LS swap on a 87 944S

I picked up a 944S shell with some minor mods done to it a couple months back and I've been gearing up to swap either a 4.8 or a 5.3 into it, but I've just had a few questions with it. I plan on custom fabricating most of the parts for it but I've been getting confused with what transmission I should use so I don't blow it up, I was looking into a turbo tranny, but does it mount up perfectly and do I need to buy an AOR tranny? Or would I be better off with a 5R or a UY? Also looking for a tranny with an LSD, Any help with this would be really appreciated!!

i have a UY and its perfectly fine !

Really? What engine did you swap into it?

any turbo transaxle will hold up to the power of the v8 swaps, and all the late 85 and newer transaxles interchange without issue. its ideal if you get one with a limited slip, and even better if you can get one with a cooler, however the cooler isnt needed for a street only car. if you are planning to do any road racing at all, id highly suggest getting one with a cooler. the AOR is the holy grail of 944 transaxles, however it only offers a few minor upgrades from any other turbo transaxle with an lsd and cooler. 1st and 2nd gear were shot peened for added strength, same with the differential flange shafts, and it has a stronger limited slip.

no matter what turbo transaxle you get you will want to swap the n/a 5th gear set in, it will allow you to cruise at lower rpm on the highway. you may also consider putting the case strengthening plate in, it helps strengthen the rear iron case half around the rear pinion bearing to prevent it from breaking. this does require some machining, but i think its a worthwhile upgrade.

Thank you sharkey, I've found a few UY transmissions for around $400 in my area and thats in the budget I've planned for this car, not looking to spend more than 4k in parts. Also I dont have the shifter linkage so what would you recommend with that? is there any difference in linkages for turbo and N/a?

the shifter linkage is all the same for all of them. what part do you have and what are you missing? you can get an aftermarket shift linkage setup for the transaxle from only944.com. you can get an aftermarket shifter stick, but there really isnt a good reason to. the only other piece is the shifter rod.

most of the time the shifter linkage on the transaxle will come with it, and the shifter rod and shifter stay with the torque tube.

this by chance isnt an automatic car your converting to a manual? cause if thats the case you need to source a torque tube from a manual car.

Well when I bought my 944 it was a rolling she'll of a stick shift model, I have the torque tube, but no transmission or engine, it also looks like there is no linkage for the shifter in it.

mdea wrote:Really? What engine did you swap into it?

Im running a LQ4 6L engine on my UY turbo trans !

Nice!! Does the UY have a LSD?

the UY doesnt have a limited slip or cooler.

have a look here [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] it has the breakdown of all the transaxle codes.