convert an auto to 5 speed

[VelBurg]

What's up club protege'. I'm wanting to convert my 94 protege from an auto to a 5 speed. Has anyone out here done it. What will it take beside a donor car and a whole lot of time on there hands. I have a dohc under the hood and after I convert in I am goin to drop a turbo in it as well. I want to have one fabricated it that is the easier route to go then source all the parts...i want to pull up beside a v-8 or some civic thinking he got a beast under the hood and not even make a sound until we hit that he know that there is a turbo underneath the hood...but first things first I want to change the transmission.. so any help or pictures will help.

[mazdatuner]

for the price of the swap you could just buy a 5 speed lx and vuala you have to pro to mix and match parts

[jitb37]

allu need is:
clutch pedals

manual tranny( (dohc or sohc trany will work, but the dohc is weaker supposedly, but...ive personnally seen one sohc tranyn go thru 2 bp''s and 1 boosted B6 motor, and its still active today, but might as well go with the bp tranny)

manual axles (automatic ones are thinner, but they will work)

clutch master cylinder/slave cylinder (hoses that go along with it)

Shifter linkage ( mx3 4cyl - protege - escort all will work perfectly)

protege DOHC Clutch/Flywheel

its real simple...

drop the crossmember's

Disconnect the automatic shifter linkage, and pull out the PRND21

Pull the axles out...

Drop The auto tranny

take out the brake pedal (automatic)

Install the manual clutch pedal - which has the brake pedal attached to it

And in stall the Clutch Slave cylinder (all this will be easier with the tranny)

install the manual shifter linkage (make sure u get al lthe bolts with it when u buy it)

Put the manual tranny in, pop the axles back in...

u got manual...its just as siple as that, no real hard work, besides droppin the tranny, and putting the manual in. And the pedals is kinda of a bitch. but thats only b/c of the space. All the holes for the pedals are already there, so no need to fabricate anything. Got anymore questions hit me on AIM..ive done this twice on BG chassis, once on a mx3(v6 might i add...talk about lack of space..), and on a protege lx. Get u 2 friends and its a day project. You dont NEED the ECU, but if u use the auto ECU te wheels will spin in Neutral (it wont move the car, but if the wheels are in the air with the car on they will spin, and the HOLD light will blink....but if u swap over the ECU out of a manual car it wont do any of that. but there is no performance issue with using the auto ECU.

[VelBurg]

cool, Well how much will you charge to if I give you a hand and you help me install all these parts.. Your in atlanta.. We can probably hit the pull a part and get all the parts there..
I just left atlanta about a couple of months ago.. Pull a part was my spot...We definatley have to touch base and hook up some time.. I am just an hour away... You can hit me up at aol @ latinragdoll1975 or @ yahoo with the same name

[elscotto80]

DOHC tranny is stronger than the SOHC, its a G series.

[95ProLeila]

aren't you forgetting the little detail that the ecu's are different?

[jitb37]

i explained the ecu in the last paragraph..

i didnt realize u were in ga, whenever u come up we could go get your stuff...meail me when u come up..

[VelBurg]

cool, I will look on the net for the prices and one day we can go up to pull a part and scope what they have and go from there.. I need to go next week to find a vaf unit from a rx7 anyway..

[RALLYBP_94]

I did it on my car. It's not as simple as Jitb37 explained it. There is A LOT MORE to it, if you wanna get it done the right way, not with lights ON on the dash all the time.

[ProtoRice]

You dont NEED the ECU, but if u use the auto ECU te wheels will spin in Neutral (it wont move the car, but if the wheels are in the air with the car on they will spin,

WTF? Why would it matter? If the trans is in neutral...

[atlantamx3]

I di the conversion in my MX-3 and thought the toughest part was hanging the pedals and getting the steering column back in. The only reason that was so hard was that its all done on your back with your hands above your head in a tight area with a bunch of little crews & stuff.

Getting the Brake Booster out was a nice trick too.

Do yourself a favor and get the Manual Engine/ECU Harness and Manual ECU.

Also- -you will need this info to make the car start:


That is the harness that goes to your Auto Tranny Controller. It should be on the drivers side near the VAF.

A close up view of the neutral bypass:


You have to make this jumper so your car will start.

Also note that the Neutral switch and the reverse switch on the manual tranny will not have a plug to hook up to. You could probably find a way to hard wire it- but that gets into the dash harness and is a real pain. So I just tucked mine away so they didnt rub on the ground.

This is kinda dangerous though. Without these switches plugged up, you can start your car without the clutchpedal pressed in, and your reverse lights will not come on. So you have to take extra care to MAKE SURE your car is in Neutral and that you press the clutch everytime before you start the car. Otherwise you will F-up your starter/flwheel, etc.

Good luck!

[SPENONE]

Swap is not hard at all..ive done it aslso..but one thing.....

MAKE SURE U HAVE ALL THE TOOLS AND ALL THE PARTS!!!...if not youll be stuck

[jitb37]

WTF? Why would it matter? If the trans is in neutral...

hey i didnt make the car, ask mazda. i dont know. ..its weird, but we started it on the jacks, and the wheels started to roll...lol And he put in the klze manual ecu, and it stopped.

And you will have to take out the "button" that u push in when u switch gears in a automatic. It goes under the center console, into the steering wheel and goes to the key hole, its for the lock on the ignition. that asures that u are in Park when u start the car. Just take it off and that problem is solved. If you dont key wont turn.

And i agree, the pedals/steering column is a pain in the mx3 theres no space down there...its crazy/

[elscotto80]

I highly doubt the ecu had anything to do with the wheels moving if you had just put the MTX in.

[T4TURBO]

cool, Well how much will you charge to if I give you a hand and you help me install all these parts.. Your in atlanta.. We can probably hit the pull a part and get all the parts there..
I just left atlanta about a couple of months ago.. Pull a part was my spot...We definatley have to touch base and hook up some time.. I am just an hour away... You can hit me up at aol @ latinragdoll1975 or @ yahoo with the same name

i'll sell you a rx7 vaf for $40