Considering 5MT swap & partout.

[ultrasonic]

So, I've got this 91 Sport Sedan (~175k miles) that's suffering rust. I also have a lovely 94 Touring Wagon (118k miles). At this point in my ownership of these two cars, I'm considering parting out the 91SS, and using components to swap the 94TW to 5MT. I'll have every part, both small and large, right there on a working donor car to make sure the swap goes well. Then I'll have the following major components to sell:

EJ22T long or short block.
3.90 open rear diff.
4EAT.

I'd hang on to some parts as spares for the 94TW, and still have a bunch of stuff to sell from the 91SS.

Cost in both dollars and time are a factor here, and I have not fully committed to the project. I'm soliciting help locally to do the work, and crunching the numbers to make sure I can pull it off. In the mean time I'm opening this thread to ask a couple questions and see if the experts can help me plan an efficient swap

1. I believe the 94 has a 2 piece drive shaft, and I'm sure the 91 has a one piece drive shaft. Of course I'll need the 91 shaft to match the 5MT. The 91 shaft should work ok on the 94 chassis, right?

2. While I've got everything apart, I'd like to touch the obvious maintenance items that are otherwise hard to access. Of course a new clutch will go in, and rear seals on the engine. Is there anything else I should do as a matter of course? 5MT seals? Rear diff seals?

3. I intend to keep the engine primarily stock for the forseeable future, but I'm considering a slightly lightened flywheel. It's still going to be a daily driver, often in city traffic, so I don't want to go super light. Suggestions on this idea, and any specific moderately lightened flywheel option?

In effort to expedite the swap, I'd want to build plug & play harness adapters per Josh's swap page. Since I intend to sell the 4EAT, I don't want to cut connectors off of it so I'd want to buy those parts ahead of time.

Once this swap is done, the 94TW will need timing belt service, which I've done a few times, and suspension refresh, but otherwise should be in good shape.

So…. any thoughts or ideas? Thanks!

[Legacy777]

Steve,

On your first question, yes the 91 driveshaft will work on the 94 chassis

On the second item, I'd also do the rear separator plate and rear pass cam seal (easier to get to with the trans out). When you do the clutch, replace the throw out bearing and pilot bearing as well. Others may have some other suggestions on things to do.

Regarding the LW flywheel, I'm not sure of any that are mildly LW. My advertised 14.4 lb LW FW was actual around 9. It sucked in traffic. I ended up going back with the std weight flywheel. A machine shop would probably have to do a mildly LW flywheel for you.

On the plugs, what I'd suggest doing is pulling the pins from the AT connectors and repinning them into the MT connectors, like what I did with mine.

http://main.experiencetherave.com/subar ... spdswap/32

[ultrasonic]

Steve,

On your first question, yes the 91 driveshaft will work on the 94 chassis

On the second item, I'd also do the rear separator plate and rear pass cam seal (easier to get to with the trans out). When you do the clutch, replace the throw out bearing and pilot bearing as well. Others may have some other suggestions on things to do.

Regarding the LW flywheel, I'm not sure of any that are mildly LW. My advertised 14.4 lb LW FW was actual around 9. It sucked in traffic. I ended up going back with the std weight flywheel. A machine shop would probably have to do a mildly LW flywheel for you.

On the plugs, what I'd suggest doing is pulling the pins from the AT connectors and repinning them into the MT connectors, like what I did with mine.

http://main.experiencetherave.com/subar ... spdswap/32

Thanks on the driveshaft. Regarding clutch, I had already planned on doing the bearings. The more I read, the more I don't think a lightened FW is for me.

On the trans wiring, if I understand you correctly...
- scavenge the MT plug from the 91 chassis, remove the pins from the housing.
- un-pin the wires from the chassis side of the AT plug.
- re-pin the harness into the plug housing from the MT chassis side.

I'll have to go back and read your writeup again, but I believe I get what you mean.

Thanks for the comments, Josh.

[Legacy777]

Yup, you've got it.

Just take your time depinning the connectors. Practice on another connector that you don't care about if you mess up. There is also a little plastic clip on the back side of the connector that acts as a secondary stop for the pins. This needs to come out. I've found that it's very easy to break the tabs on this, so take your time and be careful. It's easier to remove this on the smaller connectors. Once this is out, then you can depin the connector.