Alright, so for those who don't know, my transmission ate a large helping of crap when I was 14 hours away from home. Now my car is stuck out there, I had to catch a plane back home, and I've been on a mad hunt for a transmission ever since so that I can get my car back here. I have now decided to use the money I had set aside for a winter vehicle (I'll figure out some form of solution once it starts to snow), and spend it on an upgraded transmission rather than a used stocker. With that said:

Which transmission setup would you choose?

1) Getrag F-23 5 Speed
-originally from a 2001 2.4 Cavalier
-20,000 KM (approximately 12,000 miles) on transmission
-Team Green LSD
-Prothane Mounts
-Spec Stage 2 Clutch
-Stock Flywheel
-B&M Short Throw

(includes brackets, master cylinder, shifter cables, etc. needed for swap)

2) Isuzu 5 Speed
-originally from a 1996 2.4 Pontiac Grand Am GT
-1000 miles on rebuild (all internals new from GM)
-Phantom Grip LSD
-Prothane Mounts
-Spec Stage 3 Clutch (not included, currently installed on my car, will be swapped)
-Resurfaced Flywheel (not included, currently installed on my car, will be swapped)
-B&M Short Throw

The vehicle this will be dumped in is my '97 Sunfire GT.
For those who do not feel like reading the car's profile, the gist of it is: built motor with T31/T04E turbo.

As far as the "which one" question is concerned, please do not take into account the additional time and money involved with the Getrag swap, that will be dealt with. Also, this is not another "Getrag vs. Isuzu" thread (though obviously this will be taken into account), but instead, a "Choice 1 vs. Choice 2" thread.

The reason for this question is two-fold:

1) I have never driven nor owned a Getrag-swapped 3rd Gen J-Body before, therefor I would appreciate and value the opinions of those who have.
2) The Getrag transmission is a significant amount more, so based on your informed opinions I can better justify my, and make a more educated, final purchase.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their knowledge on this, and a much greater thanks and appreciation goes out to all of those members both here on JBO, as well as those on BC J-Body and BCGME, for their time and generosity in both helping me to find scrapyard transmissions across North America, and offering their own transmissions as well for dirt cheap prices in an effort to help me out. These people know who they are, and if you ever need help or parts, I would be more than willing to help in any way possible that I can.

Thanks.

I have owned a 97 Z24 with a 5 speed, and now own a 01 Z24 with a 5 speed. I would go with the getrag tranny. Smoother tranny. better gearing as well. Other than the nylon tips on the shift fork it is a strong tranny.



FU Tuning

Option 1 is the best choice, but MUCH more involved than just putting the tranny in and driving home...





4cyltuner.com - Information Source For 4 Cylinder Tuners
Buy stuff from CarCustoms Ebay! Won't be disappointed!

Shifted wrote:Option 1 is the best choice, but MUCH more involved than just putting the tranny in and driving home...

Alright, again, having never done this swap, what kind of install time frame difference am I looking at for the Getrag as opposed to the straight Isuzu install?

I can't be there for the install. I already have to take an additional 2-3 days off of work just for the trip out there and back. The guy that will be installing it has never done this exact swap, but they're the kind of guys that if they don't have what they need in the yard, they will find something else and make it work, so the mounts shouldn't be a huge deal. BUT, if it's a way longer install (depending on how much longer), I need to figure out if I can afford that, as the Getrag setup already costs $500 more.

Thanks.

You would need all the shift cables, shifter assembly, master cylinder, mounts...





4cyltuner.com - Information Source For 4 Cylinder Tuners
Buy stuff from CarCustoms Ebay! Won't be disappointed!

I know the parts I would need, and they are all there, right down to every single bolt. I am curious about the time aspect though, how much longer would it take to swap a Getrag as opposed to install another Isuzu?

Option #3, get a 93-94 NVG T550




Jason
99 Z24 Supercharged
157hp/171tq - NA

Jason wrote:Option #3, get a 93-94 NVG T550

Yeah, that would be option 3, but I've spent a week's worth of every single evening after work until I go to sleep tracking down friggin' transmissions in the States and Canada, and these are the two that I've found and am going to choose from. To be completely honest, I'm pretty damn tired of this whole situation with my car being 14 hours away, and I just want it running properly and back here at home. So, I need to make up my mind asap, get the money together, get the trans shipped, get it installed, get out to where the car is, then get my ass home...

We can not asnwer how long because it would be different for everyone.The only real problem to take more time is the tranny mounts being a little different. ( think the rear has to be cut out and the getrag one welded in. Of course changing the shifter cables, but that is not too bad.



FU Tuning

Quote:

We can not asnwer how long because it would be different for everyone.

I knew that answer was coming, LOL. I was going to add to my last post something along the lines of, "I know it can't be put into a measurable time figure, but something such as, a lot longer, a little bit longer, or not much longer at all will do".

I guess my point is, with the exception of a few parts, nearly everything that needs to be swapped to make it "Getrag-compatible" would be coming off anyhow to load in a new Isuzu. So if it's really "just " an issue of the mount weld and shifter cables, that doesn't seem too bad (famous last words, I know...) and subsequently, appears to be worth those minor headaches as everyone touts the Getrag tranny as being far superior.

Like I mentioned above, I think I'm just at the point of saying F-it, and going with the Getrag, not only because it appears to be the answer to destroying Isuzus, but also because the one for sale is about 2 hours away from where my car is and the generous seller has offered to "hand deliver" it as part of the price.

I guess when winter comes and the snow starts to hit hard I can cut the extra gas tank I have in the garage in half and use it as a sled to get around town in. Now if only the city I lived in had more than two hills...

when me n my pops did my 99 sunfire 2.2 clutch ... took us about 2 hr's to get the tanny dropped ..... besides the seized subframe bolts and other seized parts ..... should take u another 3 hr's to put it back in there and get everything back in and running .......(father was a gm mechanic for 35 yr's n now is on disability leave .... so he just told me what to pop off and such ...... other then the shifter cables i dont think theres to much more to it then that ...... shop rate for it was quoated @ 9 hr;s for the total install ......... .and now it looks like im gonna need a new tranny soon .... housing is leaking .... so whatever trans ur not gonan use let me know lol ... i may just buy it !
all i can say is start @ 8 in the mornin have it out b 4 lunch and ur laughin ...... and back in b 4 the sun goes down ... again ir laughin .......
p.s remeber to keep pressure on the drive axels while tapping them back in with a plastic mallet ....
hope this helps man

Thanks Dale,

I bought a Getrag this morning (sweet, I have a solid tranny, not so sweet, I think I now qualify for welfare). I sent buddy that's doing the install every single excerpt about the Isuzu-Getrag swap that I could find, so if anybody else ever endures this swap, I've got a fairly decent set of reference materials, that when put together, make for a pseudo-how-to "manual".

Thanks to everyone, and when I'm back up and running with the car at home I'll post some opinions on the swap (I have a 14 hour drive back home through winding roads in the mountains which will give me a fair bit of time to develop some insight on the new trans).

Excellent choice



2010 Subaru Impreza WRX Limited
1999 Cavalier Z24 Supercharged
1999 Grand AM SE (Beater Car)
1997 GMC Sierra
2007 Honda CBR 600RR
2005 Honda TRX450R

Luke Heier wrote:Excellent choice

Yeah, like I said, as far as what I'm getting, I'm throwin' out two big thanks-for-saving-my-a$$ thumbs up. This is the final setup:

'01 Getrag F23
Rebuilt one year ago with 20,000 KM on build (that's about 12,000 Miles for you American folks...)
Team Green LSD
SPEC Stage 2
B&M short throw
Prothane mounts
Mounts and mounting brackets
Shifter cables
Axles
Flywheel
Clutch pedal
Master cylinder
Slave cylinder (x2)

So, everything needed for the swap is there. Yeah, it cost me quite a bit more than any of the other offers, but, this is the complete swap-for-dummies setup, and should save me 2-3 more Isuzu installs in the future. The only downside is the downgrade in clutch (I have a SPEC Stage 3 on my Isuzu right now), but I really can't complain.

(That clutch, the SPEC Stage 3 Isuzu. as well as a B&M short throw, will be for sale in the next couple of weeks too for anyone who cares).

Thanks to everyone again too. I had people offering me SMOKIN' deals to help me out, right down to guys who just wanted the shipping covered as payment. I'm definitely in debt to those people for their generosity, even if I didn't end up taking advantage of their offers.

Only thing I did not see listed aove was. The shifter assembly (hold the shift). Not sure if that came with the cables or not.



FU Tuning

ive got a 2.2 99 manual trans sunfire coupe .... just found out ... shes leakin from teh housing where the trans is put together ..... any thoughts lol ? this is my dailys grind to ...... im thinkin about finding a 500 fire and certifying it .... and takin the 99 off the road for the winter to take the trany out and maybe port the head ...... its still up for changes tho ........
was even thinkin about gettin a 3.8 sc grandprix motor ....... and swapping that in ...... found one with charger on it 115 k for 900 bucks .......


your thoughts ?