I was at the yard today and found a nice looking 86 firebird, 2.8L and 5spd. car looked like it was in good shape except for the little accident it apparently had. anyway they want $250 for the tranny, clutch, and pedal. not sure if that includes the flywheel and any other things i may need for the swap but ill find out monday. anyway i have a 1990 firebird 3.1L automatic. i want to do the swap but i want to know what things i will run into. i have read the tech article but its not really as detailed as i need, anyone have a link with some better instrustions? i bieleve the 86 has a cable driven speedo cable where my 90 is electronic, can i take the tranny speed sensor off my 90 700r4 and put it on the 86 t5? is there even a sensor that can be removed? im not sure about that. also does the computer need to be reflashed when im done? i heard theres a toggle in the settings that will change it to 5spd mode instead of automatic so the car knows how to handle idle when stopped, etc.


anyway im just looking for tips and suggestions from u guys with more experince. i will need major help on this if i decide to go through with it. i think it will be well worth it in the end tho, might even make this 3.1L bearable to drive

 

you may want to repost this in the tranny section as well as here. the v6 forum is good cause you have a v6, but that section may be able to help too

PS: sory i cant actually help you with th tranny thing

 

That is a very good price.

However, that is NOT the flywheel you will need. Your engine (90) is internally balanced, where that engine (86) is externally balanced.

Both of them will have a electronic vss, as looking around myself for one, it says 85-92 is "the same".


Rest of swap, I'm not sure about.

 

ok so that 86 t5 *should* have an electronic speed sensor already that'll just plug right into my car? and are u saying i need to find a flywheel from a 1990 3.1L for a 5spd?? if so, crap

 

Not a big crap. There should be plenty out there. Get the pedals, cluch master shifter boot, well everything that attaches or has anything to do with the transmission its fairly straight forward. The only problem you will have is the nuetral safety switch I forget what wires off hand you need to jump and I just did two of these swaps . But other then that its well worth the effort my car even though its an 8, it gained alot more pulling power and my brothers 95 3.4 camaro acted like someone droped an LS1 in while we werent looking, seroiusly it made that much of a difference in his car. Well Well welll welll well well well welllllllllllllllllllllllll worth all your effort.

 

do u need to swap out all the pedals and install the pedals from the 5spd car or just the clutch? does the brake master cylinder need to be swapped as well? or does the hydralic clutch mc bolt up beside it? also do u have aim by any chance, if so whats your screen name. i have a lot of questions

 

I dont use AOL messenger anymore I hate freaking popup's.

Yes you need all the pedals except gas. The clutch master is seperate from the brake master and connects to the clutch slave down on the bell housing so you wont even touch the brake booster or master. You may need to drill a hole for the clutch pedal linkage no biggie you can see where when you bolt the new 5 speed pedals in, my brother 4th gen had a knock out so it was easy. If its a pick & pull junk yard keep all the bolts inside and out. Very easy swap It took me less then 3 hours to do it on my car and my brothers car took about 8 because he wanted to do most of the work.

 

sweet. i dont understand why u need to touch the brake pedal then, can u just install the clutch pedal or is the brake and clutch on some sort of bracket/one unit that need to be installed together?

 

Yes, I believe they are on the same bracket. Plus If they werent Auto brake pedals are too large to be able to use with a manual anyway I think.

 

ah right. making some sense now lol. any of u that has done this before, and u got some time to kill, message me on aim, my screen name is tekviper. theres just a lot of stuff i need help on. thanks.

 

the driveshaft thats in my car right now, a 90 3.1L automatic, will work with the 86 t5 right? direct fit? also i can use a flywheel from a 3.1 or 3.4 engine from a 3rd or 4th gen?

also anyone have a diagram of the pedal assembly? im not sure what i need to take there, just everything and anything?

 

Driveshaft is good.

Flywheel, I would aim for a 3.1l. The 3.4l uses a different clutch, and not sure of the difference.

 

i looked up the part #, same for 3.1 and 3.4 in fbodies up until 95 i think it was. if its the same part # then there cant be any differences at all right?

 

The clutch is the same, the flywheel may or may not be ballanced the same so check that also.

 

where can i find out if they are all balanced the same way?

 

Cluctch is NOT the same. 10 tooth vs 14 tooth.

Cool search on flywheel, then you are correct, 3.1l or 3.4l, wont matter.

Your doing it right, search, search, before you turn a wrench.

 

i have a 91 3.1 flywheel for sale

drop me a line...............

 

sent u a pm.

also, i bieleve the 86 has a cable driven speedo, where my 90 is an electric. how do i get the cable driven speedo on the tranny to work in my car? do i need to recalibrate the speedo for the new tranny and how is that done?

 

anyone know about the speedo? and what tools will i need for this, just sockets and long extensions and swivels? will my automatic tranny crossmember work with the t5? and finally, can i use the flywheel bolts from the 86 donor car even tho that flywheel does not work on my engine because of the balancing?

 

i told you about the speedo already

yes your auto crossmember will work, they are the same

no, you will need longer bolts for the flywheel

i can include the ones i have with the flywheel

 

oh u got the bolts too? sweet man. about the speedo, my sensor or whatever electrical connection that goes into my 700r4 will plug right into the T5?? i thought the older t5 had an actual cable that spun for the odometer?

 

oh i forgot, can i install the 5spd clutch/brake pedal assembly while the auto is still in the car and still drive it around? i might have use of a lift but 1day only if i do, and want to get as much done as possible before lift day.

 

For the speedo you will need the electrical sending unit on the side of the tranny. Real easy to swap, all you do is pull the bolt holding it in and pull it out. If you can't find one at the junk yard, let me know, I might have one laying around here somewhere.

 

can i use the sending unit that is on my 700r4 now?

 

You might be able to, if you can pull it and get a pic to post up here I could tell you for sure. I'll check in my truck tonight to see if it looks the same on the T5.

 

yup, i'll throw the bolts into the deal too

just let me know when you want to come pick everything up

 

will the auto tranny mount work w/ the t5? also is there a torque arm mount that i'll have to replace?

 

the best way to ge the speedo to work would be to take the intire system(IE) cable, and speedo in the gauge set and swap it on to your car

 

but then wouldnt my ecm not know how fast the car was going?

 

tranny mount will work
torque arm mount will not work

 

so what does that mean, i'll have to buy a new torque arm mount or should there be one on the t5 from the donor car already? where exactly does this mount go?

 

get the mount from the donor car

the mount attaches to the tranny

 

ok hopefully it'll come with the t5 from the yard. 1991tealRSt-topguy, still getting everything all straightened out for the swap. havent bought any parts yet but when the time comes, if it comes, ill come to you for the flywheel and bolts. just gotta figure out a few more things.

 

YOu may wanna spend a few extra bucks and just have the yard cut out the floor pan with all the clutch n pedal stuff attached.

Matt

 

my car has the template in the foam backing material so i think that should give me an idea on where the pedal goes.

 

Yea but it may be easier cause of the slave cylinder in the firewall for the clutch system. You got the resvior one, one on the pedal/floor and another thingy on the tranny.

Just from being under my car fo a few weeks it would be easier to just layer one over the other or patch it in.

Matt

 

ok thanks for the tip ill see if they will cut the floorpan out for that.