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F35 gearbox upgrades !
Here we'll discuss F35 (manual) gearbox upgrades
Since it concerns a diesel and a petrol car, I won't put it in any of those subsections !
In this introduction post, I'll just sum up what we've got. Each mod could then lead to an how-to, once soembody has done it.
- What is the F35 gearbox ?
It's basically an enlarged evolution of the F23 gearbox, made to stand up to 350 N.m torque. Both are 5 gears.
Note that the F23 is known to be able to stand much more than the theorical 230 N.m. A lot of people have pushed it much further, but generally on petrol cars, that have a more progressive torque climbing with rpm... Turbo-diesel cars are much more brute at low rpm, clutch slipping is frequent, and so are DMF killing...
The F23 is known to be sturdy if correctly treated and maintained ; however, other opinions say it's rather fragile... Maybe the "correctly treated" ins't for nothing here. Anyway, my wife killed her 2.0 DTi Zafira F23 gearbox in 9 years. After 10 years, my F35 is still in mint condition.
The F40 is a 6 gears evolution to the F35. It's also known to be rather fragile, with shaft bending and pinion rattles, and for this reason, not advised to be fitted a single mass flywheel...
The F40 and F35 share the same flywheel and clutch diameters and number of splines. However, the flywheel thickness and fittings are different.
- What Vectra C engines are equipped with the F35 ?
There aren't loads of them, actually :
- 2.2 DTi (Y22DTr)
- 3.2 V6 (Z32SE)
- OK, so what can be done ?
Quite a lot of things, actually :
- Replacement helical pinions low slip differential (Quaife, OBX...)
- 6 gears upgrade kit (Quaife)
- Short shifter (MTech)
- Uprated clutch kits (Sachs, Black Diamond, various motorsports companies, and... GM ! Yes !)
- Aaaaand... Single mass flywheel ! Yes, and it's a Saab part !
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Single mass flywheel and GM sports clutch !
The story begins in Canada, with a Saab 9-3 SS.
BadBrains had decided to fight the challenge, and not to admit defeat until he finally succeeded...
His first attempt with a Chevrolet Cobalt SMF was a failure because of the different flywheel thickness.
Then after some researches, he finally found hen's teeth : a solid flywheel that matched the classical DMF size !
It's actually a Saab 9-3 part used on some European models : part number 55352485.
The best part is the price : it's ridiculously cheap ! I got my used one for only 25, for instance.
You should be able to fit any clutch made for your car, provided of course it's sprung loaded (especially if your car is a diesel).
Now yet another good news comes from GM : they actually make and sell their own clutch upgrade.
It's made for a specific Chevrolet model, the Cobalt LSJ. the "Ecotec LSJ Upgrade Kit" is complete with pressure plate and release bearing. Its part number is 19212712.
The only drawback is the Saab flywheel has 6 mm centering pins, while the GM clutch has 8 mm holes, but BadBrains' one is holding only with the bolts without a problem.
Here is the full story :
http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=216785
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I have never heard anything bad about the F40 gearbox (which is rated 400Nm) so I am not sure where your comment comes from??
Mine is running 360 lb (488Nm) without any issues and a quite a few others are running even higher
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I've just ordered a short shift from Mtach.
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Thank you, Z80. I wonder whether or not the Saab single mass flywheel could be adapted to fit 8mm centering pins in place of the 6mm pins. I bet it could. I shall keep an eye out for a secondhand flywheel and buy one, I think. Did you lighten yours or is it already lighter than the DMF? Thank you for your help so far! :-) :-) Paul
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Originally Posted by
merikiito
I have never heard anything bad about the F40 gearbox (which is rated 400Nm) so I am not sure where your comment comes from??
Mine is running 360 lb (488Nm) without any issues and a quite a few others are running even higher
Neither have I. The op though does have a 2.2dti and from what ive heard some unfortunate owners have discovered the crankshaft snaps which seems to be attributed to undampened torque spikes. This can be caused by the fitting of a single mass flywheel to an engine with high torque output at low revs.
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Originally Posted by
Mark-R
I've just ordered a short shift from Mtach.
Any ideas if this will work I the 150 CDTi F40?
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Originally Posted by
merikiito
Any ideas if this will work I the 150 CDTi F40?
No mate this short shift is only for the F35 box but you do get short shifts for the F40
http://www.mathijssentechnics.nl/?Vi...=&lvid=&mid=86
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Originally Posted by
merikiito
I have never heard anything bad about the F40 gearbox (which is rated 400Nm) so I am not sure where your comment comes from??
Mine is running 360 lb (488Nm) without any issues and a quite a few others are running even higher
The F40 is probably the strongest manual gearbox ever used by GM Europe, and in practice it's twice as strong as the M32 (which is also a 6-speed). @Z80 - is there a chance you're confusing the F40 with the M32?
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Some people have wrote it's an evolution from the M32, but I think it's actually from the F35, as it shares a lot of characteristics.
Anyway, other people think the F23 is the sturdiest and can be pushed quite further, while others had problems with it... The only criticisms come from extreme uses and concern shaft bending, and the same have been said about the F35, considering the F23 was safe from, it but it's much smaller, which could explain. Another recurring remark is a lot of judder when fitting a slolid flywheel to the F40... And it has been reported on this forum many times already.
Anyway, this topic is NOT about the F40 gearbox, so please stop hijacking.
For people willing to adapt an F40 gearbox to their 3.2 V6, for instance, here is an interesting study : http://www.redlineforums.com/forums/...mparisons.html
What I wrote was just to quickly position the F35 in the GM gearboxes famly. I won't talk about the F40 anymore here. It'll be all about the F35. Please stick on the subject or open an F40 topic.
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