mr2 auto-manual

[Tablets]

looking at buying a dirt cheap mr2 off a mate of a mate. its an auto im just wondering whats involved in converting it to manual??? apart from the obvious shit like box, clutch, flywheel, linkages etc.

can i use any of the fwd 4A boxes? ideally would be an lsd, its a supercharged mr2 will a 4age box hold up?


and for anyone thats done it, is it worth it? cars only $1000 in pretty good nick...

[Malcolm]

you will need
gear stick and shifter cables
clutch pedal, master cylinder, clutch line from master to slave, and slave cylinder
brake pedal
that's the easy stuff, then...

gearbox - many people have used normal 4AGE (C5*) boxes on supercharged motors. You will want to get one from an MR2 if possible, with mounts attached. You can convert a FWD box to work, but using an MR2 one is much easier. Now, there may be some problems with driveshafts. I don't know whether the driveshafts from the auto box will fit the C5* gearbox, or if the driveshafts from a C5* box will fit into the hubs on the supercharged model. I would recommend doing a bit of research into these matters.
Or you could just get a supercharged box (E51), I have some driveshafts from one here without outer CV's (just put the ones of the auto shafts on) that you can buy off me

[Caveman]

The FWD SC driveshafts have an extra mount on the longer side. Not sure if its the same as the aw11 ones but could pose a problem.

[Malcolm]

an extra mount? you mean the supported shaft, so that the end shafts are equal length? SC mr2's didn't have that, just a long and short shaft like the NA's. I think that since the driven wheels aren't steering wheels they decided it wasn't necessary...but they used a supported shaft on the sw20...

[Tablets]

hmm i see theres a couple on trademe aswell...

so a 4age box will bolt straight up with the mounts still attached? i'd be inclined to go with the supercharged box, although sourcing one will be harder and more expensive

ive seen a few bluetops advertised with factory lsd. rare as hens teeth? did any supercharged mr2's come with an lsd box? anyone got the codes???

my main concern would be linkages and getting them in the right place, also the brake and clutch pedals, will they bolt straight in or will i have to drill holes for them? is there any amount of engineering or modification needed or is it pretty straight foward bolt-in job?

dumb question number 1 - can you drop the box out the bottom, or will the engine need to come out?

dumb question number 2 - i have no experience in such a major job (as you may have guessed), should i attempt it? worse comes to worst i still have an mr2... in pieces


anyone got a link to step by step instructions? be good for a read before i start something i cant finish...

[Malcolm]

I don't think any bluetops came with factory LSD, but I could be wrong. Some supercharged mr2's had LSD's, mine did. They are still E51's, the only way to identify them is to turn one driveshaft and see if the other one turns in the same direction (with box in neutral), if they do it has an LSD.

The shift linkages are all located by brackets on the gearbox, so no worries there, all the pedals etc should swap very easily. You could actually do it in stages, ie install the clutch pedal, clutch line, and brake pedal first, maybe do that one weekend, then the next weekend pull the gearbox out and swap the shifters over.
The box comes out the bottom reasonably easily, although I should warn you that the auto box, and the E51 supercharged box are very heavy, you will need assistance unless you're built like a brick shithouse.

Just remembered also that you will obviously need to install a flywheel and clutch. Now, the 4age box (C5*) has a smaller clutch and flywheel than the 4agze box (E51). Either flywheel + clutch combo will fit your engine, however you can't use a 4agze clutch and flywheel on a 4age gearbox, or vice versa. The 4agze flywheel is too large to fit inside a C5* box, and the input shaft on the E51 gearbox is too large to fit inside a C5* clutch disk! So in short, get a clutch and flywheel to suit the gearbox you buy.

[Mr Revhead]

afaik know the c5# box uses the same axles as the 4age auto.
they definitly do for corollas

aw11s dont run the support bearing off the block, but they do use a dampner on the axle.

some n/a box pros:
weight
ease of attainment
ease of fitting
closer ratios

amoung the cons are its lesser strength, but they still handle a s/c no worries.

other things you may find:
the reverse lamp switch wont fit
and you will need to bridge 2 pins in the selector plug or it wont run!

know and dwarfs? if so get them to help with fitting the clutch