As some may know im taking my car up to Archie for an LS3/5sp swap soon. I have already bought the motor and its on its way to Archie. I have a Getrag that I got from a 89 Beretta GT and I know its a Getrag 5 speed, but it is not like one in a 86-88 Fiero. This one has a "Half Shaft" (HS) sticking out of the pass side. The HS was connected to the block with a bearing/race and at the end of that was the Tripot. The HS is not bolted to the case, its held in place by being bolted to the block with a large bearing on the other end. (See pics) I removed this trans and always assumed that I could just remove the HS from it and use it as a standard Getrag to put in my car. But when I was talking to Archie, he wants me to make sure that this Trans will work on the LS3 swap. I have some pics of it below. I don't want to send this off for a rebuild, and an LSD install and then not be able to use it.

Big question, does anyone know if you can use this trans in a Fiero. Can this trans be bolted up to the 2.8L V6 motor we have in a 86-88 V6 fiero? Has anyone done it. Archies question is will the pass side except a normal Fiero tripot? Also, I have access to a set of Isuzu Tripots but im not sure if the Isuzu's are the same as the Getrag. Are the Isuzu's tripots the same as the Getrag? If you have any input thanks.

[This message has been edited by qwikgta (edited 10-16-2010).]

Looks very much like the Fiero Getrag.
Edit - The tranny bolt pattern is the same.
ALL manual Fieros use the same axles. I think the tulips are even the same, side to side.
/edit

Something you can check...
The Getrag (and other fiero manual) axle stubs are the same from side to side. If the jackshaft fits in the other side, and the seal surface seals against the jackshaft (which means that the regular axle stub should fit in place of the jackshaft), you should be good to go.
Another thing you can measure is the tranny thickness, side to side, from seal to seal, on the tranny bolted to your DOHC.
It ought to measure very close to what the Getrag is, since all manual Fieros use the same axles.

2nd edit...
I believe that Fieroguru has a Beretta Getrag bolted to one of his swaps, in a Fiero. Works just fine.

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Raydar
88 4.9 Formula IMSA Fasback..........................88 3.4 coupe - going...going... gone to a new home.

Read Nealz Nuze! Praise the Lowered!

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 10-16-2010).]

Raydar. That is so freaking obvious. Im going to check it right now. thanks bro.

Rob

[This message has been edited by qwikgta (edited 10-16-2010).]

One thing that bears mentioning...
It looks like the jackshaft doesn't have a snap ring on the end to hold it in the tranny. Looks like the bearing/race does that.
Fiero stubs have that snap ring that holds the stub into the side gears. Make sure that your stubs have that, and that they work.
I don't *think* the side gears are different.

Raydar, that is Archies biggest concern. He too noticed that the HS does not have the snap ring. I agree that the other end of the HS has it. Archie told me to feel for a sharp edge inside the axle hole. I felt for it, and I think its there.

The HS does fit into the other end just fine, and stops in the same place. So now I know that both holes are the same and have the same spline. But since I don't have a stub or axle with a snap ring, I have to still check that.

I will attempt to try the Isuzu end and see if they fit.

Yes, that transmission will work in a fiero without any issue. Most of the later model getrags came with the intermediate shaft (some bolted on, some just slid into place like your) and all you have to do to use these is remove the intermediate shaft and slide in the fiero tripod - it does snap into place.

In this pic is the 92-94 intermediate shaft I removed from my FWD getrag and used the fiero axles with it for several years.


In this pic you can see the end of the fiero tripod loses a little of the spline length to have the snap ring vs. the intermediate shaft.


The same goes for the F40... its intermediate shaft just slides into place and is held there by the bracket that bolts to the engine, but if you put the DS tripod into the passenger side, it will snap into place... but it will stick out of the case about 1"... but that is another issue.

I thought the 89-91 getrags had the clutch release lever internal to the bellhousing, but can't really see in the pictures if this one is setup that way. Also, the other curious item is what looks to be a cable driven speedo and I am not sure what application would have had that. Are you sure it is an 89? Do you have any other pictures of the transmission from other angles?

[This message has been edited by fieroguru (edited 10-17-2010).]

Guru, thanks Great write up and pics.

Here are some additional ones.











When Archie saw these pics, he too wondered about the VSS.





From what I can tell, when I dropped the motor trans i must have snapped this part off. Not realizing it was the speedometer "harness". Not sure if a cable was attached or not. Car was a 89 Beretta GT and I assumed it was the stock trans. Motor had 153K on it. And it must have dropped a gasket, because oil was all over the block/trans. From the pic, the large round fitting screws off and takes the metel "shaft" with it. It is hollow now because what ever was in it is missing. The part thats left looks like it could be a sensor held in the trans by the hold down. It has a pink plastic color to it with a square hole in the center, no wires are showing (square hole leads me to believe it was a cable). I had never read anything about a "cable driven speedometer" on a Getrag. Anyone??

Rob

[This message has been edited by qwikgta (edited 10-17-2010).]

Just clean up the speed sensor and pop it off to find out whether it is gear or reluctor.

quote Originally posted by MTillard: Just clean up the speed sensor and pop it off to find out whether it is gear or reluctor.

great idea.




So I guess this makes it a gear-driven speed sensor. Also, when you spin the blue gear the square hole spins, so I guess this confirms it as a cable driven speedometer. So the next question, how do I convert this to a "Standard Fiero VSS". Does the case have to be split? I guess durring a rebuild, it could be taken care of. Right?

After doing some research, I find that the 87-89 Beretta, Corsica, Cavalier, 6000 and Tempest had a cable driven speedometer. http://www.fierosails.com/TransMan.html
Rob

[This message has been edited by qwikgta (edited 10-17-2010).]

Learn something new everyday...

I would compare the blue VSS gear with a fiero one and see how similar they are. Next step would be to install the fiero one and spin the differential to see if it binds. If it doesn't bind then it probably is good to go.

Check the two small bolt holes that are by the end cover plate and in line with the slave. The fiero getrag needs those holes drilled/tapped and some I have come across were not drilled/tapped from the factory.

You'll have no problem using the P.S Fiero axle and eliminating the intermediate shaft (Sometimes refered to as a Jackshaft.)
However, there are issues with using a FWD Getrag 282 in a Fiero RWD configuration, involving the shift linkage.
Good news, though, there is a conversion kit on the market from RodneyDickman.com. Also, I have one of these kits that I never used, if interested.

Rick
rbeem@windstream.net

If you do end up splitting the trans you can replace the shift shaft with a Fiero one to resolve the fwd issue.

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Turbo 3800 E85 5spd spec5
11.53@126.7

Rick, email and PM sent

Rob

All those pics look exactly like the 282 I pulled from a '90 Cavalier Z24 3.1L about 6 weeks ago.

If you were to use the intermediate shaft (Jackshaft) shown above, which CV axle would you use on the passenger side?