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Aisin AR-5 Chevy Colorado 5 speed ?

22K views 57 replies 20 participants last post by  Rick O. 
#1 ·
Saw that a Colorado 5 speed was on eBay for $225 from a recycler with a 6 month warranty.. and well.. gave me some ideas. In looking for dimensions I came up with this.

Digging around and found this:

Has anyone switched from an r154 to an AR5 or Colorado transmission?

One of those has to be close to the Opel doesnt it..?

"96-00 Dakota 2.5L bellhousing: Connects all to any Jeep 2.5L L4. Because of it's GM 60 degree V6 inherited bolt pattern, also works with any Buick FWD V6 and supercharged V6, any Chevrolet 2.8/3.1/3.4 V6, any Cadillac 4.1/4.5/4.9 V8 and with a minor modification, any Olds Aurora DOHC V8 and Cadillac DOHC Northstar V8. Also bolts to any Isuzu 3.2\3.5 DOHC V6. "

Makes me think this one MIGHT work..?

Obviously this helps with doing an engine swap and using this 5 speed..

BUT what about using the AR-5 on a Opel..? Anyone try yet ?

Anyone know about its length and or drive shaft splines ? etc.. ?
 
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#2 · (Edited)
BTW for prosperity.. as some of the links have died on me.. this is from another site so understand the writer isnt talking Opel..

The Jeep/Dodge AX15 5-speed
Jeep NV3550 5-speed
Jeep NV1500
Toyota R150F & R151F,
87-92 Toyota Supra Turbo R154

The Isuzu AR5 and The Pontiac Solstice\Saturn Sky\Chevy Colorado\ GMC Canyon MA5 5-speeds

all share the same case to bellhousing bolt pattern
.

As such there are a number of possibilities that can be had when a 5-speed is desired:

All of the large pattern transmissions:





#1. Novak Enterprises: Adapter plate for AX15 to GM 4-speed bellhousing. Connects all except NV3550 to same.
#2. 94-95 Dakota 2.5L bellhousing: Connects all to any K car based 2.2L-2.5L L4 in a RWD application.

#3. 96-00 Dakota 2.5L bellhousing: Connects all to any Jeep 2.5L L4. Because of it's GM 60 degree V6 inherited bolt pattern, also works with any Buick FWD V6 and supercharged V6, any Chevrolet 2.8/3.1/3.4 V6, any Cadillac 4.1/4.5/4.9 V8 and with a minor modification, any Olds Aurora DOHC V8 and Cadillac DOHC Northstar V8. Also bolts to any Isuzu 3.2\3.5 DOHC V6.

#4. 88-99 Jeep 4.0L L6 bellhousing: Connects all to any AMC 290/304/343/360/390/401 V8 and any 72 and later 232 L6 and 258 L6.
#5. 94-99 Dakota 3.9L V6 Bellhousing: Connects all to any 3.9L V6 and any 273/318/340/360 V8, Magnum 5.2\5.9 V8, 5.7L Hemi V8 and Jeep 2.8L CRD Turbo Diesel.
#6. 96-04 Toyota Tacoma 3.4L V6. Also works with Toyota 3.0L V6
#7. 86.5-92 Toyota Supra Turbo 7M-GTE. Also works with Toyota 5M-GE.

Also Not shown:

01-04 Jeep Liberty 3.7L V6 bellhousing: Connects all to any 3.7L V6 and 4.7L V8.
03-04 Jeep Liberty\TJ 2.4L bellhousing: Connects NV1500 to 2.4L SOHC\DOHC Neon\SRT-4\PT Cruiser L4 (See info at #11)


Isuzu Trooper 3.5 V6 AR5 bellhousing: Connects all to any Isuzu 3.2\3.5 V6

04-05 Chevy Colorado\ GMC Canyon MA5 bellhousing: Connects all to any Vortec 2800 L4, 3500 L5 and 4200 L6

06 Pontiac Solstice\ Saturn Sky MA5 bellhousing: Connects all to any Ecotec 2.4L


88-95 Toyota Landcruiser: 1L, 2L and 2L-T Turbo Diesel truck bellhousing connects to R series transmissions.

Input shafts lengths vary.

AR5 = 8.2"

MA5 = 7.5"


Trans First Second Third Fourth Fifth

AX15 - 3.83 2.33 1.44 1.00 0.79
AR5 - 3.753 2.26 1.37 1.00 0.729
MA5 - 3.753 2.26 1.37 1.00 0.729

R150 - 3.83 2.062 1.436 1.00 0.838
R151 - 4.31 3.32 1.52 1.00 0.83
R154 - 3.25 1.95 1.30 1.00 0.75
NV1500- 3.85 2.25 1.48 1.00 0.80
NV3550 - 4.01 2.32 1.40 1.00 0.78

So... there's no shortage of parts for these gearboxes. Any good shop can rebuild them and they are still not that expensive.
 
#4 ·
Ahhh.. No.

Speaking of alternative 5 speeds.

I know back in the day some used a Chevette 5 Speed ( rare as hens teeth then, can't image now ) and the S10 but with from what I remember mixed results.

The other one I am curious about, and can't seem to find much info on directly in the forum is the BMW 3 series Getrag that shares most the same components as the Opel one.

I assume it doesn't fit for whatever reason or it would be more of a topic.. is that correct ?
 
#5 ·
Charles, you ask a question I'd like to see someone with real world experience answer....does a BMW Getrag 240 internally match up with the Opel Getrag? Input & output shafts the same????

I believe the transmissions are basically the same, just the outer casing, in particular the bellhousing, which is different to reflect the engines they bolt up to. If that is the case, then the Opel Getrag should be able to accept repair parts from any BMW dealer. On line, a google check of BMW of South Atlanta shows a lot of internal parts for this transmission......just bring a healthy wallet and credit card with you.

Google BMW South Atlanta Getrag 240 to see what's out there.... Link: Getrag 240 housing+attaching parts

This person in the UK has a great blog on tearing down his own Getrag in his Manta: Workshop manual sections | The Opel Project

Here's an interesting link taken from a Tech Book out there: Techtips - BMW E30 Transmission Swaps

I believe the Bentley service manual/book for the BMW 3 series contains good info on the teardown and rebuild of the Getrag 240. Plenty of them on ebay; I plan to get one of them to see what a tear down entails.

Again, it all goes back to whether the 3 series BMW Getrag matches the internals of the Opel. I'm sitting on a frozen/locked Opel Getrag that needs to be stripped, inspected and rebuilt myself.

I believe too that Volvo had a Getrag 240 in their cars, as well.

Mike

PS: Forget Metric Mechanic; they will only take in trade your BMW Getrag 240 for one in stock. Our best bets are transmission shops familiar with the 240, to do any rebuild/repair work.
 
#7 ·
I know that has been gone over before to a point. But never seems to be in its own thread. At least none that I could find. So maybe this way will be an answer. BTW finding the 5 speed Aisin is pretty cheap right now and available.. REALLY tempted to get on and see.
 
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#6 ·
I'm wondering if a Getrag 265 might be a better bet. Since the bell housing on those is separate, would it be possible to match that transmission with the GT bell housing? If the input shaft is different, perhaps that could be remedied by finding a clutch disc and pilot bearing which work. Bill
 
#8 ·
Here is a bigger question. How much does a 265 flywheel weigh? I may be wrong,but I do believe that it may weigh a considerable bit more than a stock flywheel. The trans I had (80's Omega) I "thought" was very similar to a 265. The killer was a monstrosity of a flywheel. (at least 30lbs)
 
#14 ·
Getrag 265, nice tranny if you can find one. At least here in Europe they're much more expensive than a 240 because it's more durable and you can buy close ratio gear sets for it. If you're running historic racing/rally with an Opel and want a 5 speed transmission that's the only way to go. Unless you happen to find a ZF of course but you'll probably have better luck finding a buried treasure on Oak Island ....

Did you guys get the any cars on that side of the pond powered by the Ford Pinto engine and mated to a T9 tranny ?

Over here we got plenty of those in the Ford Sierra which were quite literally sold in hundreds of thousands and 5 speed Sierra trannys (T9) are reasonably cheap but it's also a very robust tranny and you can get close ratio gear sets for it.

Why is that interesting, well, since the Opel CIH engined cars are no longer homologated for much they're being used in classes with much more liberal rules and for example in the Group H in Scandinavia it's *very* common to run a T9 behind a CIH engine

Hence the need for parts like these .....

Getriebe Adaption CIH - Beck - Classic Cars - Fahrzeugbau

There are probably quite a few of these kits it was just the first that came up when I did a quick "Opel CIH Ford T9" search on Google

Then of course there's the option of running a Volvo M45/46 transmission

Adapterplatta Opel CIH M-45

Which for some reason is a very popular alternative in Sweden, for those not fluent in Swedish that's about 275 dollar for the adapter plate and you will need to modify the bell housing (doesn't specify how much)

Either of those are probably a more cost effective option considering the relative rarity of the 265 transmission
 
#15 ·
#17 ·
Actually I'm mixing and matching T5 and T9 info as far as being able to handle various power levels go, sorry about that.

The T5 is the one for big power cars, Sierra Cossie in Europe, the T9 is the one used for lower power levels and often used in kit cars and such, think Super 7 builds and stuff like that.

Adapter kits available for both types but I would probably have used a T9 for a road going Opel, cheaper and probably more than strong enough to handle anything most of us would throw at it.
 
#18 ·
#20 ·
Issue with OGTS and OU as far as 5 speeds go is more an issue of availability than cost.
 
#21 ·
The only car in the US I've seen with the Ford T9 gearbox is the Merkur XR4ti (Scorpio to you guys).

They were used with a 190 hp turbocharged 2.3 Ford engine. The Ford guys blow them up pretty easily when they start running a lot of boost, so they upgrade to a world class Borg Warner/Tremec T5.

General consensus is the T9 can handle about 250 hp, with most aftermarket gear kits rated for 275 hp. Fine for a naturally aspirated CIH engine.

I'll be running a close ratio dog-engagement T9 in my rally car.
 
#22 ·
Well there you go then

A rebuilt 240 is 1700,- at OGTS and that's not including the conversion kit and availability is an issue

Those guys Charles linked to will sell a rebuilt stock T9 for 1200,- and availability is probably a lot better if they import them from Europe where we had a TON of them in various rwd Ford models so chances are they have them in stock.

To me this sounds like something someone should look into more closely.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Ok.. trying to dig up info on the AR5..

Clutch : Outer Diam: 9-1/8; Inner Diam: 1-1/8; TEETH:26T

2.8L S-10 Clutch : 9.125" X 1.000" X 14T

Which to ME says the S-10 Pressure Plate and Modified Opel flywheel would work.

Pilot Bearing:

Opel : Bore=0.5906" (15.1mm), Outer Diameter=0.8268" (21mm), Thickness =0.591"

AR-5 : Inside 22.7MM ID, 43.3MM OD, 13 THK

Hows that compare to the other options ?

BTW.. as noted..$1700 for 5 speed getrag, $1200 for the T9

04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 Chevy Colorado Manual Transmission 2 9L 4x2 957059 | eBay

$460 delivered for the AR-5

Looks like it could swap bellhousings.. not much bitter than the Getrags.. maybe worth the effort ?


Gear ratios (Canyon, Colorado, H3):
1 2 3 4 5 R
3.75 2.26 1.37 1.00 0.73 3.67

Gear ratios (Sky, Solstice):
1 2 3 4 5 R
3.75 2.26 1.51 1.00 0.73 3.67

Gear ratios (Isuzu Trooper):
1 2 3 4 5 R
3.95 2.33 1.44 1.00 0.79 3.92
 

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#25 ·
Yep, and that also tells you they have to be pretty tough. If they were fragile they would be valuable :)
 
#27 ·
No one so far that I know of.. I have to get from under all the other projects I have to get one.
 
#28 ·
Reviving this old thread to see if anyone has any more info on putting the Aisin AR-5 into a GT. Or how about the Mazda Miata transmission? Anyone here swapped either of these into their GT?
 
#29 · (Edited)
Someone on this forum swapped a NC Miata engine and 6-speed into his GT. I can't remember his name. I thought that transmission would be a good candidate with an adapter plate for the CIH. Just have to relocate the shifter. It is 1:1 in fifth. There is a guy in England that makes plates to mate the RX8 trans to a lot of different engines including the Opel 16V 2.0 but not the CIH. Most of the adapters I have found in the States, it seems like they are trying to retire by selling one kit.:)

https://p9cyoplates.co.uk/

Picture of 2006 Miata 6-speed
 

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#30 ·
Thanks for the response, Mark. I want to reduce the revs at highway speeds. I guess 1:1 would kind of defeat the purpose unless I were to change the rear axle ratio too.
 
#32 · (Edited)
#33 ·
Looks like the RX8 box is 31.5" from the front of the bellhousing to the center of the shift pivot. How does that compare with the Opel 4-speed?
 
#35 ·
I know the Getrag's are nice, but they're something like $2,500 by the time you get the mod kit! It just seems like someone needs to come up with another tranny option for us. The Getrags are not going to be around forever. I might be willing to be the guinea pig if we can find an adapter at a decent price. The web site of that UK company mentioned earlier makes it sound like they might be able to make an adapter for us. Whether it's something we could afford, I don't know, but their other adapters look reasonably priced.
 
#36 ·
Looks like the Opel 4-speed is only around 20" from the bellhousing to the center of the shifter. Quite a short little bugger, isn't it? That would seem to rule out the RX8 and Miata transmissions unless your right elbow bends both ways.
 
#38 ·
It seems like Japanese transmissions all have super long tail housings. The only one that doesn't that comes to mind is the Hyundai Genesis. It looks more like a Getrag 265.
First Gear Ratio :)1) : 3.83
Second Gear Ratio :)1) : 2.32
Third Gear Ratio :)1) : 1.62
Fourth Gear Ratio :)1) : 1.23
Fifth Gear Ratio :)1) : 1.00
Sixth Gear Ratio :)1) : 0.79
Reverse Ratio :)1) : 3.99

The shift location has been solved by at least a few, Heliman has a Subaru BRZ 6-speed, at least one SR20DET setup (BigBen?), and the aforementioned 2006 Miata swap.

I have a Chevette T5 that I got 30 years ago, but the shifter is too far back as well. If I can locate a S10 tailhousing I can fix that. It would work as is in a Manta/Ascona if anybody is interested.
 
#41 ·
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#42 ·
Revising this thread once again and would like to focus on the Aisin 5 speed as Charles originally brought up. Since my Getrag broke some shifter forks internally I had to pull by beloved Getrag and put back in a stock 4 speed at least for this year. As mentioned Getrags are getting super hard to find and rebuilds are now over 3k and guess what, that doesn't include things like a shift fork which one would assume to be fine!

So I've been looking at other options. I can certainly go the T5 route, lots of good info there but since I have the 2008 Sky-Opel, I started thinking about the AR5 tranny. The Sky/Solstice version would not be desirable however the Colorado version could possibly work. The shifter is 24" back from the front of the bellhousing however looking at every picture it appears the bellhousings are longer (deeper) than the Opel bellhousing which is only about 6" long. The Opel shifter is 20" back from the front of the bellhousing so if one could adapt the AR5 to an Opel bellhousing, the shifter may be within a couple inches of being correct. Gear ratios look favorable as well with first gear being a little lower but 4th gear still at 1:1 and fifth at 0.73:1. The key here is that AR5 transmissions are readily available and relatively inexpensive compared to other options.

Thoughts please?
 
#44 ·
Revising this thread once again and would like to focus on the Aisin 5 speed as Charles originally brought up. Since my Getrag broke some shifter forks internally I had to pull by beloved Getrag and put back in a stock 4 speed at least for this year. As mentioned Getrags are getting super hard to find and rebuilds are now over 3k and guess what, that doesn't include things like a shift fork which one would assume to be fine!

So I've been looking at other options. I can certainly go the T5 route, lots of good info there but since I have the 2008 Sky-Opel, I started thinking about the AR5 tranny. The Sky/Solstice version would not be desirable however the Colorado version could possibly work. The shifter is 24" back from the front of the bellhousing however looking at every picture it appears the bellhousings are longer (deeper) than the Opel bellhousing which is only about 6" long. The Opel shifter is 20" back from the front of the bellhousing so if one could adapt the AR5 to an Opel bellhousing, the shifter may be within a couple inches of being correct. Gear ratios look favorable as well with first gear being a little lower but 4th gear still at 1:1 and fifth at 0.73:1. The key here is that AR5 transmissions are readily available and relatively inexpensive compared to other options.

Thoughts please?
Tremec TKX

Uses same bolt pattern as GM or Ford T5, is physically smaller and has multiple shifter locations. New price is cheaper ($2795) than the Getrag and you can get them from Summit Racing, JEGS, Speedway, Modern Driveline etc. A few options available for gearing and overdrive.

Would need to use a T5 Adapter plate like the one OpelNut or FirstOpel made which may be much easier to get now with places like Send Cut Send Etc.

Cons: Shift action is more rifle-bolt than smooth like the Getrag, heavier.
 
#43 · (Edited)
Obviously as with virtually any swap, you will have to make an adapter to fit your engine, change to a hydraulic clutch, make a driveshaft, transmission crossmember and pilot bearing. But the Aisin close ratio 6 speed from a Subaru BRZ fits in the GT like it was made for it. It's also easy to relocate the shifter to the original location. This Transmission shifts great, and is tough. If you have the ability it makes a great swap for the GT. Also they are readily available and a low mileage one is easily found on EBAY for well under 1K, so would probably be even cheaper at your local yard.
 
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