My M/T NA to TII Swap
04-11-13, 05:27 AM
#1
My M/T NA to TII Swap
Hey guys, here's my process so far of my old NA transmission to a low-mileage TII tranny swap. A year back I did an NA to TII swap(power train only) on my S4. I never really thought about putting in a TII drivetrain, as I've read that the NA rear end can last you quite some time (that is, if your not launching it daily) and it can handle about 250hp. With this in mind, I decided to keep the old NA rear end and just buy a TII to NA driveshaft. When I get money, I'll swap out everything, but for now, this will have to do.
The reason I decided to change my transmission was because when I'm driving on the freeway, going about 65-70mph at about 2500-2800 RPM, the "shift light" comes up. I don't get the buzzer, but the light comes on and I'm scared that I might be pushing the old NA tranny too much (Well, at least that's why I'm guessing the light comes up). Also, I'm scarred that if I burn out, my drivetrain will snap or something causing me to look dumb trying to look cool hahahaha. As I've read, the NA drivetrain can handle up to 250hp and my car is pretty much stock, other than a catback, so I doubt I'm close to 250hp, but since I have everything lying around in my garage, I decided it was time to swap it out.
The set-up I had before was the TII engine, NA flywheel, NA clutch, NA transmission, and the NA slave cylinder.
New set-up: I had a machine shop resurface the TII flywheel for 35 bucks.
I bought an S5 clutch on Amazon by mistake (Amazon said the clutch "EXEDY 10037 OEM Replacement Clutch Kit" would fit 1986-1988 TII or NA, but later I went on EXEDY's website typed in the part number and it said that clutch fits a 1989-1991 TII Rx-7. However, I think I'm still in the safe zone, I've read that both the S4 and S5 clutches are the same, just that the S4 clutch disk is a bit bigger. Either way I compared my old TII clutch set with the new one and they both look the same, no noticeable differences. And it was a steal so I couldn't return it!)
I also had to buy a TII to NA driveshaft, which I bought off of this forum. Shout out to Charlie!
Here's the process of how my dad and I did it:
First, we raised the the car up about 1 1/2 feet off the ground to be able to fit the transmission under the car when it came off.
(The car up on mighty Jackstands... We got an alien leg on the side of the pic from the movie "Signs" starring Mel Gibson)
(Mighty Jackstands at work)
Next, we removed the entire exhaust system (Due to the fact that the previous owner of the exhaust system decided to weld the whole thing together, it had to come out as one piece). We had to remove the exhaust in order to create enough space for the transmission and driveshaft to come out, otherwise the transmission mounts would hit my stupid precats. Also, the driveshaft didn't fit in between the Y-pipe of the exhaust, so it had to come out.
(Whole exhaust taken off - 1000000 hp)
In order for the driveshaft to be removed, four 14mm bolts needed to be removed from rear end, closer to the differential. After all the bolts from the transmission and driveshaft were out of the way and all the wiring was unhooked, we wiggled the tranny out, which is harder than it sounds. Before we wiggled everything out, we secured the transmission on both sides, by tying rope around the bell-housing and then tying it to a piece of 2X4X16 wood which sat on the two strut towers of the car. We also tied rope to where the driveshaft hits the tranny in order to keep the whole thing balanced. The tranny was lowered slowly by one of my brothers, which I had holding the rope and dropping it slowly.
(My dad taking credit for lowering the tranny hahaha)
(B E A U T I F U L)
Once the big things were out of the way, it was time to take out the clutch and notorious flywheel. The pressure plate had six 14mm bolts, which was fairly easy to remove. Taking out the flywheel nut was also easy, using a 2 1/8" fitting and an impact gun. The flywheel had to be hit on all sides (multiple times) until it came off. I wouldn't recommend this but this is what we did, since we had no flywheel puller and i'm broke, we got two large bolts and put them in here:
Then, we tightened them and before the bolt touched the other end, we placed two large flat crowbars on the inside to take the hit from the bolts. We then tightened the bolts causing them to hit the crowbars and slowly pry out the flywheel. After a few turns and a few hits on the sides, the flywheel popped out, and thankfully no damage was done.
(Whole exhaust, transmission, drive shaft, clutch and flywheel taken off, starter hanging haha)
After we took removed the old transmission and driveshaft, I decided to take a pic to compare the two.
(Both NA (left) and TII (right) transmission, drive shaft, clutch, pressure plate, and flywheel)
Now I'm in the process of putting in the the TII to NA driveshaft. So far, we've put in the transmission, so whats missing now is aligning the driveshaft with the tranny, and putting the exhaust back on. I don't think I forgot to mention anything important.
Their are many ways to swap/ replace transmissions, but this was my process. I want to share my experience with others even though it was kind of ghetto using rope, bricks, and noob techniques. Please don't flame me too hard as I'm still a noob and in the process of learning. Either way thanks for viewing!
The reason I decided to change my transmission was because when I'm driving on the freeway, going about 65-70mph at about 2500-2800 RPM, the "shift light" comes up. I don't get the buzzer, but the light comes on and I'm scared that I might be pushing the old NA tranny too much (Well, at least that's why I'm guessing the light comes up). Also, I'm scarred that if I burn out, my drivetrain will snap or something causing me to look dumb trying to look cool hahahaha. As I've read, the NA drivetrain can handle up to 250hp and my car is pretty much stock, other than a catback, so I doubt I'm close to 250hp, but since I have everything lying around in my garage, I decided it was time to swap it out.
The set-up I had before was the TII engine, NA flywheel, NA clutch, NA transmission, and the NA slave cylinder.
New set-up: I had a machine shop resurface the TII flywheel for 35 bucks.
I bought an S5 clutch on Amazon by mistake (Amazon said the clutch "EXEDY 10037 OEM Replacement Clutch Kit" would fit 1986-1988 TII or NA, but later I went on EXEDY's website typed in the part number and it said that clutch fits a 1989-1991 TII Rx-7. However, I think I'm still in the safe zone, I've read that both the S4 and S5 clutches are the same, just that the S4 clutch disk is a bit bigger. Either way I compared my old TII clutch set with the new one and they both look the same, no noticeable differences. And it was a steal so I couldn't return it!)
I also had to buy a TII to NA driveshaft, which I bought off of this forum. Shout out to Charlie!
Here's the process of how my dad and I did it:
First, we raised the the car up about 1 1/2 feet off the ground to be able to fit the transmission under the car when it came off.
(The car up on mighty Jackstands... We got an alien leg on the side of the pic from the movie "Signs" starring Mel Gibson)
(Mighty Jackstands at work)
Next, we removed the entire exhaust system (Due to the fact that the previous owner of the exhaust system decided to weld the whole thing together, it had to come out as one piece). We had to remove the exhaust in order to create enough space for the transmission and driveshaft to come out, otherwise the transmission mounts would hit my stupid precats. Also, the driveshaft didn't fit in between the Y-pipe of the exhaust, so it had to come out.
(Whole exhaust taken off - 1000000 hp)
In order for the driveshaft to be removed, four 14mm bolts needed to be removed from rear end, closer to the differential. After all the bolts from the transmission and driveshaft were out of the way and all the wiring was unhooked, we wiggled the tranny out, which is harder than it sounds. Before we wiggled everything out, we secured the transmission on both sides, by tying rope around the bell-housing and then tying it to a piece of 2X4X16 wood which sat on the two strut towers of the car. We also tied rope to where the driveshaft hits the tranny in order to keep the whole thing balanced. The tranny was lowered slowly by one of my brothers, which I had holding the rope and dropping it slowly.
(My dad taking credit for lowering the tranny hahaha)
(B E A U T I F U L)
Once the big things were out of the way, it was time to take out the clutch and notorious flywheel. The pressure plate had six 14mm bolts, which was fairly easy to remove. Taking out the flywheel nut was also easy, using a 2 1/8" fitting and an impact gun. The flywheel had to be hit on all sides (multiple times) until it came off. I wouldn't recommend this but this is what we did, since we had no flywheel puller and i'm broke, we got two large bolts and put them in here:
Then, we tightened them and before the bolt touched the other end, we placed two large flat crowbars on the inside to take the hit from the bolts. We then tightened the bolts causing them to hit the crowbars and slowly pry out the flywheel. After a few turns and a few hits on the sides, the flywheel popped out, and thankfully no damage was done.
(Whole exhaust, transmission, drive shaft, clutch and flywheel taken off, starter hanging haha)
After we took removed the old transmission and driveshaft, I decided to take a pic to compare the two.
(Both NA (left) and TII (right) transmission, drive shaft, clutch, pressure plate, and flywheel)
Now I'm in the process of putting in the the TII to NA driveshaft. So far, we've put in the transmission, so whats missing now is aligning the driveshaft with the tranny, and putting the exhaust back on. I don't think I forgot to mention anything important.
Their are many ways to swap/ replace transmissions, but this was my process. I want to share my experience with others even though it was kind of ghetto using rope, bricks, and noob techniques. Please don't flame me too hard as I'm still a noob and in the process of learning. Either way thanks for viewing!
04-11-13, 03:52 PM
#2
Not sure if you know this but your going to need a turbo clutch slave since its different than the n.a slave. As well as a turbo starter since the n.a starter cant be used.
As for the shift up light that shouldnt come on while in 5th gear. It doesnt mean your pushing the trans to hard, its just there to help you get better fuel economy. Its telling you to shift to the next gear to get the rpms lower but there is no next gear while in 5th! Maybe you didnt have a wire plugged in on the trans? I dont know though.
Good call on the resurface flywheel while putting in a new clutch. I hope you have the "hump" of the clutch disc facing towards the rearend. If its facing the front of the car you wont be able to shift into gear. I just learned this and it only applies to turbo clutches/trannys.
As for the shift up light that shouldnt come on while in 5th gear. It doesnt mean your pushing the trans to hard, its just there to help you get better fuel economy. Its telling you to shift to the next gear to get the rpms lower but there is no next gear while in 5th! Maybe you didnt have a wire plugged in on the trans? I dont know though.
Good call on the resurface flywheel while putting in a new clutch. I hope you have the "hump" of the clutch disc facing towards the rearend. If its facing the front of the car you wont be able to shift into gear. I just learned this and it only applies to turbo clutches/trannys.
04-12-13, 02:03 AM
#4
Felix- Ohhh that's what I forgot to mention, it was pretty late when I wrote this up haha. Along with the "New set-up" I had to use the TII starter and clutch slave cylinder.
Yeah, that was the thing that bothered me the most, I couldn't figure it out. I would ask myself, why would the shift light come up if I'm on 5th and this is the last gear hahaha. And yeah, maybe a wire was unplugged, I should of made sure and checked eveything was connected while I was down there. BTW what are all the wires leading to the tranny for? I know that one of the wires are for the reverse lights, but what do the rest do?
I actually wasn't going to resurface the flywheel until my cousin and dad convinced me to. I'm really happy I did though, because for 35 bucks, it looks sweeeet (even though it's the oem one hahaha) you can also see the difference before and after resurfacing. The last picture actually shows how the flywheel used to look like, all rusted and what-not. I double checked to see if I put in the clutch was on the right way, I actually looked at the picture on the box to see how it went and that's how we ended up installing it. The writing, which is on the "hump" side, was facing the inside of the clutch cover, which means that the "hump" is facing the rear end, lucky me lol
Farberio- The turbo crossmember???? I only thought I only needed the starter, driveshaft, slave cylinder, flywheel and clutch?
I actually replaced the seal going from the driveshaft to the tranny, or the "output shaft transmission seal" as Kragen (I prefer Kragen over O'Reilly) says it. It was pretty tedious to remove it, but with the help of a thin chisel and a hammer, it popped out in no time. As for the other seals you mentioned, I'm not sure where those are at. I could only find the output shaft one.
P.S. What kind of transmission fluid should I use? I've heard that 75w- 90 is what TII's use, but would synthetic be okay too? I know no synthetic in engine, but what about in the tranny? What do you guys use?
Yeah, that was the thing that bothered me the most, I couldn't figure it out. I would ask myself, why would the shift light come up if I'm on 5th and this is the last gear hahaha. And yeah, maybe a wire was unplugged, I should of made sure and checked eveything was connected while I was down there. BTW what are all the wires leading to the tranny for? I know that one of the wires are for the reverse lights, but what do the rest do?
I actually wasn't going to resurface the flywheel until my cousin and dad convinced me to. I'm really happy I did though, because for 35 bucks, it looks sweeeet (even though it's the oem one hahaha) you can also see the difference before and after resurfacing. The last picture actually shows how the flywheel used to look like, all rusted and what-not. I double checked to see if I put in the clutch was on the right way, I actually looked at the picture on the box to see how it went and that's how we ended up installing it. The writing, which is on the "hump" side, was facing the inside of the clutch cover, which means that the "hump" is facing the rear end, lucky me lol
Farberio- The turbo crossmember???? I only thought I only needed the starter, driveshaft, slave cylinder, flywheel and clutch?
I actually replaced the seal going from the driveshaft to the tranny, or the "output shaft transmission seal" as Kragen (I prefer Kragen over O'Reilly) says it. It was pretty tedious to remove it, but with the help of a thin chisel and a hammer, it popped out in no time. As for the other seals you mentioned, I'm not sure where those are at. I could only find the output shaft one.
P.S. What kind of transmission fluid should I use? I've heard that 75w- 90 is what TII's use, but would synthetic be okay too? I know no synthetic in engine, but what about in the tranny? What do you guys use?
Last edited by chap2700; 04-12-13 at 02:22 AM.
04-12-13, 02:31 AM
#5
Yes the transmission cross member is different from NA to turbo.
Also when I did my turbo swap I only did the engine and left the NA drivetrain untouched but immediately had the shift up light in 5th.
I thought it was just the turbo ECU as I never had the shift up light in 5th problem for the 21,000 miles I drove NA.
Also when I did my turbo swap I only did the engine and left the NA drivetrain untouched but immediately had the shift up light in 5th.
I thought it was just the turbo ECU as I never had the shift up light in 5th problem for the 21,000 miles I drove NA.
04-12-13, 05:30 PM
#6
Farberio- The turbo crossmember???? I only thought I only needed the starter, driveshaft, slave cylinder, flywheel and clutch?
I actually replaced the seal going from the driveshaft to the tranny, or the "output shaft transmission seal" as Kragen (I prefer Kragen over O'Reilly) says it. It was pretty tedious to remove it, but with the help of a thin chisel and a hammer, it popped out in no time. As for the other seals you mentioned, I'm not sure where those are at. I could only find the output shaft one.
P.S. What kind of transmission fluid should I use? I've heard that 75w- 90 is what TII's use, but would synthetic be okay too? I know no synthetic in engine, but what about in the tranny? What do you guys use?
And there is a seal in the back of the engine. 10-556A-1668 here Engine Gasket Sets and Rotor Kits
The turbo crossmember is in the first link as well, and it is different.
You can use any 75w-90 gear lube you like and synthetic is fine. This forum has good things to say about redline mt-90. I think it needs to be GL4 or GL5.
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