Manual conversion

[Blake1223]

Hey guys sorry couldn't find anything
Someone help me out i want to convert my vs auto with a vx engine to a manuel but its a manuel convertion out of a vt will it fit in a vs an are the cross members different?

 

[_R_J_K_]

To use the VT/VX manual setup you'll need to get a VS Getrag pedal box, memcal change, and tail shaft. Not sure about the gearbox cross member, but that's the least of your problems.

 

[EYY]

You need a vs getrag crossmember. If it's a s1 vs, the getrag crossmember for the vs won't fit without drilling holes and either welding captive nuts in or doing some dodgy work with a couple of nuts with a piece of wire welded to each one, a drill and a die grinder.

I had to do it to mine when I converted it to a manual (s1 vs statesman). When I pulled the box out to rebuilt it, the cost was too high and it wasn't the nicest thing to drive (sloppy changes, notchy etc) so I bought another auto and sold the manual stuff.

The hardest (most time consuming) part was changing the pedal box.

Moral of the story, I wouldn't bother with a getrag. A t5... Maybe.

 

[zeropalooba]

I went down the road of a getrag conversion and have some comments.
1) I used the getrag crossmember and welded the required captive nuts. Yes, it was a pain but fortunately only two are needed as the crossmember reuses two of the automatic crossmember bolts.
2) I spliced the manual wiring into the automatic loom and removed all wires related to the auto. Manual wiring is just the reverse switch and the speedo.
3) The hydraulics were reasonably simple to install because there were two small holes already present in the chassis rail of my VS series I to hold one of the brackets. The other bracket is secured to the box.
4) The pedal box was time consuming but I rebuilt the steering rack at the same time, so two birds with one stone eased the pain.
5) The starter motor for the getrag is the same as the automatic's. The bellhousing inspection plate had a small hole for the manual starter motor but it also had a plate tack welded that covered a larger hole. I removed the plate and lo and behold - an automatic starter motor fit through it perfectly. The getrag bellhousing has the correct divet for the automatic starter motor pinion gear housing.
5) I tried to insert the dowel pins but bailed. I practiced on a spare crankshaft and couldn't get the holes straight and where I wanted them. In my case, I think it's best left to a machine shop. I have a theory about why the getrag box uses them - the dual mass flywheel is a lot thicker and the bolts are a lot longer and that means for a given elasticity (all bolts stretch a little when torqued) a longer bolt will stretch more than a short bolt. Since the friction between the flywheel and the crankshaft flange is what secures the flywheel, a stretchy bolt could reduce the friction to almost nothing meaning it's the shanks of the flywheel bolts taking the load - hence the need for dowels when using longer bolts. They're a safety thing needed because the dual mass flywheel is a compromise (dual mass good, longer bolts bad).
6) The getrag box is a lot lighter than the 4L60e - 35kg vs 74 kg.
7) The getrag box doesn't need a transmission cooler so less plumbing and one less radiator behind my bumper.