roushman90

READ FIRST: Don't rush this process, make sure you have EVERYTHING you need before you start. Don't just use this write up, use every piece of information you can find.
This write up should answer pretty much all questions about manual swap in S13. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. Also feel free to correct me or add information and I will edit my information! Thanks for reading!

Phase I: Gather Required Parts (More parts required if it's S14)*

- S13 Manual Transmission (DOHC or SOHC; Either work, different gearing, S14 will work as well)
- M/T driveshaft (A/T is a bit longer, won't work)
- M/T Clutch Kit (I suggest buying a new clutch. Clutch Kit should come with Pressure Plate & Throwout)
- M/T Flywheel (Either new or resurface used)
- M/T Flywheel Bolts
- M/T Engine to Trans Dust Plate (Or bend A/T one to fit)
- M/T Transmission Crossmember (Slightly different from A/T)
- M/T Transmission mount (Suggest Nismo mount, stiffer than stock)
- Clutch Master Cylinder (Suggest new, if not, leak test)
- Clutch Slave (Same as Master, buy new!)
- Complete Clutch Pedal assembly & Clutch Pedal
- M/T brake pedal (Or cut A/T to M/T size & use M/T rubber cover)
- For clutch line, couple of options. 1) Use OEM hard line from Master to OEM rubber line OR 2) Buy Stainless Steel Auto to Manual conversion clutch line (Straight from Master to Slave & cuts out factory clutch dampener)
- OEM Rubber Trans Dust Cover
- OEM Rubber Trans boot & finisher plate
- M/T Shift boot w/ M/T shift boot center piece
- Shift Knob
- Three quarts of your choice of GL-4 rated Gear Oil (NO GL-5), Transmission takes approx 2.4 quarts

Optional Parts:
- Short Shifter (B&M, ISIS etc.)
- SS Clutch Line
- Upgrade to Stage 1 ^ clutch kit
- Rebuild Transmission
- Solid Shifter Bushing
- One-piece Driveshaft (Aluminum or Steel)
- Nismo Transmission Mount
- Lightweight Flywheel
- Aftermarket Clutch Fork Pivot Ball
- Magnetic Trans & Oil Pan plugs


Phase II: Removal of Automatic components

So before we start pulling stuff, we should double check that we have all parts we need & have the proper tools to complete the job. Believe me, having the right tools for the job will mean the difference between two minutes and two days.

Before anything comes off there are three things that need to be done: 1) Drain Transmission Fluid (To avoid a mess) 2) Remove Battery (For safety) and 3) Jack up your car and safely secure it with good jack stands. Before climbing under give the car a shake and confirm that it is on the jackstands solid. I also leave the jack under just in case and throw spare rims under just in case.


1) Remove all interior center console parts. This includes the center console, and shifter trim. Take it out, you won't be needing it for a while. Make sure to disconnect the plugs at the cigarette lighter & power mirror. (The shifter should now be completely exposed)

2) You're transmission may still be dripping oil, so let it drain real well for a while. While you're waiting for that, let's now pull out the A/T Shifter assembly. This is pretty simple once you have the trim pieces gone. First disconnect all plugs on the shifter assembly & also get underneath car to disconnect the A/T Shifter from the linkage that goes to the transmission. Just take off the little clip holding it to the shift linkage. Go back up top and remove the four screws holding the base of the shifter assembly on. Now you should be able to pull the whole assembly out whole.


3) Next, let's get rid of that A/T driveshaft. First remove the four bolts holding the rear of the driveshaft to the differential. Once you get those off remove the two bolts holding the middle of the driveshaft. The diff should not be leaning down, just pull it off the A/T trans and voila. Six bolts and you're done.

Kodak 5-26-11 113 by roushman90, on Flickr

4) Now let's unplug all the sensors on the transmission we can get to. After those are unplugged, there are two cooling lines coming off the A/T transmission that go to the bottom of the radiator. Let's remove these lines and plug the two holes at the bottom of the radiator. The passenger side line is much easier, Use a 19mm to unscrew the big bolt holding it to the A/T transmission & get something underneath it. It's going to leak out more fluid! Then trace it's path to the radiator & remove all screws holding it down. Then last remove the clamp holding the rubber piece to the radiator. For the driver side cooling line start at the radiator and take off all the screws holding it on & disconnect it from radiator but you won't be able to get to the 19mm on this side holding it to the transmission. So just bend the line out of your way (you won't be needing it) and put it in a position that won't break anything when you drop the A/T transmission.
Before moving on, use the longer rubber hose off one of the two cooling lines to connect the two holes at the bottom of the radiator. Makes things simple, instead of JB Welding the holes shut. Just make sure to put the clamps on nice and tight!

100_0787[1] by roushman90, on Flickr
5) Finally we're getting somewhere, time to get those bellhousing bolts off and this A/T out! There are going to be some difficult ones, so be prepared. Try not to get discouraged. At one point I was ready to pull the engine just to get the transmission out, but it ended up not being as bad as I thought.
Remove the bolts on the bottom first, they hold on the A/T dust plates, also completely remove those. Then start working your way up. Most aren't too bad. I suggest having at least one friend to help from the top or the bottom either holding the socket on or whatever. Having a friend help makes this process much easier. Once we get all the bottom/side bolts, let's get up top and have a look at the engine bay. To remove the Starter, remove the bolts holding it to the bell housing & disconnect it from wiring. To get to the top three bellhousing bolts you will need to remove a few small things in the way. I suggest you take some pictures of how everything is near the back of the bay so that you know exactly how things went when you get around to putting things back on. I didn't have to remove much to get to the top three bolts, but I did have to move some things in the way. I guess it really just depends on how small you're hands are!

Kodak 5-26-11 136 by roushman90, on Flickr
For the top passenger side bolt: Remove the screws that secure the big hose going to the BMC along the top of the firewall. After it's loose, pull it back and out of the way. Pop the throttle cable out of its guides and move it out of the way as needed. That's all I needed to move to get to the bolt.

Kodak 5-26-11 119 by roushman90, on Flickr

As for the driver side, I removed a few small things, check out the pictures below:
I believe it was the O2 sensor wire that I removed from where it was mounted by a screw on the block to get more room & I also took of the small ground wire off the top of the firewall. (Drivers side) Nothing too major at all.

Kodak 5-26-11 120 by roushman90, on Flickr

To get the top center bolt out, remove the two nuts holding the transmission to the transmission mount. Place a jack underneath the rear of the transmission and jack it up until it can't go higher (Until it hits the chassis). Doing this gave me just enough clearance to reach my arm in from the passenger side and break that elusive "top bolt". If you use this method it really isn't that bad. It also makes getting the top driver side bolt easier as well. (This piece of information is thanks to Christian! )
*Now is a good time for a beer break*
6) Before we drop the transmission, we have to remove the four bolts that secure the torque converter to the flex plate (a/t flywheel). To do this, Pull off the dust plate on the bottom front of transmission. Use a screwdriver to push the flex plate along and get to all four bolts. Once you've done this, now you can make sure the transmission is secure and remove the four bolts on the cross member. Once you remove the cross member bolts the transmission should be resting on one or two jacks. Using the jack(s) try to move the transmission backwards slowly and it should come right out. You may have to give it a little wiggle. Slowly lower it down on the jack and remove any connections off the transmission that you may have forgot. Remove the torque converter and set it with the opening facing upwards so it won't leak oil everywhere. Move the transmission out from underneath your car using the jack(s).
7) Now we have to remove the flex plate or "automatic flywheel". It is held on by six 19mm bolts.

Kodak 5-26-11 124 by roushman90, on Flickr
This is the time when an impact gun would come in handy but not quite necessary. It can easily be done by having a friend hold the crank steady with a 27mm(1&1/16 SAE) socket and a breaker bar. They're only torqued to about 120 ft/lbs I believe. Once all six bolts are off, wiggle and pull the flywheel and it should come right off.
8) The last part to remove is the A/T adapter bearing which is where our new M/T pilot bushing will be going very soon. Most people say to rent a pilot bearing puller/slide hammer from AutoZone/Kragen but there are other methods such as the "grease" method. I will post a link or two so you can see different methods. To get the A/T one out I stuck the end of the threaded slide hammer into the A/T bushing and just pryed it out. Once I tried it like this, it came out without a problem. But feel free to try whatever method suits you best!

The one that Kragen/O'Reily's rents doesn't work on our cars, If I remember correct it is for VW.
MG Pilot Bushing Removal and Installation - Les Bengtson
http://www.240sxforums.com/forums/general-...ot-bushing.html

So now you have got everything pulled, time to install the M/T gearbox finally!
Have a ice cold beer and pat yourself and/or friends on back!

Phase III: Installation of Manual Transmission & Components
1) The first thing I would do before anything is drill holes to mount our clutch master cylinder & clutch bracket. This isn't very difficult as you just need a drill or angle grinder and some bits. You have to make a total of three holes in order to mount these up. Nissan made it easy for us, and left the template so all you have to do is pull back the carpet and locate where the template. (Picture below)

Kodak 5-26-11 067 by roushman90, on Flickr
First, remove the A/T shift lock unit, but don't toss it. Leave it plugged in, just tuck it somewhere out of the way.

Kodak 5-26-11 061 by roushman90, on Flickr
It comes off with one bolt, save that bolt, you will be using it to mount you're clutch bracket.

Kodak 5-26-11 062 by roushman90, on Flickr
Now for the three holes. First I found a drill bit just slightly bigger than the template hole, and drilled the two outer holes. The third hole took me longer just because I didn't have the proper tool(s) to make that big of a hole easily. I just used my biggest bit and kept hacking at it until it was big enough. Then I used a file to smooth it out.
Once you have got all three holes done you are ready to install the master cylinder and clutch bracket/pedal.

Kodak 5-26-11 087 by roushman90, on Flickr

Just mount the master cylinder up and have a friend inside car to pop on the pedal bracket. Screw on the two nuts in the engine bay for the master cylinder finger tight, then get inside the car and mount the clutch pedal bracket. The clutch bracket is held up top by one bolt (The bolt you removed for A/T Shift Lock Unit). So grab the bolt you had set aside and put it in to hold the bracket up. Now make sure all bolts are tightened. You should look like this now...

Kodak 5-26-11 085 by roushman90, on Flickr
Next, you can either install the M/T brake pedal OR you can do what I did: Cut the A/T brake pedal down to the M/T size and simply put a M/T pedal cover on it. I used an angle grinder to cut the pedal with no problem.
Now you're done with the pedals.
2) Wiring: This can be done later, but I chose to get it out of the way now.
Keep in mind this is for S13, as S14 WILL be slightly different.
For the S13: You only need to wire two things up: The reverse lights & a plug underneath the passenger side engine bay fuse box.
Part A: For the reverse lights, all you do is find the row of three plugs on the back of the passenger engine bay fuse box. Now, look at the second plug down. Pin 3 & 6 should be a black and a bright green wire. Locate the ends of those wires and splice them directly to the reverse gear switch on the M/T. It should be the sensor closest to where the clutch would be on the M/T bellhousing.

Kodak 5-26-11 138 by roushman90, on Flickr
^These black & green wires are for the Reverse Light switch^
Part B: To make the car start, we have to trick it into thinking it is in P (Park) at all times. To do this, locate the plug that is underneath the row of three you were just looking at. It is literally underneath the fuse box. Now, unplug it and clip the wire on the A/T harness side. Tape up the exposed wires you snipped. All we have to do now is jump the two wires (Black &Tan wires) to themselves to complete the circuit so the ECU thinks we are in P at all times. Once you jumper them together, secure them nicely and tape them up so the weather can't get in. Just simply plug back in the piece you just jumpered and you're officially done with the wiring.
Pictures:

100_0762[1] by roushman90, on Flickr
^This is the plug we need to jump to complete the starter circuit^

100_0788[1] by roushman90, on Flickr
^Once we jump it & plug it in it should now look like this^

3) Now install you're new M/T pilot bushing.
Just like removing the A/T adapter bushing there are various methods to install the new pilot bushing. I lined up the bushing and tapped it in with a rubber mallet until it was flush with the outer lip of the crank. I also used a socket the size of the bushing to get it in right. Just make sure not to force it in crooked, it will break pretty easily.
Now put on the M/T engine to transmission backing plate. This goes between the engine and transmission and it aligns on dowels. If you were unable to source a M/T backing plate you can also use the A/T but the bottom will be exposed (not good).
Mount the M/T flywheel up and put in all 6 M/T flywheel bolts (hand-tighten). Torque the flywheel in a criss-cross pattern to 100 ft/lbs. To keep the flywheel from moving while tightening have a friend hold a breaker bar on the crank pulley again with a 27mm (1&1/16 SAE) socket. Make sure to double check all six bolts, you do not want a loose flywheel!
Before you install the clutch break out the Brakleen (brake cleaner) and clean the flywheel real good. You want a clean surface for the clutch disc to grab. Using the alignment tool mount the clutch disc on the flywheel. Leave the clutch in with the alignment tool and confirm that you have the clutch disc on in the right direction (The disc should be marked "Tran Side/Engine Side").
Mount up the clutch pressure plate and put in all the bolts. Finger tighten all of them evenly then torque in a criss cross pattern just like the flywheel bolts. Torque first to 14ft/lbs then to 16-22ft/lbs. It doesn't really take much.
Replace the throwout bearing on your transmission with a new one. Don't skimp on the simple stuff. You don't want to drop the transmission in a month due to a stupid bearing! Slip the old TOB off of the fork it's mounted on and then you can hammer off the old bearing from the carrier since the old bearing is garbage. Grease the splines the TOB goes on(Lithium grease works). To install the new bearing place a 2x4 over the new bearing on the carrier and hammer it on. Just make sure to put it on straight, don't bend bearing! Once pressed on check to see that the bearing is still functional. Install the carrier back on with the fork opposite of removal.
Before we install the transmission remove the shifter. To remove just the shifter remove the C clip holding it in. Now we can get the transmission situated underneath the car.
So now we need to install the transmission into the pilot bushing. This is a pain in the ass and pretty much just comes down to trial and error. It took me and my two friends about an hour to get it in. We tried using jacks to slowly raise it up and into position but in the end it was just easier to lift it up and into place. After a tip from a friend we jacked up the front of the motor (oil pan) with a jack and block of wood to give ourselves a better angle at the hole. We lifted it so the starter hump was somewhat facing the ground and turned it as we moved it up. Once you do get it mated on there don't let go and get a few bolts in to hold it on! Put a jack under the rear of transmission to hold it up once you get some bolts in. Also, make sure you lower the front of the engine back down.
Install the M/T bellhousing bolts the opposite of removal and then put the lower dust plates back on.
Reinstall the Starter and reconnect the wiring to it. Jack up the tail of your transmission and install the manual cross member. Secure it with the same four bolts as the automatic cross member.
Once it is all secure make sure the speed sensor is plugged in and the reverse light wiring you did earlier is connected to the reverse switch on the transmission. Tuck and secure all wiring that is hanging loose.
Now you can install your M/T driveshaft. First I mated it to the transmission, then installed the middle mount (two bolts) then finally secured it to the driveshaft (4 bolts).

Before you reinstall the shifter, put your transmission fluid in through the shifter hole. The manual transmission takes approximately 2.4 qts. of GL-4 rated gear oil. Do not use GL-5 rated gear oil, it will eat away at yellow metals (your synchros are yellow metal).
Reinstall shifter with C-clip. Install shifter dust boot then rubber upper boot with finisher plate. Then Center console, Shift boot, and finally shift knob of your choice.
At this point, reinstall everything you removed or moved in your engine bay and make sure everything is how it was before you started working on it.
Run your clutch line from your master cylinder to the slave cylinder on the transmission. I opted for a stainless steel auto to manual conversion line from DIF to avoid the hassle of installing the hard line (It eliminated the stock clutch line and the useless stock clutch "dampener"; Makes bleeding the clutch line a lot easier). Fill master cylinder reservoir with DOT3 brake fluid.
Bleed your clutch line. To do this you preferably have a friend. First of all make sure the clutch master cylinder is full with fluid and make sure it stays full while bleeding (You will lose fluid)
One person should be open/closing the bleeder screw on the slave cylinder and the other should be pushing in/out the clutch pedal. To bleed, open bleeder screw, have friend push and hold in clutch, close bleeder, release clutch pedal. Repeat this until the pedal has a normal feel!

You're pretty much finished. Lower your car safely off of the jack stands or however you have it raised and put wheels back on if you took them off. Make sure everything you took off is back on and all bolts are secure!
Start your car. Now you've got a 5-speed!
You shouldn't have a check engine light or anything like that on S13, while S14 is a different story. Take it for a drive and follow whatever your personal liking for clutch break-in if it is a new clutch.

Here are some links to sites I used while I was researching and learning about this conversion:
http://forums.nicoclub.com/how-to-5-speed-...13s-t77784.html
http://forums.nicoclub.com/auto-to-manual-...on-t181139.html
http://ka24development.com/cwilfert/S14_tr...electrical.html

SLiDe_WaYz

Also you can bend the stock hard line to go to the slave, dont necessarily need the SS one. Just for anyone reading.

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roushman90

"- For clutch line, couple of options. 1) Use OEM hard line from Master to OEM rubber line OR 2) Buy Stainless Steel Auto to Manual conversion clutch line (Straight from Master to Slave & cuts out factory clutch dampener)"

Thanks for the heads up

hOngsterr

looks good man, but theres threads about this already but it doesn't hurt to have another one lol
240sx manual transmission swap

How to install a manual transmission in a 240sx


post it in here when you're done

http://zilvia.net/f/tech-talk/173773-diy-thread.html

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- Hong

roushman90

I know there are other threads on the same topic. But, I had a hard time finding S13 specific wiring pictures, so when this write up is done, it should have everything you need to know about the conversion.

roushman90

Bump guys, the write up is done, now I just have a ton of pics to upload...

91240coupe

hey how much do you think everything for an auto to 5speed will cost like the tranny complete,clutch etc?

roushman90

It all depends on your luck.

I'll break down what I paid and where I got my parts:

S13 5speed transmission, Clutch pedal & bracket, driveshaft, shifter, used clutch, pressure plate, all manual bolts, manual tranny mount, manual cross member, manual speed sensor, clutch master & slave cylinder, clutch hard & soft line, manual transmission dust plates, shift knob, center console trim and shift boot

^ I got all this for $170, but I had to pull it all myself off of some dudes parts car^

B&M short shifter $200
Transmission overhaul (bearings & synchros) $500
New slave $30
New master $30
Auto to manual stainless steel clutch line $25
White bunny Exedy clutch kit $115
White Bunny flywheel $50
Nismo trans mount $30
Motul 75w90 trans fluid Gl-4 $30
Brake fluid DOT3 $8

So, in my case I decided to knock out a bunch of small upgrades while I was at it. I ended up spending somewhere around $1200 to convert my auto to manual with the listed upgrades as well. In the end it's worth it to me. But as you can see I could have done this conversion as cheap as $170. it's all up to what you want to do.

Sure $1200 is a lot just to make an auto manual, but I'm still glad I got an auto. It's so much cleaner than manual 240s around.

S14Lee

Do you have pics of how the braided line looks like ran from the master to the slave. Thinking about doing this on my car but was wondering how clean it will look thanks

roushman90

I can take a picture for you later today maybe, if not tomorrow...

BOOSTS13

i have done man conversion and did part a and b.
(ca18de)s13 1989
reverse lights work !

car start and runs but fuel pump blows fuse?

then stops

any ideas





Part A: For the reverse lights, all you do is find the row of three plugs on the back of the passenger engine bay fuse box. Now, look at the second plug down. Pin 3 & 6 should be a black and a bright green wire. Locate the ends of those wires and splice them directly to the reverse gear switch on the M/T. It should be the sensor closest to where the clutch would be on the M/T bellhousing.

Part B: To make the car start, we have to trick it into thinking it is in P (Park) at all times. To do this, locate the plug that is underneath the row of three you were just looking at. It is literally underneath the fuse box. Now, unplug it and clip the wire on the A/T harness side. Tape up the exposed wires you snipped. All we have to do now is jump the two wires (Black &Tan wires) to themselves to complete the circuit so the ECU thinks we are in P at all times. Once you jumper them together, secure them nicely and tape them up so the weather can't get in. Just simply plug back in the piece you just jumpered and you're officially done with the wiring.
Pictures:

roushman90

Did you have any problem like this before the swap? I'm not sure if the wiring is different for the CA motor?

Souljahzs13

Its good to see someone providing detailed pics

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S13 nerd

my question is you didnt change the the ecu to a manual right? i mean if you had the manual one you wouldnt have to jump out that relay would you? the one that you jumped to "trick" the ecu to thinking your always in park

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90 s13 hatch

zerodameaon

If you put in the manual ECU you have to jumper some other wires or install a complete neutral safety system so your pretty much doing the same thing in a different spot. Also the auto ECU has no speed limiter and has better fuel maps if I remember correctly.

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Need to adjust your idle?
http://zilvia.net/f/s-chassis/395413...-pictures.html

S13 nerd

fuel maps? like fuel economy or something? i never thought of that,but say if i want to get the car smogged and checked would it come up bad? i mean i live in the middle of no where in nevada and dont need smog but i was just curious if everything would check out right. would you say it would be better for auto or manual ecu? i have both. this is saying if i had the auto ecu in with the jupers

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90 s13 hatch

zerodameaon

That's from this thread, http://zilvia.net/f/tech-talk/274455...ual-trans.html
As for fuel maps and better mileage idk its all based on what others say but it seems to be common knowledge. I get 25mpg out of a Convertible(think heavy car) with the auto ecu but it also feels like it pulls harder then my friends factory manual. As for the light, I don't get one on my S13 and I passed smog in California with it.

__________________

Need to adjust your idle?
http://zilvia.net/f/s-chassis/395413...-pictures.html

roushman90

Either way you have to jump that same plug. I'm running auto ECU that came with my car.

S13 nerd

thanks man this is a good write up, got this done in about a day in a half everything went pretty smooth

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90 s13 hatch

roushman90

Glad it was helpful!

chino38

so theres no need to wire the other sensors from the transmission

roushman90

If you want the functionality of the reverse lights etc. then do it, if not, no.

89s13sd

Just finished mine yesterday and this guide was a huge help thanks alot man

chino38

hey on the A/T brake pedal i have two swithches. on the M/T brake pedal there's only one braket for the one switch. is there any problems if i dont use the other switch? its called the A.S.C.D. cancel switch

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Wtb: convertible map light harness

Walperstyle

Not sure if he's a sponsor to zilvia, but 240sxtechdvds.org has an amazing DVD video on doing a 5 speed swap.

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KA-T ORG-Function over Flush

240pimp

I have read through several tutorials, and from an electrical standpoint, they are all different it seems. Started on this electrical tutorial http://www.ka24development.com/cwilf...lectrical.html but then realized it was for an s14, and didn't apply to an s13

The manual harness has an as*load of wires, and nothing needs to be done to them?? All the mods are done in the engine bay at the fusebox???

I have intentions of using the manual ECU since I read that the engine will work better at idle and particularily at startup. If this is the case, which, F'n tutorial should I use??????

Totally frustrated.

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93 Hatch w SR20

zerodameaon

Follow this thread, the wiring is right. If you can remember to put your foot on the clutch you won't need to worry about hooking up the neutral safety switch. As for idle and start up they both work just about the same, just set your idle after the swap and you will have no issues assuming you did not break something during the swap and your car idled fine before.

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Need to adjust your idle?
http://zilvia.net/f/s-chassis/395413...-pictures.html

240pimp

Thanks for the response on this ZD, I am good with electrical, but the different versions of how it should be done make me want to shoot myself in the head.

I did notice that this tutorial does not mention that the manual harness is required, but I am assuming that is a manual harness. Sorry for the stupid question, just shell shocked from all the conflicting info.

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93 Hatch w SR20

roushman90

Manual lower harness isn't required.

jeffwiggins

What would be the difference in modifying the dust plate or bending it as to getting a manual trans plate I haven't had luck with finding a manual plate and am Doing the swap today