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AW71 Shift Kit?

J

jutny

New member
Joined
Mar 27, 2005
Location
Montclair, NJ
I searched and found nothing definitive.

I believe i'm among the masses that have an aw71, and would like to do some sort of real transmission conversion, but dont have the money, and would like something to make things nicer in the meantime. Since the aw71 is supposedly a toyota tranny, used in the mk1-2 supra's i think... there might be something from some japanese companies for it... or there may be something developed for volvo's.

an auto tranny is a simple device, a few springs and upping the line pressures should be all that's necessary to make the clutches grab harder and possibly make everything move a little quicker. So it cant be THAT hard to make these trannies shift better.

so, lets figure something out for those of us that are stuck with our slushboxes.

-Kurt
 
My "poor mans's shift kit" - Tighten up the kickdown cable nearly all the way also adjust the throttle spool cable to also perfect the shifts how you want them. Tightening the kickdown cable can yeild pretty similar results since it allows more fluid into the clutch packs of the trans. Adjusting the throttle cable can often sort of "fine tune" the quality of the shift, both of these adjustments sort of work hand and hand. This should firm up the shifts.

I'd also run Mobil1 or any fully synthetic tranny fluid, change the filter before hand etc., which can definately help the tranny last longer especially if you drive hard.

Might not be a shift kit but doesn't cost hardly anything at all. Some people have also pulled the Valvebodies and drilled holes out larger, seems like a PITA and not entirely necessary.
 
art carr/level 10 transmissions supposedly have some sort of "blue plate special" with new clutch plates and stuff, but its also expensive and is said to not be very durable...i think DBarton tried it out
 
740TurboPerformance said:
My "poor mans's shift kit" - Tighten up the kickdown cable nearly all the way also adjust the throttle spool cable to also perfect the shifts how you want them. .
Click to expand...
Hey...Could you give me detailed instructions on how to do this? Also, are there any CONS in doing this modification..thanks!!
 
level ten sucks ballz. I've heard and see horror stories through my work. Their customer service is also on par with poop.

Your best bet is to swap a GM auto tranny if your want to stay auto (talk to kenny). There is an adapter plate made to work with the m46 bell housing.

sean
 
there arent any shift kits that i know of but i do know about the aw71hack its just a trick a few of us have tried out with vairying degrees of success. Search turbobricks fourms for the info under AW71 HACK or something like that. You drill out 2 holes on the valve body plate and if you want shim up the line pressure regulator for a bit stronger shift and power capability. Good luck and if you chose to go this route i highly recomend using some sort of thread locker on the valve body bolts because after you take them out they have a bad habbit of comming loose afterwords..

Good luck

Sam
 
As I've got 2 spare AW71s sitting around, I'm kind of interested in this. (Although I'm more interested in selling them. ;-) )

Looked around quite a bit and all of the links I found were dead. There's some stuff Google found by Kenny (linuxman)...Apparently he's done the whole drilling thing. Maybe he can shed some light on exactly how to do it or where to find the info.
 
xallenx said:
Hey...Could you give me detailed instructions on how to do this? Also, are there any CONS in doing this modification..thanks!!
Click to expand...


Yeah, basically at the throttlebody there is a "throttle spool"

You'll see a throttle cable and kickdown cable.

You'll need 13MM cresent wrench, sometimes two to seperate the two nuts, there are two nuts, you loosen the nut closest to the front of the vehicle, loosen it then pull back on the kickdown cable so the thread for the kickdown cable only sticks out about 20% toward the front of the vehicle (where I'd start), then tighten down to keep it there. This pulls back on the cable to make the kickdown more sensative to throttle input.

Then with the vehicle off of course, I'd get in and romp the pedal to the floor a couple times so the cable settles where it's gonna stay.

Warm the engine up and get read for a couple full throttle first to second runs to see how it shifts, depending on how it shifts, tighten it a little more.

Some advice: these trannies don't usually like high RPM shifting so make sure the kickdown cable isn't so tight that it shifts at way too high of RPM's. I'd say no more than 5400RPM's maximum, I have mine setup to shift at about 5200RPM, anything higher it sort of hesitates when shifting or seems sort of like overkill. Also if it's way too tight, it may stay in lower gears longer and delay before upshifting into second or third. If it shifts way too high or has a long shift delay, just loosen it up slightly.

Lastly, you can also twist the throttle cable adjustment to tighten it or loosen it, the more the thread sticks out toward the front of the car, the looser, the more the thread is backed out, the tighter. This can also make differences in shift points/shift quality combined.
 
oh yeah and also all there aren't really any cons, it just allows more fluid into the clutch packs and more pressure. If anything performance driving with a kickdown cable too loose is worse since it can cause slippage because of lower amounts of fluid/pressure into the clutch packs then it generates excess heat and wears components. Driving hard on an tranny that has pretty low line pressure is usually a death wish for any tranny.
 
yeah exactly, just loosen that nut in the front, pull back on the cable, tighten the other nut and it should shift at higher RPM's (stock setting usually anywhere from 4500-5000 (RPM) and shift firmer due to increased line pressure. After doing that you can also mess around with the throttle cable adjustment, you just spin the thread with your fingers. Try tightening it a little also, then loosing it a little and see what happens. It'l also have something to do with the way it shifts.
 
There was a R-Sport automatic trans kit, p/n #8360901-6. It might still be available through some places like SAM in Sweden, but I haven't used one so I couldn't tell you what modifications it entails or how much it costs...


-Justin
 
740TurboPerformance said:
yeah exactly, just loosen that nut in the front, pull back on the cable, tighten the other nut and it should shift at higher RPM's (stock setting usually anywhere from 4500-5000 (RPM) and shift firmer due to increased line pressure. After doing that you can also mess around with the throttle cable adjustment, you just spin the thread with your fingers. Try tightening it a little also, then loosing it a little and see what happens. It'l also have something to do with the way it shifts.
Click to expand...
Got it thanks!! Now time to play with the cables.....
 
Jutny,

You're right about the kit being simple. I would think that if you had a free weekend and a hardware store nearby, you'd be able to find the springs you need. Or you could research some other shift kits available, and maybe you could find a kit that has springs that would fit. I am very interested in a shift kit as well...if tightening the kickdown cable changes the shift points, then that's not what I want.
 
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