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John's Auto to Manual MUA5 Transmission Swap

2M views 135 replies 51 participants last post by  breyettebraden 
#1 ·
It's done and it's awesome! Pictures too come soon :D
 
#2 ·
Glad to hear you made this happen!! How's the ride with it?
 
#3 ·
She drives great! Here's a shot of it today, I'll upload all the install pics and do a "write-up" for it later.



 
#5 ·
Med!c said:
looks shopped.
:lol: I can tell because of the pixels and because I've seen quite a few shops in my day.

So you did your tranny swap eh? Did the doctor do a good job? How's the scarring?
 
#6 ·
It's real. I've got a ton of install pics coming lol. And John's doing good after the surgery, except I think it's on backwards
 
#7 ·
RamAirZ said:
And John's doing good after the surgery, except I think it's on backwards
:lol: That happens sometimes. Oh well, he can just do a handstand at the toilet.
 
#10 ·
That's awesome, guys! Do you think you could include a complete aprts list upon posting your write-up? I'm debating whether to replace my auto or go 5speed...
 
#13 ·
Did u guys do a complete swap or just a make it work swap? Because I know in FL they're not as anal as other states.
 
#16 ·
OK. As soon as I read the title of this, I thought of something rather inappropriate for this website.....made me rather nauseous. Now, after viewing "Justwork"s response, I must admit, I threw up in my mouth a little bit.

BLEEEECCCCHHHHHH --AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
#17 ·
#20 ·
hahaha that pic is great! And Medic, what do you mean by "make it work" vs complete swap? Speedo works, 4wd indicator works, reverse lights work, only thing is the transmission light but just pull the bulb and voila. Only thing that might keep it from passing a state inspection would be no clutch safety switch. John wasn't worried about it so we didn't wire it up to the pedal but that's something that can easily be done if he decides to do it or ever has to have it inspected.
 
#22 ·
RamAirZ said:
hahaha that pic is great! And Medic, what do you mean by "make it work" vs complete swap? Speedo works, 4wd indicator works, reverse lights work, only thing is the transmission light but just pull the bulb and voila. Only thing that might keep it from passing a state inspection would be no clutch safety switch. John wasn't worried about it so we didn't wire it up to the pedal but that's something that can easily be done if he decides to do it or ever has to have it inspected.
by complete i meant like literally replace everything so thered be no difference between a stock car that came with manual trans and yours. But dude, is there any way other than PM on here that I could contact you? I have some questions for you that I think you're knowledgeable about.
 
#23 ·
Med!c said:
RamAirZ said:
hahaha that pic is great! And Medic, what do you mean by "make it work" vs complete swap? Speedo works, 4wd indicator works, reverse lights work, only thing is the transmission light but just pull the bulb and voila. Only thing that might keep it from passing a state inspection would be no clutch safety switch. John wasn't worried about it so we didn't wire it up to the pedal but that's something that can easily be done if he decides to do it or ever has to have it inspected.
by complete i meant like literally replace everything so thered be no difference between a stock car that came with manual trans and yours. But dude, is there any way other than PM on here that I could contact you? I have some questions for you that I think you're knowledgeable about.
Ya I'll PM you my number. Once John gets the manual trans console pieces, it'll look completely stock (besides the fact that it has the full manual 4WD shifter now but most people wouldn't know that it didn't come in it if). You could remove all the old trans connectors that were unused and remove the wiring and make the harness look stock underneath but we left them and taped/tucked everything up out of the way. I thought we should leave them JUST in case someone ever wants to slap an auto back in it. Yes, that sounds like something that would never happen, but why not have the option JUST in case.
 
#24 ·
Swap parts/info:

*MUA5 manual transmission from a 95' Trooper (we used this transmission because it doesn't use a tcase motor)



*Clutch, Flywheel, Throwout Bearing, Clutch Fork, Shifters, from 95' Trooper

*Slave Cylinder and Clutch Master Cylinder for a 95' Trooper



*We used a new rubber line that hooks to the slave and made our own hard-line that runs from the Clutch Master down to the rubber line under the truck. We took a universal 4ft section of brake line from autozone, cut the ends off, put the right fittings on (12x1.0 is the fitting thread size FYI!) and flared the ends. If you look under the dash there is a "indented" hole on the firewall where you will drill out for the clutch master.









*2nd gen Amigo clutch/brake pedals



*2nd Gen Amigo 5spd driveshaft, the flange on this shaft is different than the early MUA5 output shaft (the MUA5 bolt pattern is smaller), but the front driveshaft tcase flange is the same as the MUA5 rear output so we used a front driveshaft flange and installed it on the 2nd Gen 5spd driveshaft. You could also try and find an MUA5 truck and take that flange but this flange will be easier to find since it's on all 4x4 Isuzu's, auto or manual







*You can reuse your stock crossmember and transmission mount but the 4L30E tranny mount bolts are too long and bottom out in the MUA5. We just made a spacer for this and the tranny sits level so not sure if using shorter bolts would have angled it any but our spacer method worked for us. On the crossmember you can flip it around and it works great. You'll have to cut off this bracket that will now be in the way of the front driveshaft but that takes all of 2 seconds with a cutoff wheel







*5spd pilot bearing for the back of the crankshaft. You can use a puller tool to get the stock sleeve/spacer deal out of the back of the crankshaft or do what we did and pack some wet paper and grease in there and bang a socket into the hole to force the bearing out

(stock flexplate and you can see the "spacer" in the center)


spacer out


clutch/flywheel installed


When removing the auto, make sure you unplug all the sensors, remove all wire/line retainers etc and remove the tcase shifter. We removed the tcase from the auto to make it easier to get the tranny out, we were concerned that the tcase might hit the exhaust if it was still attached. Also, make sure you remove the factory auto shifter and associated wiring and the shift cable. There is a cable that attaches to the shifter that will keep you from removing your key if it's not pushed back (so the ignition switch knows it's in "park"), so make sure you keep that depressed (zip-tie works)









We used a block of wood on a floorjack to support the auto when removing.



To get to the torque converter bolts, there is a small metal plate bolted on the passenger side of the bellhousing, it faces the front of the truck and is mounted to the tranny and the block. When you remove this plate you can rotate the engine to get to the 17mm converter bolts. Jwood manned the breaker bar on the front crankshaft bolt so I could remove each. I just used a ratchet and a socket. Some guys use a zero-offset 17mm wrench but this method seemed to work alot easier. We pulled the trans back a bit with the converter still bolted to the engine and let some fluid drain



Tranny is out




I measured the distance of the new manual shifter from the tcase shifter and cut out a hole in the floor for it. Start small so you can enlarge if needed. I wanted to retain as much of the tunnel as possible so it will be easier to seal the cab off



When installing the MUA5, we made a tranny support using some spare wood to help keep the trans from rolling over (good thinking John!) and strapped the transmission to it. We used two jacks (one on each end of the transmission support we made) and jacked the trans up into the truck. When you installed the clutch prior to this point, you need to make sure it's lined up correctly (the clutch spline centered on the pilot bearing so the input shaft can slide in). To do this you can use a clutch alignment tool (should come with your clutch kit if you are putting in a new clutch, or you can get one from the autoparts store) or you can do what I did. I used a 3/8 short extension, the "fat" end fit in the pilot bearing snug and have the attachment end facing out, and got a socket that fit in the clutch disc hole snug (used some electrical tape to make it really good) and installed the socket onto the extension in reverse (the open end that would go on a bolt slides over the extension). This ended up being perfect for aligning the clutch. Put the clutch disc on, tightened the pressure plate down and took some pliers and pulled the socket and extension back out. Now before you slide the transmission in, make sure the throwout bearing retainer is installed on your pressure plate and slide the throwout bearing onto the clutch fork. We slid the tranny into place and got the splines matched up but it was a bear getting it to slide into the pilot bearing. I ended up manhandling the transmission when I had to support it while john moved the jack and got it to slide into the pilot. Now, this is IMPORTANT!!! Make sure that you relocate the dowel pins from the 4L30E, if they are still in the block (sometimes they come out with the transmission), the passenger side pin WILL hit the MUA5 bellhousing and keep you from getting it flush against the engine. You should relocate the pins to the outer bellhousing bolt pattern on the block (you'll see which bolt holes you need to use, they are recessed to allow the pin to slide in). We also had to remove the drivers side O2 sensor because the bellhousing on the MUA5 is much larger and was hitting it and keeping us from getting the transmission in. Easily removed and reinstalled when finished. Oh, you'll need to make sure that you slide your fuel lines back behind the remote shifter assembly so they aren't smushed into the transmission tunnel when jacking the transmission up. After you get the transmission in and bolted up, your in the home stretch. Flip the crossmember around and install the transmission mount and now you can get rid of your jacks.



Now for the wiring side:

These are the sensors/switches that were on the MUA5




Now from the auto, there are a couple plugs that won't be used.

This one, never got a confirmation on what this sensor/switch is but it's not used on the new transmission


There are 2 sensors on the drivers side of the tranny that won't be used as well as the mode selector switch. The speedo and 4wd indicator switches use the same plugs from the auto harness so no wiring needed there. Now you will have to cut 4 wires off the mode selector switch to wire up your reverse lights and your clutch safety switch (if you use one). There is a white/green wire and a red/yellow wire, those 2 are for your reverse lights. You can wire them to the reverse switch in any order, the lights will work either way. Then is a black/white and a black/blue wire that are for your neutral safety switch. You can run these wires into the cab and install them on the clutch safety switch on the clutch pedal or you can just wire them together, but doing it this way will allow your truck to be started even if it's in gear and clutch isn't depressed.

After the trans is installed and wired up, install your shifters and test out that hole you cut:


We didn't have a stock rubber boot that seals the floor but you can use one of the universal boots and seal it up on the floor and then swap in the manual console shift plate and boot and it'll look completely stock. We just slapped the auto console part back in for now until John finds the pieces he needs


All the inside parts:


Now after all this, make sure you have your clutch master installed and hooked up to the pedal, fluid lines ran and slave installed. Now you have to seat the throwout bearing that you installed on your clutch fork into the retainer on the pressure plate, just reach in the bellhousing and push the clutch fork back until you feel the bearing snap into place. After the slave is hooked up to the clutch fork and bolted down, time to bleed the clutch system. We filled the master cylinder with fluid and I used a hand bleeder hooked to the slave bleeder valve to suck the fluid down into the slave. If you use the pump/hold method it will take FOREVER to get all the air out and actually get fluid to run down through the lines. Once we got fluid at the slave cylinder then we did the pump/hold to get it adjusted. After all this is done and you fill the tranny with fluid (the tcase and trans both uses motor oil FYI), time to test her out. Hopefully your swap goes as smooth as ours did and hopefully I didn't forget anything. Here are a few more pics:











 
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#25 ·
Texting works let pm me when u have the chance. My mail box has 1 pm left before it's full hence why I don't want to do it over PM
 
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