MUA-5 Transmission Swap.

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Piazza_man
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Post by Piazza_man »

So in other words an MUA off a '91-96 2.6L 2wd would be a more preferable swap?
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Post by ImpulseRocket89 »

eyecon wrote:So in other words an MUA off a '91-96 2.6L 2wd would be a more preferable swap?
92-97 would probably be the better choice, but in either case it is still an improvement over the stock trans.

As far as shifters go, I have no idea what year they went from he style Bugle's came with to the solid alloy version that I have. His is a little easier to create your own shifter from, if you decided that was the way to go.
1988 Isuzu Impulse Turbo.
2005 Ford Crown Victoria LX

RIP 1989 Impulse Turbo, aka "Rakete"
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Post by ImpulseRocket89 »

Got the engine and trans installed so I can play the "What parts am I missing" game and other various work. While I was crawling under the back inspecting my fuel tank bolts for corrosion (gotta drop the tank), I figured I could snap this pic.

This is how well the MUA-5/MSG-5F transmission fits in the trans tunnel.

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1988 Isuzu Impulse Turbo.
2005 Ford Crown Victoria LX

RIP 1989 Impulse Turbo, aka "Rakete"
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Post by Bugle »

Looks like there's a fair bit of room above there, I measured the height of the shifter on mine it's 48mm.

The problem with the cruise neutral switch is that the switch gets pushed on the original when you go into neutral and on the MUA shifter it has a notch in the shaft which releases the button when you shift into neutral. Either have to find the opposite switch or maybe you could flip the shaft 180 and grind 2 notches so the button is pressed in neutral only. You would have to make sure the notch wasn't going to make it to the oil seal before doing that though. Or you could just join the wires and make sure you don't shift into neutral without using the clutch, which some other cars seem to do from the factory strangely..
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Post by ImpulseRocket89 »

There is is enough room up there that the quadrant should fit, thought it will be tight. At least when installing the trans with the engine together like I did.

I think I will just try and source a switch that works backwards if I can, although I don't even know where to begin to look.
1988 Isuzu Impulse Turbo.
2005 Ford Crown Victoria LX

RIP 1989 Impulse Turbo, aka "Rakete"
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Post by IZU069 »

If the switch is the same as earlier boxes (which I think they are), then it's available in both versions - ie, NO or NC (normally open & normally closed).
As I recall, the Isuzu boxes with 2 switches use one of each (eg, Gemini and later).

Otherwise a relay can be used to invert the signal, or a transistor or FET etc if you aren't adverse to electronics.
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Post by Bugle »

Yeah they are all interchangable, the normally open one I got was from the top behind the bellhousing of an earlier 10 spline output MSG gearbox, but Piazzas didn't come with any switches in those holes.
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Post by wedgenut »

On JDM Turbo Piazzas there is a switch on the top right of the box close to the bell housing. Stock boxes have a plug instead. The purpose of the switch is to activate a solenoid when first gear is engaged. This solenoid is on the back of the slave cylinder and when you select first gear the pin in the switch drops into a notch on the selector rod. The purpose of the solenoid on the back of the slave is to restrict the fluid escape orifice to a smaller size. This is supposed to control the speed of the fluid escape and lessen the chance of wheel spin...SO it is the first thing we all disconnect.
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Post by Bugle »

haha nice way to burn out peoples clutches quicker. Lucky they left that one off Australian models..

I think Geminis had switches there for switching emissions stuff.
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Post by Piazza_man »

There you go. Problem solved. Delete the switch.
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Post by Bugle »

eyecon wrote:There you go. Problem solved. Delete the switch.
Nah that's a different problem. The one on the shifter is so that when you're using cruise control and you shift out of gear without pushing the clutch it turns off cruise rather than redlining the engine.
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Post by ImpulseRocket89 »

If I can find a switch on a vehicle sold here in the states that would work it would be a lot easier.

On that note, is the reverse switch on the Impulse trans a normally open or closed unit? Or even one for the MUA box. That might be a good alternative and easy to get. In this picture the MUA reverse light switch is the same size as the neutral switch on the MSG shifter quadrant.

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1988 Isuzu Impulse Turbo.
2005 Ford Crown Victoria LX

RIP 1989 Impulse Turbo, aka "Rakete"
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Post by Bugle »

They do have a switch on the clutch aswell, the box one is just to make it foolproof. I checked the MUA reverse and it was normally closed, pretty sure i checked the MSG one too and it was the same.

I'm surprised you're keeping cruise though, wouldn't the actuator get in the way of the massive turbo?
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Post by ImpulseRocket89 »

Bugle wrote:They do have a switch on the clutch aswell, the box one is just to make it foolproof. I checked the MUA reverse and it was normally closed, pretty sure i checked the MSG one too and it was the same.

I'm surprised you're keeping cruise though, wouldn't the actuator get in the way of the massive turbo?
Has yet to be seen. I would like to keep cruise if I can, because I like cruise lol. If I can't keep it, then I won't worry about it too much. I can always try to relocate it and/or make a different bracket for it. Or modify the current bracket if need be.

Besides, in the grand scheme of things the turbo I have, although big, isn't huge. TO4E compressor cover and a 3" inlet. could be made to fit even with the cruise solenoid in place.

In any case, there is so little information on these switches that I am having little luck finding an alternative. The relay idea may be the best option I have, though not my favorite one either. I am not the greatest when it comes to electrical, so lets say I just go with a relay...

Since I am using a switch that is supposed to be open and then closes when it goes into neutral, I am assuming I would need a 3 prong or 4 prong relay, that would act as normally open (the opposite of the switch I have) and the switch would then be used to activate the relay and close the circuit when in fact the switch opens (or vice versa). Am I on the right train of though with this? A relay is cheap enough and I could find a million places to mount it, including on the trans/shifter assembly itself if needed if I used a waterproof unit.

(This is why I am least looking forward to wiring up the megasquirt EMS on my car lol)

In other news, I may have located somebody willing to trade my 1pc alloy shifter setup for the older style. So, bonus!
1988 Isuzu Impulse Turbo.
2005 Ford Crown Victoria LX

RIP 1989 Impulse Turbo, aka "Rakete"
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Post by Piazza_man »

I once had a VS II v6 supercharged Statesman and wanted to see how intelligent the cruise control was, and shifted it into neutral whilst still in cruise control. The damn thing instantly nearly redlined before I disengaged it. Disappointed to find that in a $54,000 car (when brand new in '97). Bloody Holdens.
Last edited by Piazza_man on Sun Aug 26, 2012 10:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
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