I am getting really fed up with my transmission. 15,000 miles on it, and one of the lines sprang a leak thanks in part to the accident. Caught it after a couple days but by then it was too late. OD is slipping and the fucking thing doesn't ever shift when I want it to anyway. I figure if I'm going to be manually shifting the car all the time, why not do it with a clutch and have some fun? I've done my best to prolong the life of this thing (auxiliary stacked-plate tranny cooler, coolant flushes, Lucas Tranny Fix, will soon be adjusting TV linkages) but obviously the damage that's already done can't be fixed without at least a partial rebuild. If/when I finally lose OD, or something else happens to the tranny, instead of spending a grand and a half on ANOTHER new automatic that STILL can't read my mind and know when I want it to shift, I think I might as well take the plunge and throw in a T5 or even T56, as money allows.
So, anyone who's done the conversion, can anyone walk me through as to the costs, what parts are needed, what modifications are needed, etc? Blaze, I've been staring at your cardomain for three days now and I think I'm getting a pretty decent idea of what this'll take, but since I'm kind of a newb, I'm wondering where is the clutch master cylinder? You don't have some sort of crazy Goddamned mechanical clutch setup, do you?
Also, how difficult is this? I've never done a clutch or swapped a transmission before, but I intend on putting a 5spd (with new clutch) into my 4spd truck before I try this project, just to get the hang of things. Even though I haven't yet done such a thing, I'm extremely confident in my mechanical ability and won't hesitate when the time comes. Are any special tools (besides a clutch alignment tool, and myself ) needed? Do I need a different crossmember? Different tranny mount? Does the crossmember retain the stock position? Any driveshaft mods? What shifter options are there for this sort of thing? Is there anything I can't use? Right now I'm thinking a Pro 5-0 or Steeda short-throw, since that'll greatly improve the heavy throws of the more-or-less required floor shifter, and I'd like to use a late 60's Mopar-style pistol grip shifter, modified with an adapter.
Tell me everything anybody with experience on this subject can think of. I want to be drowned in an abundance of information about all this.
So, anyone who's done the conversion, can anyone walk me through as to the costs, what parts are needed, what modifications are needed, etc? Blaze, I've been staring at your cardomain for three days now and I think I'm getting a pretty decent idea of what this'll take, but since I'm kind of a newb, I'm wondering where is the clutch master cylinder? You don't have some sort of crazy Goddamned mechanical clutch setup, do you?
Also, how difficult is this? I've never done a clutch or swapped a transmission before, but I intend on putting a 5spd (with new clutch) into my 4spd truck before I try this project, just to get the hang of things. Even though I haven't yet done such a thing, I'm extremely confident in my mechanical ability and won't hesitate when the time comes. Are any special tools (besides a clutch alignment tool, and myself ) needed? Do I need a different crossmember? Different tranny mount? Does the crossmember retain the stock position? Any driveshaft mods? What shifter options are there for this sort of thing? Is there anything I can't use? Right now I'm thinking a Pro 5-0 or Steeda short-throw, since that'll greatly improve the heavy throws of the more-or-less required floor shifter, and I'd like to use a late 60's Mopar-style pistol grip shifter, modified with an adapter.
Tell me everything anybody with experience on this subject can think of. I want to be drowned in an abundance of information about all this.
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