Properly swap a V160 6 speed transmission into A70 Supra.

[SupraClaou]

Hello everybody!
It's been a while since I have posted some of my upgrades.
Anyway, I was reading threads about swapping the V160 6 speed in the mk3 MA70 Supra running a JZ engine
of course, and the information about it is quite poor , and no one HAS DONE IT PROPERLY unfortunately. I am
not satisfied with just changing 6 gears after the gearbox installation. Everything related with oem stuff must work
properly, and nobody has done it till now.I just bought a used V160 transmission same days ago and I am going to
start the work on it very soon.

Installing the V160 / V161 6 speed transmission in a mk3 will need the following modifications :
- Shifter linkage of the V160
Is too long and it must be shortened to fit our oem mk3 chassis shifter opening / hole.
SOLUTION : We will customize the V160 shifter by shortening it around 4 inches and tig weld it after that.
SOLVED

- Linkage rod of the V160
Is too long also and must be shortened same length as the shifter linkage
SOLUTION : We will customize the V160 shifter by shortening it around 4 inches and tig weld it after that.
SOLVED

- Shifter rubber boot & leather trim of the mk3 Supra
mk3 Supra manual transimssion rubber boot and leather trim hole is too small, and must be modified to fit the mk4 shifter.
SOLUTION : We will customize the shifter rubber boot & leather trim by opening and cutting the hole to the mk4's shifter size.
SOLVED

- Transmission crossmember modification
The mk3 R154 or W58 oem transmission crossmember will not fit,neither the JZA80 mk4 V160 will do.
SOLUTION : We will customize probably the oem mk3 R154 cross member to make it fit with the V160
SOLVED

- Driveshaft
The mk3 driveshaft or the mk4 driveshaft won't fit
SOLUTION : We will go custom on the mk3 or the mk4 shaft,but will have to leave it for the end after all other stuff are on the car.
SOLVED

- Gearing
We must go lower on the rear differential gearing, as the mk4 V160 used 3.1 or 3.2
SOLUTION : We must use the MA70's lowest gearing which is 3.7. We could get the aftermarket 3.5 gear which fits our 8" diff and use
a bigger tire wall to lower the gearing more, like a 285-40/18'' which will also provide more traction. This size is also produced by MT !
PENDING-SOLVED


Also, when you drop the manual W58 or the R154 from the car, we disconnect the following, which are located in or on the trans and
we must resolve these issues with the V160 swap :

- Speed sensor
It drives the speedometer in the cluster and produces the pulse for the speed sensor operation and speed signal feed to the ecu,
and is needed for the car's operations and it's systems..... like ABS, Power steering, TEMS, Cruise control, Super monitor,etc.
SOLVED

- ABS sensor
The ABS sensor that controls the rear wheels is located on the transmission and transmits the signal.
SOLVED

- Reverse / Buck up lights switch
It is located in the transmission and is needed when we put in reverse to back up the car.
SOLVED

Anyway, I will take every issue and post what I will have to do to resolve it and upload pictures.
Also I will upload pictures of stock oem parts, aftermarket , and custom parts that will be needed in the process.
I already purchased from the dealer the oem parts, and a few other aftermarket and custom parts needed for the V160/V161 swap.




I got already from Toyota dealer the following...
(after I did my homework of exaclty what I will need to purchase)
# Shifter parts for the V160

# Bell housing parts (service plates,bellhousing bolts)




And of course I will need to purchase a mk4 JZA80 multi plate clutch since I am hitting 4 digits HP,
so I got the following clutch parts.
# Clutch parts (release fork,bearing,hub,shims,washers,pin,wave washers,etc.


And some driveshaft oem parts for the JZA80 shaft:




Now I am ready for work with the 1st step, modifying the V160 shifter linkage and rod linkage.
Stay tuned. You can post any ideas or comments about this swap project :icon_bigg

 

[BoostPsiKPA]

Why a V160 instead of a T56.

Airhead, a user on here and Supraforums has one in his car and loves it. So does Zach from ECUMasters.

 

[SupraClaou]

Why a V160 instead of a T56.

Airhead, a user on here and Supraforums has one in his car and loves it. So does Zach from ECUMasters.

T56 is a good alternative...but I wanted to stay with Toyota family.
The V160 is already proven in the big HP world..and Toyota dealer is 10 minutes from my place and I get a nice discount!
Last, I am located in Europe ,Greece...so the T56 is not available here and it's supporting parts. I got my V160 from Germany.

 

[KenHenderson]

This thread should be very educational. I applaud your use of the V160. This is the approach I would take if I had a JZA70. Looking forward to your updates.

Ken.

 

[SupraClaou]

This thread should be very educational. I applaud your use of the V160. This is the approach I would take if I had a JZA70. Looking forward to your updates.

Ken.

Thank you sir... I know it won't be cheap but I do also know cheap doesn't mate with fast and reliable.
The V160 was my only choice to replace my oem stock R154 which it is still fine after 2 years of 700+whp,
and I still love that transmission. Designed in the mid 80"s and still rocking... AISIN ftw. hahahaha..
I just wanna do it right and give something for the Supra community.
I did my stock twins 2jzgte swap in 2007 , and I think it's time to do the V160 swap.

 

[SupraClaou]

And because I want to prevent people saying ''if you are not hitting over 1000whp it's useless and overkill''....
I am already 720hp (6766) to the wheels, and now I have a new setup under the hood good for 1100-1200whp.



Picture is from a JAP fest where professional photography took place and they used my engine bay for their cover, that's my new setup.
I wish they had an engine bay contest that day hahaha

 

[SupraClaou]

Well here is the trans the day I recieved it... it's mated to a 2jz engine that will go to another guy, unfortunately I can't keep it for spare :naughty:
It's dirty and a clean up would help :icon_bigg

 

[KenHenderson]

That's a great looking engine bay! Very nice work. Certainly, the V160 conversion will not be cheap but taking a best of the best approach never is. Having the baddest six speed tranny ever in a MKIII chassis will be a significant accomplishment in itself, to say nothing of the power your motor will be laying down.

My 7M-GTE is in excellent shape and I hope to keep it that way forever. If, however, there came a time to consider a new motor (have spare 2JZ-GTE), having a thread like this, with detailed how-to instructions, will be immensely helpful if I were to go in a similar direction.

Ken.

 

[SupraClaou]

That's a great looking engine bay! Very nice work. Certainly, the V160 conversion will not be cheap but taking a best of the best approach never is. Having the baddest six speed tranny ever in a MKIII chassis will be a significant accomplishment in itself, to say nothing of the power your motor will be laying down.

My 7M-GTE is in excellent shape and I hope to keep it that way forever. If, however, there came a time to consider a new motor (have spare 2JZ-GTE), having a thread like this, with detailed how-to instructions, will be immensely helpful if I were to go in a similar direction.

Ken.

If something is in excellent shape...then it will run for ever, name it 5M, 6M, 7M 1JZ or 2JZ.
I had a built 7M (480hp) for 3 years and I loved it.

 

[SupraClaou]

Time for the shifter mod. I found locally a used broken tripod linkage shifter to play with , since I didn't want to cut the new one.
It is exactly what I needed since I am going to cut it anyway :biglaugh:

I cut the upper brace 10.3 cm, and I welded both aluminum pieces back together


On the transmission

 

[SupraClaou]

Now I have to mod the shifter rod link and cut it at the same length and re-weld, and weld back the two lower aluminum
support bars to complete the tripod , and I am thinking to add two more smaller intermediate bars for more strength.


Shifter tripod housing and linkage rod are done!
Last picture I screwed in a shifter from an old Celica 5 speed knob just for fun...it is still a 6 speed trans hahaha
And the final result is like that, test fitted it on the trans :biglaugh:



Took it off to clean it, sandpaper the rough surface and last paint it and make it look better!


You can observe that the lower rubber linkage rod boot can still be used ! :naughty:

 

[SupraClaou]

The shifter mod was a straight forward work and everyone has done it like that. I've seen a billet extension before made by a cnc which is cool.
That was easy though and you can make it in 1 hour if you have your welding machine. I had to go to a friend near by to make it.

Next is the transmission crossmember!

 

[SupraClaou]

After a lot of thinking and calculation the way to go was with the stock oem R154 transmission crossmember.
It's the best way to do, while the 4 studs of the V160 mount will almost fit the 4 holes of the R154 crossmember, they
just need a slight mod. I blanked the holes with welding a 2 mm (0.078 inches) plate under it to do new ones though,
and did the extension at the end side / ears of the member (where the 2 holes are located for the chassis) by 3 cm (1.18 inches)
and 4 cm (1.57" inch) wide, with a 4mm (0.15" inch) thick steel plate. At the end I over covered the whole portion of the left
and right size with the same size plate 4mm (0.15") all the way of the members length for more rigid strength...it ended up
over built...but aren't Supra parts like that??? hahahaha

Here is the underside of the member where you can see the welded 2mm plate to cover the oem holes and the big center hole which is not needed
when you bolt the V160 rubber transmission mount. After I was done with the modification I painted it black for a nice finish.

Here is the graph :
OEM R154 holes is with BLUE color
New holes to be opened in RED color for the V160 trans mount. I will use slightly longer bolts to mount it on the chassis.

I will drill the holes after I install the transmission and I will post pictures before installation.

 

[SupraClaou]

Next is something simple...modding the shifter rubber boot and the leather trim for the V160 shifter .
It's a little wider since it has the reverse plastic hub that goes up and down under the knob.
We can't use the oem leather trim while it has a ring on top that allows to fit only the R154 or W58 shifter.
I got a new leather from ebay that fits perfectly and doesn't use a ring on top and the V160 shifter goes through tight and nice.

The rubber boot now, the upper boot is ok while it has a big hole but the lower boot has a very narrow one and we will cut it at
the size of the upper boot and we are done!

OEM upper/external rubber boot is ok, no need to mod.


OEM lower/internal boot needs to be modded. I cut and enlarged the hole by 1 cm (0.40") and it's good now.


One thing to mention here. Thankfully the rubber boot has it's entry...not in the middle of the boot but as an offset towards the back.
That is good. Because the tripod shifter linkage will be at the limit with the rear portion of the transmission's tunnel passage.

Now the leather trim boot. I got a new one from ebay and install it on the oem metal frame with some glue,and looks nice.
The aftermarket leather trim hasn't got the upper metal ring incorporated so the passage/hole is easily enlarged and will fit the V160 shifter.

 

[SupraClaou]

Let's get to work.
The drive shaft project will be the last one, after I finish the installation of the transmission.
And as far as the rear diff gear....since I got the lowest oem one from factory 3.727 I will have to drive it like that for a while and see
how it is in real life and after I will decide what I am going to do.

So, next step is the ABS part.

 

[SupraClaou]

I got a used R154 ABS sensor and an aftermarket ABS ring from a European model car.
I will attach the ring on the outer transmission flange of the V160 or at the driveshaft somewhere.
Then I will make a custom adapter to make it seat 2mm infront of the abs sensor magnetic eye.
Will update after I finish the transmission installation and driveshaft customization.

Used ABS sensor from a R154.


Aftermarket ABS sensor ring.

 

[SupraClaou]

The back up reverse switch solution is easy.
I found out that the male plug of the V160 transmission is much bigger and different from the R154, BUT the two wire wiring is the same
and the most important thing is that the male pins are the same ! So, just swap the R154 male switch plug to the V160 male pins and that's it.

Here is the V160 back up switch male plug (light grey color)


Here is the male back up plug that the R154 uses. Normally is white, but I found a spare one in grey,same though.


Will take pictures tomorrow with the R154 plug on the V160 :naughty:

 

[SupraClaou]

Well here it is... the R154 back up lights plug into the harness/pins of the V160 :biglaugh:
It was an easy task to do, just used the white colored oem R154 two pin plug..

 

[SupraClaou]

Clutch came today from Japan. A used but in good condition HKS triple plate clutch kit for JZA80, which will do the job.
I know it is a little on/off and loud,but I will get used to it. At least it is high quality and can take a huge amount of abuse and HP.
Also is one of the first multi plate clutches ever for the 1JZ/2JZ engine, and it uses parts from our oem mk3 Supra 7MGTE like the
clutch release hub, bearing, washers, safety pin, etc. while the JZA80 hub and bearing doesn't fit.
Old school clutch indeed...
Discs were in descent condition and I just resurfaced the flywheel.

 

[SupraClaou]

Next will be the last task before I install the V160 in the car...
The task to find a way to make the speedometer work which will boost the speed sensor and all it's functions!
From what I know, nobody has found a solution... Well I take the challenge ! Stay tuned..