My Auto to Manual Swap IS DONE, finally! Options

[hurley97]

so i have the major parts for the auto to manual swap but now i need help
i would love to do it myself and everything...i just dont have the experience, or man power for that matter

ive gotten the ever popular "its not worth it, just buy a new car" which i choose to ignore, the "well i could do it for $2,000" which is way over my budget, and the wannabe mechanic doing work out of his garage who says "id love to try, can i give you an estimate" then never answers the phone again

id trust a 6gc-er over anyone else anyway so i figured id at least ask before looking elsewhere any more
i will pay, just let me know what you think is fair and i'll tell you if i can pay it

please help
thanks

This post has been edited by hurley97: Aug 9, 2006 - 9:03 AM

[hurley97]

Alright, I didn't take too many pictures but heres how it went...

I made the three hour drive Fri night with all the parts that weren't already at Manny's moms. Got pulled over in RI for doing over twice the speed limit/ reckless driving (I didnt know the lanes merged), cop was suspicious of the tranny (which was under a tarp in my passenger footwell), ended up getting an $85 ticket for 5 over the limit which became the least of my worries

Anyway...

Day 1 (Sat Aug 5)
put the car in the garage

took out the little stuff

planned the attack

put in the pedals





Problem #1: We find out the rubber clutch line thats attached to the master cylinder metal line is cut and is kind of necessary to completing the swap.


Solution: Take the line off Dustin's ST if worse comes to worse. He's been driving the GT lately anyway

then Manny tried to get the rear mount and cross member out and got pissed so when Dustin got back from work and he tried and got it out.


Day 2 (Sun Aug 6)
Me and Dustin stopped at Autozone to pick up some synchromesh and other things on the way to Mannys. Manny has the auto tranny out by the time we got there around 2pm.


The resurfaced flywheel and new clutch go on


Problem #2: Go to put the new throwout bearing onto the fork and find out it doesn't fit. We decide not to use the old throwout bearing because we have no idea how old it is. It was Sun after 5pm and nowhere that was even open was going to have it in stock.

Solution: No other choice but to order it from the Toyota dealer the next morning.

Manny is super pissed. He gets the metal clutch line from the master cylinder in place and is done for the day.

Dustin got the shifter cables and ECU in then put all of the interior back together nicely. Brought some things home to work out some wiring issues, like the reverse lights and neutral start switch.


(^the pink stuff is just grease, it's still there just hidden)

When there's nothing else that can be done, work comes to a stop for the day.


Day 3 (Mon Aug 7)
Didn't even see the car the whole day.
Went to the Toyota Dealer in the AM to order the parts. The throwout bearing was in stock in Boston and would be there next day. The ST rubber clutch line was a different story, there was not a single one at any dealer in the country. Dustin ordered the GT line, of which there is only one and will take a week to get. Got a shifter cable clip as well (should have gotten a few more). Came out to $70

Thats about all that could be done for the day.


Day 4 (Tue Aug 8)
Dustin and Jenn had to work. I took Dustin's ST and picked up the parts from the dealer then picked up Manny and went to my car.

Messed around preping the tranny for a while cause Manny was going to wait and have someone help him lift the tranny into place. F- that plan, I guess Manny got bored, bench pressed the tranny in place by himself cause Manny is the freakin MAN lol

Only thing left was to hook up things and put stuff back together. Jenn got back from work and we left to get food. When we got back Manny had hooked up the essential things and tried to start the car but it wouldn't even turn over and the check engine light was on. Called up Dustin to make sure of the next step. Wired the two black wires together (from the harness in the engine bay) and the car started right up with no problem. Wired in Dustin's makeshift reverse light switch. Stole the rubber clutch line out of Dustin's ST, made sure everything worked then tightened everything up and put it all back together.

I drove it down the driveway and there were some noises. Manny took it for a drive to make sure the clutch was alright, said it drove nice and seemed fine otherwise.
Brought it back to the house, I duct taped the shift boot to the shifter surround trim since the auto trim doesn't have the clips to hold it in place




So I made the 3-4 hour drive back home and hit a bit of traffic but still think I did pretty well if I do say so myself
As of today it doesn't make any weird noises anymore and I think I'm getting better at driving it as well as enjoying driving more and more

thanks JDM guy ... too bad Jeff couldn't make it, Jenn and Joey had to take his place as the J ... you guys are the best!