AE91 with silvertop advice

[nuk1ear]

Hey everyone,
I have an AE91 with a silvertop 4age in it running standard silvertop ecu. The clutch is starting to slip and the 2nd gear syncho is pretty crappy too. Looking into doing something about both of these soon but i have some questions:

How should i go about getting another box (which gearbox should i be looking for?) and regarding the clutch, which car would i be referencing the clutch for? How can i figure out what gearbox i have? I have no idea what box is on there atm, or how much oil ill need for it etc. I was thinking either picking up another box in better condition or getting a kit put through the box? Suggestions? I have a friend who can get me excedy clutches cheap enough, but im not sure what to get or what part number.

Help and advice much appreciated! Thanks

[foamy]

Hey everyone,
I have an AE91 with a silvertop 4age in it running standard silvertop ecu. The clutch is starting to slip and the 2nd gear syncho is pretty crappy too. Looking into doing something about both of these soon but i have some questions:

How should i go about getting another box (which gearbox should i be looking for?) and regarding the clutch, which car would i be referencing the clutch for? How can i figure out what gearbox i have? I have no idea what box is on there atm, or how much oil ill need for it etc. I was thinking either picking up another box in better condition or getting a kit put through the box? Suggestions? I have a friend who can get me excedy clutches cheap enough, but im not sure what to get or what part number.

Help and advice much appreciated! Thanks

May as well wait till the clutch is pretty well shagged, then do both the box and the clutch at the same time. Just keep in mind you will need to have the flywheel machined.
It's also a good idea to check driveshaft seals etc incase they need replacing while the box is out.

A C52, C56 or C160 gearboxes are all ok, the C56 being a 5 speed but with better ratios. A 6 speed box will require additional parts (different linkage cables, plate for the shifter, for memory?)

What is your budget for a new gearbox? It can be a bit of a gamble finding a replacement in good condition and may well be worth having yours rebuilt (around the $1200 mark depending who does it). The boxes themselves take around 2.5L of oil. I hope some of this helps.

[nuk1ear]

thanks heaps for the info. I replaced both shaft seals less than a year ago, but def inspect them anyways. I have new shafts to go on too. When i buy the clutch, do i get one to suit the levin with the 20v? or can it be any corolla ae91-92? Im wondering if there is any differences in clutches cause i dunno what to get. Im planning to do the clutch and box at the same time.

Regards to the gearbox, the 2nd gear synchro is crap until it warms up, then its ok. Im not sure if its worth just trying some decent oil to cover up the problem a bit or not. I feel its best to try and find another box or just rebuild it since it will be off anyways.

[mattysshop]

i would try using a thin manual gear oil, like a 70 or 75w.... failing that... good old cheap Dex 3 auto oil... or even a 50/50 blend...

the clutch... well it really depends on the flywheel that was used in the conversion.. one would assume that it would be the stock st 20v item... in which case you will be referencing a 212mm clutch... commonly found on most if not all ae92 (smallport) 4age's, and some 4afe, and all 7afe engines..

[nuk1ear]

ok cool, so i need to make sure what flywheel it has, and you think its worth simply trying different oil before going to anything drastic like another gearbox/rebuild etc? Only thing is that the box will basically be out to change the clutch, thats why i was thinking about the change.

Maybe ill try using some different oil first before i do anything else. See if it helps, if not then just go for another box. Any recommendations on the oil? I know a place i can get amsoil/redline and stuff like that at relatively good prices, whether its worth using them or not is another question lol

[mattysshop]

seriously not even worth spending any more than $20 on oil...

i would just get some nulon slick shift i think it's called.. it's a 75w 90 IIRC... i would half fill it with that, and half fill with any brand dex 3 oil... valvoline is pretty cheap... i run a 50/50 mix of that in my AE92 with 280 km's on it... as it was getting a little notchy... now it's perfect hopefully it will last a bit longer..

give it a try... but you will ultimatley eventually change the gearbox... get some kind of prices on rebuilds, and let that be your determining factor.....

[BLK_20v]

My advice is to stay away from exedy clutches, they are rubbish...

I should clarify what i mean by that, they are a good cheap clutch that grips, but unfortunately the retainers on the springs on the clutchplate itself let go even if you don't exactly give it a hard time.This results in clutch shudder / failure. Exedy are the worst to try and claim against warranty too. I've used about 5 exedy clutches in the past and 3 of them had a problem with the springs and only lasted about 30,000kms.

As for putting in a c160 (6 speed box) the original linkages can be used, in the ae92 the shifter can be modded to work as well. Original cables are used, allot of people think they are too short, but that is usually because the selector on the box itself is bent.

As for a bracket, you redrill the one that is currently on your car, but you need to grind a little off the gear selector bracket to make it sit flush.


Buying a 2nd hand box is very much hit and miss, replacing the synchro itself is a time consuming job but the part itself is cheap.

As for gearbox oil, I use vmx80 without too many issues. You might find your gearbox oil is low and hence the issue.

[nuk1ear]

should be low, never noticed any leaks and i put in new oil when i changed the driveshaft seals. Either way, i dont remember what oil. Ill look into oil first, see if that will hide the syncho problem, then get onto the clutch.

So the general idea is whatever flywheel, that determines the clutch, so if its the stock 20v flywheel, so thats 212mm and should be the same as almost all smallport 4ages and all 7afes?