Well, I done it. I spent yesterday and today pulling out the automatic and putting in the 5-speed. I just got back from a test drive, and all I got to say is yeaahhhhhhh baybeeeee!!!! The pull in third gear is awesome. Like Harold says, it is worth it times ten!! (Thanks Harold for leading the way!) I am one tired but happy camper. I'm going to bed now, I'll post a few comments and observations tomorrow.

 

all you guys doin the convertion are making me really think about this

Ant

 

Heh. I just spent a few extra days at different dealers to finally find my Max in AZ... Didnt cost a thing either to ship it here :P

Well... Welcome to the club... or whatever... I dont know what im talking about. Blah... im tired... 5-speed is good thats all I know for sure at this moment. Tell me when you hit 130MPH and get a picture too.

 

i hit 135 the other night in my AUTO!!

Ant

 

tranny conversion

 

I am planning this change soon...I still need a shifter support rod and a clutch...the axles and a "manual starter?" Anyway, everything else I need is in my garage in a pile awaiting disposition/installation/arbitration, ... whatever.

 

So jealous. Stupid automatic

 

i just put my vb in last week. i love it. i dont really want a 5spd. The car is barking second gear right now, cant wait till s/c next week.

 

i just put my VB in last week and ive been ever so happy with my automatic...
up until earlier 2nite when i asked my friend if i can drive his GTI VR6 5 spd, and dammmit its just soooo much more fun driving a 5 spd playing with the clutch and having soo much control over your car
not only does it pick up, rev and launch better, but it also brakes better...geeeez i hate my automatic to the fullest now, i totally 4got how much fun a 5 spd is ever since i stopped valet parking
youre one lucky man!! i wish i had the time and money to do a 5 spd conversion...thats just tooo much for me to deal with

 

So how much did it cost you, total?

IanS

 

nice! 5 speed is one of my final mods to do right before FI

 

1st in austin you are

 

The starter is the same for automatics and manual transmissions. Harold misspoke when he listed the starter as one of the parts you need to do the conversion.

 

It ended up costing me about $1600, which is a bit high compared to some others here, but that includes $300 for new drive shafts from raxles.com and $325 for an ACT clutch. I had a difficult time finding a parts donor car here in Austin and ended up buying some parts new which also drove the price up considerably. The best thing to do is to find a donor car that has all the parts. In that scenario I would think you wouldn't spend more than about $800, based on the experience of some other org members that have done the swap. Well, okay, the cheapest way to do it is to sell the car and buy a factory 5-speed Maxima, but that's no fun! Besides, I'm very emotionally attached to my Max.

 

Congrats, Steve! That project sounds like a huge headache. Glad it was successful!

Good luck getting 5K miles out of your tires now.

 

Thanks Keven. Actually, it was a pretty straightforward job. A lot of work, but nothing really difficult. I borrowed a transmission jack from work which really made pulling and installing the transmissions a lot easier. (It's strange that we have that jack since we don't do anything even remotely related to transmissions, but it really came in handy.)

The hardest part by far was putting in the clutch pedal, just because it is so difficult working up under the dash. But I had already done that a couple of weeks ago.

The next hardest job was installing the shifter linkage. I already had the transmission and engine raised up and the center support in bolted in place, which made it difficult to get a wrench at one of the bolts that fasten the shift linkage to the transmission. I could only turn the bolt about 30 degrees at a time, so it took a long time to gradually tighten that sucker up.

Next project: MEVI

 

I finally have my MEVI working reliably. I'll update my wiring/vacuum schematic. Let me know if you want me to email a copy to you. Might make your install easier.

 

The starter is the same tracy, save your money!