Getrag F23 5spd swap Guide(N-Body)

[Forgotten User]

Want your V6 99-05 N-body with a manual transmission? It's actually rather simple to be honest, this is just a guide and NOT a step by step how to

before you even start reading let it be known you WILL need a welder or be nice to a friend with one to make a front mount lol

PART'S LIST:
00-05 N-Body 4cyl 5speed parts(2.2 or 2.4)
-Axles
-Shifter and cables
-Clutch pedal
-Transmission mounts(rear and driver side)
-Clutch master cylinder
-Clutch slave cylinder
-4cyl 5spd subframe(saves you from making a 2nd mount for the driver side)

00-02 J-body parts(2.2 only NOT ecotec)
-Getrag F23 transmission
-Flywheel
-Clutch
-Flywheel and pressure plate bolts

Mounting transmission to your subframe
The J-body F23 has the holes for N-body 5spd mounts for the rear and driver side however the rear mount needs the holes tapped for some bolts pictured below


the N-body bolts are also slightly longer then they need to be, shortened roughly 1/4" and the first 1/2" or so of the bolts have no threads so don't worry about screwing them up while cutting shorter or I guess you can use a washer or 2

For the rear mount I recommend a poly insert meant for a 5spd J-body(95+) slides right in but the bolt for the N-body is slightly thicker so you need to drill the sleeve out slightly. I purchased mine from http://www.energysuspensionparts.com/ part #7515
J-body bushing in N-body mount and sleeve drilled out(15/32" drill bit)

hopefully you have a vice to clamp the sleeve in while boring it out and remember to go SLOW and use some sort of lubricant(wd40, liquid wrench etc)

Front mount needs to be custom made, this is what I'm running

transmission mounted to 4cyl 5spd subframe





Mounting clutch pedal and shifter/cables
I gutted everything except for the dash

Extremely hard to get a picture under the dash of the clutch pedal mounted but this is a picture of all the pedals from a 4cyl/5spd N-body, EVERY N-body has that big chunk of aluminum under the dash and you can kind of see how it mounts

mounted in car

highly recommended removing your PCM/holder to install the clutch pedal, I THINK it's the only way to do it with the dash in the car still...

shifter bolts right in with no modifications and shift cables come out the same hole as your auto shift linkage


clutch master cylinder needs a 1.25" hole drilled in the firewall

those 2 bolts are there from factory once you get your fusebox out of the way, do your best to center the hole and if off slightly don't worry about it as its rather simple to get a die grinder or dremel in there to do some slight trimming also those factory bolts will be to short to bolt the master cylinder on, bring 1 to the parts store and get some 1/4" longer

interior back together for the most part, I left the automatic brake pedal and cut it to fit the 5spd brake pedal rubber


WIRING
99-01 will be this to get the starter going

The automatic transmission position switch has two plugs, this is the switch that sits on top of the shifter level on the trans.(don't have a picture of it right now)

Connector C1


and C2


On connector C1, cut and splice together the purple and yellow wires (they are the two fattest wires), G & E to allow the starter to crank..

if you have a 02+ it will still be G&E HOWEVER colors won't match that diagram, G(purple) was my 12volts with key turned and E(purple/white line) goes to the starter relay, can hook those up together to get the starter to crank or hook them up to your clutch pedal to work like a normal 5spd vehicle
02+ starter diagram


Reverse light wires are F/B on C1 connector


MISC
you MAY have to do more wiring if you don't have your PCM tuned already, I found this from the 6spd swap thread

EDIT: CHANGED 5-17-08, originally i made the PCM think it's in drive. after trial and error, I have come to the conclusion that putting the transmission into neutral is the best option.
and finally to make the PCM think it's in NEUTRAL, Connector C2, that's the 4 wire connector, has a WHITE, YELLOW, GRAY, and BLACK/WHITE wires.

the way it works, is that these wires, in various combinations, ground to let the PCM know in what position the automatic transmission shifter is in. That ground wire is a BLACK/WHITE wire on the other connector, C1 (6 wire connector) CAUTION: There are two BLACK/WHITE wires.

The combination for neutral is connecting the the YELLOW and WHITE wires from C2 to the BLACK/WHITE wire from C1.

the rest of the wirse just insulate and wrap them up so they're not in the way. I left the front trans connector hanging, it didn't require any mods, so far no issues.

Also works to put the car in park, cuz technically that puts the PCM thinking it's in neutral as well, only difference is that the rev limiter in park works when the car is moving or standing still.

But when in neutral the rev limiter only works only when the car is standing still.

for me I had a tune ready to go and had my PCM flashed with HPT and never did anything else

make sure you buy NEW flywheel/pressure plate bolts, do NOT even attempt to use the automatic bolts as they are a different length
pressure plate #11508687
flywheel #ZX200


obviously don't buy a clutch for a stock 2.2 J-body lol I went with a ebay stage 3 6puck clutch with no issues so far

flywheel can actually come from any FWD 88-02 2.2/2.8/3.1 and if my research is correct same goes for a clutch so that should open up a lot of options but I stuck with the 00-02 J-body one just to play it safe first time around lol 86-87 fylwheels might be the same as well but not 100% on that

when mounting the clutch pedal I found it easier to take the pushrod off the pedal and wait to install that AFTER the pedal itself is installed in the car, insert the rod through the hole in the firewall that you drilled and snap into the clutch pedal

4cyl/5spd subframe is NOT needed but makes it slightly easier, only difference between it and the V6 frame is the mount on the drivers side for the transmission which would be rather easy to make if you can't find a frame

I did my 5spd swap for next to nothing, purchased a 5spd N-body for $350 and sold engine, trans, rims, body for scrap etc and got my $350 back plus at least another $300 to put towards my clutch/flywheel/trans



writing this up rather late so hopefully I didn't miss anything but any questions ask away and if you need more pics very good chance I already have them and never posted lol now lets see more V6 5speed swaps happening!!!

[ericjon262]

instead of trying to fool the PCM with a gear signal, I would suggest wiring in a clutch switch, to pin 18 on the clear connector. switch need to be normally open, and ground when the clutch is depressed. that is how GM did it with the only 5 speed obd2 car V6.

[ericjon262]

also, Series8217 on RFT got some of the same flywheel bolts, and they appeared to be junk, apparently ATP went overseas and quality control took a hit.

http://realfierotech.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17718

[caffeine]

I've had plenty of success with hardware store grade 10.9 flywheel bolts.

[ericjon262]

I've had plenty of success with hardware store grade 10.9 flywheel bolts.

sure, but the bolts in the thread linked above don't look reputable.

[caffeine]

Just pointing out that you don't necessarily need to go to a parts store to get quality flywheel bolts.

[ericjon262]

Just pointing out that you don't necessarily need to go to a parts store to get quality flywheel bolts.

Fair enough, I guess I was just trying to say, just because the bolts are supposed to be good doesn't mean that they are.

[Forgotten User]

instead of trying to fool the PCM with a gear signal, I would suggest wiring in a clutch switch, to pin 18 on the clear connector. switch need to be normally open, and ground when the clutch is depressed. that is how GM did it with the only 5 speed obd2 car V6.

Only wiring I did was to get my starter to work with the key and reverse lights but about pin 18, does something on the PCM need to be turned on for it to function? Out of all the 5/6spd swaps I've seen on the N-bodys everyone wires in the other clutch switch to the brake pedal(not the brake lights but the one for cruise control functions)

thanks for the heads up on those flyhweel bolts, I'll have to take a closer look at them when the drivetrain comes back out but I think I got some of the good ones... could be wrong lol

[ericjon262]

Only wiring I did was to get my starter to work with the key and reverse lights but about pin 18, does something on the PCM need to be turned on for it to function? Out of all the 5/6spd swaps I've seen on the N-bodys everyone wires in the other clutch switch to the brake pedal(not the brake lights but the one for cruise control functions)

thanks for the heads up on those flyhweel bolts, I'll have to take a closer look at them when the drivetrain comes back out but I think I got some of the good ones... could be wrong lol

well, I modeled my bin after the five speed 3800 F-body bin file, which zeros out most all of torque management, and sets the trans type flag to "0" for manual transmission. Very soon, I am going to modifiy a set of stock fiero pedals to include the F-body switches, and input both brake signals and clutch signals to the PCM.