Suzuki 4WD Club of Victoria

Does anyone know if the gearbox behind a Jimny M13a engine fit behind a Sierra G13a engine?

Thanks

Ah! that's who you are - just replied on AZ.

No I don't believe they are interchangeable - the bellhousing pattern is different (and the shifter setup, but that can be swapped). Are you trying to find a replacement for a crook sierra 5 speed? They're getting hard to find in good condition. I know this seems like a crazy step, but have you considered running a vitara 1.6 bottom end and the matching vitara 5 speed? Obviously more hassle to fit, but there are plenty of advantages. It's not an impossible swap by any means.

Steve.

Thanks Steve.

Yes I want to swap over my old worn gearbox. I saw a low Km Jimny 5 speed box on Ebay and thought that may be an option.
I'm not inclined to do a major swap over as you suggested, as it would be way out of my league (and price).
My old one has had new bearings and syncros replaced, but there is so much worn in there that the noises worry me.
It is working fine and is still usefull as a hunting vehicle, but I would be concerned to put it under too much load.

Cheers

If it's staying in gear and has fresh bearings, I wouldn't worry about it too much unless the noise is unbearable. It's unlikely to break, you'll just get sick of the noise. In fact, I don't think I've ever heard of a broken 1.3 gearbox - they just get noisy and fall out of gear.

You might be surprised how cheaply you could do a 1.6/vitara 5 speed swap for. Imlachs had a whole car in there that looked untouched last week. I'd imagine the gearbox and engine would only be a few hundred dollars. Whole, running carby vitaras are now sitting between free and about $2K, so a damaged car as a donor could be very cheap.

You could swap your whole head over onto the 1.3 bottom end for the cost of a head gasket, so other than that, and a shortened jack shaft ($125) there's really no parts in the swap - It's labour and time.

I'd cross that hurdle when you get to it, I'm just putting it out there rather than try and find/rebuild increasingly rare and expensive 1.3 gearboxes.

Steve.

Thanks Steve for the advice.

Cheers

Chris