Created By:	Malachi	Category:	Engine
Date Posted:	04-11-06	Views:	891
Title:	Auto to manual transmission swap
Article:	This is a VERY basic trouble shooting you might wanna read before doing a transmission swap to a 5 spd stick. #1 Have a whole donor car available. You need more than the trans and shifter/pedals. You also NEED the following items Manual Transmission complete with clutch plate and fly wheel. Both shifter cables with ALL the nifity clips and such to re-attach. The shifter assembly complete with center console from the manual car. You need the complete brake/clutch pedal assembly. You need the clutch cable. You need the Manual starter (I think. they are different and I did the swap but try both ways and see what happens) HERE IS A BIG ONE THAT I MISSED AND SO HAD TO PULL EVERY THING OUT. You need the pilot bearing/bushing from INSIDE the crank shaft of the engine of the Manual. It is VERY easy to pull out as it is plastic...I used a small bolt and hooked it and it popped right out. With out that you are screwed. I added a whole extra day to my swap for missing that little thing. You will need about 20 feet of extra wire.....12-14 gauge should work fine. You also need the manual trans motor mount. You need both drive axles from the manual car. They are a different length. You need the rubber bushing that the two shifter cables come through in the floor board of the donor car. You also need the metal plate that will hold that down. You will also need to make sure you have a power tester light or voltometer. #2 Now you will need at least 2 full days with someone else helping you. #3 Now start by removing everything from the donor car....take your time. You are learning how things are routed and set up. Pull the motor and trans at he same time. Don't even bother doing it any other way as you will not save ANY time and take twice as long to do the job. Rdave in here gave me some tips and I pass them to you. Just remove the bottom of the dash of the donor under the steering wheel. Drop the steering wheel. You need to remove the two upper bolts I thing two nuts on the fire wall. Just flop it outta your way. Now attack the petal assembly. Carefully disconnect the clutch and brake hook ups. You will need to use the plunger switch on the clutch pedal so clip the wire harness that plugs into it with enough wire for you to splice in something later. Now attack your center console. Remove the shifter. You will need to go behind the center console up near the fire wall to undo the 3 small screws/bolts that hold the shifter cables down. I went to the passenger side and used a razor knife to cut the carpet away. There is a silver plate...with three 10mm bolts/screws in it. Undo them(On the donor car 2 broke off on me). Use WD-40 or the like. One of the two cables has a hold down right behind the silver safty restraint computer under the radio. VERY hard to get at til you remove the whole console. I beat mine till it gave away. Now the mechanics of removing your motor and trans .....you will have to follow a Hanynes or Chiltons manual. Be sure to UNPLUG all the wire harnesses of both transmissions. You will need them later. I was keeping my old auto motor and ran into a BIG problem.....so listen up as this is the single most important thing I have to say. You must get that pilot bearing bushing. It is plastic. If you are bolting this up to an AUTOMATIC motor you need to get the metal one out. I didn't notice and had to redo everything. It is pressed in and is a bitch to get out. I rented the tool to get it out from the parts store...the tool broke in about 3 seconds. If you get a tool to remove pilot bearings...make sure it is hardened steel. I ended up using a Sawzall. There is enough room to get the blade in and cut a few grooves in the metal bushing in your auto motor. We had best luck using two close cuts about 3mmm apart. Then taking a screw driver and bending the lttle peice between til it could be chisled out. the earing about fell out after all that. You cannot pry it out so don't waste your time. Get a quality tool or cut it out. With the parts off the donor....you can swap everything over to your other car. Bolt up your starter and clutch and all that. Be sure you put that plastic bushing in the crank of the auto motor if you are using the auto. If you are using the manual....then ignore all I yapped about above. Now to here most folks say it....you NEED all the wiring harnesses fromt he whole engine bay..the ones in both fenders and even the one though the bumper. I say you do not and as my car works.....I will tell you how to do it easier. Keep in mind...swapping the harnesses is the correct way. But it is alot of work and not needed. On the manual trans you will see 6 wires. 4 control a shift light in the dash that your auto probley don't have. The other two are important....they work your back up lights. cut into the wiring haness that has the connector plugs that goto them. It is the big one that also goes to the alternator and starter. You need the two wires that plug into the two wires on the TOP of the Manual transmission. One shold be red with a black stripe and the other red with a blue stripe. Get as much of the wire as you can from the wiring harness. Now this are for your back up lights to work. You will now need to go under your dash. You should goto your fuse box....remove the cover that your foor rests on and expose the whole fuse panel. near the top right you will find a GREY plug that goes into it. It is a vertical plug with about a dozen wires going into it. That grey plug has a wire. RED w/BLUE stripe and SILVER dots. It is near the bottom of the plug. You need to cut that wire with enough slack to splice BOTH ends. This is the wire that feeds your back up lights. The plug side of the cut is your hot power wire.....splice in a long 5' length of wire to it....route this through your fire wall. I would remove the plug under your speedo cable through the fire wall. it has an 8mm or 10mm bolt in it. but it willll give you a nice route without drilling as I had to do. Splice that wire to the RED w/BLACK stripe wire off the Manual transmission. now the other side of wire on the fuse box goes to the back up lights. Splice another wire just like before but now goto the other wire on the top of the manual trans....it is RED w/BLUE stripe. Make sure non of your wires will snag and use some zip ties or something. I savange the black wire harnesss ribbed stuff off other cars. You will now have back up light that will work. To wire up the car to only start when you have pressed the clutch down.....this is also VERY simple. The auot trans has 5 wirs on it. 4 for nutral saftey switch and one other I don't know what it did. The 4 though are two greens and two blacks. One green and one black will be hot with the car in the on position. This opens up a circut aloowing the car to start. without a signal in one of theose two lines....and that will now start. You CAN just splice the two greens and two blacks together....but then you have a car that starts while in gear....yikes!!! So cut the plug off the auto trans. Plug it into the wireing harness it was attached to under/beside the battery shelf. cap off either the blacks or greens. It really don't matter which. the other two need a wire spliced into them....route a wire off each..through the fie wall. now I am assuming you have bolted in the new pedals by now...if not....good time to start. Pretty easy if you ask me. You now need the wire plug that goes into the pluger switch on your clutch pedal. Wire one toeach and tape them off. Plug the plug ito the petal switch. Now if it was done right .....your car can only start AFTER you depress the clutch pedal. Otherwise if you do not want to do this GHETTO rigging.....fine...swapp all the wiring harnesses. All the rest is straight forward install. Route your cables for the shifter and such. DO NOT try and use the Haynes manual to figure out the wiring. Took me way longer. You can ditch the whole auto shifter and the unplug the whole thing in the center console. About the axles. If you pull the drivers side out...you will puke all the oil inside. They say on Stormowners you can use 5w30 motor oil....I spent a few bucks and bought the stuff from the dealership THEY were the only place that had it. $11 a quart. part number was GM#12345349 (I think) If I can add photos later about how to do this I will. The camera is acting goofy right now. Any questions contact me through Stormowners of email me ykmalachi@netscape.net I will be glad to talk you through it. You can even call me..check my signature line in any post for my number. Now to clarify.....this is how I did it. I was working with a 1991 base donor car. I put into a 1992 base. wire colors may have been changed from year to year. The basics should stand though. I may have forgotten a few things. If so I hope to add to this if needed. Anyone who has suggestions for improving on this mod let one of the site Administrators know. Frank and Jen tend to handle most issues like that. If anyone sees anything dangerous or wrong in this write up let me know and make sure they pull it off the site. I know what worked for me. Good luck and be ready for 2 long days working with a friend....or one long week by yourself. Malachi