I recently did a full over haul on my 97 gle... It has a fully rebuilt 2001 3.0 with the auto from my 97. The auto went out so i decided to go 5 speed. I recently bought a 97 5 speed trans shift linkage clutch assembly master and slave cylinder, clutch pedal assembly all the lines and hoses and i got the computer that was in the 5 speed. my question is do i need to use the computer from the 5 speed or will the computer in my gle be better or even work. i am starting the swap this weekend and wanted to make sure i had all the proper parts before doing so. any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

The ECU is only for the Engine. The tranny has a separate computer that will be removed with the Auto tranny. You should be able to use your stock ECU just fine with a 5speed. Good luck with the swap and enjoy your manual. It'll feel like a completely different car when you are finished.

 

Thanks man and i sure hope so i have alot of time and MONEY in this car. I looked for the 3.5 6 speed swap for ever and no luck then over the weekend when i bought my tranny the guy had a 3.5 6 speed 34000 miles 1600 for everything i needed for the swap and all i had was 1000. I was devastated but the build id did on the 01 3.0 was nice and lots of power but that tranny wouldnt hold hopefully the 5 speed tranny and clutch i am going with will.

 

I also though I should mention you can use the Auto ECU but when you install the 5speed you'll have a check engine light. So if you don't want the CEL then I'd use the 5speed ECU.

 

I have a 5spd.

I think u will need the 5spd ECU since there is no ECM to tell the car u are tryin to start it. For instance clutch safety switch and inhibitor relay. U may also need the 5spd harness too.

SEARCH around the org. There are ppl who have done the swap and threads about it. More info than what ppl will post to this thread.

 

I did a 5spd swap on my 98, Once you do the mechanical part of the swap, you will be able to drive it fine with no problem. I had some idling issues when clutching in and stopping at a red light ( would idle high for a few seconds then go back to normal). You will have a cel for your neutral safety switch (because its jumped) and your car will start in gear (its w/e at first but the first time you forget and start it as it drives across the parking lot, you will want to correct that). After driving it and having some fun, take your time to swap in the manual ecu, and unplug the auto trans comp while your at it (its behind the radio). To fix the neutral safety being jumped (and cruise control not working) Cut a pigtail off of a junked car with 5 spd harness, the one that plugs into the tranny plug all the way at the bottom (that you can use to drain the gear oil). It has 4 prongs, 2 for neutral safety and 2 for reverse lights. Once you wire that up, the car will only start in neutral, you will have functioning reverse lights and your cruise control will work.

 

when i pull the tranny this weekend i was going to pull everything out but do you have to have the 5 speed harness to have functioning reverse lights?? is that the only way

 

I recently did my 5 speed swap here is my thread http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...side-here.html

 

Wow vibes alot of arguing over bolts. lol i love some people on here... I also pulled every componet i could think to pull from the slavage yard and i mean everything the including the instrument panel. So would i be better off to use the spacer plate and bolts from the 5 speed parts i pulled or mine of the motor in the car currently?? I am trying to make everything as easy as possible i am sure i will hit a few snags but wanted to try and get as much lined out as possible before i dive in head first into a nest of problems. Also is the hole under the shifter prexisting or did you have to make one??

 

I ran a auto ECU when I converted and it ran fine other than a bunch of codes. I rewired the AUTO harness so that the reverse lights work.

The hole under the shifter is already there on the car. You just need to drill/grind out the hole for the clutch pedal/master cyl. assembly. The rest bolts on as is with the proper conversion parts.

 

nismo did you pull the dash when fabing the new holes?? That was something i forgot to ask was is it easier to pull the dash when installing the pedal assembly and components that mount under the dash

 

No need to pull the dash, just a little time spent laying on the drivers side floor will do the trick. No need for a 5spd harness, thats a job all in itself. Read my earlyer post. The easyest way is to cut tge one pigtail from the 5spd donor car and wire it to your auto harness. That way you will have a functional neutral safety switch and reverse lights. With the ease of unplugging the tranny from the harness when you need to pull the trans again.

 

Clutch safety switch does not involve the ECU at all; it physically interrupts the starter circuit.

 

you are correct sir. THe switch makes ground for the inhibitor relay.

see man now u guys got me curious as to how to wire this up.

 

Reading through the FSM...

OP
read EL-25 and EL-26. U gonna hafta swap the AT inhibitor relay for the 5spd relay.

Tha 5spd relay is gonna have to wire to the clutch switch if u install one.

Bear in mind that u dont have to install the switch. But if u dont install the swtich u wd be able to start your car without depressing the clutch and while in gear. Could make for a dangerous situation.

EDIT:

Matter of fact, u dont even have to install a clutch relay. U cd jump the whole circuit and start the car with no safety precaution.

The drawback is, u HAVE to make sure the car is in nuetral when u start it. That way the starter is not tryin to spin the flywheel with the tranny engaged which would undoubtely kill your starter prematurely

 

Why run the wires inside the car to the clutch, when the 5spd tranny already has a neutral sensor in it. Much simpler to wire up a manual pigtail to the neutral safety switch wires (and reverse lights) on the auto harness. That way the car only starts in neutral. I find it much easyer not to run the wires through the firewall to the clutch. But its the option of the car owner, if yoy want to run the wires to the clutch switch (would be easyest through the old shifter cable hole). If done that way, you still have to wire up the reverse wires (prefferable to a pigtail) and plug it into the sensor the trans already has. Personally i find the way I did it much simpler.

 

If you leave the switch jumped, the cruise control wont work because the car will always think its in neutral. And trust me the first time you forget you left the car in gear, and start it as it darts across the parking lot, youll want to wire it up the right way.

 

i agree with island. Either way u are doing some wiring. If u wire up the neutral switch, then u dont have to wire up clutch switch AND no CEL.

Im tryin to find the wiring schematic for teh neutral safety swtich.

 

Is the crusie control clutch switch and the clutch switch for starting the car the same switch?

 

Im guessing yes, but I dont remember how many switches are on the clutch. An auto car look for a couple of variables when prompted to turn on cruise control, being in drive and speeds over 35 I believe (for an auto). For a manual, its the same speed, trans being in gear, and clutch engaged.

 

so basically if i do not cut the pig tail and rewire it i will
A. be able to start the car in gear
B. have no reverse lights when backing up
C. cruise control will be non functioning
Is this correct and forgive me but when you say pig tail are you refering to just the female plug that would plug into the trans by the gear oil drain plug?? and thanks for everyones input

 

yea u are correct

 

The clutch interlock and ASCD (Nissan name for cruise control) off switches are separate. In fact, per the CL section of the FSM, only US cars appear to have the clutch interlock switch. Guess the rest of the world is smart enough to remember to put car in neutral before starting car. I drove manual shift cars w/o interlocks for years w/o killing myself or anyone else.

 

Yes you are correct, but im pretty sure that its a male pigtail you need to cut from the harness, since the tranny side is female.

 

ok thanks everyone for the help on this hopefully my clutch comes in today so i can begin my swap

 

Starting my tomorrow...

using HLH0501's Writeup