Auto to Manual Tranny swap

techfreak16 · August 8, 2008

Hello, i'm not sure if i posted this in the right place, but i was wondering if anyone has had experience swapping an auto tranny to a manual one. I have a 91 XL 2dr 4x4 and was just wondering if the time effort and investment in this project is worth it and how much i would generally be spending on such a conversion. Thanks for your feedback

410Fortune · August 8, 2008

yes it has been done, talked about and discussed in detail several times
I personally went from 5 speed to auto years ago, but the conversion is identical in reverse

Try searching this forum

HahnsB2 · August 8, 2008

Money spent all depends how you get the parts. I could do the conversion for under $300 myself. You basically need the clutch pedal assembly, clutch hydraulics, and the shift boot and floor plate, manual computer and manual transmission wiring harness.

techfreak16 · August 8, 2008

so...it could be done for say... $300-maybe like 550? and that's DIY, right? cause i would imagine that the labor costs quite a bit to have it done, correct? and how long do you think the project would take? if i were to gather all the required parts, how long would my truck be out of commission?

HahnsB2 · August 9, 2008

I've dropped my tranny in less than 45 minutes before, just depends how much experience you have. All the little wiring crap and adding clutch hydraulics will probably take as much time as the transmission itself. I also forgot you need a flywheel and clutch as well. Personally I could do it in a day, I think you could do it over the weekend if you started friday night. The labor costs to have someone do it would be quite expensive.

91exploreron37 · August 9, 2008

Yea you could do it in a really long day if you take time to research and gather everything you need before hand so you know what to do.

Justin Klare · August 25, 2008

you're gonna spend at least $1000. you will need a clutch, slave cylinder, master cylinder, manual tranny, clutch and brake pedals, shift boot, shifter, wiring (unless you didn't work out the wiring bug), steering column covers, and a manual tranny starter. i paid $300 for the clutch, about $115 for the starter, $15 for the column covers, $100 for the tranny, shifter, pedals, slave cylinder about $75 i think, master cylinder $60. i already had the dual shift boot and all the wire plugs needed that i still haven't used. you can get those from ford for about $20 a piece and you would need 2 of them.

HahnsB2 · August 26, 2008

Justin Klare said:
you're gonna spend at least $1000. you will need a clutch, slave cylinder, master cylinder, manual tranny, clutch and brake pedals, shift boot, shifter, wiring (unless you didn't work out the wiring bug), steering column covers, and a manual tranny starter. i paid $300 for the clutch, about $115 for the starter, $15 for the column covers, $100 for the tranny, shifter, pedals, slave cylinder about $75 i think, master cylinder $60. i already had the dual shift boot and all the wire plugs needed that i still haven't used. you can get those from ford for about $20 a piece and you would need 2 of them.

Are you high? You can buy a whole parts rig for $500 or less and have everything you need except a slave which I never recomend re-using because trust me, you'll be pissed if you have to drop that tranny again to replace it if it leaks and they almost always do when re-used. I bought my M5OD for $250 with only 20k miles on it. For $300 I hope that clutch installed itself...

91exploreron37 · August 26, 2008

X2 and if you dont have a parts rig most all of this stuff can be found at a junkyard for cheap and if you get it all at once they might even let some of the smaller stuff go for free. At least mine did.
300 bucks you must be talking about the centerforce, thats about what I paid for mine at summit.

Burns · August 26, 2008

I just found a totaled ranger and bought the whole thing for 200 bucks and it had everthing i needed. Best way to go in my book. Then sell the rest for scrap.

mjones97 · August 26, 2008

I have done 3 auto to manual swaps (2 in Gen 3 Rangers, and 1 in a Gen 1 Bronco II). It is super easy as long as you have ALL the tools you need.

If you have someone to help you, you can do it in a day. The 3 I did was done in less than 8 hours; the longest was the first one.

Parts you will need are as follows:
- M50D-R1 or a M50D-R1HD ('03+ Rangers)
- Clutch
- Pressure Plate
- Slave cylinder (NEVER EVER use a used slave cylinder, it is a good practice to replace the slave cylinder EVERY time you remove the transmission)
- Flywheel (it is cheaper to get a NEW flywheel that buy a used one and have it resurfaced. You will need the 6 bolt flywheel)
- 4.0 Manual transmission starter
- 4.0 Manual transmission block off plate
- Clutch/Brake pedal assembly (it is easier to swap out the entire assembly)
- Manual transmission steering column cover (you can remove the shifter arm and cover it, no need for a new steering column)
- CPP (Clutch Pedal Position) Switch
- Floor Plate (not necessary, but easier. You can cut a hole in your stock floor plate)
- Shifter arm
- Shift boot and console
- Manual transmission wiring harness from a 4.0 manual (this will make your life easier, there are 2 plugs on the back of the engine wiring harness, that is where it plugs in)
- 4.0 manual transmission PCM from your year Explorer
- Clutch Master Cylinder
- Clutch hydraulic hose
- Misc. Bolts (pressure plate bolts, flywheel bolts)

I got the following parts from Ford:
- Block off plate
- Misc. Bolts
- Slave cylinder

I got the rest of the parts from either eBay, other forum members, a junk yard, or O'Reilly Auto Parts.

If you have any more questions, feel free to post them here or email me at lifted97ranger@insightbb.com

The 3 swaps I have done were done for less than $750. If you watch eBay and have good junk yards near you, it can be done for well less than $1000.

Here is a couple pictures from my '97 Ranger swap:

Pedals:

Swapping the floor pan:

Automatic shift lever removal:

CPP (Clutch Pedal Position) Switch wiring harness:

Automatic and Manual block off plate comparison:

91exploreron37 · August 26, 2008

You replaced the whole pedal and bracket assembly? I was able to just remove the brake pedal from the bracket and replace it with the clutch/brake pedal abd the bracket stayed in the vehicle. I know 2nd gens(well my old 96 ranger) have a different bracket and master cylinder assmebly then my first gen explorer.

mjones97 · August 26, 2008

It was a ton easier to just replace it. I looked into swapping in just the clutch, but the 2 Rangers I did had a different bracket for the clutch/brake than just the brake. On my BII, I would have had to remove the bracket anyway to install the clutch pedal, so I just replaced it.

91exploreron37 · August 26, 2008

How many bolts hold it in? 6? It probably would be easier to just replace the entire bracket. As you have to remove the parking break pedal assembly to slide the clutch into the old bracket if dont. I would have done it that way but I thought you had to drop the steering column to get it out, I really didnt look at it that had though

mjones97 · August 27, 2008

91exploreron37 said:
How many bolts hold it in? 6? It probably would be easier to just replace the entire bracket. As you have to remove the parking break pedal assembly to slide the clutch into the old bracket if dont. I would have done it that way but I thought you had to drop the steering column to get it out, I really didnt look at it that had though

They all have 6 bolts in them; 4 around where the master cylinder plunger goes through the fire wall, and 2 up a little higher on the fire wall. It is SUPER easy to get off.

Pollarican · January 1, 2009

I don't know about super easy. Im assuming you have to pull some part of your dash out to get to one or both of those top bolts - from what I can see there is no room for any kind of movement up that high in the bracket. Only those two bolts are holding the pedal assembly in still for me, I have to get them off later today and it looks to be a real pain.

Maybe you are right and I am just missing a few helpful tips, which I would much appreciate, haha.

P.S. - My truck is a 1991 first gen.

Blacksheep Josh · January 1, 2009

Might want to redo the pictures, they aren't showing up.

91exploreron37 · January 1, 2009

Pollarican said:
I don't know about super easy. Im assuming you have to pull some part of your dash out to get to one or both of those top bolts - from what I can see there is no room for any kind of movement up that high in the bracket. Only those two bolts are holding the pedal assembly in still for me, I have to get them off later today and it looks to be a real pain.

Maybe you are right and I am just missing a few helpful tips, which I would much appreciate, haha.

P.S. - My truck is a 1991 first gen.

I just replaced the pedal instead of the whole bracket since the brackets are the same between the two. Its just held in an e-clip and slides out.

Wait are you talking about the parking brake assembly?

mjones97 · January 1, 2009

91exploreron37 said:
I just replaced the pedal instead of the whole bracket since the brackets are the same between the two. Its just held in an e-clip and slides out.

Wait are you talking about the parking brake assembly?

Actually in the '93+ Rangers and Explorers the brackets are different for a clutch/brake pedal assembly than for just a brake pedal.

The manual pedal assembly has a spot for the master cylinder to clip into.

91exploreron37 · January 1, 2009

Yea that is how my old 96 ranger was but my 91 has the steel bracket and I got my pedals out of a B2.

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