Manual Transmission Swap

[TrenqueLauquense]

Has anyone seen a standard-shift transmission in a j30 before or am I going to have the first one? I'm going to do a transmission swap in my '94 j30t. If you guys know of any ideas, problems or have any input I'd appreciate it. I've always thought a manual j30 would've been a great idea. I know you guys might be thinking but I had a '95 BMW 540i with a 6-spd and that was just brilliant fun. This project will be my love child for the summer and probably will not be started until after mid april so I'm gathering beta in the mean time.

Cheers

[95-J30tt]

man that would be great.... there is one that has been converted to a twin turbo 5 speed (engine code VG30DETT), if you look up this forum you will find pics of it, i contacted the owner (or shall i say the previous owner) about such a conversion, he advised me against it, so i went with a twin turbo automatic, but i would still want to know how to make a manual J....

the main problem that i remember him talking about was the clutch, he had to remove the hand brake, and install the clutch there.... he also mensioned that the clutch master cylinder was fit tightly in place..... the fly wheel and clutch would be coming from a 300zx, and the sensors would have to be modified slightly to fit (i think you would have to work out a way to install a mechanism to activate the reverse lights, i think you would have wire it directly to the lights bypassing the current setup), the Auto ECU works with the manual set-up (i've heard it over and over, but have never confirmed it, so you might want to confirm)

another issue would be that the hand brake has to be relocated, i guess it went somewhere near the transmission to accomidate for space, and finally the drive shaft has to be elongated to fit (manual transmission is slightly shorter than an auto)

[chiller]

you have a hand brake? my E-brake is on the foot...

[TrenqueLauquense]

Excellent! What types of sensors need to be modified that you were refering to? any ideas?

initially my biggest concerns were the dimensions of key components i.e. the drive shaft and also any computer related problems. Good to know that the ECU's not jealous. The reverse lights shouldn't be a problem a trip down to the electrical shop couldn't fix and relocating the parking brake is something I would love to have an excuse to do anyways. I've always heard that the 300zx was basically the spartan half brother of the j30 and assumed the transmission would go in fairly easily. Are the trannies identical? or might the 300zx one be a little beefier? Interesting about the clutch master cylinder I hadn't looked yet, but it is a pretty tight engine bay. Anymore advice is welcome. I'll keep you gents posted.

cheers

[95-J30tt]

Chiller: sorry for the confusion about refering to it as a hand brake, but it is an E-brake, i have a foot operated one too.....

i'm glad to see someone who is up for it..... the sensors are different between the auto and the manual, i dont know if there is such a thing as a manual transmission computer (but i doubt it), but i know that the sensors are not packed together nicely like the Automatic, i believe there are three plugs (including the reverse lamp connection)

the manual transmission is a lot stronger than the auto, for example, the 300zx NA manual can take a lot more beating than an auto can..... i can only imagine what a manual J feels like.....

the bell house is the same, meaning that the manual transmission will be a direct bolt up to the engine, but dont get me wrong, the starter is in a different place as the automatic, and the transmission is shorter than an auto, so a trip to a drive line shop is a must to lengthen the drive shaft...... i dont know about the sleeve that hooks up to the transmission (but if you are getting a 300zx one, make SURE to get the sleeve with it too, they usually sell them with the sleeve installed, and the rest of the drive shaft cut)

i havent done such a swap, but i'm almost done with a twin turbo conversion (automatic) on my J, and if there is one piece of advise that i can tell you, is do enough research before you go ahead with the transmission swap (such a conversion has been done a lot to 300zx's so it should be very close to do the same to a J).... let me put it this way, it took me about 4 monthes (on and off, and counting) that i'm trying to figure out different things about tting the J ..... if i'm to do it again (which i think i will this summer), it will take me a week of work, and a lot less money wasted on things that dont work.....

please keep us posted, and take pics, a lot of pics....... i'm sure there are a lot of people that are interested in this, including me

[JilviaJ30]

Any progress with the manual swap. i would love to do the same thing to my J30.

[bodaciousbob]

If you do this swap, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE document everything with pictures

[driftkaztik]

since this hasnt been done.. or has been done, but not fully documented, I think it would be great to see.

I believe the transmission will bolt up with no issue... maybe a different starter. I dont know if the clutch slave might be in a tight spot.

Driveshaft is always gonnabe a key issue.. you're gonna have to have one made or fabbed up from your old one.

I believe the ECU might be an issue.. kuz if the car is auto, it wont start unless in Park. So you gotta figure out how to mess with the neutral safety switch.

maybe the transmission mount is different as well.

Your best bet is to talk to Z32 guys... more insight.

[Defiant]

I believe the ECU might be an issue.. kuz if the car is auto, it wont start unless in Park. So you gotta figure out how to mess with the neutral safety switch.

I think that's purely mechanical. The ECU won't know about it. So, that's one less thing.

[driftkaztik]

oh okay.. I thought there was a difference between the manual and auto ecus.