Okay. biggreek has loved his 2008 rabbit for every mile of it's 100,000 miles. He loves it to death with the only exception being the transmission. After all who wants a car that practically drives itself? Like most he wanted to actually DRIVE the vehicle rather than have it shifting when IT wanted.
His lucky day came when the transmission started to shift funny and it began to flame out. His options were limited to replacing the transmission with an OEM new unit, attempt to have an outside shop rebuild this complex beast, or put in a low mileage manual gearbox. The choice was obvious! He contacted me about this little project and it didn't take long before we were about to attempt the impossible. Nobody has done this swap before on this particular vehicle and nobody knew where to begin.
I decided to study the parts diagrams and wiring diagrams long before I had the car. Below is a list of items you will need to obtain in order for this swap to take place. I will limit this to a mechanical parts list.
Upper and lower heater hoses
Shifter housing box
Shifter cables
Shifter cable bracket
Intermediate mount (goes between transmission and trans mount bolted to frame)
Axles
Flywheel
Clutch/pressure plate
Clutch release arm/bearing combo
Clutch pedal
All needed hardware for assembly (auto transmission hardware will not work for most holes)
Shim between engine/transmission
Slave cylinder
hydraulics between clutch pedal and slave
Brake pedal assembly for manual transmission
Parts you need to modify to work:
Knock out the plug in the firewall to fit the clutch pedal
Snip the tip of the master cylinder reservoir
Control modules that need to be re-coded:
Gateway- Code out the transmission module, be sure to disconnect the trans module or pull the 20 amp fuse for it.
Steering column module- code for manual
Engine (may not be possible, may need manual transmission ECM) Recode from 3 to 1 for auto. If cannot be recoded then have a tuner retune ECM for manual. Or, buy a manual ecm for your year and emissions type.
Possibly ABS, Depends on ECM
Step one. Remove the center console front half. If you have an armrest you can leave this in as we only need the front done. Unbolt the nuts holding the shifter in place. There should be four nuts. Remove the metal bracket in front of the shifter to expose the other two nuts.
Disconnect the electrical connectors going to the shifter handle once the console has been removed. Remove left footwell trim. Knock out plug where clutch pedal should go indicated by studs in the plenum.
Remove the brake pedal. This can be done by sliding two flat head screwdrivers on the left and right sides of the rod that connects from the brake booster to the pedal. Once you press in the screwdrivers to release the tabs the pedal can be pulled back by another person to release it from the ball. Unbolt the pedal from the plenum and remove. There may be a bolt on the steering column holding an odd limiter bracket to prevent the pedal from coming out. Remove this as the manual cars do not have it. Installation is the reverse of removal.
Install the clutch pedal and install with three nuts onto the studs. Two on bottom, one on top.
Next is to get down and dirty!
Remove the battery and battery tray. This will expose the transmission top and shifter cables. Remove the shifter cable from the transmission using a flathead driver to pry it off the ball mount. Pry off the C-clip holding the cable to the bracket. This will free up the cable from the transmission.
Raise and support vehicle. Support engine. Remove the catalytic converter from the manifold and disconnect the clamp at the other end. I was able to disconnect one end but you may not get so lucky. Remove the heat shield just above the exhaust. This will expose the shifter box and cable. Because the nuts are already out this should fall out. The box and cable are all attached so set them aside. Now you can install your manual shifter and cables. Start a nut or two inside the car once it's in so it doesn't fall out.
TBC.....
His lucky day came when the transmission started to shift funny and it began to flame out. His options were limited to replacing the transmission with an OEM new unit, attempt to have an outside shop rebuild this complex beast, or put in a low mileage manual gearbox. The choice was obvious! He contacted me about this little project and it didn't take long before we were about to attempt the impossible. Nobody has done this swap before on this particular vehicle and nobody knew where to begin.
I decided to study the parts diagrams and wiring diagrams long before I had the car. Below is a list of items you will need to obtain in order for this swap to take place. I will limit this to a mechanical parts list.
Upper and lower heater hoses
Shifter housing box
Shifter cables
Shifter cable bracket
Intermediate mount (goes between transmission and trans mount bolted to frame)
Axles
Flywheel
Clutch/pressure plate
Clutch release arm/bearing combo
Clutch pedal
All needed hardware for assembly (auto transmission hardware will not work for most holes)
Shim between engine/transmission
Slave cylinder
hydraulics between clutch pedal and slave
Brake pedal assembly for manual transmission
Parts you need to modify to work:
Knock out the plug in the firewall to fit the clutch pedal
Snip the tip of the master cylinder reservoir
Control modules that need to be re-coded:
Gateway- Code out the transmission module, be sure to disconnect the trans module or pull the 20 amp fuse for it.
Steering column module- code for manual
Engine (may not be possible, may need manual transmission ECM) Recode from 3 to 1 for auto. If cannot be recoded then have a tuner retune ECM for manual. Or, buy a manual ecm for your year and emissions type.
Possibly ABS, Depends on ECM
Step one. Remove the center console front half. If you have an armrest you can leave this in as we only need the front done. Unbolt the nuts holding the shifter in place. There should be four nuts. Remove the metal bracket in front of the shifter to expose the other two nuts.
Disconnect the electrical connectors going to the shifter handle once the console has been removed. Remove left footwell trim. Knock out plug where clutch pedal should go indicated by studs in the plenum.
Remove the brake pedal. This can be done by sliding two flat head screwdrivers on the left and right sides of the rod that connects from the brake booster to the pedal. Once you press in the screwdrivers to release the tabs the pedal can be pulled back by another person to release it from the ball. Unbolt the pedal from the plenum and remove. There may be a bolt on the steering column holding an odd limiter bracket to prevent the pedal from coming out. Remove this as the manual cars do not have it. Installation is the reverse of removal.
Install the clutch pedal and install with three nuts onto the studs. Two on bottom, one on top.
Next is to get down and dirty!
Remove the battery and battery tray. This will expose the transmission top and shifter cables. Remove the shifter cable from the transmission using a flathead driver to pry it off the ball mount. Pry off the C-clip holding the cable to the bracket. This will free up the cable from the transmission.
Raise and support vehicle. Support engine. Remove the catalytic converter from the manifold and disconnect the clamp at the other end. I was able to disconnect one end but you may not get so lucky. Remove the heat shield just above the exhaust. This will expose the shifter box and cable. Because the nuts are already out this should fall out. The box and cable are all attached so set them aside. Now you can install your manual shifter and cables. Start a nut or two inside the car once it's in so it doesn't fall out.
TBC.....
looks purty
