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Converting V6 Auto to Manual on VS???

ruredi

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Hi Guys & Gals...I turn to you for your expertise once again...

I have a VS Series II Exec 3.8L Auto. I have been very seriously thinking lately and I would love yo convert it to a manual. I just wanted to know firstly what is involved in the conversion. I have been told many things but I am still confused. I have been told its a matter of buying the gearbox, pedals & computer and what ever other little things and thats it. I have also been told that its not possible so...? So basically I am asking what I need, cost and what is invlolved...any help is very appreaciated...

Cheers, Joe :thumbsup:
 

TheForgotten

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what you need-
box, ecu, loom (I'm told you can use the auto loom and ecu but never seen it done), clutch, pedal box, tailshaft various bolts ect, and things like console etc.
tricky bit is there's two different boxes on the VS v6, the t5 and the getrag depanding on age of vehicle. don't know if parts are interchangeable (ie clutch) but yeah anything is possible with time and money.
as for cost, I saw a complete conversion yesterday on ebay for $1500 + frieght, but can't find it now. can't say on labour to fit it
 

mal62

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I have a VR V6 wagon that i converted from auto to manual, what i needed was the pedal box. 8 bolt flywheel & clutch, T5 gearbox and a manual tailshaft, clutch cable etc & console parts. i used the auto loom and computer, i had the chip in the ecu reprogrammed to a manual chip then i did a little bit of wiring modification for the reverse lights and to get the speedo to work and finally got it finished, its not that hard really it took me about a month because of the way that i did it but the hold up was mainly finding out info etc but now that its all sorted out, its a piece of cake
 

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I'd love a manual, but being honest I'd have to say that with all the hassles (and life is too short for hassles), you probably would be better to sell your auto and buy a manual. Smart way is to keep your current auto whilst looking for a manual, find one (maybe 2 months looking), buy it, sell the auto. Not so smart way is to see a manual in a caryard and trade your auto in. Mal62 must have put a lot of hours into his vehicle and he is justifiably proud of it and I wish I was that motivated. Maybe you are.
 

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i say do the conversion. i helped do a 5 spd converion on a vl the other day. i have a vr and the gearboxes are a pinch of **** to get out. the pedal box would prob be easyer by taking the steering shaft out. i had a good mate do the vs auto to manual conversion ill find out step by step 4 u. when u do the pricing dont forget to ad the price of the tail shaft and the spigget bearing. ill get back 2 ya on what a friend of mine says!!!
 

ruredi

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Hi guys...

thanks for all the info...now that I know this...I am so much more motivated and excited to do this...it would be awesome if you could find out that info...labour is nothing for me...my dad has been a mechanic all his life and owns hes own shop so he can do it all for nothing so I guess I save a wad there...any more info would be great guys...Cheers
 

ruredi

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mal62

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Yeah i did put in a few hours in doing the conversion but the main problem was finding someone who had the knowledge, some people said that the conversion i did wouldnt & cant work and visa versa but it was mainly trial & error i suppose. I'm glad i did the conversion heaps more grunt without going through the hassles mainly of trying to find a manual car as there isn't a lot of them about in Nth Qld and it worked out i got a manual at a fraction of the price of selling & buying cars, if ya need any info pm me or give me a ring on 0409 879067 and i will help you out as much as possible
 

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Okay...
I completed my conversion at 2AM this morning.
I am running the auto computer on my car still. (Runs fine, but definetely no grunt over 4500RPM at all!)

I needed: Manual tail shaft (Wagon and sedan shafts ARE DIFFERENT!) gearbox, bell housing, flywheel, pressure plate, clutch, clutch cable, manual pedal box, speed sensor + plug, reverse light plug. And a manual starter motor A **** load of bolts, manual pedal box, console.

Basically, drop the whole exhaust (Bar the manifolds)
Pull the tail shaft out.
Undo all electrics+vacuum lines+coolant lines on the box.
Undo the gear linkage (One bolt)
Undo the 6 bolts holding on the gearbox.
Slide gearbox back slightly.
Undo torque convertor cover.
Undo torque convertor from auto flywheel
Pull gearbox and TC off all together.
Undo the bolts holding on flywheel.
Remove auto starter.


Put on manual start
Put on manual flywheel.
Put on clutch + pressure plate.


Remove all interior console.
Drill out the 8 rivets holding in the "brass/copper" centre. (Auto shifter is "stuck" to it)

Put on the piece that goes on the bottom of the sump for the manual box.
Put gearbox up and onto flywheel. (The shifter has to be unbolted, this is only 4 bolts and piss easy)
Do up cross member + the 6 bolts holding gearbox to engine.
Put on new tail shaft.
Put exhaust back on (I can't say this enough, REPLACE ALL GASKETS WHERE A "BREAK" WAS MADE!!!)

Climb inside.

Put on gear shifter again.
Put "gold/brass" cover on and rivet it in.
Put centre console back over the top.
Plug in wires into the auto nuetral start switch, and set it into the "neutral" or "park" position.
Plug in handbrake light.
Put top console lid back on.

Rewire speedo via this method: (Copied from another thread on here)
Ok here is how your wire it up. the 3 wires on the speed sensor are
white/blue wire up to earth
purple/white extend the wire up to behind your glovebox where ontop of the ecu there is a white plug, joint this wire into the purple/white going to the speedo, if you cut and join it on the wrong side it wont work. the last wire on the speed sensor i think from memory is pink/blue this gets wired up to 12 accessory power.

Back to me:

Then you will have to fudge around and find the reverse lights.

Tools needed:
Rags - Lots of them.
Full GOOD socket set (With a LARGE range of sizes)
Good spanner set with a LARGE range of pieces.
Screw driver set.
Hammer may be handy.

Drill for the rivet removal
Rivet gun + rivets

Solder + soldering iron + electrical tape.
Spare wire.


Need more info?

Just holler!

(This conversion was for a VR, I put in a VP S2 T5 gearbox, with a heavy duty clutch, all up it cost me $1343, as I did all of the work myself *including new clutch, pressure plate, spiggot bush, and machining the flywheel*)
 

ruredi

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hey thanks heaps guys...im getting excited now...i think i just might know where some of my tax return is going...!
 
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