(TRANSMISSION) Parts list for 1984-1985 automatic to 5 speed conversion
 

I'm trying to get the balls to convince myself to do this, but I must say its a little intimidating looking through all of the information. Not to mention the fact that I am cursed with the 4 Spd. OD transmission. First off I'd just like to know how hard you guys would rate the job on a scale of 1 - 10 , with ten being near impossible and 1 changing the spark plugs. I've never removed a transmission from ANY car and want to know If I'd be biting off more than I can chew here. Then again, there are many things I've done on this car, that I've never done on another. I must say in general the car is very easy to work on compared to others, and I've learned quite a bit by just attempting things.

With the formalities out of the way I have compiled what I believe to be a very detailed list of things to keep in mind. Please remember this is for an 85 GS 4 Spd. Auto. Here is the list of what I think I will need. Please make ANY and ALL corrections to what I have listed. I am just going by what I've read here.

1) 5 Spd. Transmission from 83-85 Rx-7.
2) Crossmember from 5spd.
3) Driveshaft from 5spd.
4) Pedals (clutch and brake) from 5 spd.
5) 5 Spd. Wiring harness (5 wires?)
6) Starter from 5spd. (From what I've seen the Auto starter isn't compatible with the 5 spd??)
7) Clutch connector switch is plug and play. It should already be in my car??
8) Unplug Auto Trans by the ECU
9) Remove Flywheel weight? (I am confused, see below list)
10) Install pilot bearing? (Also confused)
11) Install clutch disc and pressure plate
12) Install release bearing in M/T.
13) Top dust cover for motor from donor car.
14) Some kind of bracket to make up for the different mounting points with the crossmember. (4"-4.5")
15) Clutch Master Cylinder.
16) Lines/Hoses for Clutch??
17) Shifter out of an 84-85? (If the 5spd. is from an 83)

Whew. Scares me a little just to list out all that stuff. For the most part what confuses and disturbs me is the thought of all the flywheel stuff. I've heard that I need to remove weights and that I don't. What exactly needs to be done to the stock A/T flywheel in order to use it again? I would prefer not to spend the extra $$$ right now on a lightened flywheel. Some have said If I will be using the same flywheel I'll have to pull the engine. Is this true? This isn't really a possibility for me as I have no way to pull the engine. All I have is a jack and a bunch of jackstands.

Pilot Bearing - Like I said I have zero experience when it comes to work of this magnitude. What is the pilot bearing, what does it do, will it be part of the 5 Spd when I buy one or will i have to specify that I need it?

I'm going to leave it at that for right now and hopefully I'll go from here once I get a few responses from you knowledgable fellows. I'm thinking its going to be a real pain for me to find all of the parts I need since NONE of the local parts yards have ANY first gens. I have found a guy that works at the local Advance Auto Parts that has an Rx-7 with a bad frame. I think he might part it out but I"ve gotta talk to him still. I think my ideal situation would be to find someone on here that's local to me that has done this swap. Maybe they'd be willing to help me with it, but right now I haven't found anyone. Seems like there aren't too many in the Indiana Ohio area. Oh well...

Hope to hear from all of you!
Jamie

Wow! Great general information. I've found lots of stuff about the Rx-7 but nothing really about transmissions and clutches and stuff in general. This answered quite a few of my questions already. Hopefully some of the guys that have done the swap will chip in and fill in any other things I've missed. :)

u have to swap the auto tranny flywheel with one for a manual tranny. just get everything related to the manual tranny from the same car, pedals, clutch master and slave cylinders and the steel and flex line that connect between the two, clutch disc, pressure plate and release bearing, u will have to install a pilot bearing and seal in the end of the eccentric shaft. the back up lights should use the same wires. as for any wiring for the ecu, i wouldn't know.

I want to do it for no other reason that the absurd idea of having an Auto trans in a sports car. I don't know why anyone would do this in the first place. Stuipd if you ask me... :)

its really not that hard of a conversion, i was worried about it at first but if you can turn a wrench its not bad at all. And its so worth it.

you dont need to change the ecu or mess with it at all, just leave it alone, you do have to unplug the auto transmission control unit, which is located right next to the ecu. Its been said before, really the hardest part is putting in the pedal assembly, but thats just cause you have to pull out part of the dash, more annoying than hard.

Another thing, i pulled out a wiring harness out of a 79, the same wiring harness everyone said to pull out, and it didn't match up with anything on the 84, so i just did my own wiring, just consisted of reverse lights and a clutch switch.

i say go for it, well worth it, and if you got questions just ask

In response to the tranny swap...

I was considering doing the very same thing to my 84 GSL with an Auto Tranny. The Auto just plain sucks. It's slow, heavy, and should've never been put on a car that has only 100hp stock.

I've done plenty of engine removals and swaps on Rx-7s. It's not that hard to remove the engine. You can rent a cherry picker to do the job and it only takes one good Saturday to do it.

My advise is to find ANOTHER Rx-7 that was ORIGINALLY a 5spd. This is what I did. I swapped a 2nd gen 13-b engine (needed rebuilt) for his 83 5spd (complete car) that had NO motor. It was quite easy for me to take the motor out of the auotmatic 7 and put into the manual 7. It's cheaper this way too (buying parts seperate will be expensive).

You can usually find a decent Rx-7 with a blown engine (or no engine) for around $100. Just look on Ebay, you'll see what I'm talking about.

I've done this swap already and done a HUGE burnout in my driveway since then to celebrate. Only took me a week working just a few hours each night. I had no problems with putting a new pilot bearing into the Auto's Ecc. shaft. It just hammers right in. You're engine will have to be removed anyway b/c it takes 350# of torque to remove the flywheel nut so that you can change flywheel. (you will need a 2-1/4" socket and a 3ft long pipe to do this) A manual flywheel/clutch works basically the as the rotor and brake pad setup you have on the front of your car. The pressure plate presses the clutch disk against the flywheel to make a solid contact. When the clutch pedal is pressed, the disc slips on the flywheel removing the contact and your car goes no where. You will see that on the auto flywheel, it is not set up for this. Hope I've helped in your decision making.... You need to get a Haynes manual if you don't already have one.

Also, my automatic is an 84 GSL that has a great body to it and I plan on listing it on Ebay soon. Good LSD diff. Good auto tranny but needs new torque converter. Most of the interior has been removed though.

Hey Ham... Just did the swap last summer with my dad... Not to bad at all... We in fact did not need to remove the monster nut on the flywheel... Big tidbit of info there. The most difficult part was installing the new pedals, and creating an additional mounting bracket... If you have any questions about this, ask me and I'll do my best to help...
Specifcally we changed an '85 gsl 12A auto to a stick.
Good luck!

Ok guys. A quick update. First off thanks to all of you so far for all the excellent info! You guys are d@mn helpful. :D Next, I have located a possible donor car with a bad body for $100. I am going to look at it tomorrow. If everthing seems to be okay I'll probably go ahead and get it from him. It is an 83 GSL 5 spd. From what I've read I should have no problems with this, besides making up for the larger overdrive auto tranny (mounting 4 inches closer). Plus I need some other parts so having a whole car might be nice. I think I'm gonna take off everything I might want and then go from there. But an 83 GSL 5 spd. should work ok to swap with an 85 GS Auto right? Anything specific I should be looking for as far as the transmission on this car? Just move her through the gears and see if everything feels ok? I'm not much on transmissions so I don't know how to tell a good one from a bad one. If I get the car I'll have a spare engine too. I'll probably dump some MMO in it and put it in storage. Or I might sell it. I'll have to decide....

Bumped up for 1stgen689 who said he searched,lol.

Plus there are these other ones that I found by using the terms auto to 5spd or auto to manual. Amazing what you can find. Ok I'm done being a putz about the search fucntion.:-)

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generation-specific-1979-1985-18/auto-5-spd-337111/

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generation-specific-1979-1985-18/85-gsl-auto-5-speed-369793/

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generation-specific-1979-1985-18/important-note-auto-manual-conversion-590993/

When we get done then I will edit and archive and merge threads.

I've got this for you too:

http://frosted7.com/katrina12.html