Hey guys, I just got done with my manual swap. I am sure the list below will help others in their journey. I tried to make the list as comprehensive as possbile. Dustin Weinand and Dan Carroll are excellent resources. All the Word doc formatting will not convert over to the forum.

Driveline

1. 5spd Transmission used. $350 – 500.

2. 5spd bell housing bolts.

a. Manual bell housing bolts 4 total. 9979-61-055. $3.43 - $5

b. Manual bell housing bolts 1 total. 9979-61-090. $3.96 - $5

3. 5spd Flywheel used. $75. The OEM units have a counter balance built in. If you go aftermarket be sure to get a counter weight.

4. Clutch kit. Exedy Stock $339. Exedy Stage 1 Heavy $540 or Comp Clutch Stage 2 $542

5. Pressure plate bolts.

6. Driveshaft propeller and differential. Manual vs auto driveshaft and differential compatibility makes this a unique topic. Take note, the factory driveshaft u-joints are non-serviceable, keep that in mind for high mileage parts with crappy u-joints. Gearing note: the manual differential is 4.10 vs the automatic is 3.90.

a. Option one: Custom driveshaft that connects the manual trans with the auto diff. Manual yoke and auto u-joint. Manual has a 25 count spline and the auto flange can be from a Dodge. $400

b. Option two: Manual differential flange AKA companion plate with a used stock drive shaft. $100 (flange) plus $150 - 200 (used drive shaft). Seems cost effective initially but this will require cracking open the auto differential and removing the old auto flange which has pressed fit parts.

c. Option three: Manual differential ($500 - 600) with manual drive shaft ($150 - 200). Be cautious of u-joints on high mileage driveshafts.

7. Clutch Master Cylinder FD01-41-990B. $35 – 52

a. Clutch Master Cylinder to Firewall Gasket (H001-41-443) $2

8. Clutch Slave Cylinder FD01-41-920. $35 – 109

9. Clutch line SS $25

10. Clutch pipes and fittings $12

11. 5spd starter N3A1-18-400R-00, $100 – $230

12. Shifter

a. Option one: Short shifter kit. Part availability changes over the years. As of 2020: JP3 Motor sports $400 or B&M Knock offs $80 – 100.

b. Option two: Complete stock rebuild kit. $120.

13. Manual Shifter Rubber Boot. Outer, Middle & Upper Shift Boots all included (FD01-64-490A) $50 – 63.



Electrical

1. Manual 5spd ECU $100 – 200 used.

2. Harnesses. This is another unique topic. Some opt to simply rewire the auto harness so that it is compatible with the manual 5spd ECU. This seems to be the most cost effective and has been done on multiple swaps. The other more costly and time-consuming option is to swap the dash harness, the front ring harness and the gauge cluster to a manual 5spd.

a. Option one: rewire auto harness. $100 - 300 labor.

i. Connector for reverse switch. Get 2 just in case.

ii. Connector for 1st – 2nd switch and neutral switch. Get 2 just in case

b. Option two: dash and front ring 5spd harnesses and 5spd cluster.



Pedals

1. Clutch Pedal Assembly

a. Option one, all new parts:

i. Pedal assembly (FD01-41-30XA) $258 – 350

ii. Plastic bushing for push rod. (0727-41-023) $2.93

iii. Clutch Position Switch (LA01-66-490A) $13.50 - $16.50

iv. Clutch Position Switch Nut Flange Cap (8100-68-615) $2.23

v. Clutch Cut off Switch (HF05-66-4DO) $33.39. Discontinued. Ordering a 90-05 Miata clutch cut switch, pedal assembly will need to be modified to make it work. (FB01-66-4D0).

vi. Clutch Pedal Push Rod. This part is discontinued. Old part number is 0727-41131. A pushrod from a Mazda RX3 will work.

b. Option two, used parts: $150 – 300.

i. Rubber bump stop. If you opted for used parts you may need new bump stops. Mazda discontinued the FD sized rubber stop but a Nissan part will fit 46584-S0100. $4 - 6

2. Brake pedal assembly.

a. Option one, new parts: New pedal unit 93-95 Rx7 Manual Brake Pedal Assembly (FD01-43-30XB) $300 - $370

b. Option two, used unit. These are difficult to find and prices are going up $100

i. Rubber bump stop. Mazda discontinued the FD sized rubber stop but a Nissan part will fit 46584-S0100. $4 - 6



Interior

1. Shifter **** (10 x 1.25mm).

2. Manual Black Interior Shifter Boot (FD01-64-330C-00) $30 – 132 Ebay has knockoffs and the Miata ones are compatible.

a. You will need the inner plastic OEM ring. The custom Ebay ones do not come with it; don’t be fooled by the photos.

3. Interior Panel Trim Spring Clip (B092-55-257) 5 of these are required to clip the shifter bezel trim down. $1.75 each order 5 total.

4. Emergency brake. Now might be a good time to refresh the leather boot and handle.



Recommended maintenance during install

1. Differential: 75W 90 gear oil GL5. Do not use gear oil that has LSD friction modifier in it. It does not work well with the Torsen differentials in FD’s. 1.38 qts. Page A-16 of Scheduled Maintenance Manual.

a. Mobileone 75W90NS. no friction modifier. 2 qts

2. Tranny gearbox: 75w-90 in a warm climate 80w-90 in cold climate. (GL-4 or GL-5). 2.6 qts. Page A-15 of Scheduled Maintenance Manual.

a. Mobileone. 3 qts







Optional Upgrades

1. Cross member brace. Banzai Racing $250. Reduces shifter movement, allowing for more precise and predictable shifting. It helps to prevent cracking of the PPF and prolongs motor mount life by reducing transmission tail shaft movement. Achieves this without the vibration associated with the solid mounted Trans brace.

2. Starter relay kit. Banzai Racing $49. The "click, click, start" issue is a very common problem with the RX7, as the electrical components age the problem gets worse. Our easy to install Starter Relay Kit mounts next to the starter to insure that the solenoid gets full voltage when you turn the key. We have developed this kit utilizing a completely waterproof 50 amp relay with a built in resistor for voltage spikes, all terminals have heat shrink insulation for durability and protection.



Clarification Items

· Power Plant Frame (PPF). Contrary to popular belief there is no need to change this part out for the swap.



Wiring instructions by Dan Carroll.

This is more difficult than it seems. Dan Carroll has an excellent write-up. Reach out to him on RX7Club for detailed info. I have a short summary of his work below.

Brief Instructions

Section 1 includes just a list of what to cut and what to connect. Details and pictures are listed in further sections.

AT Engine Wiring Harness Modifications

Speed Sensor

The Auto Transmission Engine Wiring harness already has a connector that plugs directly into the manual transmission speed sensor. The wire is the proper length to reach to the back of the Manual transmission, so no modification is necessary.

Starter inhibitor bypass

R-1) To allow the starter to work, you must bypass the inhibitor switch which was in the automatic transmission by locating the gray 9 pin connector that connected to the auto transmission. Cut the lower gauge (thicker) Blue/Yellow and Red/Yellow (2 outside pins lower row) wires from the connector (wiring harness side) and crimp together with a 14-16 gauge butt crimp.

Reverse Switch (Sensor)

R-2) Purchase at least one of this 2 pin connector that connects to the reverse switch (Suggest 1 spare in case of damage when inserting the pins): https://www.corsa-technic.com/item.php?item_id=553

20-24 AWG and 1.4-2.4mm (for this and all the connectors listed here)

R-3) Locate the AT Inhibitor switch (Gray 9 pin) and cut the Brown/Black wire and the Yellow/Blue wire. Extend these wires to the same length as the 8 pin yellow connector that went to the back of the auto transmission (nearly same length as the speed sensor connector). Connect these two wires to a crimp pin and plug into the purchased reverse connector listed above.

Ideally wrap the wires in the similar style wire harness wrap cover sleeve which can be purchased on line (Amazon).

1st-2nd Switch and Neutral Switch

The 1st- 2nd switch uses a 4 pin connector with 2 blue wires for 1st gear and 2 green wires for 2nd gear.

One blue wire connects to CPU pin 2K for 1st, and the other blue wire connects to ground.

One green wire connects to CPU pin 2L for 2nd, and the other green wire connects to ground.

The neutral switch uses a 2 pin connector with one pin to ECU pin 1R and the other side to ground.

The 1st gear, 2nd gear, and netural switches all work in a similar fashion. When in 1st, the 1st gear switch connects the two wires together, and is open in any other gear (same for 2nd and neutral).

R-4) Purchase at least one of this 4 pin connector to connect to the 1st-2nd switch (spare suggested): https://www.corsa-technic.com/item.php?item_id=554

R-5) Purchase at least one of this 2 pin connector to connect to the neutral switch (spare suggested): https://www.corsa-technic.com/item.php?item_id=700

R-6) Locate the 8 pin yellow connector that connected to the back of the auto transmission. Remove the following 4 pins: White, Yellow, Green, Red (to be used for the neutral switch). Don’t cut them as these pins fit perfectly in the connectors listed in these instructions.

Yellow already connects to the 2nd gear input on the ECU, so no additional wiring inside the car is required.

Green already connects to the 1st gear input on the ECU, so no additional wiring inside the car is required.

White was ground, but needs to be connected to ground inside the car once the EC-AT (Auto ECU) is removed. The EC-AT provided the ground.

Red will be used for Neutral which is connected to EC-AT pin 2R (Red).

CPU Neutral input pin 1R (Yellow) connects to EC-AT pin 1C (Yellow).

R-7) Inside the car, to connect our red neutral switch wire to the ECU, we

remove pin 2R from the Auto ECU and insert into the ECU pin 1R

Red Auto ECU pin 2R – (was ATF Thermosensor input) repin to ECU pin 1R

These wires have a dashed line on them that isn’t part of the color code.

Search Youtube for a video titled “Removing a terminal from a connector” or similar video. I bought a pin removal tool from Amazon, but it was so flimsy that a tiny eyeglasses repair screwdriver worked far better for me. The guy on the video had a similar experience.

R-8) Cut the remaining 4 unused wires (Yellow/Red, Green/White, Blue, Brown) from the 8 pin yellow connector.

R-9) Test fit the 4 pin connector into the 1st/2nd switch on the manual transmission. Note which side has 2 green wires, and which side has two blue wires. Connect the green pin just removed from the AT wiring harness 8 pin connector to match up with one of the blue wires on the 1st-2nd sensor.

This is because the green pin on the AT ECU wiring harness side already connects to ECU 1st gear input, but the first gear sensor uses the blue wires.

R-10) Connect the yellow pin removed from the 8-pin connector to match up with one of the green wires on the 4 pin 1st-2nd sensor.

R-11) Connect the red pin removed from the 8-pin connector to one side of the neutral switch connector.

R-12) For the 3 ground pins, you need to connect the white wire from the wiring harness to 3 separate white pins for the 1st, 2nd, and neutral connectors. I made this 4-way connection using a 2 way butt connector, but there are lots of ways to do this.

I cut the original white pin back about 2 inches and made two more two 2-inch “pigtails” with a white wire crimped to a pin from the purchased connectors.

Then I twisted the original wiring harness white wire to one of the pigtails I made and crimped into one side of the butt connector. I twisted the original white pigtail that I cut off with the other pigtail I made. I did it this way so there would be matching thickness on each side no matter what gauge wire you used for the pigtails.

You should now have the following 4 connectors all roughly the same length:

Speed sensor

Reverse switch

Neutral switch

1st-2nd Switch

Interior Connections

NEUTRAL SWITCH CONNECTION

Red pin 2R connects to the Neutral switch wire that we hijacked from the ATF sensor.

Yellow pin 1R on the CPU (neutral input) connects to EC-AT pin 1C (yellow) which we need to connect to the red wire above.

R-13) Inside the car by the ECU: Cut red pin 2R on the 20 pin EC-AT connector from the EM harness (2nd pin from the end)

R-14) Cut Yellow pin 1C from the 16 pin connector on the Front wiring harness and then connect the two wires together using a connector so someone could actually pull the engine without cutting this wire.

GROUND for NEUTRAL/1ST/2nd

R-15) Verify if wire 2L on the ECU-AT (5th from the end) is already connected to ground. If so, then no action is required. If not, then cut white wire pin 2L on the ECU-AT (5th from one end) and connect to a ground lug.

CLUTCH SWITCH CONNECTION

R-16) Cut Green/White pin 2P on the ECU-AT (3rd pin from the end on the 20 pin black connector) and connect to one side of the clutch sensor. This works because pin 2P is connected to ECU pin 1Q black/orange (shifting / clutch pedal pressed).

R-17) Run the other pin to ground.

 

thank for taking the time to do this

 

Excellent write-up. Very useful.

 

Hello, i am confused with mine.. seems the manual trans is not originally from the transmission
It has 24 spline teeth at the back..
Can you help me what transmission it is.. because i bought used engine , and it came with this gearbox