1986-1993 Celica- camry V6 transmission swap by cuttyman9

13 minute read

Fwd E series transmission swap (into a 92 GT) 

Compliments of cuttyman9 @ http://5thgencelica.com

1-19-2015

A while back I swapped over to the stronger E series transmission.

I will post pictures of the ins and outs of changing to this transmission and what parts I've used to make it happen.


The advantages;
-Stronger axles
-Stronger internals
-larger clutch surface area
-oil cooler compatible
-less aggressive gearing


The negatives
-added weight
-less aggressive gearing
-more expensive internals



The car is a 92 GT hatchback. the transmission is from a 1991 Lexus ES250 and the trans code is E52. I had an S54 from a 6 gen celica before that with a fidanza flywheel and clutch master clutch
this setup I'm using a cheap ebay chromoly lightened flywheel (3sgte which bolted right up to my 5sfe with no modification) and a Southbend stage two clutch for a 3sgte.

the cables are stock ones for a 5sfe
the axles are from a 91 es250/camry v6
the clutch is 3sgte
the flywheel is 3sgte
the throwout is es250/camry v6
the driver side trans mount is es250/camry v6
the rear is st165 (tweaked a bit)
the rubber rear mount is custom from a 68-72 GM Abody rear control arm bushing
the front has no mount.

^E52 from a 91 ES250

^Aluminum shift bushings (firms it up a lot)

^factory cross members.

^adapter for the speedometer (E52's are mechanical speedometer from the factory)

^adapter to fit the celica speedometer and cruise control wiring

^modified shift cable bracket, spaced out to match the S transmission cables (welded for simplicity, but a washer could be used)

^right side- rear S transmission mount, left side- rear E52 mount (from camry) neither fit

^left-Mr2 turbo axle support bearing housing, right- 2vz axle support (mounts the passenger side axle to the block)

^left-E52 front trans mount, right S53 front trans mount (s53 can be used on the E series, i didnt use a front mount)

^E52 passenger axle stub with bearing

^left-S53 axle, right E52 axle stub

^top-S53 celica axle, bottom E52 es250 axle

^difference in thickness. left-S axle shaft, right-E axle shaft

^same axle end/spline, left- 91 ES250/camry E series, right- celica S series

^larger end of the stub going into the differential inside the trans. left- E series, Right- S series

^bearing support for passenger side axle. left- E series (mr2 turbo), right S series (5sfe celica)

^note the same mounting pad between the two to match the 5s/3s block

^New axle from oriellys, 60 bucks with lifetime warranty. tested this out when the boot tore, swapped it for a new one.

^had to cut the old bearing inner race and split it to get it off.

^turbo bearing retainer, bearing clips in vs bolts on on the S series

^shaft comparison; E on the bottom, S on the top

^5s block mounting pad for passenger side bearing support

^E trans on the right, S trans on the left.

^S54 from a 96 celica (direct replacement for the 90-93 celica S53

^E52

^cast S53/54 shift cable mounting tabs

^E52 shift cable mounting tabs (modified)

^5s fidanza flywheel, clutch masters clutch

^S53 front trans mounting bracket, swappable to E52 (unused)

^S53 rear trans mounting bracket cannot be swapped to E52

^camry/es250 rear trans mount, cant be used in the swap

^S53 mounting pad for driver side trans mount

^E52 mounting pad for driver side trans mount

^driver side axle; left E52, right S53

^flywheels; top-3SGTE, bottom 5sfe

^5sfe clutch disc on a 3sgte flywheel

^right Southbend 3sgte clutch disc, left clutchmasters 5sfe clutch disc

3-15-2015

left southbend 3sgte pressure plate, right clutchmasters 5sfe pressure plate

^starters; lightest on the right.

^roughly 5lbs difference between my stock start (top) and the 01 camry 1mz starter, more torque output as well (bottom)

^3sgte clutch and flywheel bolted to the 5sfe just fine with the stock flywheel bolts

^distance from the bolt hole to the transmission driver side mount (E52)

^distance from the bolt hole to the transmission driver side mount (S54)

^height difference in driver side trans mount (E52)

^height difference in driver side trans mount (S54)

^E52 in

^top-S53 driver side mount bracket, bottom E52

^E52 left, S53 right

^driver side trans mount; E52 left, S53 right

^S series clutch line on an E52

^shift cables

^driver side mount

^clipped flywheel backing plate to clear E series

^stock crossmember back in

^tweaked for slightly extra clearance

^tweaked here too

^fabricated solid rear trans mount

^finished

^passenger side axle stub

^assembled passenger side axle

^installed

^tight fit

^poly mount (made from a 67-72 GM A body rear axle bushing)

^finished

rear trans mount bracket, shift the hole forward about a .75"