Transmission Rebuild

Once you get all of the shift fork shafts and reverse idler gear assy installed, it's time to install the transmission (LH) case. Use Toyota's FIPG seal to help ensure that there are no leaks. The case's mating surfaces should be clean. Here, you can see the bearing snap rings already installed. Notice the nicer rear bearing design.

Here you see the rear bearing retainer plate. Look closely and you can also see the snap ring for the rear input shaft--it's right next to the rear input shaft bearing.

On the left, the 5th driven gear has been installed. On the right, you see 5th gear, 5th gear synchro, # 3 shift hub, and output shaft rear snap ring.

And, finally, the # 3 shift fork. All that's really missing is the output shaft lock nut, FIPG seal packing, and rear end case. And, there you have it. A better-than-factory C52 transaxle with new bearings, synchros, LSD, and tight tolerances that can handle most abuse! I decided to try Royal Purple's "Max-Gear" lube this time around with a good recommendation from Devin. Surprisingly, it cost me the same as the Redline stuff.

It took me about a month to completely rebuild the tranny. Most of it was spent waiting for the SSTs and other misecellaneous parts to arrive so I could continue the project. That said, I estimate no more than 24 hours of actual labor including disassembly, clean-up, measuring, test-fitting, re-shimming, and assembly. Now that I feel much more comfortable rebuilding the C52, I'm certain that it won't take nearly as long to rebuild another tranny. Without a shadow of a doubt, having a 20-ton press and the SSTs made the rebuild process as painless and efficient as possible. Yes, the initial cost will make this prohibitively expensive for most of us, but if you plan on racing and/or keeping your car for a while, it is more of an investment into your car than anything else.

I'm seriously thinking about offering my C50/52 and E51/58 transaxle rebuild services to those of you in the greater San Francisco Bay Area who would like a quality rebuilt tranny for race or even street use. Think about it--to do a really good job, you will be investing a little over $1200 just in tools. If you don't plan on rebuilding another tranny, this initial cost alone is probably more than you're willing to spend.

If any of you are interested, feel free to contact me and we'll talk about it.

Cost aside, I am very pleased with the transaxle! I'm still in the process of getting the tranny to break itself in, but I can already tell the difference; the shift feel is much better, the tranny is a bit more quiet, and the shifter is rock solid in each gear (i.e. it doesn't "rock" when letting off the gas and getting back on it).

Plus, I had a quick chance to try out the Quaife on my favorite roads up in the Oakland hills a week after the tranny swap. I was going at a fairly fast pace when I came up to a really tight, 1st gear, off-camber left hander with a decent amount of gravel and dust on the inside line. There was a bit of run-off area on the outside, so I decided to just progressively romp on the throttle coming out of the turn. I was ready to catch the car if it wanted to do something weird, but it just gripped and took off! There was a slight tendency for the LSD to pull the car towards the outside (I guess "understeer" can be applied here), but if you kept the wheel pointed to where you wanted to go, everything was fine. This should work wonders on an autox course where there are tight bits.

"Thanks!.." go to my parents for putting up with all of my parts and tools in the garage, JoAnn for letting me ditch her so I could finish the project in good time and dropping me off at work while the project was holding up my car, Alan for helping me swap the bizatch into my car, George for lending me his AE102 manual, Floyd for picking me up from work and helping me bleed the clutch line and cooling system, Fred O. for hooking me up with his distributor that carries Quaife products, Amber R. at Horsepower Freaks for cutting me a slight but much-welcomed break on the Quaife, Randy N. for his old C52 tranny, John W. for giving me invaluable pointers and tips, and Marty at Motorsports for getting the much-needed parts to me so quickly!

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