NOT GREAT- S54 N/A SW20 gearbox fitment to 3VZ-FE...help

[briweekes]

I had to take one of the dowel pins out of the S54 gearbox to get it to come close to fitting.
Am dissappointed to only have got 4 bolts to match up. Makes me think the gearbox isn't at the right angle. The top two are in, and two smaller bolts to the right hand side, coming from the engine block, into the box (looking from the gearbox end at 2 o'clock and 5 o'clock respectively).

What should I expect??

http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/9177/clare2011103000215.jpg

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/8076/clare20111030215.jpg

Anyone have any pics or diagrams to share, and who has got the most bolts in???

[aussiemr2]

There should be a long bolt below the starter but you need to drill out the gearbox to fit it

Some people drill extra 2 holes through strengthening plate on bottom of 3vz but I didnt have the machining skills to do those ones

[cdwood2010]

Yeah, that 5th one is a drill out!

Also I think you need both dowels. From what I gather they are vertical and horizontal alignment pins to make sure the engine and box are spot on.

There are sometimes two in the engine and two in the box depending on how they each came apart.

It takes about a dozen goes to get the engine and box to finally plop home. Try doing it upside down in situ!

Chris.

[briweekes]

Doing it upside down in the car, that must be mental. I struggled more than expected, just 3 goes to get it almost there, then some twisting and lifting.

Sounds like I'm not far off. I'll draw a pic, mark the bolt holes and shatre it with you in the morn.

When you say drill out the 5th, are we talking drill and tap, drill through then nut and bolt jobby or what?

Cheers guys

[briweekes]

Handy pic posted by Stevehall, am happy I have 'em all correct apart from drilling out the 5th through the gearbox:

http://www.twobrutal.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?17837-Help-With-aligning-s54-with-3vz-fe&highlight=gearbox+alignment

[Paul Woods]

You should never need to remove a dowel to fit the gearbox, i'd strongly advise against doing that, you need both dowels for proper gearbox alignment, if you leave one out it could suffer vibration or clutch judder.

[briweekes]

In my case, I had a dowel pin at the top on the block, and a pin in the same place on the Gearbox, so one had to come out. I can see there's a pin on the left in Stevehall's pic (link to thread above), so I'll put the pin I removed in that spot and I should be in business.

[mrT]

I must have got lucky then, as I had 2 dowels left on the engine and none on my gearbox..
As Chris mentioned we drilled the hole under the starter (mine was a saga and half, due to the crap drill bits and almost dead shite drill..lol )
But after that it took us almost 10 minutes to get the gearbox onto the engine, and this was outside the car..
Persevere and u will do it

[aussiemr2]

Tell me about it, I had to end up getting the wife to help me get gearbox on and my engine was hanging off engine crane :-(

[briweekes]

Great stuff, gearbox now on. I don't know what I'd do withouth the Twobrutal forum!

[mrT]

Great stuff, gearbox now on. I don't know what I'd do withouth the Twobrutal forum!
feeling is mutual for a lot of us fella..

I spent 6 months reading, and marking links that were of interest and may come in handy..
then eventually I took the plunge, got the camry and began the swap..

Thankfully I didnt hit too many snags, Chris and Pat helped me out by borrowing their crane and helping with getting the 3s out and the 3vz into the 2, and I did the rest..
but if it wasn't for the forum and Pauls wiring guide < I would probably been rather stuck too..
having said that , had I not stumbled on this forum, my 2 would still been a 2litre..lol

[briweekes]

Definately a tiring experience. Rather like having sex standing up, with someone who is not too light, and shorter than yourself, and having to pick them up while you take aim to get the shaft in there. Yes, like humping the gearbox. Used the engine crane and trolley jack, but ended up having to man-handle it. The second dowel went in, after a couple of bops with a piece of wood and hammer.

[adamh]

pmsl! ^ graphic images spring to mind.
The S54 is light! easily pressed .. try the E153 man... that's like trying to hump a supersized dwarf.

[snowtigger]

piece of piss lifting the na gearbox like adam says the turbo is like holding two na boxes up, the litest is the mk3 thats a one hander jobbie.

[AusV6]

I've fitted my S54 to my 1MZ today. All went according to plan but I'm baffled by this one

http://www.twobrutal.co.uk/forum/images/recovered/2011/11/91.jpg

shouldn't it be lining up like the other bolts on that side? It isn't by about 2 - 3mm. All the other bolts were as you would expect