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Foos Great and Magical 1st Gen A/T to M/T Conversion Thread

31K views 82 replies 18 participants last post by  speedfoos 
#1 · (Edited)
Howdy.

What you are about to embark on with me is a journey through the wonderful land of converting a 2004 Nissan Frontier 3.3L V6 Crew Cab Frontier from automatic to manual. Fun, huh? I hope to make this as comprehensive as possible, replete with prices as of March 2013, and how to get everything working again as it was before the transplant - namely cruise control, reverse lights and CEL-free operation.

Why am I doing this?

Good question, I'm glad you asked. There are a few reasons, but this is primarily event-driven as opposed to impulse-driven. Well what the hell does that mean? Some background first.

I purchased my truck from a window licker back in May of 2009 with approximately 80K on the dial. Because the previous owner was an assclown and didn't maintain the truck, I had to rebuild the engine at approx 115K on the dial. No biggie. I screwed up re-installing the transmission and cracked the pump on it which caused me to purchase a new (used) transmission with 45K on the dial and install that. I've also replaced the C200 rearend with an H233B. She's got new shocks, wheel bearings, ball joints and idler arm. I also fabbed new exhaust from the primary kitties to the tailpipe that I'm really happy with. Interior is spotless, no rust on the exterior, and aside from pisspoor gas mileage and no power, I really like the truck.

Direct cause

On about 9-10 March of this year, I started to notice a weird shudder when going in to OD. I thought it was AC related at first because the first time I felt it was when I mashed the AC button. Nope that wasn't it because it happened a few more times. On 14 March I decided it was transmission-related and went to drop the pan to replace the filter in preparation to flush the transmission.

When I pulled the drain plug this lovely strawberry milkshake poured out of the pan.




Boy is that fun.

It means that my transmission fluid is contaminated with antifreeze because the transmission cooler lines in the radiator have failed due to corrosion or some other reason. Doesn't matter why, the result is the same. The clutch packs in the transmission and the lock-up clutch in the torque convertor are water soluble and that means there's about a 98% that my transmission needs to be rebuilt and torque convertor replaced.

Wee.

I hate automatic transmissions. I could buy a new/used transmission and torque convertor, and a new radiator or transmission cooler and replace what I've got.

Boring.

I'd rather swap this to a manual transmission because that's more fun. Here we go.


Parts List (Complete)

This is everything I think I need as of today. I may need more stuff once everything gets here and I go to install it, but I know where the edit button is. Big thanks to our forum sponsor RockAuto for being spot on with prices on this stuff

Part - Price - Source

o 5-spd tranny - $750 - Junkyard
o Shift lever and knob - w/tranny
o Clutch and brake pedal - $75 - Junkyard (you can cut down the auto brake pedal if you have the manual pedal cover, I did)
o Interior trim piece - $25 - Junkyard
o Cab boot - w/trim - Junkyard
o Clutch kit - $143.79 - RockAuto
o Flywheel - $57.70 - RockAuto
o Clutch Slave Cylinder - $9.65 - RockAuto
o Clutch Master Cylinder - $31.99 - RockAuto
o Output Shaft Seal - $4.20 - RockAuto
o Transmission fluid - 2.89L of 80W90 - $15
o 1x JAP351 3/16" universal metric 20" brake line - $4 - Advance Auto Parts
o 1x JAP351 3/16" universal metric 51" brake line - $7 - Advance Auto Parts
- Nissan clutch (and brake) fittings are M10x1.0
o Brass M10x1.0 union - $2.50 - Advance Auto Parts
o Braided stainless clutch line (flexible line off the slave cylinder) - $23 - eBay
o Shift knob (optional if the stock one is still there) - $43.40 - eBay
o 6 x pressure plate bolts - $33 - ARP P/N 151-2801 (they are spec'd for Ford Pintos but are the length and thread pitch we need. Has a 5/8" 12-point head)
0 manual driveshaft - $150 - local junkyard
o manual ECU - $140 - local junkyard

Total spent - $1711.75

Notes
- You must use a manual ECU or you will throw at least two codes - P0600 and P1605 and trip the CEL. For '04s, the auto ECU is MEC07-551-B2-#### and the manual ECU is MEC07-541-B2-####.
- You must use a manual driveshaft from the same bed and cab size of your truck. The input yokes are a different size and the driveshaft lengths are different.
- You must use longer bellhousing and starter bolts. The old starter bolts are the right size for the manual bellhousing and you need 75mm length ones (two of them) for the starter. Size is M10-1.50. Standard Lowes bolts are fine.
- You can use your existing auto wiring harness and just disconnect what you don't need.
- It's easier to install the pedals if you pull the dash first
 
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1
#3 ·
Can't wait to see how it turns out. Hopefully it will be mostly uneventful.
Keep us posted and good luck. Any chance the scrap yard you're using will guarantee that the manual you ordered actually works? Cause that would be a bummer if you scrapped one tranny only to have to go through another before you could use it. That being said I've had pretty good luck with junkyard parts over the years so here's hoping yours goes well :)
 
#4 ·
I'm using Massey Auto Parts in Maryville, Tennesee for the manual tranny and he gives a 6-month warranty on all of his parts so I'm good with that. The donor truck had 75198 miles on it when it got cracked up which is pretty good.

Speaking of which, here's some pics of the lucky organ donor.









 
#8 ·
I was surprised too, but the way I interpreted Courtesy's parts diagrams, they are the same. Which makes sense from a manufacturing perspective. One jig for all CC 3.3s whether they are MT or AT. If I'm wrong I'll have a new driveshaft made since I need a carrier bearing anyway. A new carrier plus a new to me driveshaft will cost nearly as much as getting a new one-piece made.

Question: Is this a type of failure that is rare for Gen1 Frontiers? I was told that the 2005 and later were more susceptible to cooling/ATF contamination.
Seems to be rare, but the folks at AAMCO weren't terribly surprised.
 
#9 ·
That's cool that they guarantee the parts! Looks like your donor has lots of good stuff to use as long as you're not looking for airbags.
Keep us posted! Thanks for the updates
 
#11 ·
I may follow your lead down the road since I have always been unhappy with the automatic in my truck. My swap might need a little more invested though since I have a 4x4. Either way I look forward to seeing the results. I know you're lucky enough to have both the ability and location to get this all done.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Shouldn't be much more involved in a 4x4 swap if I had to guess. The 4x4 M/Ts are a lot more plentiful than the 4x2s and everything else is the same. It would be more complicated if you had an electronic transfer case, but since its also a manual, there's nothing more to futz with. I haven't looked at the wiring side of a 4x4, but I imagine it's simply a light on the instrument cluster.


And since I'm selfish and like to give myself presents, I ordered a new shift knob for it from eBay (10% of the price went to the Wounded Warriors Project):




And while I thought this was funny, I'm not a huge bumper/window sticker fan although it is tempting.

 
#15 ·
Yeah, I'm a big fan of cloth too. The only time I liked leather was in our IS250 and that was because it had air conditioned and heated seats. You couldn't sneak a fart to save your life, but you didn't get swamp butt either.

I was sad to see your Volvo project go. very interesting build.
I was too, kind of. But that thing nearly consumed my entire life in addition to all of my time and my bank account. This one isn't really so much as a build, but a mod. Plus I still have that '79 XS400 I tinker on when I'm bored.




Flywheel and slave cylinder arrived today. Another batch from RockAuto should show up tomorrow, and then the rest - including the tranny - will show up on Monday.
 
#16 ·
And since I'm itching to get started on this, I had to mess with the parts that arrived today. Not much really, but the slave cylinder was raw, cast steel with only a coat of oil. That's fine for shipping but put it on a vehicle and two hours later you have rust.

So I painted it. Neat huh?

 
#20 · (Edited)
So I'm reposting this blurb from the what did you do to your Frontier thread just so it's all contained in one spot. If you don't like, you can eat me.

Turns out that contaminated 1st gen transmissions that bypass the radiator still boil over when you subject them to the same treatment where you discovered they boiled over previously. Who would have thunk it?

Good news is the dickbag who rode my arse for 20 miles got a windshield full of smoke and transmission fluid when it happened. All the manual swap parts show up today. She's going under the knife tonight.




And here we go.

Everything showed up to. All of it, every last bit. As usual, there are some things I didn't think of or know about, but so far everything seems fairly straightforward and simple. Remove a few things install a couple other things, do some burnouts and I'm done. But I'll drag this out because I enjoy that. Oh, and I have this full time job where they train me to jump out of airplanes and kill people. Kind of gets in the way of my hobbies some times.

Got a call from my buddy that UPS Freight dropped off a pallet of goodies at his work so I grabbed my wife's Edge and spun down to pick it up. You can see from the previous post why I didn't take my truck.

But look at my brand new (to me) 5-speed transmission!



Right, that was neat and cool, but let's get to the wrenching. I started doing things one way and changed my mind later on stuff so if you plan on following in my footsteps and are incapable of walking and chewing gum at the same time, just sell your current truck and by one that's a manual. It will save both of us some time and save you from me hurting your feelings.

Remove both seats with your 14mm socket, wrench or Mexican socket set. I only removed the driver's seat in this picture, but removed the passenger seat later.




From there, get your #2 Philips screwdriver and your brain, and remove the screws holding down the center console and HVAC/radio trim. There 10 in all, see if you can find them. Well, 12 if you count the little piece that hides the ECU. I gave you a freebie there. We're doing this because we want to remove the autotragic shifter. It's held down by four (4) 6mm studs that have a 10mm head nut on them. Pull the cotter pin on the shifter cable to remove it. As so.




You also need to get the shift lock cable loose, but if you look, you can't easily remove it from the shifter.




Now what?

This is where the brain comes in. Follow the cable to where it turns into something other than a cable. Here, I drew it out for you.




Uhoh, it disappears into the steering column, which I already removed in that picture! But Foos! How do I remove it? Strap your carseat down junior, just get a long #2 Philips and remove the five screws that hide in these holes. If you're a quick study, you'll notice this is the bottom piece of the steering column..




Once that's done, there's a clip on the back side of the ignition barrel that you need to pull down in order to remove the shifter lock cable.




The cable pops out and you snake back out underneath the ECU (which needs to be loosened to allow the end to clear) and then the shifter is out. Tada!!!




Pull the little clip out to shove the shifter cable back underneath the truck - it will come out attached to the transmission.




Now its time to remove the access plate. A #2 Philips or 12mm wrench will work here. You may have to grab the underside plastic anchor/grippy/thingy with a needlenose while someone else loosens them from the top. I had to do that with one of them.

Look, a transmission.




But, wait a minute.

Hmmm.....




I don't think this will fit properly.

Nope, it doesn't. Oh well, will fix it later.




Time to remove the transmission control unit (TCU) and brake pedal. Fairly straightforward, all you need is a 12mm socket to remove some brackets and drop the steering column, some needle nose pliers to compress some cable stays on the column to move some wires, and fifteen years in the circus as a contortionist. Small hands will help as well.

Here is the TCU. Held in place by three 12mm bolts. It needs to go away otherwise it will rat you out to the ECU and you will throw a CEL (for not having a transmission) and be unable to pass inspection. No news is good news as far as the ECU is concerned.




The bracket that holds the TCU in place also happens be a place holder for the clutch master cylinder. The bracket comes out, the pedal goes in, and then the master cylinder slips over the studs from the pedal assembly and bolt in. I was about ready to saw half of my hand off to get the nut closest to the brake booster tightened down. ZERO ROOM.




Time to drop the column. It's held in place by four 12mm bolts. Here's two of them, you find the other two. If you can't, refer to my earlier instruction about getting a different vehicle.




Once all those bolts are out, unclip all of the wiring, it's not hard, you don't need to label them because the plugs only go back in one place. Oh, after doing this, I now know how to hot wire a 1998-2004 Nissan Frontier. Very easy.




The brake pedal is removed by four 12mm nuts that screw to the brake booster studs that come through the firewall and one 12mm bolt on top of the brake pedal frame. It's not hard, and plain to see once you're in there. It's a real peach to remove though because of the steering column and everything else in the way. I suppose if I pulled the dash it would be easy, but I'd rather not pull the dash. Yet, anyway.

Lets install the clutch pedal now.

Shoehorn that damn clutch pedal in there - you have to move the fuse box and use that 9-year old foreign kid you kidnapped last week to get the top two bolts tightened (they have small hands) and lay on a bunch of beer for your back as you contort your body to figure out how to get the piece of sh!t in there, but it will work.

Look, a clutch pedal.




A couple side by sides of the brake pedals now. The donor truck did not have cruise, but mine does. So I will have to weld a little bracket on there to transfer the cruise cut-out switch to the new pedal.







And that it was pretty much it for the night. All the crap is in the back of my truck and I'll keep working on things tomorrow.





*****EDIT******


That brake pedal was a bit out of sorts so I ended up ditching it and simply cutting down the plate on my auto pedal and slipping the manual pedal cover over it.
 
#21 ·
Subscribed Looking good so far!
 
#22 ·
Gee Foos, makes me glad to have a manual, LOL. Seriously, 10 years ago, I would jump into what your doing without hesitation, but at 58 I have just gotten to the point where wrenching on anything other than the normal maintenence is just way too much like work. In fact, just sold my restored 76 Datsun Z because they are never finished and I am just too lazy. I will stick with my 07 S2000. However, I am lovin your post so keep it up to completetion. BTW, I spent 20 years flying around in the E3 AWACS.
 
#23 ·
I hear you man, I'm 37 now and it was a close call to checkbook this thing, or flush the transmission fluid and trade it in on something shiny and fast. There was a red '08 S2000 on Craigs that was very tempting because I love those little cars. Congrats on your retirement. I've got just over four years to go!
 
#25 ·
Not only informative but entertaining :laugh:
Great write-up, can't wait for the next installment!
 
#27 ·
Well, turns out the driveshafts are different after all. Such is life. I'll pick one up tomorrow from a local pick and pull. The output shaft manual transmission is larger than the one on the auto. Found one locally for $100.

So aside from discovering that, degreasing the bottom of the truck, I added the cruise control kill switch to the brake pedal.

Prepped.




And done. No close up of the welds because I'm running straight Argon with mild steel wire and it doesn't do very well together.

 
#28 ·
Woof, I'm too old for this crap.

Found a driveshaft and will pick it up tomorrow or Friday so that's done. Then I decided to remove the transmission tonight. I took a few pics of things, but not everything because I was more concerned with removing the transmission than taking pictures. But I will lay out everything that needs to be done plus a couple tricks to keep things clean.

Make sure you have plenty of lubrication. This works well.




Drain the transmission pan but leave it on. It has a drain plug. 17mm.

Remove the transmission lines from the transmission and radiator. The line fittings are 19mm, one per side and they will make a mess if you're not quick and careful. The passenger side will continue to drip the entire time unless you plug it with an M15xsomething bolt. It makes a mess.

Remove the starter. Two 14mm bolts on the bell housing side of the transmission and it's out. There are two 12mm wire terminal nuts that need to come off the engine side of the starter and one clip. Just follow the plastic wire shielding up to find the clip, its not hard.

You should also remove the driveshaft. Four 17mm bolts on the pinion flange and the two 14mm bolts on the carrier bearing and slide it out the back.

Disconnect all of the wiring. There are four plugs right behind the engine compartment fuse box and one big baby blue one on the loom next to the intake manifold (passenger side). Snake them down onto the transmission. You may have some misc. bracketry to contend with, but all of mine was gone as I removed it when I rebuilt the engine. Don't forget the crank position sensor on the top driver's side of the bell housing.

Remove the dipstick. The whole thing with the tube. There is one 10mm bolt on the transmission, but you have to remove the shifter cable shield plate (two 10mm bolts) to have any room to get a socket on it. There is one more 10mm bolt holding it to the head on the left rear side of the passenger head. Pull it out from the bottom and watch the bendable cable management tabs on it as they get hung up on crap.

The rest of this is all work with your 14mm wrench. Remove the dust cover from the bottom part of the transmission. It's a plate that covers the bottom part of the bellhousing. The big plate behind it does not come out until the transmission and flexplate are off so don't try to remove it until then. Set the dust shield aside.

Now you have to remove the four 14mm bolts that secure the torque convertor (TC) to the flex plate. You can skip this step if you want, but as soon as your remove the transmission from the TC, fluid goes everywhere if it is anything but level. A little work now will save you a lot of cleanup. These bolts are accessed through the hole where the starter was. Grab your socket (23mm I think) and breaker bar to turn the crank to expose all of the bolts. Turn it counter clockwise as this the natural rotation of the engine, don't worry, there is no chance of actually loosening the crank pulley bolt. Hold the crank pulley with the breaker bar while you loosen the flexplate bolts with your 14mm ratchet with a long extension.

Here's what I'm talking about.




You can see the top of the oil pan kickout for reference. Did I mention this is much easier since I have a 4x2? Well it is.

Loosen and remove, don't worry if they fall into the bell housing, you'll have all this out soon.

Once the four flexplate bolts are removed, support the transmission with either a transmission jack or a motorcycle jack. Remove the the four 14mm bolts from the rear transmission mount and then remove the two 17mm bolts that secure the crossmember to the frame. If you are positive the transmission is supported completely, then remove the crossmember from the truck - it's like those stupid puzzles at Cracker Barrel so have fun.

Now remove the half dozen 14mm bolts that secure the bell housing to the engine block. There is one on the engine side (driver's side) and the rest are on the bell housing side. It's a whole lot easier on my truck because of the three inch body lift, plus you can get to the top ones from the cab of the truck now.




Righty-o, now all the bolts are removed, its almost time to pull the tranny. Before we do this though, we need to rock the transmission back about 1/2" to get between the TC and flex plate with a pry bar. What we're trying to do is get enough room to put the dust shield in between the flex plate and torque converter and bolt it to the bell housing in order to keep the TC attached to the transmission. If left to its own devices, it will stay on the crank (and leak like a sieve) or fall now that we've removed the four bolts. Neither of those are good. We're going to time warp so I can show you what I'm talking about.




This keeps the TC attached and allows for a mess-free removal. But like humans, transmissions have a head and an arse. Got to plug the rear as well. If you have a nifty plug, then use it. I don't so I used packing tape, some plastic wrap and a zip tie. Time warp again so you get the idea.




Now that you've sealed up the input and output, it's time to remove and lower the transmission. Work it back by pulling the tail end and wiggling. Make sure it doesn't fall off the jack because that will probably hurt.

As I said, a motorcycle jack works great.




And that's where I'm at for the night. It's out and tucked under my work bench now. Giggity giggity.
 
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