Turtle vs. The W-58

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Turtle
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Turtle vs. The W-58

Postby Turtle » Wed Feb 27, 2013 8:53 am

Special thanks goes out to Max for helping out when I got stuck.

Special thanks goes out to Assassin10000 for all of the information. Whenever I had a question or a frustration, he was always happy to oblige.

Special thanks to LordHelmet for also answering some of the many questions I had.

Turtle vs. the W-58

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Once upon a time in a magical land called The Bay Area, Turtle’s automotive life was about to take an unexpected turn.

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Turtle was driving Lola in a parking lot one day, and the transmission in 1st gear popped out!

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He tried to jam it back into gear, but then the transmission, designated by Toyota as the T-50, made an ugly grinding sound. From then on, if he were in a parking lot, being too easy on the stick would pop it out of gear, but being too hard on the stick would grind on something. Uncool, man!

What’s worse, one day when he was minding his own business, he noticed some spotting under Lola. Great, it looks like the freakin' rear transmission seal is busted.

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After one quick transmission seal replacement, off he went.

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But unfortunately, this didn’t seem to fix the problem. The downward spiral doesn't end here.

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To add to this fustercluck of a situation, it looked like the front seal busted too, even worse than the rear seal. Hella lame!

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At this point, Turtle threw up his arms and said “THAT’S IT”, and declared this stupid transmission as FUBAR. He parked Lola in a secluded spot in The Yay and then began to angrily ponder what his next move should be.

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He pondered and thought. Then he pondered and thought some more. He debated ad nauseam because he didn’t want to pick up another T-50 just to have it break on him again sometime down the line (this T-50 lasted only 2 years). He researched to see what T-50s were up for sale in the local classifieds. He wondered whether this next T-50 would be any good since the only true way to check the functionality of one is if it’s in an actual car. Outside of the car and it’s just a freakin’ crap shoot.

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He woke up from his angry slumber, hoping that this transmission issue was just a dream. But no, he just fell asleep in front of his computer again.

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But what’s this? Something on the screen caught his blood-shot eye.

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It was suddenly so clear to him now! Instead of getting another T-50, which are becoming more rare by the moment (and in North America only available in corollas between 1980 and 1987), he would adapt a stronger and by far more abundant W-58! With renewed confidence, he started to research this undertaking.

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Turtle found that W-58s transmissions are found in Celicas, Supras and even some Lexus models from 1982 until the mid 00s! They boast a larger, stronger gear box, and are even unofficially considered a “close-ratio transmission”, meaning that the gears are closer between 1, 2, 3, and 4. 5th is even taller, which means better gas mileage!

Here’s a quick comparison:

T-50 gear ratios:
• First Gear: 3.587:1
• Second Gear: 2.022:1
• Third Gear: 1.384:1
• Fourth Gear: 1.00:1
• Fifth Gear: 0.861:1

W-58 gear ratios:
• First Gear: 3.285:1
• Second Gear: 1.894:1
• Third Gear: 1.275:1
• Fourth Gear: 1.00:1
• Fifth Gear: 0.783:1
• Reverse: -3.768:1

After most of the research was done and one of the required parts (a specially made bell housing) was purchased online, Turtle began to gear up. He the grabbed his trusty tool and

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TURTLE the LOLA FIXER has COME BACK to LIFE!

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To be continued.

R
Last edited by Turtle on Wed Feb 27, 2013 3:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Turtle vs. The W-58

Postby Turtle » Wed Feb 27, 2013 9:02 am

Turtle vs. the W-58, Round 2.

Turtle arrived at the South San Jose junk yard, a place in which he knows many W-58s have come and gone. He wanted to observe the W-58s in their “post-service, unwanted but still usable and waiting for a new owner” habitat. He wanted to see how hard it would be to remove one from a car, and if it were as easy as removing a T-50, he hoped to return home with one that day.

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Most cars are propped up on three home-made but very sturdy stands made from two steel rims each, which are welded to each other. It’s important to know that if one is going to creep underneath a car, that the car itself is securely seated on 3 points: 2 stands underneath the A-pillars and 1 stand somewhere in the middle toward the back, most likely underneath the gas tank.

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If the car is improperly balanced, this could happen:

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So Turtle found a W-58, bolted up inside a Supra. He checked if the Supra was securely seated, then he went to work.

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He unbolted.

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And unbolted.

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But the stupid transmission was still stuck.

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He noticed that he forgot to unbolt the starter, but there was something weird about this starter. Not only did it have a bolt on one side, it was secured by a NUT on the engine side, a nut that was impossible to get to with the tools that Turtle had that day!

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After being stumped as to what to do,

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Turtle finally decided that this was a losing battle and suffered a long drive home in defeat.

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Days later, Turtle tried again at the Junk Yard in Newark. With the knowledge of the 2 magic starter nuts, he had a better plan of attack.

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He looked into a likely candidate, a 22-RE equipped Celica for a W-58, but it was completely gutted. He was about to abandon the Celica when he noticed something on the ground.

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It was the Celica’s W-58, likely separated because the previous vulture only wanted the engine. Turtle identified the transmission by the marks on its casing and wondered “what are the chances?”

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He looked for a shifter to test it out, but couldn’t find one in all of the Junk Yard. He then decided to just take the win and purchase the transmission. What a stroke of luck that this one was found with minimal effort!

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He couldn’t find a shifter in all of the Junk Yard, so at home he made one with a ratchet extension and a socket. Turtle finally started shifting through the gears to test the quality of the mechanical shifting actions.

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Without an actual shifter it wasn’t very easy, but he was able to find 1, 2, 3 and 4. but when it came to shift to 5…

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It was dead stopped. 5th gear no longer existed for this W-58.

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To be continued.


R
Last edited by Turtle on Wed Feb 27, 2013 9:22 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Turtle vs. The W-58

Postby Turtle » Wed Feb 27, 2013 9:06 am

Turtle vs. the W-58, Round 3.

After 30 minutes of trying to find the 5th gear, and hoping it would miraculously show up, Turtle went from being cautiously optimistic to Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter.

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Another few days pass but at this point, Turtle is only able to re-group some of his patience. This time, he returned to Newark where he identified a Supra with a W-58.

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The plan of attack that he wasn’t able to demonstrate last time was simply a variation of the first plan of attack. This plan has 3 easy steps:

Step 1: Find that Mother Effer.

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Step 2: Unbolt that Mother Effer

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Step 3: YANK THAT MOTHER EFFER!

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The hidden step 4 is to laugh uncontrollably, but this hidden step 4 will differ from person to person. Some cry.

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Finally with a glimmer of hope, Turtle returned home with his fresh kill. All seemed well in the world. And then the unthinkable happened. One of the bolts holding the old bell housing stripped, rendering it completely un-removable by normal hand tools.

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30 minutes pass again and Turtle turns from a renewed optimist to Son of Sam.

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Who’d have guessed that swearing for half an hour would summon Miracle Max, who performs automotive miracles! Miracle Max takes his trusty die grinder and takes the head off the bolt off lickety split.

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Who’d also have guessed that tossing the old bell housing aside and installing a 4ag (the engine) to W-58 (the transmission) bell housing would be magical! We are in the Bay Area after all, a land of Maaaaaaagic!

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A freaking shark transmission! A strange turn of events!

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W-T-F, indeed.

To be continued.

R

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Re: Turtle vs. The W-58

Postby Turtle » Wed Feb 27, 2013 9:11 am

Turtle vs. the W-58, Round 4.

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Behold the Sharky, the shark transmission! Never seen living in the wild, but on the record there have only been sightings of the distant cousin of the shark transmission, the W-58 in its natural “post-service, unwanted but still usable and waiting for a new owner” habitat, the junk yard. See it swimming aimlessly!

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There have been records of half-eaten shark transmissions in the wild at the tentacles of their only natural predator, the giant metallic squid bearing puller!

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After the squid bearing puller skins the shark transmission alive, see how it ravages the organs to get to the delicious, delectable bearings inside!

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AMAAAAAAZING!

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By way of magical powers, there has been a single shark transmission found in captivity! Look at it swim through the garaquarium!

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These transmissions should never, ever be taken lightly. If they are to be installed in one’s car, one needs to whip the shark transmission into submission. One should take this golden opportunity to take out any and all frustrations,

such as not being able to remove 2 magic starter bolts

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or not being able to find 5th gear

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or even stripping the very last bolt on the bell housing in order to get this transmission to submit to your will.

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To be concluded.

R

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Re: Turtle vs. The W-58

Postby Turtle » Wed Feb 27, 2013 9:16 am

Turtle vs. the W-58, Final Round.

After taming the shark transmission, Turtle prepared to install it into Lola.

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He bought the bell housing, he made sure it shifted through all 5 gears, he found a suitable drive half-shaft at the Richmond junk yard,

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The Richmond JY, by the way, is exactly like what Turtle thinks prison looks like:
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Turtle decided that a hole needed to be cut to accommodate the shifter:

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He bolted everything into place, filled the necessary fluids.

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And finally, it was time for a true test drive. After backing up into the street, Turtle shifted Sharky into gear and waited with bated breath.

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And away he went. He paused and couldn’t believe it. Lola was finally mobile again. But what’s even better,

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As he shifted through the gears,

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He couldn’t contain how great this transmission ran.

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(see the hidden step 4 again)

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And all the way back from the test drive, he still couldn’t believe the awesomeness.

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Another project completed. Turtle was again satisfied, regardless of the many steps back, regardless of the T-50 completely crapping out on him. The W-58 and the T-50 are like night and day. Sharky is a solid transmission and shifting through the gears is freakin’ sweet, especially between 3 and 4. It may just be that the shifter is shorter, but there seems to be much less “throw” between the shifts as well. Turtle no longer feels guilty going "slightly faster than freeway speeds" anymore since 5th gear is a bit taller than the T-50s. No more nearly 4000-ish RPMs at 70 MPH (or whatever high number RPM it was origially). The W-58 (Sharky) is indeed a great compliment to Lola’s current engine. And hey, look at that, Turtle even got to mess around with a transmission’s organs. If he were so emboldened, maybe one day he’ll even try to rebuild one. Eek, imagine the horror of running out of curses to swear!

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THE END

R

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P.S. Some interesting finds at the JY:

A corolla painted with a "panda" scheme like Lola, but it’s not the right corolla:

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A corolla body style Turtle would like to own one day in hatchback form:

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A rare early 90s 2nd gen 2-door 4runner:

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Thanks for reading.

R

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Re: Turtle vs. The W-58

Postby gunslinger27 » Wed Feb 27, 2013 2:08 pm

Great Write up Turtle love the Pictures I'm looking into doing the same thing for my rolla i just purchased a W-58 from the Junkyard but still looking for the bellhousing and a custom drive shaft it is a project after all

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Re: Turtle vs. The W-58

Postby EvoSolley » Thu Feb 28, 2013 3:49 am

These make my day everytime I read them! keep them a'comin!

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Re: Turtle vs. The W-58

Postby kingofkings757 » Thu Mar 07, 2013 1:44 pm

Did you ever change the rear seal?

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Re: Turtle vs. The W-58

Postby dennis_4age_13 » Fri Mar 08, 2013 11:21 pm

How much did you get your bell housing for my brother and i had he same idea we got 2 w58 laying around

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Re: Turtle vs. The W-58

Postby John H. » Sat Mar 09, 2013 11:33 pm

Genuinely enjoyed reading this thread!
Wondering what bellhousing you used though? :|

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Re: Turtle vs. The W-58

Postby Turtle » Mon Mar 11, 2013 9:31 am

I could not confirm that it was a Rhett Bellhousing, but it looked like one.

I think that it can be had new for $450 (shipped or unshipped overseas, i don't know), but I waited for someone who stopped their project and put it up for sale. I think I negotiated it down to $300 or $350 shipped in the US. If I were to get another, I would probably shop around for a ribbed bellhousing, I think Niteparts makes one.

R

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Re: Turtle vs. The W-58

Postby dennis_4age_13 » Wed Mar 13, 2013 3:28 pm

Thanks

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Re: Turtle vs. The W-58

Postby chocobot » Wed Nov 13, 2013 12:15 pm

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Curious, what's your average MPG now with the double-U installed?
Your skill in reading has increased by one point.

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Re: Turtle vs. The W-58

Postby invalidsubject » Mon Dec 23, 2013 12:35 pm

question: What driveshaft did you use at the end?