Camry s51 5th gear swap, how-to with pics Options

[Batman722]

Guys, this is something I've been interested in doing for a while now. The s54 is a high reving tranny and that's fine for around town driving but on the highway being in 5th gear always seems like there's too many RPMs.

Solution : swap in the 5th gear set from a Camry s51 - cost, less than $200

I did a bunch of searching on the MR2 boards (and even here) and there wasn't much concrete info, just people talking about it. Some say they did it but info wasn't really clear. I then looked up some part #s and ordered a 5th gear from a Camry/Solara, got the gear and on a spare s54 at Manny's we checked out what needed to be done.

Then I found this http://www.twobrutal.co.uk/forum/showthrea...NA%29-5th-gears
That link confirmed everything I thought and he gave a great how-to, better than mine will be.

So with the Camry 5th gear set (the 5th driven gear and the 5th gear) me and Stef went to it on the s54 in the Beams.

First, this isn't simple. It's not very difficult but it's not a 10 min job either and there was one special tool needed other than normal tools we had in the garage and that was a puller for the syncro and driven gear. Stef borrowed the SST from the dealership, so we had no problems there.

We weren't going to pull the tranny for this so we did the 5th gear set swap with it in the car.
We put the car on jack stands, took off the driver's side wheel, under plastic, drained the tranny oil, and turned the wheel (hub) all the way to the left for easy access for to the end of the tranny.



took off the 12mm bolts holding the end cover on and separated it



that's what it looks like in there



First, remove the selector arm (12mm)





no selector arm



removed the span ring holding the syncros and 5th gear



with the SST (special service tool) we removed the syncros, being careful not to separate them, they can be a pain to put back together



Syncros out





Slide off the 5th gear and the 2 needle bearings (pictured)





Next is removing the driven gear. The nut has a crimp (pictured), I wedged a screwdriver in and bent it out, and the 27mm nut threads are reversed.



Used a puller to remove the 5th driven gear



Now the new gears Yeaha !
The s51 5th gear is a larger diameter than the s54 5th.
The s51 driven 5th has a smaller diameter than the s54 driven.
You can't just change one, you have to change both for everything to work.





now with no 5th gears in there, we put the Camry driven gear on using a hammer and socket, then slid the Camry 5th gear with needle bearings onto the other shaft.



This is now the hard part. Putting the syncros on without them popping out all over. We held the back of the syncros and hammered/socket it on, then pressed the 5th gear against the back of the syncro, and got it in place. The back of the syncro has 4 tabs, they fit inside 4 holes in the gear, make sure you put the syncro on with the tabs/holes lined up or you have to pull it back off and align. Re-installed snap ring.

5th driven gear, 5th gear, and syncros on



selector arm back on and ring lined up



We used FIPG sealant and Stef put the cover back on



Waited an hour for the FIPG to dry, refilled the tranny (24mm fill and drain), under plastics back on, and went for a drive.

Here's the before and after

BEFORE - s54 80mph about - 3800-3900 rpms



AFTER - s54 w/Camry 5th gear set - about 3300-3400 rpms



About a 500rpm difference from before. Shifting from 4th to 5th the rpms drop down 1000 now.
Again, my how-to isn't the best (the twobrutal link I posted at the top explains things much better than I did).
Stef will probably post a couple pics too.

Questions and comments, post em up.

keywords :s54 s51 e51 e153 Camry Solara fifth 5th gear gearset beams taller longer transmission #boompow

[richee3]

Good stuff. I'll add this to the stickies when I get home.

[Box]

It's a good idea, I don't understand why so many gearboxes insist on staying so close for 5th and sometimes the 6th gear. When you're racing it you'll never touch the top gear unless your car has a lot of power and there's one hell of a straightaway. I see this being a worthwhile modification, should save some fuel and wear.

[enderswift]

Edit:

What's it like around town?

This post has been edited by enderswift: Jun 8, 2014 - 6:09 PM

[Box]

It should be around 1,500 at 35 mph and 2,300 at 55 mph now, given the torque-y nature of the 5S I imagine it probably does fine.

[Batman722]

Gears 1-4 are not changed.
I only changed 5th gear.

This only makes 5th gear longer and like box said pretty well, it will save fuel and wear.

[ILoveMySilly97]

Oh man. I need this. I do a lot of hwy driving and this could save me some serious gas. Lol.

[Box]

I felt that even the ST could do with a lower overdrive, so I know the GT definitely does. Comparing the Celica and Camry mpg ratings, should be able to get at least 2 more mpg out on the highway. This would be a good project to tackle when it's time to change out the gear oil anyway. That or if you have synchro grind you can do a full rebuild along with the new 5th gear.

[njccmd2002]

awesome job.

[Defgeph]

Nice work, this is really great info.

[CAcelica29]

would this have similar effect on a 1mzfe with the s54?

[Batman722]

would this have similar effect on a 1mzfe with the s54?

yes.
It doesn't matter what engine, 3sgte, 3sge, 5sfe, 1mz, ect, swapping this Camry/Solara 5th gear set into the s54 will lower the rpms in 5th gear by about 500.

[Smaay]

Good write up dustin. Did you use your original syncros or replace them? Wasnt clear on that or i just missed it.


Good write up dustin. Did you use your original syncros or replace them? Wasnt clear on that or i just missed it.

[Rusty]

great photo guide

[Batman722]

I used my original dual syncros.
They didn't look worn at all, so I didn't see a need.
Just replaced the gear and driven gear.

[Special_Edy]

Now just document the fuel economy difference, its like having a 6th gear!

[jordisonjr]

Wow I was overwhelmed just looking at the pictures
Solid write up though!

How does this feel power/acceleration wise compared to before?
What is the difference between 5th gear and 5th drive gear?

[sandusky1977]

I've been wanting to do this and write it up, thanks for saving me the time,. Now I can just duplicate what you did...

[Syaoran]

For everyone that has asked, this doesn't affect the performance in the least while in the first 4 gears. It only makes the 5th gear "heavier" so to speak, which will allow you to run at the same speed with less RPM.

[presure2]

This is huge, especially for guys that have beams, 3rd gen 3s, or v6 with the S54.
the diffrence between 4krpm @ a little over 80mph, or 3500 rpm @ 80 dont sound like alot, but trust me, it is.
i cant wait to do this on jenns car!
great work dustin & steff!!