the driver's side. in my chassis, it's almost enough to hit the left side of the shifter console when in 1st or 2nd but i can still shift cleanly. i'm assuming this is because the center console for the MKIII is a little off center towards the driver's side. looking at the w58 shifter, it's actually tilted towards the passenger side and puts it in the middle when in neutral.

another interesting difference between the 2 shifters: the w58 shifter is about an inch longer towards the rear. so think of it...the MKIII shifter in my car not only sits closer to the driver's side, it's also an inch more forward. there is also enough room in the shifter console that it does not hit anything up front when in 1st, 3rd, and 5th.

what this all means...
i can use the w58 shifter with the r154 and will only be an inch off within the shifter console. these 2 pics, from joewitafro show what i'm talking about. my measurements are 26 inches and 29 inches where his are 27 and 30, respectively. he's got an actual soarer r154 with the extended housing:
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/1529/snow041908006ue9.jpg
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/2271/snow041908001ue3.jpg

my only concern is the 26 inch measurement. the opening within the tunnel is about 2 inches by 2 inches. if the opening isn't big enough on the forward side, i think i'm just going to cut the tunnel enough so the shifter can bolt up. this way, no other modifications are needed. i will update this thread once i begin the swap. i'll also take pics for u guys to see what i'm talking about.

ps. the parts that blizzy mentioned to buy would work. if u use the r154 shifter, it would still be an inch short (which would not matter as there is enough room) or if u use the w58 shifter, it would fit perfectly.

craaaazzy
07-02-2008, 12:14 PM
here are some pics i took today of the parts i've collected. first 2 pics are of the w58 shifter installed on the MKIII R154 tranny. right now, i'm thinking i will just increase the angle of the shifter a little bit to make up the inch difference (ie, pulling the top of the shifter back about an inch so shift knob will be more centered...this should not change my throw significantly):
http://lh3.ggpht.com/flchiang/SDyoJQmtjHI/AAAAAAAAAb8/aRMw5hGIY8E/s400/Lexus%20036.jpg
http://lh3.ggpht.com/flchiang/SDyoKQmtjII/AAAAAAAAAcE/g8IgREbifx4/s400/Lexus%20037.jpg

tranny and driveshaft:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/flchiang/SDyoMAmtjKI/AAAAAAAAAcU/zMxO3CDPmOY/s400/Lexus%20039.jpg

slave, clutch fork, and screws for shifter:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/flchiang/SDyoMQmtjLI/AAAAAAAAAcc/iYHjIm4DNPg/s400/Lexus%20040.jpg

pressure plate, hub, release bearing, and the washers(note some are already on hub):
http://lh6.ggpht.com/flchiang/SDyoNAmtjMI/AAAAAAAAAck/Rnr9j9PTWjk/s400/Lexus%20041.jpg

clutch disk:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/flchiang/SDyoNgmtjNI/AAAAAAAAAcs/sYk_JjNuBk8/s400/Lexus%20042.jpg

1jz flywheel:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/flchiang/SDyoOAmtjOI/AAAAAAAAAc0/F03tEi68fuQ/s400/Lexus%20043.jpg

shifter bushings from Marlin Crawler:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/flchiang/SDyoLQmtjJI/AAAAAAAAAcM/QnevbppRasg/s400/Lexus%20038.jpg

craaaazzy
07-02-2008, 12:15 PM
here are pics of the shifter hole in the tunnel. as you can see, i should be able to screw in the forward 2 bolts that hold the shifter in (as the R154 tranny w/ 1jz housing is an inch shorter in length to the 2 pins). good news for me!
http://lh4.ggpht.com/flchiang/SD3xoQmtjRI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/z4IksvCO0w0/s400/Lexus%20052.jpg
http://lh6.ggpht.com/flchiang/SD3xnwmtjQI/AAAAAAAAAeM/roKdyEYBDOQ/s400/Lexus%20050.jpg

craaaazzy
07-02-2008, 12:16 PM
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

craaaazzy
07-02-2008, 12:18 PM
speed sensor bracket is 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:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/flchiang/SGfgh3iOlSI/AAAAAAAAAgY/Rle01CiIOBk/s400/Lexus%20057.jpg

here's the shifter w/ the boot hitting the support piece (in 3rd):
http://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:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/flchiang/SGfi6WZSvqI/AAAAAAAAAhI/ggCWvQ89hhA/s400/Lexus%20060.jpg

here's how the shifter sits in neutral:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/flchiang/SGfi6iUzwEI/AAAAAAAAAhQ/Xlt-vxnVWZ8/s400/Lexus%20061.jpg

in third, side view:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/flchiang/SGfi65iUjOI/AAAAAAAAAhY/F3AvMAJ_oIQ/s400/Lexus%20062.jpg

in third, back view:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/flchiang/SGfi7M9csCI/AAAAAAAAAhk/yUwXfwScPKU/s400/Lexus%20063.jpg

in forth:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/flchiang/SGfi7eN0UtI/AAAAAAAAAhs/3WoxGtnGcPU/s400/Lexus%20064.jpg

craaaazzy
07-02-2008, 12:20 PM
i hope this helps everyone here. the shifter being forward does not bother me. i can't even tell that it's an inch further forward really.

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.

craaaazzy
07-02-2008, 12:23 PM
btw, don't mind the empty hole below the radio. i'm modifying the ashtray so i can install my cutout switch in there. =)

LexusFTW
07-02-2008, 12:34 PM
Very nice man! I'm sure this will help anyone doing the swap without a ton of headache! +1

OdyOwnage
07-02-2008, 08:23 PM
This is a really good walkthrough!!!

craaaazzy
07-02-2008, 09:24 PM
thanks, i've listed all the parts you need for the swap...well, actually, forgot:

-piece of aluminum for the bracket for the speed sensor
-tranny fluid (i used redline mt-90)
-new pilot bearing
-grease for bushings as well as input shaft on tranny
-threadlock
-AND 2 of your strong friends. i can lift the w58 by myself but the r154 is quite a bit heavier!

DrNick
08-02-2008, 11:49 AM
Can we get a pic of how you got the stock W58 speed sensor to fit properly in the R154?

kmn5
08-21-2008, 12:22 AM
Just wondering, has anyone found another compnay that mods the shifter to it's further back
(besides the one that stole vipsoarer's picture? )
I heard bad things about that place (figures since they stole the pic too)

cprx7
08-26-2008, 05:36 PM
driftmotion.com is the way to go man. I just got mine from them and they did an excellent job. The welds, the fitment, the alignment.. everything perfect. I am almost done with my R154 into MkiV swap :) just waiting for the driveshaft from them also. Give them a call.

kmn5
08-26-2008, 06:00 PM
driftmotion.com is the way to go man. I just got mine from them and they did an excellent job. The welds, the fitment, the alignment.. everything perfect..

how much did it cost?
I don't see it listed on their site

cprx7
08-26-2008, 06:16 PM
$250, but I think they are in the process of raising the price to $350 or something like that.. give them a call, nice guys there. :)

craaaazzy
09-02-2008, 08:19 PM
i'll see what i can do about the pic. i haven't touched the car in a month so battery's dead now.

Can we get a pic of how you got the stock W58 speed sensor to fit properly in the R154?