kildea

hi, i'm new here, i actually am a volvo guy, but i have a question for you rx7 guys

i am in the midst of an engine swap, and i intend to use a manual rx7 tt transmission, so i figured i'd check in and see what you guys have to say about the tranny and which ones to avoid, what they can hold, etc.

my specs are as follows: i've built the bottom end of a 1999 s80 2.8 turbo, getting the head back within the next week or two and i should have everything pretty well buttoned up, shooting for moderate power, stock they put out just under 300 lb feet of torque from ~2000 rpm to ~6000 rpm i don't intend to push it much beyond 400 lb feet at the crank - honestly at 3000 lbs, ~350 horse at the rear wheels will be just about right for my purposes. i have put a fair amount into the rest of the car, i would like the thing to handle, and so i am beginning to get near the end of my budget for the project, and i stumbled upon another fellow who can help me with a bellhousing - he has mated the 5-cyl version of this motor to one of the rx7 tt transmissions, i'm assuming these are built to hold a bit more than the earlier rx7's putout.
The transmissions are cheap, and there seems to be a bit of an aftermarket for them out there (the tranny in particular), so i don't think i'll be cornered if i take this approach.

so there's the scoop, any advice or info from you guys is greatly appreciated, flame me if you need to - i can deal with it - but definitely, please share some of your experience.

thanks,
justin

kildea

by the way - this is actually going into a volvo 240, so the only part that is rx7 will be the tranny.

Prôdigy2nd

iTrader: (3)

to my knowledge you want to get a Second generation Turbo 2 Tranny..

just from lucking the past while...

i've seen a few guys which out the 93 TT (FD) tranny to a 89-92 Turbo II (FC) tranny...

i've read they take quite a bit more of a beating.. last longer etc...

but i'de wait for some of the other members to chime in before you go all gunho with my anwser


Prôdigy

kildea

sounds good, thanks.

any further info ia appreciated too, thanks again guys.

jacobcartmill

iTrader: (6)

i could be wrong, but i'm pretty sure the TII and FD have the same gearbox, with the FD having slightly different bellhousing and tail/shifter setup. maybe the FD guys swap out their trannies for TII trannies because TII's use standard push-type clutches? i'm not too sure about that one, but i am sure that TII trannies are usually about half the cost of a FD tranny in similar condition.
anyone feel free to chime in here.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

The T2 and FD tranny are quite similar - the big difference being the tailhousing, bellhousing, and the FD uses double-cone synchros for 2nd and 3rd gears. Since you won't be hitting the revs of a rotary, it's probably safe to stick with the T2's single cone synchros. The gearing and other guts is the same.

As for torque capacity, it depends if you're going to be hammering this thing with drag slicks, or road racing. This tranny is reasonably durable up to 400rwhp on most FDs, if it's not shock loaded too much. (Reasonablly durable = you might blow out a gear, but replacing them at $600/ea is still quite cheap in the grand scheme of things). If you tear it down and cryo treat the gears and put in all fresh bearings, you'll have a pretty durable unit for under $1500. (Plus labor if you pay to have the rebuild done).

As for the aftermarket of this tranny, I'm not so sure it's what you're looking for. Stock units are easy to obtain, at least in the US, but the next step up is face-engagement gearing that runs several thousand dollars. Not much in between. If you need more than stock you'll probably be better off fitting to a different platform.

My $0.02

Dave

kildea

great info thanks.

putting something together for $1500 is actually better than i expected, and that dogbox is sweet - although maybe a bit overkill for my application.

i intend to use this as a daily driver, with the occasional appearance at swedish car days, that's partly why i'm not looking to put a crazy amount of power down.

as for the motivation for using the rx7 tranny there are a few. the whiteblock motors (as they call these) only came mounted to auto trannies in the u.s., however they were auto trannies with removeable bellhousings.
so between the input shaft length, the availability of clutches that'll fit on this tiny little flywheel as well as a few hydro throwout bearing setups to choose from (bellhousing from automatic) it looks like it would be a nice choice - also the smooth shifting (as compared to a wc t5, or so i'm told) and shifter position work just right.

so i guess i'll be becoming a more active member here - if nobody minds - i'll have to prepare a write-up when i do a rebuild.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

I did a write-up on a stock FD tranny rebuild here:
http://www.davidgeesaman.com/

But if you did your own write-up that would be fantastic.

Dave

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

To chime in on this, the '87-91 TurboII tranny would be the best choice. It uses a traditional transmission brace and a push-type clutch - it most likely would be very easy to adapt.

In general, the Type R gearbox (that's Mazda's term for the TurboII and FD tranny) is VERY durable. Even if it makes noise, synchros break, etc. it will generally keep truckin'. Good thing is you can many times get used transmissions from Japan for a VERY fair price. Blow one up, get another one .

Dale

kildea

the adapter plate is predrilled to accept a tilton 300 series throwout bearing, and i planned on using a tilton dual disk clutch.
so long as the hydro throwout bearing won't be a problem with either tranny (tt or tII) it should work out.
there is a local fellow with a tranny from a third gen car, so i'll probably go for that.

thanks again guys.