[bevryn]

I have a base '06 Matrix that had an upgrade to the C60 six-speed transmission by the previous owner. I started a clutch replacement and we found that the aluminum for the rear engine mount had broken off the transaxle casing:

Looking around, I found a C59 transmission on a Pontiac Vibe in a local pick/pull yard. Here's my main question: can the bell housing on a C59 be used on a C60 transmission? From what I can tell, and from every transmission diagram I can find for the Matrix, they're the same and that the only difference is the 6th gear added for the XRS. If I can just pull the bell housing off the donor, that's what I'll do. I'm not too excited about going back to the five speed and then potentially having to replace the transmission again.

 

[sdspeed]

Found this, worth some more research.

'Beware, bell-housings marked with the C60 stamp are also used on other gearboxes other than the 6speed,
some J-spec 5 speeds also have this marking as well.

Plus supposedly the C56 from mid to late 90's Corollas would work on the C60 that had the 1ZZ-FE.
Might be easier to find.

 

[75aces]

I have a base '06 Matrix that had an upgrade to the C60 six-speed transmission by the previous owner. I started a clutch replacement and we found that the aluminum for the rear engine mount had broken off the transaxle casing:

View attachment 406584

Looking around, I found a C59 transmission on a Pontiac Vibe in a local pick/pull yard. Here's my main question: can the bell housing on a C59 be used on a C60 transmission? From what I can tell, and from every transmission diagram I can find for the Matrix, they're the same and that the only difference is the 6th gear added for the XRS. If I can just pull the bell housing off the donor, that's what I'll do. I'm not too excited about going back to the five speed and then potentially having to replace the transmission again.

The short answer is yes. However, the casing is longer since it’s a 6 speed. Your sixth gear may not fit the c59 casing since it’s shorter.

edit : you’ll need to measure the bell housing on the c60 and c59. I remember that the c60 is longer and literally butts against the fender liner. Whereas the c59 has a gap between the end of the transmission and the fender liner.

 

[bevryn]

Found this, worth some more research.

'Beware, bell-housings marked with the C60 stamp are also used on other gearboxes other than the 6speed,
some J-spec 5 speeds also have this marking as well.

Plus supposedly the C56 from mid to late 90's Corollas would work on the C60 that had the 1ZZ-FE.
Might be easier to find.

I saw that as well, but the one we found is out of a Vibe, so I think it'll be okay.

 

[bevryn]

The short answer is yes. However, the casing is longer since it’s a 6 speed. Your sixth gear may not fit the c59 casing since it’s shorter.

edit : you’ll need to measure the bell housing on the c60 and c59. I remember that the c60 is longer and literally butts against the fender liner. Whereas the c59 has a gap between the end of the transmission and the fender liner.

I'm not planning on taking the gears out of the 60. I was literally hoping to crack the transmission at the seam between the bell housing and the gear box on the 59 to take just the casting with a good engine mount. But, will I run into input shaft length issues since the 60 is longer?

Do you know if the bolt patterns are the same between the two?

 

[75aces]

The layout should be identical. Location might be off due to length.

 

[1998Prizm]

I'm not planning on taking the gears out of the 60. I was literally hoping to crack the transmission at the seam between the bell housing and the gear box on the 59 to take just the casting with a good engine mount. But, will I run into input shaft length issues since the 60 is longer?

Do you know if the bolt patterns are the same between the two?

Bolt patterns are the same but I think the shift cables might not be plug and play. Not 100% sure though. If they are, you can move the mounting place of the shift cable to correct for it, similar to the way @SC Chinchilla did on his c60 swap.

 

[sdspeed]

That damage is repairable, a good welder could put a block in there and you could drill and tap it.
Just take mounting hole center point measurements prior to the fix. Drill and tap, grind away any of the repair block that would cause interference.

 

[SC Chinchilla]

When I did my swap I kept the Corolla shift cables and they worked fine on the C60. I toyed around with different 3D printed spacers to mess with the length but ended up not using any of them.

Swap over the shift cable bracket, though, as that will be ever so slightly different. I suspect the previous owner has already modified it to fit.

 

[1998Prizm]

When I did my swap I kept the Corolla shift cables and they worked fine on the C60. I toyed around with different 3D printed spacers to mess with the length but ended up not using any of them.

Swap over the shift cable bracket, though, as that will be ever so slightly different. I suspect the previous owner has already modified it to fit.

Ah, I thought you stuck with the 3d printed piece. What did you land on instead? I had to cut and weld the cable, and it actually broke a few weeks ago.

 

[SC Chinchilla]

I didn't change the cable at all actually. Stock 99 Corolla manual cable.

 

[1998Prizm]

That's weird. I'm using stock Prizm cables and it wouldn't reach. Iirc I couldn't reach 1st, 2nd or 3rd gear without lengthening one cable.

 

[bevryn]

Updating the thread now that the project is finished.

Thanks to everyone who contributed. We were able to swap a C59 bell housing back on to the C60 transmission. The only issue we ran into was not knowing which order to rebuild the 5th and 6th gears in, meaning the output shaft components wouldn't fit over the input shaft components, so we had to tear it down a couple times to get stuff replaced in the correct sequence.

I did keep the C60 shift cable bracket, so I didn't run into issues with the shift cables not reaching. The only real issue I had once it was all reassembled was one of the ground mount points being stripped at the top of the hole, so I couldn't get a good ground and couldn't find the culprit until I had a helper come out and push on the bracket while cranking the car. We ended up moving that ground to a different bolt and all is well.

I'm going to drive it this week to start breaking the clutch in and do another transmission oil change this weekend to flush out any debris we missed while cleaning and reassembling.