Arrow

Just out of curiosity:

1. Will a dealership actually do a transmission change? (AT to manual)

2. How much would such a thing cost?



After reading some threads about folks who have switched from AT to manual, I thought about whether I would consider doing it myself. I would LOVE to have a manual, but I bought an AT for a reason (heavy traffic, mostly).

I like my 07GT, and unless something drastic happens (hopefully the safe kind of drastic) I'll probably be keeping 'er for a while. In the future, I may decide to change the transmission, and out of curiosity, I am for some reason exploring that now...

...

CalStang'07

This is a real simple answer. We have done this type of tranny conversion in the past in our shop. No part of a this swap is cheap or easy! If you payed some pro-shop to do this conversion, it would end up costing as much or more than just selling or trading your current Mustang for a stick shift version of the same model! Even if you did all of this yourself, the cost and hassle or securing all of the parts and pieces required would be a major pain!! Only if you had your own auto shop and purchased a totaled out Mustang for the swap, could this be an economical possibility. Then you would have to parts out the wrecked shell and also sell all off of you automatic tranny stuff, to even get close to even on this! I would have to recommend that you enjoy your current ride and then save up for a future stick shift model on your next Mustang purchase. But if you just have to have a stick now, then talk to your dealership about a trade. But this option will cost you in the wallet zone. Good luck! CalStang

Glenn

there was a write up in 5.0 mustang mag recently. I'll see if I can find it and post the link. But yea theres more to it than just swapping out the trans. A dealership would charge an arm and a leg ....and then the other arm and leg.

newbreedgt05

Here's how to do it. I was going to do that to mine over the summer before I wrecked it.

http://www.geocities.com/anthony05gt/index.html

ren274u

Im collecting all the parts do to it right now, if you shop around it can be all done for under 2k, and thats with an upgraded shifter, clutch, and flywheel so not that bad actually.

A trade in may be worth it to some, but in my case i already have about 6k or more in mods, and will probably loose more than 2k for a trade in, plus I would have to swap all my parts, so not really worth it.

Arrow

That's my main issue, otherwise I would go the trade-in route. I've put money into the exhaust, CAI, and a little of the body and interior. It's not more than 3k, but will probably be more come this summer ( ) and if I did a trade-in, I'd basically have to re-buy all that stuff again. Of course, the value of the vehicle now is probably higher, so I could probably flex a lower payment, which would translate into more modding money...but it still would mean buying the same stuff over again. (Reminds me of that movie: The Money Pit.)

CalStang'07

Okay. Agree that this can be done with the buying and gathering up the required parts that are out there. And then doing all the hack and solder wiring that will be required. Plus all the fabrication stuff. Beware, the dollars can really add up fast going at it this way. What I had written about before, was about doing a complete factory swap over with all of the original drive train parts, wiring, wraps, electrical plugs, harness etc. from a salvaged unit. You can do it ether way, but it shall involve a lot of work, time, money and dedication to complete. Are you really sure you don't just want to drive and enjoy that great S197, until the new ten's start coming out in about fifteen months? Good Luck on this one!!

Glenn

no fab work required it all bolts right in. He was asking about the labor cost involved also. I would thing some shops might do it for around a grand. Just guessing.
Call brenspeed and ask.

CalStang'07

The big fab work is in the wiring harness changeout and plugin requirements. Look over the FoMoCo wiring schematics and do all the research before you buy one single part to do this. No big disappointments that way Bro.

anthony05gt

I'm the guy who did the first S-197 auto to manny swap and created that ''how to'' manual back in late '05. I've done a few of these swaps now including the first '07 (that I know of). I can safely say it's not a bad job and now that all of the parts are available including the engine/tranny portion of the wiring harness. Just do your homework. It takes about a weekend to do the swap.

Five Oh Brian

Arrow, the lure of a manual trans is strong. I know, as my first 5 Mustangs all had manuals in them - by choice. However, my 07 GT is an automatic and I don't miss the manuals now that I have 4.10 gears and a big stall converter (along with tuning to bump shift points and pressure way up). Now, my automatic GT launches harder than a stock manual trans, shifts harder/quicker, I can "manually" select each gear individually, and best of all: I can just simply stick it in drive for heavy traffic to save the wear and tear on my left knee.

CalStang'07

Okay! If Mr. Anthony who wrote the original "S197 Tranny Swap Bible" says you can do it, than by all means give it a try!! My thirty plus years of shop building various street rods and drag racing cars, says this is not a job for the first timer or a novice builder who has never bent a single wrench. That being said. With a little research and or some building support from fellow Mustang wrench heads, you too could soon be yanking some redline power shifts with the rest of us in the Pony stick shift crowd. Let us know if you go for it. Wth some pix and a report!! CalStang

anthony05gt

Yeah, it's not a big deal. Just make sure you get all the parts, do your homework with my manual and then get going. It's a fairly cheap swap too. You can get a new tranny for $700, shifter (stock) for $50 and all the rest is only in the hundreds of dollars (stock parts). I suggest the engine/tranny portion of the wiring harness to keep things basic and super clean. By the way the new tranny is at newtakeoff.com

Arrow

Thanks for the input, guys. Everyone's input was valid and useful.

Five-Oh, you got me curious. I'll have to explore that approach some more. The "knee saving" is the big picture. I've driven manuals in moderate traffic before, and it drove me batshyt. That's why I made the hard decision of getting an AT instead. The downside is that it's harder to "play" in an AT.

What I'd really like is something along the lines of a tiptronic or autostik system, like in the Porsches and various other cars. That ability to go from AT to manual is awesome, but I guess Ford couldn't figure that out. I've seen all the stuff for "upcoming" solutions, but they're taking too long.

Glenn

http://www.mustang50magazine.com/tec...wap/index.html