youkairyu32

Yikes, I was unaware of that. I just figured that Vortech probably knew best. They told me that the tune was good to drive on. I will seek out a place with a dyno, I have been meaning to do it for a while now. My car is torn apart more then it is together so, I really haven't had time to do it. I have probably only driven 50 miles on the Vortech tune.

youkairyu32

Update: The transmission, clutch, driveshaft, flywheel, pedal assembly, clutch cable, shifter, and throwout bearings are installed. Thanks to Jazzer my reverse gear is setup properly and there is now fluid in the tranny. I was able to run through the gears for the first time and it feels really sweet; the throws are so short. The clutch is a little stiff and I may need to eventually replace the plastic piece that rolls the clutch cable, but its all good for now.

There was a little snag on the break pedal though. The new pedal was taken off of a 2004 (same year as my car) mustang V6 (not the same as my car). However, I figured the pedal assembly should be the same. However, there is a little metal nub that sticks out of the pedal that connects to the break master cylinder for the hydraulic breaks. That nub on the new pedal is about 2 inches below where it was on the automatic pedal. This would mean that the rod running to the break cylinder wouldn't line up correctly. Therefore, I had to grind the weld holding the nub in place off of the pedal and knock the nub free. I then drilledpressed a new hole in the correct location and rewelded the metal nub in the new hole. It lines up beautifully now.

I still need to install the new radiator and eventually new rear gears. However, right now I am to the electrical stage, turning the key into the on position yields no irregular warning lights, however the starter doesn't get power when I turn the key over. However, I was expecting that due to the fact that nothing has been done with regards to the electrical yet.

I am going to need to find an adapter or rewire myself the harness going to the tranny. Then I need to figured out the ECM... I have heard multiple stories on how I should go about that. Several people have said it can be reprogrammed, and several people have said that it will need to be replaced. However, a couple of shops that do dyno tuning have told me that I will need a new ECM... so I am still stumped on that regard. I am going to go down and talk to Ford this coming week and see what they think about it.

I may just end up getting as much done as I can and taking the vehicle to a shop that specializes in automotive electrical systems and paying their hourly rate to do the wiring properly. However, before I settle on that decision I am going to take out the old volt meter and take some ohm readings.

Getting closer, but still more to follow.

youkairyu32

Update: With the new transmission in the car and everything connected there was still the problem of the wiring. The car wouldn't turn over because the computer was wanting to have an automatic transmission letting it know what gear the car was in... this was a problem as there was no automatic transmission anymore. Therefore I needed to either get a new computer and change all the harnesses, or figure out a means to trick the computer into thinking that everything was cool.

Pulling the sensor that checked what gear the car was in off of the automatic transmission did the trick. I connected that sensor to the tranny wire harness and bridged it so that the computer would constantly think that the car was in neutral. It started right away. This means that all I may have to do is get the computer reprogrammed like mustangman281 suggested, saving me 500-600 bucks.

There was also a physical cable that draped down by where the shifter used to go, this prevented the key from being removed from the ignition until the car was in park. Therefore, I needed to strap the cable out of the way and make sure that it wasn't pulled out any or I will not be able to get my key out of the ignition until I take the console apart again. :P

Another electrical snag relates to the clutch safety switch which stops the car from starting when the clutch isn't depressed. I don't have one of those because I don't have the wiring under the steering column in place. Therefore, I have to remember to always have my foot on the clutch when I start my car... or I will be through the garage wall... :0

The only reason I am not out right now testing out the transmission is because I bought the wrong clutch fork... However I ordered another one from Ford Racing and it should be here on Thursday... however there is no guarantee that is the right one either. Nowhere that I call seems to be able to tell me that I need "this" specific clutch fork. Summit has one that says it is for the t56, but it costs a ton of money for a clutch fork. I am going to see if the one that I get on Thursday works, if not then I will just have to put out the money and get the one from summit.

Almost done...

amoosenamedhank

That's cool man, I bet you can't wait to get this thing back on the road. For those of use who aren't completely speed freaks and actually enjoy just cruising around, a manual is a must.

ztalon

I would have just sold the car and gotten a manual, but I would imagine that your way is quite a learning experience and a sense of great accomplishment when it is done.

Good luck.

youkairyu32

Thanks guys.

Yeah, I feel you man, all my other cars have manual transmissions and my mustang having an automatic was killing me. :P

Normally I would have sold the car and gotten a manual, however I have had this car since I drove it off the lot towards the end of 03. There is 10-15 thousand invested in it including molding done on the body pieces. If I were to get a manual I would still have to do the t56 swap anyway. In the long run, just doing the little extra work of mounting the pedals and playing brainage with the computer is way less work then having to do everything to my car all over again.

ztalon

I figured there was a good reason for why you were doing this instead of getting another car.

youkairyu32

Its cool. I'll have to get you guys some pictures when it is done. Surprisingly, the swap wasn't has hard as I was expecting it to be. If anyone else is considering it, just make sure you get all the parts ahead of time before you start.

CAMDUP

too bad your on the "other side of the world"...lol...i'd prob be interested in gettin ALL of your automatic parts from you.....you comin to the east coast anytime soon ? LOL....congrats and good luck with your new set up

ztalon

I have a feeling that you would be an excellent source of information for anyone even dreaming of attempting this in the future. Your summary of the process and parts needed might make a good sticky in the right forum.