1UZ-FE to 4wd W59 Transmission

[Smithers]

Yeap I'm using my stock W59 transmission. People have applied 400+ hp to this transmission without any failures so I don't want to hear about how it won't take the abuse from a stock 1UZ. I can mill an adapter but I will be working with a company that will make me one for cheap and save the program to machine another one on demand if I decide to sell them ;)

This isn't a complex science and all the talk about bellhousing adapters and such just confuses and scares people. The shaft from the transmission is long enough to spare an inch for the adapters added width.

Now the clutch and flywheel? mmmmm yes yEs this is a hot topic. This is probably my biggest concearn. I want a flywheel that is light and a clutch that is strong. The stock flywheel for the 3rz to W59 has 10 bolts! Is that tough or what? So go ahead and tell me the W59 trans isn't built tough. The thing is connected to a flywheel that Toyota engineered with 10 bolts holding it onto the crank. Yeah, that's what I thought

:D

So I have a flywheel made by OS Giken of Japan coming in the mail right now. It's an 8 bolt which is required for the 1UZ-FE and it is a racing flywheel and comes with a twin clutch. Have you ever heard a Ducati motorcycle with the clutch pulled in? Ducati uses a dry clutch which is outside of the crank case. Just about all motorcycles use a wet clutch that is inside and this is why oil costs more for motorcycles. The clutch runs in the oil inside the engine. Well the Ducati clutch makes noise when you have it pulled in at a stop because the plates rattle against each other since they are loose. This is the same thing that this race clutch will do but when the clutch is released it will clamp down hard enough to hold 1000hp. Not that I need this much force but the design allows me to have it while maintaining driveability.

It should be pretty trick as long as the ring gear mates up with the starter. Yeap the starter is located on the engine beneath the intake manifold. These starters are very high quality so I have no worries about using the one I get with my engine just like it is. I'm not scared of servicing it but why mess with something that ain't broken? They last forever under normal use. My starter on my truck is the original one and you know they use a better built one on the Lexus!

So that is what is all I have to say about the drivetrain for now. I was thinking of having the flywheel bolts welded up and re-drilled to give it a try on the 1UZ but I scored a deal on the OS Giken package. Whichever ring gear lines up is the one I'm using! Thinking about the middle splines for the clutch ring mating to the transmission shaft is going to give me a headache so I'll see when the parts get here. I can always get different clutch plates.

[Smithers]

Ok so It's Jan of the new 2008 year. With some luck I should have some time off to begin the mating of the W59 transmission to the 1UZ engine. I'm going to source a factory spec clutch and pressure plate in order to keep things simple, user friendly and serviceable. I figure that aftermarket parts can be used in place of the stock parts that I decide to use. The twin clutch will easily be overkill for the W59 so I'm not going to go through the work needed to use it.

It will be interesting to see how the W59 holds up to the Lexus 4.0L. In the meantime I'll be looking for a deal on a R150F transmission which is ideal for the power of the V8. I've never heard of the R150F giving out so I'm sure it will work just fine. Of course I'll want to retain my gear driven transfer case so when the time comes I'll pick up an Advanced Adapters adapter plate.

I'll be updating when I get started on this part soon.

[Smithers]

Ok so it's February and things are shakin and movin on this engine swap. I've asked some industry friends about the ability of the W59 transmission to hold up to the sub-400hp Lexus 1UZ. They KNOW transmissions and they both smile when I tell them, "I'll be good to it but just in case I want to do some spirited driving, how well will it hold up?" This prompts them to chuckle and say something like, "Yeah no problem. You can smoke the tires and do what you want to do without a problem as long as you don't run tires any larger than what you have."

This is all I wanted to hear so I'm quite happy. Plus now that a few years have passed finding these transmissions isn't so hard anymore. I don't even care about switching out to an R150F. At least not yet.

I made some templates for the adapter plate and handed them off to an engineer to work with. I can't really rush the job but it will be done sooner than later. I'll have to deliver some beer to the guys on the CNC to help speed up the process.

For more info on my templates and measurement cross on over to my 1UZ swap progress over on this thread: http://www.fourwheelforum.com/showthread.php?t=248

http://www.fourwheelperformance.com/1uz_tacoma/tacoma_1uzswap_07.jpg

['00_taco]

I am planning on keeping my w59 when i do my 1uz swap also just have a few questions though did you get your flywheel from superrunner and what clutch did you end up using.

[Smithers]

Get the one that Superrunner offers. He sells a different flywheel (that does the same thing) than the one he sold me and will probably use a different clutch I'm SURE. So what I have is irrelevant. When he gave me a price for the clutch it was LESS than what you can get it for at any store.

[Smithers]

Your probably going to ask me for an adapter for your project as well since mine is the only solution to your swap in existence. Although contact Superrunner as he has shown interesting in making them for people. I'm just warning you that $500 is a STEAL of a price considering the engineering time and resources used to get the amount of precision involved with my adapter. I'm not even thinking of selling them but I will get a dollar value from the corporation (owned by friends of mine) that is printing mine out for me. I'm not trying to be overbearing on this issue but people are starting to ask and I never intended to sell them, make them available for sale or share the information of all the hours of hard work that went into building one. I'm not into this for $ and if someone did donate any $ it would go right to the company (which is not in the business of making adapters or anything automotive) that made this as they were all too supportive of my project.

['00_taco]

nope dont need the adapter have already found one and at a good price was just curious of what you where using

[Smithers]

Awesome, I didn't mean to direct all that at you... jus stating it.:rolleyes:

[Smithers]

DONE

http://www.fourwheelperformance.com/1uz_tacoma/tacoma_1uzswap_55.jpg

http://www.fourwheelperformance.com/1uz_tacoma/tacoma_1uzswap_54.jpg

Shake and Bake

[Smithers]

It looks like I either need to get a longer transmission input shaft and swap it in OR I have to machine the bellhousing down by a total of maybe 3/4" at the most in order for things to work properly. Making this work isn't as easy as you would think. The adapter plate was very complicated to produce and you have to have the means to machine the bellhousing down properly as well. Of course there is someone in the midwest that has the ability to make and sell bellhousing adapters. But I would rather trust my machining ability in conjunction with factory Toyota parts.

To be continued...

['00_taco]

How much horsepower do you think a w59 will accept. im undecided weather i should put a 4wd output shaft into a a341 or continually replace w59's. Its a major snag in my project:confused:

[Smithers]

I can't say for sure but they take a beating I can tell you that. They were designed for 4wd transfer case torque and I have never worn one out with the extreme beatings that I have given mine. Someone else borrowed my damn truck without my permission to pull something and BROKE my reverse gear! yeah NICE! So my transmission is newer than my truck for sure. I've talked to a couple transmission shop owners and they say I have nothing to worry about. Or else I wouldn't have gone through the MASSIVE amount of work to adapt it to this engine. The W59s are CHEAP too if you do break one. There are kits to strengthen up I believe. I just make sure my oil is clean. I change it every 15-20,000 miles. Oil is cheap and super easy to change out of these transmissions.

I know for a fact that the Tacoma rear ends can't handle near as much abuse as the transmissions! I have a Ford 9" in my backyard just waiting for spring time. The Tacoma rear axles WILL crack with lots of medium or a little heavy offroading. If anyone has a few years of abuse I highly recommend wire brushing the rear end and inspecting it for cracks. When I was building my rear I completely stripped my rear axle and welded up some hairline cracks, tightened up the ring gear bolts (that were alarmingly LOOSE and one was completely out) and changed the seals. The 2 piece driveline is in amazingly good condition and I had it inspected and the balanced checked by a pro.

['00_taco]

W59s are cheap i have had to replace one also. its just a pain when you breakdown, trying to get your truck out of the dunes or trail. I know i can't make everything indestructible, especially how hard i drive the thing. i would like to eliminate any weak links though.

A 9" is in my scope also just trying to get this 1uz in first.

[Smithers]

Ah your on the right path like me! HOw sweet would that be to have a 9" underneath? Man I can't wait. I thought hard about what to do instead of a W59 and I don't see anything as an attractive alternative. Seriously all manual Toyota transmissions have been broken under abuse. You just have to drive smooth and you'll never have a problem. When it comes to race cars and trucks if a transmission breaks they blame the driver, seriously. And I'm not talking about high end race transmissions or cars... all race cars.

This is also why most vehicles come with automatics - so they don't break and cost the mfg. money to replace under warranty. And they also throw skinny ass tires on vehicles for this reason too - so they break loose quickly and don't stress the drive train so much. When you strengthen one part the next part in line just breaks instead. :) I would much rather replace a couple of W59s (if I ever have to) instead of spending 2 grand on a transmission and hope that it holds up.

The Toyota W59 transmission has a LOT going for it:


It's very light
They do take a beating well
They are made for 4wd transfer case torque
They fit the truck perfectly in terms of proportion
You can find a hardly used W59 from a dismantling yard no problem
They shift very well for a truck transmission

I really contemplated using the 6spd but I found a lot of complaints against the 1st and 6th gear having problems. So I just stopped thinking about it. But if I come across a Toyota 6spd 4wd tranny and t-case I'll probably scoop it up. :D

I did look into buying a 4L60E transmission. It's an automatic of course and they use them in pro trucks all over. You can buy a computer to control it for like $300 and they are awesome. BUT it's a monster! I know a friend that has one that's nearly new and it's all complete with the t-case and everything but it's just very very large. I could fit it but it just wouldn't be correct for a smaller truck with my smaller 1UZ. But if I'm putting in my rollcage and my friend decides to donate it I would make it work. :) And of course there would go my fuel mileage if I put that in. : \

[Smithers]

From the Wiki: "In theory the all-alloy version of the W58 should be the exact same strength as any other all-alloy W-Series transmission."

Here is a guy comparing a W58 Hilux transmission to a R150F that he is putting behind his 1UZ down in Australia. The 150 looks pretty beefy. I've never seen them side to side before. And apparently he's showing his bellhousing that he bought from down there as well so this looks like a great (AND SUPER EASY) way to put a Toyota 4wd box behind a 1UZ!

NOTICE: The depth of the bellhousings. This is why I had to go through so much hassle to shorten my W59 bellhousing! This is a HUGE difference and this is why I don't recommend ANYONE attempt to do what I did. I basically just had a lot of fun fabbing mine but the resources (favors from machinists) I had to use were unbelievable. I would have swapped the R150 transmission in my Lexus V8 Tacoma creation without thinking about it twice! Hell I might still change my mind and go this way in the future if my tranny starts showing signs of weakness.

http://www.fourwheelperformance.com/lexus/1uz-fe_swaps_hilux_transmission_w58_r154f.jpg

[Smithers]

Truck was doing great until the transmission stuck in 4th gear. :D Time for a teardown! Transmission comes out in 15 minutes but I found it to be low on oil... not cool! I'm scouring the web contacting people for used transmissions so I'll have one pretty quick. One of the gears seized up on the main shaft so I'm screwed for now.

http://www.fourwheelperformance.com/1uz_tacoma/w59_1uzfe_transmission_01.jpg

And in other news my good buddy neighbor was installing a new ARB Locker in a friends rear end. Pretty damn nice and $$$$$.

http://www.fourwheelperformance.com/1uz_tacoma/w59_1uzfe_transmission_02.jpg

[Smithers]

Ok so since that transmission is history I went out and picked up another transmission on Saturday that is in great shape. Now people wonder why I haven't sourced a stronger transmission, well this is the reason. I've already explained that this W59 transmission is made for 4wd truck torque and the other reason is that I can find a used one in great shape for just a few hundred bucks. It would cost me another 2 grand if I went ahead and bought a different type of transmission and built another adapter or bought some existing bell housing to adapt it. Yeah so this W59 is working just fine thank you! :D

Here is my collection of W59 transmissions, bellhousings and transfer cases:
http://www.fourwheelperformance.com/1uz_tacoma/w59_1uzfe_transmission_05.jpg

[Smithers]

In case you missed it here is a short video of my truck just spinning the tires on a wet road. I made this video specifically to get record of what the transmission would sound like while spinning up. It doesn't sound good and I could never relax while driving this thing down the road. The noise was unnerving nevertheless, I still flogged it raw.

U1_yaBpMGFk

Needless to say one day while out driving around in the country I couldn't shift out of fourth gear. So I just drove back and parked it and yanked it out as you have seen earlier in this thread. Ok so I might be repeating my story again but just making the point. Now I have a fresh transmission and everything is back on schedule.

[Smithers]

I had some problems with the engine side of the bellhousing being true which led me to slap it back down on my mill to straighten things out. But first I wanted to have a look at the pilot shaft surface for any hints of what's going on.

Pilot shaft mug shot:
http://www.fourwheelperformance.com/1uz_tacoma/w59_1uzfe_transmission_03.jpg

This isn't so bad as I thought. There is obviously some premature wear going on here considering that I haven't gone 150 miles since firing up my new engine. The color shows us that there is too much heat and since faded from the engine side back on the bearing surface I came to believe that it was a surface alignment problem and NOT an alignment problem with the holes around the bellhousing. I KNOW those holes are correctly placed in the CAD program so the only variable left is the welding of the bellhousing when I removed a section from it to shorten it. I went through great pains to get the housing milled super flat and the sections braced properly before welding them together. Time to check for variances in the surface of the engine side of the bellhousing. For reference here is the pilot shaft of the newer transmission that I just picked up. The rust is a non-issue as I easily removed that from the surface before assembly. The shaft is shiny and uniform without signs of discoloration from heat.

http://www.fourwheelperformance.com/1uz_tacoma/w59_1uzfe_transmission_04.jpg

[Smithers]

Placing the bell housing on the mill table I simply adjusted the head down just enough to skim the surface of the housing as I turned the housing using the endmill as a gauge for any changes in surface height. I used a new 2 flute endmill so that I could "draw" 2 lines while dragging it across the surface as I rotated the bellhousing (BH from now one if you please). Of course the endmill would only etch lines in the surface if the surface rose up from the lowspot that I gauged around the edge of the BH. The surface never rose up more than enough to make a scratch in the surface as in the picture so it really wasn't as bad as I had imagined. But still enough to be of concern as tiny adjustments at this point make a big difference.

http://www.fourwheelperformance.com/1uz_tacoma/w59_1uzfe_transmission_06.jpg

This is some pretty crazy stuff and it all takes an extremely long time and a lot of knowledge to get this stuff exact. This is the reason I recommend that people wanting this type of power just buy a Toyota Tundra as they can be found for a really good price with a factory V8 that runs perfectly and will run perfectly for years. If Tundras weren't so expensive when I first started building my custom suspension for this truck I would have started with one of those from the beginning. But back then they were expensive so I began building my truck and since I'm never getting rid of it I went ahead with this new engine. If you are considering trying to make an adapter like this I highly recommend you do not. This takes an insane amount of time and effort.

[Smithers]

OK on with the show. While it was high noon I wanted to make sure and get under the truck and check things out with a fine-toothed comb to make sure there wasn't anything else going on under there. And it was a damn good thing I did. On top of being anal and just wanting every bolt painted nice and clean this also serves another purpose. As you can see here the bolt head was being rubbed by the BH! This is a GREAT find. So obviously besides the housing surface being a tiny bit out of true this adapter bolt it interfering with the mating surface between the two. If I hadn't painted the bolt heads this would have been VERY hard to see. I probably would have found this problem anyway but this is why I have every single thing super clean and easy to see and work on. It makes it a hell of a lot easier to spot problems, find leaks and stuff.

http://www.fourwheelperformance.com/1uz_tacoma/w59_1uzfe_transmission_08.jpg

This was a welcome sight. If feels good to actually find something that you are confident in as being the source of the problem at hand. I test fit everything before assembling so I don't know how I missed this calculation. And since it's way up at the top of the adapter you can't really see it if you don't stick your head up there. And the times I was taking the transmission in and out was in a darker garage and in a big hurry to get it together to test out. And being that they paint is fairly thick it probably took a while for the paint to wear threw. Anyhow I'm just glad I didn't do a bonehead move and assemble the whole thing without inspecting it thoroughly.

[Smithers]

Not the best picture but you can see the exhaust going around the steering shaft and also how convenient the v-band coupler is. I can just pop the band off of each side and have enough room to remove the transmission pretty easily.

http://www.fourwheelperformance.com/1uz_tacoma/w59_1uzfe_transmission_07.jpg

Today was a very long day and I probably lost 5 pounds just working as fast as I could all day to get this issue taken care of. I spent an hour cleaning the new w59 transmission as well. It was a dirtball but my degreaser and then some acid wire wheel cleaner really shined it up to a bright new looking aluminum. It was good to finally get the bellhousing / adapter combination totally finished with a newer transmission to boot. And did it work? Well of course! I was very relieved to start the V8 Tacoma up again and drive it down the street. As soon as I shifted in gear and drove away I knew it was fixed right this time. Revving it up and heading up the road going through the gears SILENTLY really felt good and boy does this thing move. Since the Flowmaster is a smaller model it's really quiet for now but it's great to only hear the engine revving up and not the transmission going crazy.

[Smithers]

The transmission is working perfectly still so now is the time to build the crossmember which holds the transmission in place and at the now higher position. Tonight me and a buddy just finished up making a boxed crossmember for the transmission to sit on. Now that the mounts are all really strong it feels even more solid and I can't wait to try it out in the morning.

The gravedigger shift working in our only spare hours... midnight!
http://www.fourwheelperformance.com/1uz_tacoma/w59_1uzfe_crossmember_02.jpg

A hole here... another one there...
http://www.fourwheelperformance.com/1uz_tacoma/w59_1uzfe_crossmember_01.jpg