Transmission Swap, Can I get some info on this? Options

[Element23]

Ok, well i've got this celica, and i just found this site and i'm totally stoked about up-ing its performance, ive got the money to do the mods. However, my dad will not let me do any mods because the automatic isnt worth it. I've tried debating, but this co-ownership really isn't workin out. Has anyone here done any kind of transmission swapping? Yes i know i have a 7A-FE engine which is on the low end, but ill do what i can to it until the time for a nice engine swap can come in. But for now, i could really use some information on a transmission swap. Like price, work, knowledge etc. Help out if you can. Thanks.

[1bwilson]

Here
Here (good one)

Also this is a quote from the FAQ at c.net.

(2) How much does it cost and what is involved in a tranny swap.

For the unlucky people with an automatic transmission, a transmission swap is much easier than most people think. Most of the supplies (all except the clutch kit) can be purchased from junkyards, minimizing the cost. Using an OEM clutch (I would recommend getting a better one), the entire swap would cost around 1000, and his is probably a slight overestimate. Here is a quick part list breakdown...:

Shift fork (If it does not come w/ the tranny)
Clutch pedal
Clutch Kit
Bolts to hold Tranny to Engine
Master Cylinder
Slave Cylinder
Hydrolic lines between Master and Slave Cylinder
Manual Transmission
New driver side engine/tranny mount
Brake pedal (or you can dremel the current brake pedal to cut it down to the right size, this is what I did to save costs and then purchased the right rubber cover to go over it)

**You do not not to get a Manual ECU, instead you just need to connect two wires to make it work w/ ur auto ECU. ***

The hardest part of the process is cutting the hole for the master cylinder. The master cylinder has two bolts and a rod that goes through the firewall. There is a spot that is already imprinted on the fire wall to konw where to drill, but the imprint is slightly larger than what you actually need to drill out, so make a pattern to go by before drilling. then the master cylinder has a metal hose that goes to a rubber hose that goes to a metal hose that goes to yet another rubber hose that finally connects to the slave cylinder on the tranny. You have to support the engine and lower the old tranmission.
put the clutch in the manual tranmission following the instructions provided by the manuafacturer, and then put in the new tranmission. you have to junp two wires (sorry forgot which two, but if u do a search u can find it) to get it to work with the automatic ecu. Then connect the slave and master clyinder and then you are pretty much golden. Obviously I kept most of the detail out to keep this FAQ as short as I could, so USE THE SEARCH, there have been lots of posts...

here is some more info on the tranny swap

Hope that helps.

-Bryan-