5MT Swap

[91White-T]

Is this something that can be done (meaning have someone do it for me) for a reasonable price?

[Legacy777]

http://www.xmission.com/~dac/library/tr ... onvert.htm

[billc]

I am in the process of doing that right now. It is a lot of work,but I am havivg a blast doing it.If I didnt have another car it would not be fun at all(rush,rush).Daves website as mentioned above is a wonderful resource on this topic.Good luck, BillC

[whitemr2]

I'm contemplating this swap right now, as my tranny is stuck in third gear with the only TCU error code being a previous code of a bad speed sensor (which doesn't seem like it'd cause the TCU to lock the tranny in gear - I get no neutral or reverse, even!). Anyway, the website mentioned is a great writeup of what's involved, but after reading it I have a few questions.

First, I was wondering if anyone has attempted to do this swap without the benefit of a lift? If I use a standard floor jack and jack stands, will that provide adequate clearance for me to work comfortably under the car in this region, and more importantly, will I be able to slide the tranny OUT from under the car, or is it too tall? My floor jack provides about a 16" lift.

The article mentioned a problem with high idle speed, implying that some wire to the ECU had to be altered to tell it it now had a 5MT. Has anyone figured this out? I live in CA and will fail smog check with a high idle.

Is the CEL activated by this swap?

[Legacy777]

The high idle was initially caused because the ECU still thought it was an AT.

The ECU will put more timing advance at idle for an AT vs. a MT because there is more drag/weight in the system.

You can alleviate this problem by snipping the AT/MT identifier lead that goes to the ECU. I believe Dave did this and it has worked fine.

Here's the ECU pin out for a 90 legacy

http://www.main.experiencetherave.com:8 ... _page1.jpg
http://www.main.experiencetherave.com:8 ... _page2.jpg
http://www.main.experiencetherave.com:8 ... _page3.jpg

The turbo pin-out may have more stuff....but the AT/MT identifier lead should be the same.

[DLC]

Indeed.

After i snipped the AT/MT wire, the idle dropped to normal levels.

I still haven't hooked up the reverse lights or neutral switch, or even the Cruise, but i know someone who has. Problem is, he's on a trip right now for months, and my old ICQ messages are gone.

No CEL. No TCU.

Dave

[billc]

I am doing my swap with a floor jack and jack stands.I had to put a 4" block of wood on my jack saddle in order to get the car high enough to slide the tranny out. My tranny jack saddle for my floor jack was too tall also, so my buddy and I manhandled the tranny out.The 4eat is a big,heavy poderous pig. The 5mt looks svelte in comparison.My biggest problem so far has been rusty bolts,Things that should have taken 1/2 hour have taken several. Good thing I am in no rush. 5mt will go in as soon as get my clutch. BillC

[whitemr2]

Bill, it sounds like you're done with the hard part! Keep us updated and let us know how it goes, ok?

Did you raise the whole car up on jack stands or just the front end?

Did you have to tilt the engine back (raise front end) as described? If so, how did you do this?

[billc]

I did put the rear end on jack stands also. I did tilt the engine back to but I used the 2x4 method. I however ran into major problems today. Both ball joint pinch bolts in the steering knuckles broke off. The ball joints were wore as was the c.v boots. While taking the axles out of the knuckles in order to replace the boots, one would not come out. I even broke a puller trying to get it out. I figured that the axle was siezed into the wheel bearing. No big deal, I work in a machine shop with a lot of presses and tooling, I will just press it out right? WRONG! In a 10 ton press the axle wouldnt budge. The steering knuckle even started to flex and copious amounts of rust rained on the floor. I was going to drill the broken pinch bolts out in the mill but after this happened I didnt bother. I will be going to the boneyard tomorrow to try and find steering knuckles.9 snowy,salty mMinnesota winters have made this job alot more difficult than it should be. I even thought of just stopping the whole project today and cutting my losses,but even as rusty as this car is it is still my favorite car I have ever owned so I will try and soldier on. If I was just swapping the tranny, I would have been done a long time ago. Oh well BillC

[ciper]

Bill, since you are replacing your auto what are you doing with the left over electronics? I would be interested to see the shift patterns and such from a later TCU compared to a 90 and 92.