Auto To Manual!!!! VL Gearbox Changeover

[MADNESS]

thanks everyone for the help and advice i havent yet filled up the trans fluid but i finaly fixed the clutch master problem today
turns out the shaft was a few mm to short and wasent engaugeing properly so i got a nut with a built in washer and slid that onto the shaft to give me about 7 mm more clearance fits perfict anbd the car is allmost scary to drive again

few hints for people doing this conversion

get a rubber mallet and and hammer the walls for a easyer fit for the trans installation

get a good clutch tool or a manual input shaft will make the job a hole lot easyer

when puting greese on the inputshaft dont put to much on i did and my clutch sliped a bit but seems fine after a bit of a boosting :P

[RSHIN-BT1]

a nut with an inbuilt washer? hows that work? ur talking about the clutch master shaft right? cuz im interested mine doesnt have a threaded shaft so i cant adjust the pedal height so how did u go about giving it extra clearance?

[XTC16]

Originally Posted by RSHIN-BT1

a nut with an inbuilt washer? hows that work? ur talking about the clutch master shaft right? cuz im interested mine doesnt have a threaded shaft so i cant adjust the pedal height so how did u go about giving it extra clearance?

I'm in the process of making my shaft from the master to the pedal adjustable, i'm threading part of the shaft, and using components from an R31/R32 master to make it adjustable, i'll get some pics when i've finished. So yeah a fully adjustable VL clutch

[MADNESS]

my shaft isent threaded but at the end that gose into the clutch silnder i put the nut/washer basicly on the shaft near the end their is a little lip and i got a nut that just fit on that end lip with a bit of drilling and put the nut end into the cluth silder and the washer sits on the outer ring of the silder and it is really stable barly any movement IE sideways movement i just used a little silcon to stop that but this is only a tempory fix im gonna get a friend to make a shaft that i can ajust alot better

[RSHIN-BT1]

hmmm i reckon ill wait till i c wot XTC16 figures out. sounds a bit better.
hopefully he will take some pics and do a bit of a walk through. (hint hint)

[XTC16]

Counting on it

[SupraDaz]

just half way thru a conversion now, just got a quik question .... is all i gotta to so that my car will start, is cut those 2 purple wires and join them?

[RSHIN-BT1]

pretty much but i didnt cut mine i made a bridging piece out of copper

[YOGI05]

for the clutch i used an allen key that i shortened and used it on the slave to the clutch fork,to get the old spigot out fill the hole with grease then use a 3/8th socket that is a good fit inthe spigot add an extension then hit it hard it should then force the spigot out. the new spigot needs to be oiled first before installing, this is done by placing the spigot on your index finger filling it with oil and pushing your thumb into it until the oil comes out of the walls, you will have to push hard but it does come through.
I didn't join the wires at the relay, i joined a light green with black stripe to a pink wire that were both on one of the plugs that were disconected from the auto tranny,this was above the brake master cyclinder.THIS IS FOR THE NEUTRAL POSITION SWITCH
1 last thing is to use as little grease as possible as this will spin off and contaminate the clutch surface.

[SupraDaz]

my car wont start, we cut n bridged those 2 wires, any suggestions? shoulkd anything be plugged into the neutral plug on the gearbox? we cant find one of the old auto g/box plugs that fits it

[TOOLMAN]

hey mate nice write up iv got a standed vl maroone ova silver calais rim and i am doin the 5 speed conversion but cant find a center console can anyone help me thanks

[DJ Mitzi]

Hey Mate Thnx.... Try Putting up a WTB thread in the For sale/wanted section!!!!

Dimitri

[MSWYLD]

having trouble getting the car started also now! do I need to put in the manual ecu

had the car converted properly got home and now doesnt start! he has bridged wires behind the brake booster and behind the battery

he hasnt put in a manual starter motor or the manual ecu is that where we went wrong or what????

[RSHIN-BT1]

from what i understand u can use the auto started with the n/a manuals but not with the turbos.
however i would suggest that you get urself a manual ecu might help :P
even tho ppl have said that the auto will run the manual.
could u perhaps give a bit more info about what happens when u try to start the car? as " it wont start" kinda doesnt help that much

nick

[MSWYLD]

Originally Posted by RSHIN-BT1

from what i understand u can use the auto started with the n/a manuals but not with the turbos.
however i would suggest that you get urself a manual ecu might help :P
even tho ppl have said that the auto will run the manual.
could u perhaps give a bit more info about what happens when u try to start the car? as " it wont start" kinda doesnt help that much

nick

you get plenty of power to lights radio etc just wont kick over like the started motor isnt hooked up or something!

[RSHIN-BT1]

well have u had a look at the starter motor wiring? (so to state the obvious)
does the car crank at all? and can u hear any noise from the starter motor or general area?
if not it may very well be a wiring problem have u checked all the other obvious things such as if the ecu is connected properly?
have a look and let me know

[ven33m]

Originally Posted by YOGI05

I didn't join the wires at the relay, i joined a light green with black stripe to a pink wire that were both on one of the plugs that were disconected from the auto tranny,this was above the brake master cyclinder.THIS IS FOR THE NEUTRAL POSITION SWITCH.

This is the correct way. Changing the computer or removing it will have no effect on the running of the car.
Also, manual and auto pedal boxes are identical it's just the pedals that need changing.
Auto Spigot bush is removed by carefully drilling small hole on either side. Don't drill too far and drill the crankshaft. than with a cold chisel and hammer carefully callapse it without damaging the crankshaft or seal.

[SUS3LT]

i did this conversion on the weekend, quite a simple job but i didnt bridge any wires and the car started no problems at all why is this?

[mrclean86]

When installing a manual trans in a VL, lots of tech articles say join the purple wires beside the fuse box. This bypasses the “Park” lockout. If you haven’t got the rest of the manual loom, this means that the reversing lights and the neutral lockout will not work.

Here is another way.

Buy 2 good quality (eg Narva) 2 position joiners.

Disconnect the loom that connects the position selector switch on the auto trans to the plug on the firewall, near the master cylinder. Looking at the end of the plug you have just removed, numbering starts at top left corner (with plug catch upwards). If you have the repair manual, numbering is the same as in the book.
catch on top
1 8 7 6
2 3 4 5

Cut the position selector off the auto wiring loom and throw it away. There are 8 wires to cut.

1. find red/black wire 1 and solder the cut end (where you cut the auto selector off ) onto one of the new joiners. BEFORE you solder it up, splice another wire with the red one so you have a join going from the joiner (make the splice out of red wire for simplicity – make sure it is at least 30cm long)
2. find the blue/black wire 3 and solder it onto the other side of the same joiner.
3. find the black/white wire 2 and splice it onto the extended red wire from step 1 above
4. solder this spliced wire onto one side of the OTHER joiner
5. splice the red wire 5 with the black wire 4 and splice a black wire about 30cm onto this wire
6. solder this extended black wire to the other side of the joiner

Put heat shrink around all the joints to protect them

Now you should have 2 joiners with wires 5 connected and 3 spare wires. Tape up these 3 spare wires and wrap the loom in electrical tape.

At this stage, you have circuits for the reversing lights, neutral lockout circuit and the “Park” bypass circuit.

Now, to connect to the gearbox, cut the connectors off the neutral switch and the reverse light switch. Note – if you remove them, the switches are not interchangeable. Solder the other ends of the joiners onto these 2 switches. Then connect the Neutral switch to the extended red and black wires using the joiner. Connect the Reversing switch to the other joiner.

Now what you should have is a fully connected loom which allows the reversing lights to come on when the reverse is selected, the neutral lockout such that the car can only be cranked over in neutral and the park bypass to allow the car to be cranked and started.

Sounds complicated but it is really very simple with some basic skill with a soldering iron.

Steve.

[RSHIN-BT1]

^^^^ theres a smart guy. well done.
i did something similar but i bodged it as i didnt use joiners.

[TASHVL]

Great work lol im not mocking anyone but um DOING A FLYWHEEL/FLEXPLATE UP WITH A RATTLE GUN JUST DOES NOT HAPPEN!!! LOL seen this happen a few times. Remember the flywheel is rotating fairly fast when the engine is running, not doing the bolts up to TORQUE SPEC can have some pretty nasty consequences. LOL like a shattered flywheel, busted bellhousing, a ****ed up clutch, damaged to your welsh plugs behind your engine or even worse........THE BLOCK (oil galleys etc.), rear main engine seal. So yeah my advice is to not be lazy. Go and see somebosy with a torque wrench and ask them if u can borrow it. Get a gregories manual or something and get the torque specs!!!!

[mrclean86]

Got my conversion finished today. I am very happy with the results and car goes a lot better now. As some said ^^^ it really woke up the old vl. A completely different car to drive almost and i encourage more people to do it as it's way better than an auto! (for n/a)

Cheers.

[muggle]

guys i have everything thing to do the conversion the only query ihave is regarding the starter motor ,my car is a vl calais turbo and is auto
,can the turbo starter be used in this conversion or do i need a non turbo starter,the box is a mf5, please help as i plan to do this tommorow
thanks glenn

[mrclean86]

muggle how did it go?

[phun]

bleh i left 1 bolt less on the flywheel, no problem to me. Rattlegun is the best way