W58 transmission specialists in the UK

[fueltheburn]

In need of finding a transmission specialist in the UK to rebuild a W58.
Has anyone had one rebuilt yet? If so, where and how much?

Cheers
K

[mathat]

Hi - I have not had ours done as it seemed within our grasps but I did phone around and this man seemed to know what he was doing and wanted less than £300 (if I remember correctly / don't know if it was a full rebuild or just repair of the parts I discussed with him)
David at JR Dain Transmission Repairs Tel: 01603 407372
only picked him as he is local to us in Norfolk - have you tried a local search as I am not sure if he could actually do it without asking for a written quote and only inquired on the phone!

[fueltheburn]

Cheers I will try them as the gearbox is at a friends in Suffolk anyway.

There are only about 3 transmission specialists between Glasgow to Inverness....AND THEY KNOW IT!!
Over just £600 just for opening it.... don't think so!

I would give it a go myself if I could afford the time.

[mathat]

what's wrong with it - I know 2nd is supposed to be weak? - mine was just leaking oil + general wear in gear stick, might be more when I drive it as it's not yet been properly driven but the slack in the input shaft was my concern but apparently a bit of movement is ok - just don't know how much so I thought it best to try and see what happens with it first.
please come back with if they can do it / if you trust them to do it!
the gear box seems to be a rare thing - we did look into getting the 6 speed conversion and rebuild - which is probably what I would go for if rebuilding (about £600 if I remember)

did get some nice oil for mine at the weekend Castrol fully synthetic 75-90 so I am hoping that it will be a smooth shift.

[fueltheburn]

I was using AMSOIL 75/90 fully synthetic GL5
3rd 4th and 5th making loud rattle noises when decelerating or backing off throttle.
I think 8 hours on the dyno and long hard pulls have killed the bearings and or possibly synchros in the box.
A lot of talk on Supra forums of lightweight un-dampened flywheels killing off bearings early. Ethels is is 4.5kg and the twin sintered clutch is REALLY unforgiving on the drivetrain as it sends huge shock through the drive train every time the clutch is engaged.

...Did say R154 but remembered the later Supras use V160 and V161

The v160 may be where I end up heading towards for the extra gear... only penalty being it weighs 20+kgs more than the W58. I have a low mileage spare box in Mildred that is surplus to requirements but it hasn't turned a cog in 10 years so was going to get this rebuilt in the meantime.

I shall sit on this one for a few weeks before I decide where I am heading with it as the prop shaft might need changing as well to match up to the V160 box

[yroll]

I was using AMSOIL 75/90 fully synthetic GL5
3rd 4th and 5th making loud rattle noises when decelerating or backing off throttle.
I think 8 hours on the dyno and long hard pulls have killed the bearings and or possibly synchros in the box.
A lot of talk on Supra forums of lightweight un-dampened flywheels killing off bearings early. Ethels is is 4.5kg and the twin sintered clutch is REALLY unforgiving on the drivetrain as it sends huge shock through the drive train every time the clutch is engaged.

...Did say R154 but remembered the later Supras use V160 and V161

The v160 may be where I end up heading towards for the extra gear... only penalty being it weighs 20+kgs more than the W58. I have a low mileage spare box in Mildred that is surplus to requirements but it hasn't turned a cog in 10 years so was going to get this rebuilt in the meantime.

I shall sit on this one for a few weeks before I decide where I am heading with it as the prop shaft might need changing as well to match up to the V160 box

The R154 should be alot easier to fit the excel, its only a bit out of the W58s dimensions. It handles a lot of power but it's still a truck box compared to the more sophisticated v160(wich I think I've heard is a lot bigger?). Or you could just buy a 1987-on W58 with steel sandwichplate as they have a bit more heavy duty components.
This might not be 100% right

[Pete Boole]

I've got an R154 if you're interested! - Good 'box. Was going to use it before I decided to use a Tremec. Swap for the dash?

Pete

[fueltheburn]

If the 87 has the steel sandwich Joakim...I have successfully destroyed one.... good luck with that supercharger
The info. I have shows steel sandwich W58 as 89' onwards (would lotus have a stock pile of boxes or would they have done piece meal stocking.. i.e got them in as and when required to finish a car?)

The R154 is definitely worth looking at. The early gear ratios appear better for acceleration, whilst 5th is longer than the W58, giving a higher top speed and better fuel economy. Need to look into this one.

[yroll]

If the 87 has the steel sandwich Joakim...I have successfully destroyed one.... good luck with that supercharger
The info. I have shows steel sandwich W58 as 89' onwards (would lotus have a stock pile of boxes or would they have done piece meal stocking.. i.e got them in as and when required to finish a car?)

The R154 is definitely worth looking at. The early gear ratios appear better for acceleration, whilst 5th is longer than the W58, giving a higher top speed and better fuel economy. Need to look into this one.

My bad it's 89!

I don't know if lotus used even one of them but Supra did.
I want to have a strenghtened W58 :/

[fueltheburn]

Look through this lot and tell me how many items are there to support the use of an R154 v a W58..

http://www.driftmotion.com/category-s/1838.htm

https://www.marlincrawler.com/

A shed load more is the answer
I have been researching this one for a few days and short of fitting a PPG straight cut gearset into the W58 (which would be horrible in traffic and noisy at speed) there is very little to improve its shortcomings and weaknesses. Shockloading seems to be the major killer of the layshaft bearings in high power applications.
When the box is out I am going to make damn sure it can handle all that I can throw at it for the life of the car.

The above links do have some rare items or discontinued items for the W58 that might be of help to some on here... Jerry there is a magnetic gearbox plug in there as well.

[marky]

3rd 4th and 5th making loud rattle noises when decelerating or backing off throttle.

I have had this with two gearboxes now - wouldn't say its that loud - - just slightly annoying. Not sure what is causing it but it's a lot more noticeable if you fix the exhaust.

My original late 87 gearbox had a bearing problem but that was a typically bearing noise and louder. I swapped it for an 91 box which has good bearings but still has the rattle (if it is the gearbox). Both boxes have the sandwich plate and the only difference seemed to be with the collar around the input shaft which had to be changed.

Not too worried at the moment but interested to see if you can resolve this.

Mark.

[fueltheburn]

I will be solving this by not using the W58 altogether. The fact it doesn't like high power hard launches is ultra frustrating.
Why build a car that you have to wrap in cotton wool because the gearbox wont hold up

My box had only done 50k miles and was smooth before the engine upgrade. The lightweight flywheel, racing clutch and extra power means there is a lot of shock upon clutch engagement that goes through the drive train... After 8 hours on the dyno, you can now physically hear components compressing and relaxing in the box.... sounds like a bag of spanners rattling in there upon deceleration. Not so loud on acceleration but noisy when lifting off.
The gears are becoming progressively harder to engage at speed, indicative of things not lining up anymore. Pretty sure the bearings and input shaft are no longer true

The R154 has a longer 1st gear which will help pulling away (slightly less wheelspin). A shorter 2nd and 3rd gear (better acceleration) and a longer 5th (slightly better economy and lower revs at crusing).
It has wider gears as well for more strength.
The downside is the extra strength weighs a bit more and the shift is not meant to be as smooth as the W58 both things I can live with for reliability and less noise.
Going to rebuild the R154 with upgraded internal before it goes back on... for me this is future proofing.

[marky]

When the bearings went on my gearbox it was noisy in all gears except 4th gear which was quiet. It was noisy with the power down under load and when I lifted off it went quiet or much quieter. I have a feeling this is something else like loose selectors or selector rods rattling. At any rate if you are changing to a different type of gearbox it should solve the problem.

Mine is shifting smoothly and sounds a lot less serious so I am happy to leave it alone for now.

Mark.

[fueltheburn]

Quick update on this. I was thoroughly disappointed with the response I got from JRD... a complete lack of! They didn't seem the least bit interested over the phone and never got back to me about if they could source a rebuild kit.
I have gone locally with someone up here who said they would find it difficult to find a kit but would be happy to rebuild it if I sourced the components. I have done exactly that... just waiting to be shafted by HMRC without foreplay or warm up. Once it has cleared customs it will be straight off to be rebuilt.
The rebuild kit includes 7 bearings, all 5 synchros, gaskets and 3 seals.
I shall update on results. I did import a second kit, so may rebuild another box or move the kit on.
The gearbox being rebuilt has come from Mildred and covered 67,000 miles but has been sat for 10 years. The box feels smooth but still seemed a bit of play in the bearings from the shaft. The box will also have uprated Delron bushings for the gearstick to improve shift feel. I have imported a significant batch of these as well as there are 3 different types and I have a few boxes needing attention I shall update as to which part best suits the job.

Edit- The R154 has been put on hold for a while as there is more fabrication required to fit this in. Propshaft length, engine position, extra weight, change of gearbox mount, length of gearbox, flywheel, clutch etc... PLUS this will be going into something a bit more serious

So for now, a less aggressive clutch and flywheel, rebuilt W58 and a change of propshaft weight should suit my needs well

[shaunw]

I take it that parts for the w58 box are not available from toyota uk then? I was hoping to source some detent springs and balls for mine.

Shaun