Source for new xA Final Drive and/or gears?
 

Hello,

I'm hoping to find a source and info on a better final drive for my 2005 Scion xA. It's a 5-speed manual with a 1.5L VVti engine, and the final drive is 4.31:1, and so even though both 4th and 5th gears are "overdrive" ratios, it still is only going 40mph in 5th gear at 2000RPM. At 55mph, it is turning at ~2500RPM and I would love to drop the RPM's ~20% down to 2000RPM.

This is the one imperfection with my local Toyota dealer (Acton Toyota, now in Littleton, MA) -- they do not have the info (inclination?) to find out what Yaris\Echo\Spectrum\xA\xB part(s) would be a bolt-in fix for me...can anybody here help me, please? Especially if you have done this on one of these Toyota vehicles.

Do you know the transmission code for your car?

The Paseos run a C150 5 speed, and the Tercels run C141 (4 speed), and C150 (5 speed). All parts I believe are interchangeable. The 4 speed has the lowest differential @ 3.526. The only thing is, I'm not 100% sure that the 4 speed differential will fit a 5 speed transmission.

If you run a C5x transmission, you have a much larger gambit of transmissions to choose from as you'll share parts with the Corolla, Matrx, and MR2. However, in this family of transmissions, I know the 4 speed differential does not fit into a 5 speed housing. Still, there are a few transmissions you could take a 3.722 differential from.

Hi,

It seems I might want to look for a (2004) Echo:

2004 Toyota Echo - Specs

All the transmission specs match, except for the final drive at 3.526 vs 4.31 which is ~17.5% taller, which would be just about perfect!

...and sheet aluminum?
 

Another question:

Where would I buy sheet aluminum suitable for making and under pan?

As far as I know, you could just swap a whole Echo transmission in-- it's basically the same, save for the final drive ratio.

Allegedly, the 9th-gen Corolla's 5th gear could be swapped in, and it's a somewhat taller ratio. I haven't heard of anyone doing that swap, but it's also in the C transmission family, so it is likely possible.

Neil,
Based on my experience driving an xA (you read my review) I think this would be a great mod for FE. However I wonder if using a much taller final drive like a 3.5x would make the car overly sluggish from a standing start due to the 1.5's relative lack of low end torque. Maybe you should test drive an '04 Echo with a 5 speed to get a feel for it before committing to the swap. Also keep in mind that your car is about 300 lbs heavier than the Echo.

Hello,

To answer my own question, I asked a friend who is building his own aluminum airplane from plans, and this is where he is buying all his aluminum stock:

Trident Metals-Locations-Boston Branch

My buddy had an 04 Echo hatchback and it seemed to have lots of grunt in 1st and 2nd. We towed about 800-900lbs of fishing boat and trailer and even on the boat launch it did ok. Wind up a little wheelspin and up it went.
At 60mph steady it posted some pretty high mpg numbers on my scangauge, 54-60mpg if I recall right.
Anyways if you find a hatchback to try you might end up just trading in your xA for it...

Toyota only just started selling the Yaris five-door in the US this year (the three-door was available from the start), and they only sold the Echo here as two- and four-door sedans, unfortunately. It's too bad, because the five-door versions of either model are the best-looking in the range, too.