b12 auto to manual swap

Crazy-Mart · Jun 19th, 2005, 02:51 PM

I searched too, but couldnt find my old post about it ... i made it in 2002 so i might forget some stuff, please pm me if you find something missing...

Part list:
Best bet is buying a complete donor car, one that is manual of course at a low price. remember that it will cost easely over 1000$ if you gatter all part separatly.

E16i/s manual ecu (can work on auto ecu, but wont perform good)
Shifter linkage from manual (drill 4 rivet of donor car it will pop out)
engine back mount with Dog bone (youll need it !!)
transmission mount side (the one that bolts to chassis= absolute necessary)
5speed tranny with mount (D"oh!)
Drive axles (dont botter trying the auto one, they might fit but the manual are better)
Clutch 190mm,Throw out bearing and flywheel from E16s/i (take the one from the donor car)
Engine back plate (you know the one plate that is between tranny and motor)
Starter motor (the auto one is mounted 90deg/manual goes in)
clutch cable (d'oh)
clutch pedal with mounting hardware (tricky to get out and put on)
Brake pedal from manual (this one got a 45deg bend to clear clutch pedal, no need for anything else here)

How to :

First off, keep in mind it might take a few days to complete the swap... took me about 3 (worked on it a few hours each day + the fact i was probably the 1st one to do it)...

First thing first, jack off the front, get rid of all tranny fluids, batterie and tray. disconnect all wires going to tranny and starter, including the 2 cable coming from the shifter assy. then undo steering knuckel either by unbolting the shocks and tie-rod to get the axles off... (put a pan under the tranny before !! there is always oil left inside). Get the cross member off and unbolt the back engine tranny mount (it doesnt support the engine at all). No need to get the front one off as it doesnt bolt to the tranny ( might be helpful to unbolt it to lower the engine for easier tranny install).

Support the engine with a jack (put a piece of wood between so you wont damage the oil pan). Now the fun part begins !! thats where i hit the most problems. On the front, bottom of the engine/tranny plate, there is a 3in hole masked by a plug. get the plug off, you should be able to access the 3 bolts that holds the torque converter to the flywheel. unbolt those by rotating the engine with a ratchet on the crank pulley. unbolt the tranny mount either from the center bolt or from the tranny casing (easier from the center one).
Now start unbolting the tranny from bottom up (you dont want to get a tranny in the face !!. once you only have the 2 top bolt left, support the tranny with another jack. get the last 2 bolt off and pull gently on the tranny and get it off. get the flex flywheel off the engine. Get the back engine mount off too, this one hard a bit as the sway bar is a little in the way. thats all for the engine side now.

For the shifter stuff, get every you can off the way : exhaust, heat shield, console... you need to drill the 4 pop rivet that keeps the shifter there. It needs to be droped from the bottom. The same way is to get the manual one out of the donor car. To install the manual one in there, make sure you get all the stuff and little brackets from the donor (might not need all but it make for a better and stock looking installation). Once youve pass the shifter rods around the sway bar, lift up the shifter to its position into the tunnel... Trick part here is to use bolts and washer to fix the shifter in there.. so you need a friend that will either hold the bolt under the car or ratchet it up inside the car. youll never be able to do it yourself unless you weld the bolt in the holes... (i did use my Gf for this one).

Next thing is building up. put the engine mount in (the one from the manual tranny) 3 bolts under the sway bar again. you can bolt up the dog bone to the firewall.. see the bracket there wasnt used with the auto tranny. put on the engine back plate from the donor car, bolt up the flywheel to the engine. Use blue locktite on the six bolts there as the crank is drilled right throu and could leak oil from there. Torque it out as spec. mount the new clutch on the flywheel. Dont forget to change the mount thats bolted to driver side frame, youll see 2 plastic plug masking the holes youll need to use, just plug back the holes needed for the auto tranny mount with them. Now mount the tranny to the engine...(im sure you cleaned the clutch lever and regreased it, and installed a good throw out bearing before hand) (use a friend and/or aligment tool and/or a jack to help you ease the install) bolt it all up around, and jack it off till you can put back the center bolt inside the driver side mount. Install the shifter rods to the tranny and engine mount (stabilizer rod)
install the drive axles and speedo cable, mount back the suspension and direction stuff... put gear oil into the transmission... dont forget or 5th gear wont last long !! trust me !!. Install batterie tray, yes it will fit the new mount exactly where it was, install starter and stuff you unplug around there. Tricky part here... wiring the tranny. if you can, use the donor car plugs and match it up the auto plug... for back up light and neutral switch back up light are needed.. if you want to see at night !! trust me there also!!)

Next hard stuff... installing the pedals !! ... you need to get the dash off if you want to do a clean and easy install (

easy yeah right !!)... i didnt and ended up cutting/prying the air duck... the brake pedal isnt hard to change... just get the sleeve/pivot bolt off, and the booster holding pin off and it will get off easely. the hard part here is to put back the other one and having the return spring correctly install... you get the point when youll be on your back half way in the car having back pain !!... the clutch pedal is the one youll have most problem clearing the air duck... it is 2 or 3 bolt that hold it to the firewall. then pass the clutch cable and bolt it where it goes (the masking plate behind the driver side shock tower.) Install it onto the tranny and adjust it (there is a holding bracket on the tranny too, just next to the starter)...

Change the ecu if you got the one from the manual donor car.. you know where it is ...

from there, just put back the stuff you took out... either the hood, batterie, starter wiring, ground wires.... it shouldnt be long before you make your first standart trip

Happy swaping !!

Martin

Biscuit · Jun 19th, 2005, 08:49 PM

*applause*

mille-16i · Jun 20th, 2005, 06:11 AM

Why don't you just buy a donor car and drive it sounds easier thanks for the info.

Crazy-Mart · Jun 20th, 2005, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mille-16i

Why don't you just buy a donor car and drive it sounds easier thanks for the info.

If you got stuck like me with a 86/6 sentra coupe that had the front suspension tower going with rust all around the car and had put lot of money into it... and founded a clean grandma auto 86/6 sentra with a sunroof youd like to do the same

I admit, it still is a pain in the ass but once its done, and you took time ti grease the bolts and painted all the pieces, it make the car a lot more easier to work on afterward.

blownb310 · Jul 17th, 2005, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crazy-Mart

If you got stuck like me with a 86/6 sentra coupe that had the front suspension tower going with rust all around the car and had put lot of money into it... and founded a clean grandma auto 86/6 sentra with a sunroof youd like to do the same

I admit, it still is a pain in the ass but once its done, and you took time ti grease the bolts and painted all the pieces, it make the car a lot more easier to work on afterward.

Nice write up Martin!

I have found myself in the same position you were several times and gotten a really nice automatic car cheap. I have done this swap on a Datsun 210 and a B11 Sentra. I've never done it on a B12 though.

Yes, it's a lot of work, but we love doing this crap don't we?

...Ohhh the thought of having to drive an early Sentra with an auto!

Dropped89 · Aug 30th, 2005, 07:07 AM

hey guys, nice right up btw. this all reminds me of when my b12 was running in its prime. I miss it . and Hope to buy another one day.

glad to see you guys are still keeping the b12's alive.

evilimport · Sep 8th, 2005, 06:16 PM

Good job on the write up..
Nice to have some info about how to do that sort of stuff.. hmm

LimeyRich · Oct 13th, 2005, 09:44 AM

Hi Guys, Hope everyone is doin OK. Great swap instructions CrazyMart, a real major help! I am now very close to being able to swap out my dead '84 e-16s w/auto(Pulsar) to a lively(enroute to me right now) '88/'89 e-16I w/ auto (Sentra), OR 5spd and ecu from another local '88? e-16i (Pulsar) donor car. All of these donor motors are throttle body injection not carb'.
Just to throw me a curve now that I have everything coming together a low mileage (ca-16 ?/or ga-16?) 1989 sohc 12 valve engine w/auto is available. Which way would be the best jump? will that '88 e-16 5spd fit up to the 12 valve '89 block? It also sounds like I need to do a wiring harness and fuel pump swap from whichever donor car I decide on, as well as the ecu that matches the engine I finally use.
Oh yeah, my '84 Pulsar, the 88 Pulsar 5 spd and the 89 Sentra 12 valve are complete cars.
I am under the general impression from searching the forums that the '89 12 valve motors are stronger and more reliable as well as being more tuneable than the e-16 motors, would you agree ?
Also I don't think the e-16 ecu's will work with the ( ca-16 ?/ga-16?)) 12 valve (?).
All opinions (no remarks about the size of my feet!) and guidance welcome.
Am I posting in the right section?
Cheers mates, LimeyRich.

recycled_toddler · Feb 15th, 2006, 06:35 PM

I did the swap, too, with my '87 Pulsar. The car was free and had a bad auto tranny; In the meantime, I had a 5-speed in the garage. Off to Pull-A-Part for the clutch linkage and and shift linkage. Both went in effortlessly. Also needed was the rear engine/tranny mount and the left-side tranny mount; The auto tranny mount will disalign the new setup.

I bypassed the solenoid wire at the inhibitor relay directly between the switch and the solenoid; The A/T neutral switch wired to the neutral switch at the bottom of the manual tranny, I rewired the reverse lights and that did it. It's harder than it sounds, but it's not as impossible as it seems and very rewarding. If you're thinking about the swap, do it! Good luck...

Crazy-Mart · Feb 19th, 2006, 10:57 PM

ga16i tranny will fit if you get the axles with it but might not work lengh wide on the car.. im sure it can be worked out taught .... the CA tranny will not work on a E-GA serie engine.

LimeyRich · Feb 20th, 2006, 10:15 AM

Hi Crazy Mart, Recycled Toddler :
Thanks to your help and encouragement and all the great info on Nissan Forums I now have a running almost finished '84 Pulsar. Unfortunately/ fortunately the ( $150.00 delivered) donor car from Atlanta turned out to be an '87 sentra not an '89. So with "just" an engine tranny swap I have an operating vehicle. Still an auto' though.
The only changes to the '87 E-16 engine and tranny, were as follows: Installed new timing belt,water pump and drive belts while engine was out. Used '84 intake, exhaust manifolds, blocked off hot exhaust gases from entering head. Used '84 carb and linkage,and '84 distributor and coil. Installed '84 mounts all around. New rr lower, left and right front engine mounts. Others OK. New radiator with steel drain plug not plastic.
'84 speedo gear and cable. '84 driveshafts ( new drivers side). Too bad '87 shafts splines dont match, they were almost brand new. Had to modify shift arm on '87 tranny slightly ( grind off pin,and drill arm for '84 cable end)
Installed new Gabriel heavy duty gas struts. Ditto rr shocks. repacked rr wheel bearings. New Sumitomo 51psi HTR 200's in stock 175/70/13 all around, on original NX factory mags. Fresh fluids and filters. electric fuel "boost" pump.
No electrical problems.( Don't trust Chilton diagrams, though) Car fired up, ran sweet,quiet and smooth (just like guy in Atlanta said). no smoking.
March projects: New,frt wheel bearings, ball joints and tie rod ends, brake discs, and pads. New master cylinder. rr brake shoes. all parts already on hand. get inspection. drive car.
In the works for April. Stanza power brake booster. New front control arm bushings. New urethane sway bar bushings. Dash nacelle for gauges. SS int& exh manifold "spacers".( nice having easy access to plasma cutter and ss Mig welding equip'). Non-heating carb insulating spacer with resistor. Paint and install new drivers frt fender ($59! & on hand) and minor body work on hood (thank you Mr deer!).
May. Design and build front air dam. New radio and spkrs.
In general for '06. Got my eyes on dead '88 I can have for $100, but gotta see if i can get a clear title to it. snag manual GA16DE donor car. Get pipe bender working. SS headers. free flow exhaust. Rollbar. 110/120 hp should be a sweet spot for the '84 or '88 Pulsar, while maintaining high fuel economy.
Damn the Robber Baron oil Co's !! I gotta edge 40 mpg!
Well that's where I'm at 6 months into my little project.
I'll try to get some pic's up soon.
Thanks again to all the guys that took the time to post the descriptions of their builds and swaps.
Limey.

slacker066 · May 12th, 2008, 04:43 PM

i wanna switch my engine from an 88 pulsar nx 1.6 auto into an 87 nx1.6 manual.
just swap engines i dont know anything and i have to switch the control arm from the 88to the 87 just had it switched from the 87 to the 88 and it cost 500 so im doing all the work on my own from now on i need some help should i get a hanyes book or sumthing i can get and engine lift and all the tools im sure