5 speed conversion "Project ES300" THREAD!!!

[b2p1986]

Hey guys,

Well a bit of history before I start. I had two camry's originally (1 auto, 1 manual), basically traded my auto camry (96) for a low mileage 94 es300 + cash. Last night I also sold my 5 speed camry coupe (nothing too special about it, had some rust and was bone stock + CAI) that's about all I did too it. Anyways I am now left with my "project ES300".

Anyhow, some of you may have noticed that the forum member named Brandon who was selling all his conversion parts recently posted it as "SOLD" and of course I will soon be the new owner of these parts. Now, my plan is in a month or so to drive down the states and pick up a used but very good condition 5 speed transmission (out of a 99-01 v6 solara 5 speed). At this time I will be having a clutch and rear subframe and pick up any other parts I may need.

So here is where I am at...

Brandon will be sending me

-Flywheel (has a bit of surface rust but was remachined, should be ok and burn off within a few miles of driving it)
-shifter assembly and shifter boot (no knob) for an es300 (comes with base as well in woodgrain etc.)..I will buy a nice TRD knob off ebay.
-Both shifter cables
-Clutch master cylinder and a hydraulic clutch line (I am however planning to buy a Stainless Steel clutch line for better clutch feel)
-transmission mount with transmission plate attached to it
-clutch pedal assembly

Now as for separate things, I will be picking up a brake pedal (off any 3 or 4th gen camry, solara, etc.)..just needs to be the more square pedal as opposed to more rectangular.

I will be going to the states to get a used transmission, hopefully something with less than 100k miles on it.

Here's where my questions come in lol

1) I plan for NOW (meaning the next say 3-4 years) to only upgrade the headers, exhaust and intake. I am sure once the swap is done and I have all those upgrades that the car will be plenty fast...again for NOW.

...would I be able to purchase an AISIN clutch kit off ebay (I assume it's pretty much the same as OEM) and be ok with that? It comes with a Pilot and throw out bearing, pressure plate and alignment tool. Would this suffice? Should I buy a Toyota OEM throw out bearing too ensure it's super quiet or does this kit have one like OEM?

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/AISIN-OEM-Premium-Clutch-Kit-Toyota-Solara-3-0L-V6-FWD-w-1MZFE-99-02-/270865328328?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories &hash=item3f10d4e8c8


2) I have the bolts from the local dealership that they claim I will need (for the flywheel, transmission and clutch)..here is what I was given..is this information correct, for anyone who knows?

90105-10138 (8 of these for flywheel)
90119-08079 (6 of these..pressure plate)
90080-11424 (1 of these, not sure what part it's for)
90080-10133 (1 of these, again not sure what it's for)
90080-11417 (3 of these, not sure)
90105-08126 (17 of these, transmission casing bolts)

Dealer quoted me $94.00 + tax for this, I am thinking these are another item I can get from the US.

..Can someone confirm if these are the correct part numbers and quantities?

3) I am purchasing the Axles from a local vendor here, with a lifetime warranty on them. Anyhow I will be getting 99-01 solara v6 5 speed manual axles. I just want to verify, these are the axles that ARE compatible with the E153 manual transmission? I assume if it's coming out of a 99-01 solara and I get axles for that year they should fit right in???

I think this is good for now, but I am sure I will have more questions...

Thanks for the help guys.

PS the rear subframe is separate obviously from this conversion but I need to fix my rear lateral arm and since my subframe is nice and rusty (with no holes) I figure for 180 bux for a subframe off a car from arizona with 63k miles ain't such a bad thing..so I'll be having it shipped to me in the states when I'm there

[b2p1986]

Also had another question. On one of the websites I believe johns conversion I noticed he purchased a whole bunch of new bushings. I would like to know which bushings I will need if any..

Thanks

Sent from my HTC Amaze

[Chris Crash]

I would purchase a Sach's clutch kit. They can be found at Carquest and maybe a few other parts stores. Comes with a Nachi throwout bearing which is OEM. Don't bother with Advance or AutoZone's clutch kits. Aisin is OEM however.

[b2p1986]

Will Sachs clutch kit be better than oem??

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[Chris Crash]

It's equivalent. Should be cheaper though. I have a Sachs kit and they're made in Germany (usually OEM for luxury vehicles) and they're pretty bulletproof. The main thing is that it comes with a Nachi throwout bearing, most kits that are not an Aisin kit just come with a random bearing.

[b2p1986]

So I called carquest and the gentlemen is saying there are two types available. 9 and a quarter od or 9 and three eighths.. Which one would I be needing for the e153 transmission??

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[b2p1986]

OK So I figured out that i need the 9 1/4 inch clutch kit...

checked out a few places and the SACH's kit seems to be between 270-300 CAD..whereas I can get the original Aisin clutch for 190 CAD..any thoughts? if it's worth it to spend the extra 80 bux I totally will, just wanna make sure my purchase is warranted and valid.

[Chris Crash]

Yikes...I got my Sachs kit shipped to my door for $110...cheaper than the cheap crappy kits from Advance.

I'm sure the Sachs kit is about the same in comparison to the Aisin kit so long as you also get a Nachi/Toyo/Aisin throwout bearing included. The bearing alone is about $80 from the dealer.

[Chris Crash]

Sach's kits come with a 1 year warranty, not including labor. I don't know if the eBay Aisin kit has any kind of warranty associated.

[b2p1986]

Originally Posted by Chris Crash

Sach's kits come with a 1 year warranty, not including labor. I don't know if the eBay Aisin kit has any kind of warranty associated.

any chance you can post the link or tell me where you got it for this price??? I checked a canadian vendor when i searched on google and they want 270 for the same kit..$110..i'm totally in..just let me know where!!

[Chris Crash]

Well it was for a totally different engine and transmission....

I just google 97 camry sachs clutch kit and the cheapest one I bought! Maybe you can have similar luck? If not, see if some of the auto parts stores near you have "house brands" and see what they are. Often times auto stores rebox name brands and sell them cheaper as their own. I used to work at carquest so off hand I know their brakes are Raybestos, suspension products are Moog, filters are Wix, etc.

[b2p1986]

I will try calling car quest in the morning. I could also ask my cousin who gets cost on parts from part source.

If anyone comes across a deal for a 1mzfe tranny for solara please post it up here!!

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[TravisAe86]

I cant wait to do a 5 speed swap on my camry

[b2p1986]

Originally Posted by TravisAe86

I cant wait to do a 5 speed swap on my camry

Have you started collecting the parts needed to do this swap? That in itself could. Take weeks to a month to find everything. Better late than never.. Right?!?

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[Eye8Pussies]

hmmm....let's see what I can throw in here to help out a bit...

first off, yes, the 5-speed axles from the solara will fit the e153, as those are the axle/tranny match. The only thing that you HAVE To be aware of is that in Canada, especially Toronto, many places either don't carry the 5-speed axles, or their part numbers show that that 5-speed and auto axles are they same- and they are NOT the same.

All that you really need though, is the one-piece driver's side 5-speed axle, and the 5-speed passenger's side half-shaft. You can actually re-use the passenger-side outer axle (that attaches to the hub).

One of the most difficult parts will most likely be getting your current automatic half-shaft out of the carrier-bearing mount. When I did my swap, I took the entire mount off and then had a shop press out the old one and press in the new one. If you are looking at used axles, it will come with the mount and you may be able to slap it on as long as the carrier bearing is still in good shape. Also, that is if the mount will fit on your engine block- because the one that I got off a solara did not fit my 94 1mz engine block.

A much simpler way, if you don't mind spending a bit more money, is to order a new mount and a new carrier bearing a long with a new half-shaft and just put it together onto your block yourself during the swap. If I had the chance to go back and do it now, that's what I would have done and saved my self the headache of dealing with all of that in the first place. With all the right parts that aren't rusted together, you can have it put together in half an hour instead of over the course of a week, which is how long it took me to deal with all that crap.

In regards to your clutch setup, just pick up the Aisin one. If the throw-out bearing says Aisin on it, then use it. If not, go to the dealership and get a new one. I made the mistake of using an aftermarket one during one of the times when I pulled my tranny and it started making noise shortly afterwards. Luckily I had to pull my motor/tranny again about 6months later, so I changed it then.

For the bolts that the dealership told you about, I tried checking some of the numbers and all it told me was bolt, so it didn't help much. But all you actually need are the flywheel bolts and the pressure-plate bolts. You don't need anything else. You can re-use the tranny bolts from the automatic and mount the 5-speed with it. I believe that at worst, one doesn't fit, but it holds together just fine. All the other options that people are throwing out there are options that are affordable for people in the States. Our options are much more limited up here, mainly due to the fact that we pay twice as much for the same parts most of the time.

For your clutch lines, in addition to the hydraulic line (which you will replace with a stainless steel line- good for you- it makes a nice difference) is that you'll also need a hard line going from the hydraulic line to the actual tranny as well. You can pick up hard aluminum brake lines at Canadian tire that can be bent into the correct shape for your use for a couple of bucks instead of going to the dealership and paying a hundred for pre-bent lines.

Outside of that, that should be mostly it. The only thing that I would suggest, if you are planning on doing it in the near future anyway, is to get the headers now and get them into the car while you either have the motor out, or the tranny out. It'll give you plenty of room to get it in and our quickly instead of spending many many hours trying to install them.


Lastly, in regards to the bushings question- the bushings that you would be looking for would be the shifter cable bushings (replaces the rubber bushings on the shifter cables) as well as the shifter mount bushings (replaces the rubber on the bottom of the shifter where it mounts to the chassis). And on that note, you should get a short-shifter and install that while you're doing the swap as well- it makes a world of difference and it's one of the best mods possible for the 5-speed.

Oh yeah, and removing and installing the shifter lines are a bitch haha...good luck and have fun