Mentioning MR2 and gearbox in the same sentence generally results in people running away as fast as they can.

It’s not a fun job due to the lack of space and the amount of parts in the way due to the mid engine layout, but I managed to swap the gearbox without pulling the engine out - which saves a bit of work by not having to disconnect all the wiring, drain the coolant, etc.

Some of the plumbing had to be removed to get access to various bolts, and the engine had to be dropped down on an angle to let the gearbox clear the chassis.

Once it’s out the space doesn’t look so small - but there are a lot of annoying hoses in the way from above!

The old gearbox appears to have an internal problem - most likely a bent selector fork. Note the leaves sitting on it - from inside the engine bay!

The clutch had started slipping badly in this car, to the point that the engine would drop to idle if the throttle was backed off while moving.

It was behaving weirdly under load though, sometimes gripping ok and sometimes slipping very badly.

On closer inspection, the pivot ball that the clutch lever sits on in the gearbox had broken, so the pivot point could change and not allow the clutch to release properly.

Unfortunately this required the removal of the gearbox, even though the broken part could be seen through the hole for the clutch lever.

The car had an aftermarket performance clutch which, on further inspection, was worn out - which is a possible cause of the broken pivot ball.

The car’s original flywheel and clutch were still available, and turned out to be in excellent condition - so they were installed. An old gearbox input shaft makes an excellent clutch alignment tool

After a good clean up, a new pivot ball, new throw out bearing, and new spigot bush, the clutch was done and the gearbox could be reinstalled.

After a bit of a hassle getting the gearbox back in due mainly to a very close fitting exhaust dump pipe, the car was back up and running, and the new (old) clutch felt much better than the old (new) clutch!

Using an upgraded clutch in a car puts extra stress on the clutch pedal assembly.

Some cars have no issues, but some are prone to break after a while.

In this car  (an R33 Skyline), the clutch pedal bracket had cracked in several places due to the extra load.

Nismo sell a beefed up pedal bracket for the Skyline, which is basically just a standard one with some extra welding to help the inadequate spot welds it normally relies on.

Of course the Nismo pedal bracket is pretty expensive, so it’s cheaper to get a standard one and weld up the weak spots.

I could have repaired the old broken one, but it’s nicer to start with an intact bracket

Here’s the whole assembly welded up and reassembled: