Matthew Hamby

For the past year, I've been driving around an 88 Vert. I love the car to death, but just recently I was blessed by a woman who approached me in McDonald's and told me she had a 90 hatch for sale. Her own words "dis junt clean as hell." I assure you it is clean. Like it had just been driven off the lot clean. She wanted only 1200 bucks for it. I know what you're thinking, but the engine was rebuilt a couple years ago by Mazda. Anyway, it's an automatic. And I have an s4 manual driveline just waiting to be put inside this hatch.

I've read a couple posts but everyone has conflicting ideas and i haven't seen one useful comment yet that thoroughly explains the best way to do this conversion.

Can anyone let me know the correct way to swap an S4 manual driveline into an S5 auto. All I need is info on correct wiring and best mounting method. Thanks.

Pics up soon.

vrracing

iTrader: (1)

Look in the archives. I believe there are three how-tos. Rotary Resurrection has one as well IIRC.

btw, the "Build Threads" subforum is for people to document their builds. Questions go in the main 2nd Generation Specific (1986-1992) forum.

Welcome and enjoy your new toy!

Matthew Hamby

Ah, i'll poke around some more. Thanks. Apologies for the post in the wrong section. Lol.

Hossler

iTrader: (3)

Rotary Resurrection has a great write up, no pictures but it seems pretty straight forward i will be doing this to the 88 fc im picking up

Derekcat

iTrader: (8)

Ugh... No.
Grab an S5 trans [Or put the S5 tailshaft on your S4 trans...], the automatic crossmember, and a couple pieces of angle iron. Vastly better way to do it.

Check out V8killa's posts.. But swap his very complicated extension pieces for simple cut/drilled angle iron and you'll be good to go.

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

I know that if you put a s4 Manual in an s5 manual car that the only thing to be sure to do is Have the Crossmember for the Transmission that you intend on putting in.
like if you install a s5 trans to have the s5 crossmember.
NOW Question:
Is the Automatic car body Transmission mounting points different than the Manual car Transmission mounting points?. (be some nice info to absorb for future use)
..thanks...sorry to OP if it feels like threadjack but it is related..right?

clokker

iTrader: (2)

Indeed they are.
I believe the optimal method involves not just the crossmember but also drilling out the spot welds and harvesting the chassis mount brackets as well.

I'm sure there are less intensive solutions but cannot address their structural integrity (never done it myself, you see).

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

/\/\..Good to know Clokker.Thanks man.
If anyone has pics of the differences that would be superb!.

Derekcat

iTrader: (8)

No picts of the difference but essentially the automatic crossmember is flat whereas the manual has one side that's bent about 45° and lifted up a bit..
Hence if you put the automatic crossmember on an S5 trans [it wont fit on S4] you can use angle iron to "extend" the mounting points forward.

Matthew Hamby

Apart from the difference in brackets between the s4 vert and s5 hatch there is also about a ~9 inch difference laterally between mounting points. I think i'm going to use RotaryRessurection's swap guide, they also have what looks to be a pretty sturdy adaptor between mounting points. I'll let you know how well it holds up after I get to work on it. I just got the car the other day, and now have to save up a little bit of cash for an RB Flywheel. After that, the swap should be finished pretty quickly.

Here's some pics of the car!




Here's Rotary Resurrection's write-up on the swap. Near the end there are some pictures of the bracket and how it's installed.
http://www.rotaryresurrection.com/2n...to_5speed.html