Hey, I've got a '90 GXL with an auto and I want to convert it to a 5-speed. Anybody done that before? I already have the new tranny and all the parts...just wondering if anyone else has ever tried it. If so, how did it go for you?

 

I have and also have pictures.

Sonicrat and fuzzi here on the forum have done this as well.

For me it was a bitch, but for Sonicrat it was like, "oh hey how do ya do this?"- and then a couple of days later he was done.

 

It only requires fabrication of one part, a piece of angle iron or thick metal about 1/4" or so will work great, just about 8" long, to adapt between the auto crossmember and the manual mounting point. Other than that, bolt in all parts and modify the wiring for starter(run from ignition switch trigger wire down to starter trigger wire) and reverse lights(locate using a DMM) and you're done. Many if not most automatics used a 3.9 rearend, so be sure to keep the 3.9 ratio speedo gear outta the old auto transmission and install into the manual, or it'll read off 10mph or so(since most or all 5sp cars came with 4.1 rear and thuis a 4.1 ratio gear installe din the 5sp). It is only 1 10mm bolt holding this gear in.

 

I did it. Do a search for a LOT of info.

-Derek

 

Hey, does that mean 3.9's will be off ten miles a hour less, or ten miles an hour more?

 

If you have a 3.9 in the car and a 4.1 gear in the tranny it would read slow. IF you have a 4.1 in the car and a 3.9 gear in the tranny it would read fast.

Changing rearends has the same effect as changing tire/wheel size. Putting a smaller tire on a car will make it read fast, while a larger tire will make it read slow. Lower rearends act like bigger tires, and higher rearends act like smaller tires. Low gearing(like the 3.9) is for top speed/fuel mileage, high gearing(like the 4.1) is for acceleration.

 

Sweet, I actually have the crossmember out of the 5sp as well, so I can just pop it in in place of the current crossmember, that should eliminate all the fabrication! You think I could just look at the wiring diagrams for each car and find the differences in them, to make the needed changes? (and yeah I know how to read them...they're not as bad as they look). Thanks for your help dudes! If anybody has anything more, I'm listening.

 

No, read again. The CHASSIS mounts are different between manual and auto cars. That means there are 2 different crossmembers, and 2 places they fit. You cannot use an auto crossmember on a 5sp car chassis, or a 5sp crossmember on an auto chassis. The mounts in the chassis are about 6-8" different between the 2. I solve this by keeping the stock auto crossmember and mounting it in the stock position. This means the manual trans. mounting point sits about 6" away. I fabricate the angle iron to make up this difference: bolt it to the tranny, then bolt it to the auto crossmember, and there is your adaptor.

It'll make sense to you when you get under there and check it all out. Some people use the 5sp tranny member, and 2 pieces of angle iron, one for each side of the mount, thus you have 2 adaptors, my method saves you one step of fabrication.

As for the wiring, its best to just figure it out with a dmm, but I can look it up if you cannot do it. IIRC the trigger wire for the starter at the ignition switch is black with a red stripe, but I could be very wrong in recalling that. I ran a wire from that straight to the starter trigger, bypassing the automatic park/neutral safety ****. IF youre using a clutch pedal set with a clutch switch installed, you can wire that in the middle of the wire you run from the switch and have it functional as well(must push clutch to start car). Other than that, you leave all the plugs from the car hanging loose, and you'll need to find the reverse light trigger wires and hook them up to where they go in the gang plug. There are only 4 wires on a 5sp IIRC, 2 for 5th gear switch and 2 for reverse. I cant remember, but I think maybe the reverse light plug is the same for both auto and manual, but dont quote me on that. Its not too hard. Put the car in reverse and use a dmm to find which set of matching wires gives continuity between changing in and out of reverse. Compare this to the auto tranny you just pulled by switching it in and out of reverse and observing the wire pinout positions for those wires, and locate the matching pinouts in your car's gang plug.

 

Thanks for the info Hypntys7! That's good news for me because I thought it was reading fast.

 

Myjynx,

I went the angle iron route. I decided on 1/4 inch steel. Big *** 1/2 inch bolts that were rated high for hardness, and drilled 'em with a drill press. However I did use the tranny mounts from both auto and manual together for a single harness with the angle irons. I'll post a pic foryou tomorrow.

 

OK, cool. I'm glad you explained the crossmember mounting a bit better. Good stuff. I think I've got it now. I wont actually be doing the work for a few more weeks, but I'll let you guys know how it goes. Thanks.

 

I might do this mith my car and I was wondernig about the redline? Could I get the 8000 RPM redline out of my S5 if I had a manual?

Also, will an S4 flywheel/clutch/tranny/starter work on an S5?

 

Yes and No.

THe s5 flywheel is weighted/balanbced differently than the s4. YOu HAVE to use the flywheel that matches your engine. Other than that, the clutch parts, tranny, starter, etc. from any 5sp 2nd gen will work fine.

 

I posted pics of my TII tranny on my 91' NA a while back. I used a tranny mount from a Benz due to the size differences on the auto and manual tranny. The Benz mount worked great. You should be able to find the pics if you do a search. If you can't find them, then let me know and I'll repost them. You should be able to see what we mean about the difference in mounting points (6-8 inches) of the two trannies.

-Derek

 

How would I go about getting the 8 grand redline? Would I need the manual ECU?

 

Uh, rev higher??

ECU is the same, engine is the same, just change gage clusters. Your engine will rev to 8k right now. IT has the same internals and stuff, I think they just lowered the redline due to the sluggish auto tranny which might be able to handle 8 grand. The regular old 5sp 89-91 NAs came stock witht e 8k redline cluster. My friend has one or 2, groundzero7591@hotmail.com.

 

Yes I do......

 

Do I need to pull anything out of the eccentric shaft to install the pilot bearing? also do i need to pull the counter weight? Or is that part the same for both manual and automatic cars?

 

The e-shaft has a certain sized hole, in which you can either insert a autotrany input shaft OR a pilot bearing from a 5sp. The bearing should go right inside. Ive done the conversion with NO pilot bearing before with no ill effects whatsoever.

The counterweight has to come off the e-shaft. The flexplate for the auto bolts to it, and acts as one part. THe flywheel for the 89-91 NA is what you need to use, and the couterweight is balanced and integrated into it as one piece. There is no way to attatch the flywheel without first removing the counterweight for the auto trans.

 

how hard is it to get the counterweight off?
Can i use a standard puller? or do i need a special tool?

 

If you use a Racing Beat light weight flywheel you don't have to remove the auto trans counter weight. The flywheel bolts up just like the flexplate. You can buy the LW flywheel lots of places including Mazdatrix.

Rob

 

what is the purpose of the pilot bearing?
is not having one ok for hard driving?
do you have to remove the wiring hardnest of the auto?
the trottle body is different, the air setup, do you need a manual trottle body?

and the real question How much will you guys fabricate the cross member for?

 

I would happily give you a crossmember for FREE, less shipping and materials, but I need to make mine first

It would be sometime mid april....

 

I can make you one for $20 this week.

 

So let me get this straight... 20 bucks for a crossmember to let me bolt a 5-speed into my Auto. and all I would need was the tranny/flywheel/clutch and pedal stuff????