Let's first ask the question, "Why would someone want to attempt this type of a project?" There are a few reasons. I believe that the first would be for the user to be able to select which RPM they'd like the car to shift in. This really comes in handy when on a dyno. Ever try to dyno an Automatic? The readings aren't acurate b/c of the tranny doing the shifting. Another is for more harnessable power. With a Manual Tranny, the driver can decide how strong to set the clutch pedal feel. This is obtained through the type of Pressure Plate, and the type of clutch. The pilot can also decide rather or not to lighten the flywheel for "re-located" HP to the wheels. No matter what the reason is, there are pros and cons which should be taken into concideration before doing anything to the already running 3G.
I bet that we all want to hear the bad news first, so I'm going to state it how it is. I'll be honest with you, the process can either go smoothly, or it can go very rough which is how I had it. Plan ahead as there will no doubtedly be some down time with the lude. For me, it was 4.5 months! I needed help as I wasn't quite the mechanic at the time I started. There's also the possibility of the manual tranny being bad, and other faults with some of the parts. My pressure hose ended up having a few small pin holes in it and fluid bled out and stranded me 22 miles away from home a few weeks after I had completed my project. Now for the good news. You'll learn SO much about cars that you probably didn't care to even know by performing this swap. You'll learn how a clutch works to its entirety! If you don't know how to drive a standard before the swap, then you'll learn how to afterwards. Plus, you'll figure out how computers (ECU's) can ruin everything for you if you don't make things work like they are supposed to. It's a long process, but believe me, it can be done.
The first bit of information has to be the part list. I've probably received 20+ emails asking for a parts list, and now you won't have to take the time out to push a few keys on the board. :)
Part List:
*Manual Transmission
-Pressure Plate
-Clutch Disc
-Flywheel
*Throwout Bearing
*Selector cables(2)
*Shift Assembly
*New Pedal Assembly
*Clutch Master Cyl.
*Hard Clutch Line
*Clutch Pressure Actuator
*Hydrolic Clutch Hose
*Clutch Slave Cyl.
-Manual Transmission Starter
-Manual Transmission Flywheel cover
*Manual Transmission Engine Mount (tranny side only)
-Manual Transmission to Bell Housing Bolt Set
-Flywheel Bolts (8 needed, grab 9 incase of emergency)
-Pressure Plate Bolts (8 needed, grab 9 - 10)
-Clutch Alignment Tool (extremely importaint)
-Ball Joint Seperator (can be rented or bought for $20 at AutoZone)
-Large Bottle of Dot3/Dot4 Brake Fluid (Valvoline Syntec is good)
*4 Cotter pins (for the selector cables)
-Can of Grease for the Throwout Bearing (Mollykot77; most anything will work)
-RedLine MTL (2 quarts is perfect, but Helm calls for 2.1 of 10W30)
-***And a lot of prayer!***
(* = bought in manual tranny changeover from junkyard)
I'll add more parts to the list as I remember them, but this is the bulk of the list. At this point, we now have a basic parts list to work off of. Listed above you'll also see parts marked with an *. These are the parts I bought at a junkyard in what they called a "Manual Tranny Changeover" set. As you can plainly see, it's not an exact set. Though half of the parts were used, I'd like to mention the old saying, "Newer is better." In mentioning this, some of the parts I received were not used with my install. One such item was the Throwout bearing. This piece is probably the most vital part of a clutch system next to an actual clutch disc. Basically, when you can use newer parts, use them. And before purchasing anything from a junk yard, make sure you know the *condition* of the parts your obtaining for the price they quote you; perform a maticulous inspection. Another thing to remember is that you will have to obtain all of the parts from the list above. The clutch, Pressure Plate and Throwout bearing I purchased was from cyberauto.com. They are a great internet based speed shop, and carry more than just these parts. Cyberauto.com also has items that are good for the daily driver ranging to the high horse power minded person. I went with a street clutch and an ACT Extreme Pressure Plate. Nice thing is, your not limited to just a stock clutch and Pressure Plate.
Okay, you now have the parts and it's time to prep the car for work. At this point I seirously recomend finding someone that can help you out. I had a few people help me through the beginning of my swap project, and we were able to completely drop my auto tranny in just two days. After just 2 days of consistant work, I felt this project would end within the next few days. Fact of the matter is, there are a lot of parts as you can tell from the list I put together above. There's more to it than just dropping an automatic and bolting in a manual transmission. In all honesty, the hardest part of the entire project is installing the manual selector cables. There is an order in which everything needs to be completed; most of which should be done with the help of others (i.e. dropping the Automatic Tranny). Be sure you have acess to a vehicle of some sort as the lude will be down for a bit.
From this point on I'm letting my good 3G buddy David Loi handle the rest of the install article. Part 2 will be posted "here" when he finishes it. Look for Part 2 coming out this next weekend (1/6/01 or 1/7/01).