There has been much debate as to which transmission to
use for the swap. Keyboard Mechanics tend to think
that the easiest way to do this swap is with a Toyota
W58 transmission because they've "seen it done a million
times". When it comes down to it, they have not
ever even seen a transmission in person. The W58
is an interesting solution and has been played out over
and over again. But is it worth the trouble?
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What about other options and what are
the problems associated with these options? |
- D50/Arrow/MightyMax transmission with Starion
Extension housing.
- D50 tranny with Starion Extension housing and
Starion internals.
- Starion 2.6L transmission with a wideblock 2.0 or
2.4L motor.
- An adapter plate/custom bellhousing to use with a
transmission such as the W58
- Dave Burscher's Powerglide automatic transmission.
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First Some Starion/D50 Tranny Info |
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KM132 5-Speed Manual Transmission (Starion)
| Items |
Specifications |
| Model |
KM132-M-CNL (Starion) |
| Type |
5 speed, Floor-shift |
| Gear Ratio |
1st |
3.369 |
| |
2nd |
2.035 |
| |
3rd |
1.360 |
| |
4th |
1.00 |
| |
5th |
0.856 (overdrive) |
| |
Reverse |
3.578 |
| Speedometer gear ratio |
8/23 |
| Oil Volume |
2.4 quarts |
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First let us compare the Starion and D50 KM132
Bellhousings:
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- The Starion has a wide pattern (13.25")
bellhousing while the D50 has a narrow pattern
(12.25"). ALL 4 BOLTS ARE DIFFERENT!
- The Starion has an extended shifter mechanism.
- The Starion uses a fork/hydraulic do-dad to for
clutch stuff while the D50 uses a cable clutch with
that indescribable bar thingie.
- The '88/89 Starion transmission has the stronger
"waffle" plate on the bottom.
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'88 Starion Tranny |
'88 D50 Tranny (2.0 RWD) |
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Now you have seen why you cannot use the
Starion transmission on the Narrow block 2.0. Lets
move right along to what you CAN use with it. |
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Stock Internal D50
Tranny |
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The first option, a D50 transmission is not as simple as
one might expect. You will still need to make a
clutch actuator mechanism. You will need a
"puller" type slave cylinder and luckily Willwood makes
an affordable one. You will also need to modify
the arm that pushes the throw-out-bearing. You can
make an adapter from the metric to -AN fittings.
But a $2 short brake line, cut off one end, slide on a
metric flare fitting from, perhaps, your ABS removal.
Double flare the cut end and there you go. A $2
adapter... no -AN fittings or braided hoses. |
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To get the correct travel to fully
release the clutch, we had to actually move the slave to
the third hole up on the clutch mechanism. After
some adjustment to the master/slave setup the clutch
actually has a very normal pedal pressure.
Never under estimate adjusting the clutch setup! |
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You can use the 225mm 6 bolt
flywheel off of the DSM. Although both flywheels
have the same bolt pattern, the Starion's flywheel is
made for a 240mm clutch and it is too big to fit in the
smaller bellhousing. Its also a heavy bitch; You
don't want to use it if you can help it. One modification that will
need to be done is installing a support bearing into the
flywheel. Any competent machine shop can bore this
hole out so you can install a bearing. You might
also want to re-surface your flywheel while you're at
it.
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You will also need to switch the tail
housings on the transmission. You don't need
gaskets. Even professional transmission builders
just use silicone sealant. This bolts up without
modification. The trickiest part is getting
everything to go into the correct slot. It takes
some practice. Don't apply your sealant till you
figure it out. |
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Starion/D50 Hybrid
Tranny |
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To use a "Hybrid" transmission, you will need to make
all of the modifications as shown above plus you'll have
to open that scary bitch up and machine some spacers.
New bearings are almost a must if you're going to this
much trouble too. |
My Failed
Hybrid Page
DentSport's Hybrid Tranny
Some of Kevin's Posts on His Hybrid |
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Wideblock 4G6x Motor |
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Right now this seems to be the hot ticket.
Mitsubishi has 2 bellhousings as mentioned above.
The wideblock 4G63 or 4G64 motors allow the use of a
Starion transmission. You will need to do some
work though, but who wants to run a stock motor anyways!
With this setup you might as well find a 2.4L because
you'll have to strip this thing down and rebuild it...
so why not use the 2.4 and put in some pistons and rods
and have your cake and eat it too. I see this as
THE way the swap will go in the next few years.
Very little custom parts will have to be made for the
transmission's clutch setup and you can use the stock
mounts from either a D50 or with a tiny bit of work, 2
Starions. |
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Toyota W58 Transmission |
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People on the internet, mainly keyboard racer/laptop
tuners, tend to get hung up on this transmission.
I don't see what is the big deal. Sure it came on
Supras and stuff, but its still only camparable to a
Starion tranny. |
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Bursher PowerGlide |
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It's a fucking Powerglide! Its hard to find
anything more bullet proof. This is the ultimate
transmission for this swap if you're drag racing ALOT.
It will also cost you alot. Expect to have several
thousand into the bellhousing, torque converter, and
transmission. Can't beat a solid transmission that
will take you into the 8s. Read more here. |