Auto to Manual Swap, worth it?

MOD_MAN_EXTREMEMOD_MAN_EXTREME Wagonist
in Engine & Drivetrain
So I'm thinking about just swapping my auto to a manual, but want to know the typical cost involved. I'm no mechanic and plan on taking it to a shop with the parts I'd need, but what would I be looking at as an average for the wagon?

Am I better off trading or selling it and going for a manual, or just hanging on to the auto until one pops up?

Comments

  • danzdanz Wagonist
    wagons are rare around here so finding another isnt usually an option


    the pedal assembly is wagon specific so u will have to find that.


    is the car RT4WD or FWD?

    if its an RT i wouldnt bother unless u can find a cheap tranny....


    its if FWD its really straight forward. i have all my parts saved up for my auto to manual except a clutch
  • shenrieshenrie Council Member
    if you were doing it yourself and had a donor car, id say go for it. If your paying someone thier prolly gonna nickle and dime you to death man. unless its a buddy or someone you really trust, IMHO Id sell car and get what you really want or find the mechanic a complete donor car before he starts.

    I did a at to mt swap 10+ years ago before a lot of others had tried it and was told it couldnt be done blah, blah, blah. I had a complete donor car and figured it couldnt be that hard. Well it wasnt, but it was very time consuming. If I wouldnt have had a spare car to rob all teh little things from, it would have ending up nickle and diming me to death.
  • MOD_MAN_EXTREMEMOD_MAN_EXTREME Wagonist
    danz wrote:
    wagons are rare around here so finding another isnt usually an option


    the pedal assembly is wagon specific so u will have to find that.


    is the car RT4WD or FWD?

    if its an RT i wouldnt bother unless u can find a cheap tranny....


    its if FWD its really straight forward. i have all my parts saved up for my auto to manual except a clutch
    My car is FWD, Auto, and a Wagovan instead of the normal Wagon so I'm trying to eliminate any problems that could arise.

    As for the pedals I thought they weren't Wagon specific as there was a pedal swap done here on the boards where they put the pedals from a 88-91 hatch into a wagon no problem. The brake light connector was in a different spot but otherwise it all looked to be the same and screwed in no prob.

    How much would you think the parts and installation would run? I want to actually get a manual ECU instead of jerry-rigging my Automatic one to convert it over to manual.

    I've looked up here on thee boards via the search for swaps, a list of parts and whatnot; but, I never see a consistent or typical answer as to what exact parts are needed.
  • MOD_MAN_EXTREMEMOD_MAN_EXTREME Wagonist
    shenrie wrote:
    if you were doing it yourself and had a donor car, id say go for it. If your paying someone thier prolly gonna nickle and dime you to death man. unless its a buddy or someone you really trust, IMHO Id sell car and get what you really want or find the mechanic a complete donor car before he starts.

    I did a at to mt swap 10+ years ago before a lot of others had tried it and was told it couldnt be done blah, blah, blah. I had a complete donor car and figured it couldnt be that hard. Well it wasnt, but it was very time consuming. If I wouldnt have had a spare car to rob all teh little things from, it would have ending up nickle and diming me to death.
    Ah, that's my main worry. I've been thinking it wouldn't be so bad if I knew what to look for and just grab it all at once, but I also don't know much about cars so I'm be paranoid of getting swindled somewhere along the way.
  • danzdanz Wagonist
    search google for "Ef auto to manual swap"

    its the exact same as for a FWD wagon.
  • d33kenwagond33kenwagon New Wagonist
    What if you have an auto RT4WD? Would you just be able to switch in the transmission from a donor and replace it with the auto transmission?
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