1996 M/t Tranny To 1997 A/t Tranny Swap Questions??

[COLOMBIANKINGDR]

Well heres the story. I have a 97 2g RS A/T fwd. Its my first DSM and I love it. I have some mods on it, mainly suspension and exterior, and I have been wanting to switch to a M/T tranny ever since I got the car . I finally found a donor car which is a 96 RS M/T. I bought the whole car last week for $100 because some old lady wanted it out of her driveway. Anyways, I have been searching through the forums for the past 3 days and I just cant find the answers that I need. So please bare with me and dont pound on me.

Here are my questions???

1. Will the 96 tranny work on my 97? Is there a difference in the tranny or wire harness?

2. When I searched the forums I only found the the swap for 1g DSM's, GSX's, or GST's. I have an 2gb RS with a 420a Chrysler motor and tranny. Will this info work for my car since its a different engine? I just dont want to take the car apart and find out that the steps I followed didnt match up with my car.

3. Is there a link or thread that shows how to do the swap step by step for my motor and tranny? If so can you please give me the link?

4. Will I have to swap the M/T ECU or can I use the A/T ECU that is in the car?


Any help is really appreaciated. I thank everyone that responds and gives me some of their wisdom and knowledge.

[DSMcrazy3]

Originally Posted by COLOMBIANKINGDR

1. Will the 96 tranny work on my 97? Is there a difference in the tranny or wire harness?

Yes the '96 transmission will work just fine on your '97. There are differences in the transmission. The sensors are different, plugs for the sensors are different and the rear motor mount is different as well.

Originally Posted by COLOMBIANKINGDR

2. When I searched the forums I only found the the swap for 1g DSM's, GSX's, or GST's. I have an 2gb RS with a 420a Chrysler motor and tranny. Will this info work for my car since its a different engine? I just dont want to take the car apart and find out that the steps I followed didnt match up with my car.

Don't use any of the info reguarding GS-T/X's doing the swap. Some of it may be useful, such as some of the parts needed, but not all of them and it will just lead to more confusion.

You're right you have the 420A which is a totally different engine with a reversed set-up than the 4g63.

Originally Posted by COLOMBIANKINGDR

4. Will I have to swap the M/T ECU or can I use the A/T ECU that is in the car?

You will want to go ahead and switch them out. You will get a CEL if you leave the A/T ECU in due to it looking for signal from the TCU(from the Auto tranny that won't be there anymore) also the M/T ECU has a higher redline. You might as well put in the gauge cluster from the M/T car too.


As for the parts you need, you will have them all with the car you're taking the M/T out of, they include:

Manual Transmission
Clutch
Shifter assembly
Shifter cables(and brackets)
Slave Cylinder
clutch pedal
Master cylinder
Brake pedal(you don't have to use this but it makes it look more like the car came with a M/T)
Rear motor mount
Clutch line
Reverse sensor
Speedometer sensor.

You will have to do a bit of drilling in the firewall for the clutch pedal assembly. Nothing too bad though.