{"id":49805,"date":"2020-07-14T12:36:16","date_gmt":"2020-07-14T18:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.moderndriveline.com\/resources\/?p=49805"},"modified":"2020-07-14T12:36:16","modified_gmt":"2020-07-14T18:36:16","slug":"used-transmissions-what-to-look-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moderndriveline.com\/resources\/used-transmissions-what-to-look-for\/","title":{"rendered":"TECH GUIDE: Swapping to a Manual Transmission"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW OR USED PARTS FOR TRANSMISSION SWAP ?\u00a0 \u00a0GOOD QUESTION.<\/h2>\n

A Donor Car\"\"<\/span><\/h3>\n

Though it\u2019s easy to predict some things that you\u2019ll need, other parts may be unwelcome surprises.<\/strong><\/span>In order to deal with these parts, people will sometimes purchase what\u2019s known as a donor car and strip it down in order to get the components that they need that are year specific.The trouble with this is that you\u2019re essentially doing twice the work, and you\u2019re doing it at the same time.<\/strong><\/span>Very few people have a garage large enough to accommodate this process. Ultimately, it is one of the less expensive options, but it also means that you may be getting parts of questionable quality.<\/strong><\/span>The benefits of using a donor car are that they typically are had for very little money, and depending on the parts you strip off, you may be able to sell some to recoup some of the cost.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Piece by Piece<\/span><\/h3>\n

On the other hand, it\u2019s possible to piecemeal a new driveline simply by purchasing a high quality used parts. You can find these through a junkyard, a local mechanic, or even through an online site like eBay. These tend to be a little more of a sure thing than getting your parts out of a donor car, but it does also tend to be more expensive (though admittedly in small bursts, so if your plan is to buy pieces over a long period of time, this may be less to bite off at once), and you need to research to ensure that all the components that you\u2019re purchasing are capable of working together. Sometimes car manufacturers make small, not particularly well-advertised, changes to things as small as the bolt on a pedal assembly and suddenly you\u2019re scrambling to find a fix.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Buying New<\/span><\/h3>\n

The route that guarantees the most in terms of reliability is not coincidentally a little more expensive. Buying new parts usually confers some type of warranty or guarantee of quality as well, and typically brands really believe in their product and will work with you to make sure that you\u2019re satisfied with the overall results.<\/strong><\/span>There\u2019s no reason to stick to one route or the other. As long as the parts you purchase are compatible with each other, it won\u2019t matter if one part is new and another is old.<\/strong><\/span>With regards to compatibility, one of the easiest things you can do that will help your transmission swap be successful is simply to buy the manual transmission that was designed for the model car that you\u2019re working with. This obviously isn\u2019t an option if there wasn\u2019t a manual option, but for most cars, you can find a manual transmission that was designed to fit in the body of your car. The nice thing about that is that most of the hoses and connections will be approximately the same length, resulting in fewer new parts and minor inconveniences for you.<\/strong><\/span> Just a couple of short videos on a used transmission with hidden surprises.VIDEO:\u00a0 Bad Throw-out bearing will not slide off the input shaft easily<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/span> VIDEO:\u00a0 \u00a0Bad Throw-out bearing caused damage to input shaft not seen until bearing was removed<\/strong><\/span><\/a>  <\/p>\n

WHAT KIND OF JOB WILL THIS BE?<\/h2>\n

\"\"To install A manual transmission into a car that currently has an automatic, you\u2019ll also need a Bellhousing, new clutch, flywheel, shaft assembly, and pedal assembly.Unfortunately, even the brake pedal of your existing pedal assembly isn\u2019t compatible and will need to be altered.You\u2019ll also likely need a host of smaller components depending on the scope of the project.If you\u2019ve already committed to changing the transmission then you may want to change the engine at the same time.This makes the transmission swap a little bit simpler and for older cars is generally a good investment anyway since it\u2019s likely that the engine has a good number of miles on it.This is entirely up to you, but since you\u2019re going through the effort of making a transmission \u201cmate\u201d to an engine, you may want to make sure that you\u2019re doing this once.It\u2019s a good time to install additional modifications as well, like a short-throw shifter, or a new exhaust system.There are a lot of other upgrades that can be done at the same time without adding a lot of additional work since you\u2019ll be moving around so many things anyway. <\/p>\n

PARTS NEEDED<\/h2>\n

This should give you an idea of the parts that are commonly needed.Though everyone is prepared for needing a transmission, it\u2019s important to think about everything you need before you get started.<\/p>\n