Hi, what are my options for replacing the transmission on my '89 Turbo II. Does it have to be another TII or can I use any S5 transmission? It has the infamous 5th gear grind. Is a rebuild on the this transmission the best option?

Thank you.
-Zeki

 

You'll want a TII transmission of the same series to make the swap direct. S4 TII bolts into an S5 TII with a few changes (I think basically wiring).

NA transmissions are much weaker. Also you'd have to swap the flywheel, clutch, starter and make a custom driveshaft to connect the NA transmission to the TII diff.

 

As long as you have the matching crossmember, you can bolt any TII transmission up. The y-blocks attach to the tail housings differently, which means the crossmembers are also shaped differently.

Wiring is basically the same, but the plugs may be different shapes. On my car, I cut most of the existing plugs off, and replaced them with bullet connectors (S5 j-spec transmission in an S4 chassis). There are just 2 switches (neutral, 5th/reverse), so it's very simple. If J-spec, there is no 5th gear switch, so the reverse switch only has 2 prongs.

Other than that, the gearing is slightly different between years. All J-spec have a pretty short 0.806:1 5th gear, while the US versions have 0.762 and 0.719:1 ratios.

 

Hey man, check craigslist. I was looking in your area the other day and found a couple of people parting things out. If you want, check around the LA area. We have quite a few around here also.