94 Celica GT ST215 Transmission Advice Options

[Kevchek]

First off, my names Kevin. I’m new to the forums over here. I’ve owned my st215 swapped gt for about 2-3 years now. It was stock when I bought it, the turbo went so I slapped a ctx15b 58mm on there and drove the piss out of it until I finally threw a rod and piston out the side of the block. It sat for about a year and a half and I’m finally buying a new motor and bringing Cali back to life. I pulled the motor and trans this past weekend and decided to see how much a rebuild would cost on the s54 transmission. The trans would grind third on downshift unless I revmatched and shifted without the clutch. I figured it would only be as simple as syncros. Well that wasn’t the case, turns out everything needs replacement. I got a quote from a very reputable shop, that I’ve used for years, with a price tag of 2100$! For a transmission that was only meant to handle 200hp. I thinks that’s insane. I was looking into an e153 lsd from an Mr2. If that’s even possible how can I achieve it. Basically I’m looking for a better alternative than the piece of garbage s54. Suggestions ?

[richee3]

The “garbage” S54 has held significantly more than just 200 hp. Grinding on downshift into third is common and fixed by replacing the gear oil with Redline MT90 or Syncromesh, and is well worth a try before getting the $2,100 estimate. The E153 has been done several times and there’s plenty of info on the site about it. The search function is your friend. The E153 will definitely be better for your setup but in the meantime, you may try the gear oil.

[Kevchek]

The “garbage” S54 has held significantly more than just 200 hp. Grinding on downshift into third is common and fixed by replacing the gear oil with Redline MT90 or Syncromesh, and is well worth a try before getting the $2,100 estimate. The E153 has been done several times and there’s plenty of info on the site about it. The search function is your friend.

Yeahhhhh I know it “can” hold more than 200 But it wasn't built for 300+. I’m looking to make this car as reliable as can be. And I figured I got everything out now might as well do it all. I know the trans is in rough shape and it’s very old with a lot of hard abusive miles on it. The last thing I’d want is it get it running again and then grenade the trans. I’ll be sure to search that up because I’m really interested in going with an e153. Thanks for your response.