[spacemanspif]

Originally Posted by pkforbes87

Is there a writeup online about swapping the MP2 into the SL2 to get higher ratios for gears 3-5? Or is it a simple bolt-in swap?

I appreciate any info you can share.

You can do it 1 of 2 different ways. If you swap whole transmissions it is a simple bolt-in job as the cases are exactly the same...except you need the know-how, tools and equipment to swap the whole trans.

The other option is to swap out just the 5th gear gears. I believe there is a post in the DIY section on how to do it; if not, there is one on SaturnFans.com | The Saturn Authority for Saturn Enthusiasts.. basically you pop off trans cover accessed through the wheel well, take off the 2 nuts that hold the gearset on and replace them with the gearset from the SL1 trans. Buy a new gasket from GM ahead of time and the 2 nuts (optional, they are torque to yield but locktite works well apparently). Apparently I went a little too crazy with the impact gun, overtightened my nuts and the gears started eating the trans.

Saturns all have the same first 3 gears. 4 and 5 are "taller" in the Sx1 transmissions. When swapping in just 5th gear the shift from 4 to 5 is about 1500rpm drop so you need to wind out 4 a little longer so the engine doesn't lug a little.

With your car you WILL lose cruise control function with either method of gear change. It has to do with the lack of a clutch switch and the ECM reading the "wrong" RPM for a given speed. Some folks on Saturnfans are trying to figure a way around the system but don't have anything yet.


Update: I took the grill block off as it seemed to hurt my mpg. Still want to do an air dam and haven't gotten around to making skirts or pizza pan covers (even though my trunk is full of coroplast and I have 2 pans floating around in my backseat )