Hi Guys

I have a 2004 G35 Coupe with Auto transmission with ~80k on it. After driving it for a year, Now I seriously want a it to be a manual.

What will you guys suggest? Swap the transmission or swap this car for a 6MT?
what could be expected cost a tranny swap?

Aniket

 

here is how you do a manual swap.....sell the auto coupe and get a manual coupe save yourself the headache

 

Unless you have sentimental attachment to the car...sell it and buy a stick.


I converted a auto car to 5 spd (not a g35)...unless you have a parts car, you are gonna spend a ton of time and effort rounding up all the misc bolts and brackets and such. Then when you go do it...something will always be missing and hard to find

 

just sell the car and get a stick make life simple for u

 

^ +1

Cost of donor parts + Time spent + Cost of anything broken along the way > Purchase Price - Sales price

 

I understand it'd be easier and cheaper for him to just sell the car and so on. (Well to me it's more of a hassle, I hate dealing with flakes, lowballers, and people who come to window shop)

Sometimes a guy just has too much sentimental value to the car but anyways..

To convert you're going to need a bunch of things which includes but not everything some of the big things

6MT Transmission w/ Clutch, Flywheel, Pressure Plate, Clutch Master Cylinder, Shift Linkage, Wiring Harness (I actually found one for 350$ on craigslist off a Z)
Manual Transmission Mount
Manual ECU (I've seen people run hondas with automatic ecu's but that's another story, ran like crap)
Clutch Pedal Assembly with a new Brake Pedal
Shifter Box
Crossmember?
Throttle Body?
Axle?
Starter?

If these are anything like Nissan 240s then it is a breeze, I'm sorry but I feel that with me working on the transmission and swapping it to stick is less of a headache then having to sell the car, deal with the buyers complaining about some issue that they caused, they try to scam me, rip me off, threaten to get lawyers, complain about some DMV issue, then once I got that all figured out. I will have to go out and buy a car, probably drop a few extra thousands, and gamble for the chance of getting an oil consumption issue or other TSB's. Then once that is registered, I have to deal with waiting 3 hours in line for the DMV and fill out paperwork to findout that the wrong paperwork has been filled out.

(I speak from experience in the past lol, our DMV's aren't as helpful. The guy behind the window gave me a paper and I waited in line to findout it was the wrong paper)

Again, it's a win lose situation, I understand not all transactions go that way and having a OEM manufactored stick shift sedan is always better. Only convert if you really know what your doing or the shop is doing lol. Whatever you decide to go with goodluck man.

 

i say forget about it and just ride out with the automatic its not like its slow .......yes at times you wanna speed and would like to feel like a street racer and want that stick (no homo) lol lmao but still when it comes to everyday driving AUTOMATIC WINS PERIOD

BUt if you want a stick that bad i say sell and repurchase even if you gotta come out your pocket

 

Coupe drivers must generally have a bad since of direction

 

If the autos in these cars sucked, I could see some justification, but I've got one of each, and they're both great.

If you want to waste a month of your life and dump several grand into your car, just get a supercharger on the auto and laugh at all the 6MT's behind you.

 

i have an auto and if it were halfway cheap and easy i would do it but it doesnt seem worth the hassle. Just buy a new car if you want a manual bad enough

 

Get a valve body upgrade and see if you still want to go manual.

 

I don't think our car uses shift linkage. We also don't need a wire harness. Only difference is, after the swap, there is going to be a plug or two hanging around. Because the Auto tranny has a few sensors/plugs whatever.

You might also want a new gauge cluster.

You can use the stock ecu, but the check engine light will be on.

In the end, it's not worth it. It also destroys the resale value. Just sell or trade for a manual.

 

local shop quoted me me 4k including parts and labor. they have done one before on a g35 so i know they know what there doing in that aspect. check around at z specific performance shops..

 

If you swap ecus, you need to reprogram your keys to the new NATS system.

But seriously, the MT that would direct swap into this car ain't all it's cracked up to be. I'd at LEAST see if the HR manuals are a direct fit.

 

Yeah, I ran an automatic ECU in my integra when I converted for awhile lol ran like crap and the CEL annoyed me. I haven't converted because I just decided to stick with being auto but it would be nice to be a 6 speed.

I think he can settle without a gauge cluster but it would be ideal to have one.