Ok I have been searching and searching for days now on the auto -> manual swap. I have a list or two of parts needed and have been looking around. I just have a few questions.

I know Majik said he did his in 3 weekends only working saturdays.. and I know that others say the dealers/shops take 3 months and rape them on charges. My question is with no knowledge on under-hood work, how many days am I looking at if i follow the DIY guides on this site.

Another question is if there is anyone in the dallas/ftw area that has done this that might be willing to help or give advise. I would most likely be doing this alone in my garage with the car on jackstands and a rented motor support. My brother may help but he ahs school and wont be home a lot.

Everyone i talk to in person (friends/boss) say 'don't do it, you'll have too many problems', 'you have no idea what you're doing', and one guy told me i wouldn't have a car for a month because if 1 wire is out of place it wouldnt start...

They are scaring me out of this and I really want to do it. I got my tib for $1000 because my bro's girlfriend's mom is a ditz and the right side has a dent and scratch. I care not about the scratch because the car looks and runs awesome otherwise(aside from the powerless auto).

I really need some re-assurence that I may be able to do this.

 

do it and then tell all the morons that told you not to that they are just that, morons.

you have tons of information on here as well as people that are willing to help if you get stuck.

 

Working on your car, even BIG projects is soo much easier than you would think. Not to mention fun. When you are done, you'll look at it and won't believe you finished such a task on your own. That's how addicts are born here. You CAN do it, and you can do it quickly. Majiks big problem was getting the tranny off of the donor car.

 

I work everyday except for wed and thurs every week so once i get the parts I'm gonna work on it all day both those days. Then whats left after those 2 days I'll slowly finish in the couple hours each day i have after work . Hopefully it would only take me 1 week total.

My main concern here is tranny compatibility. Do I just need any 5-speed tranny that came from a 2.0 size engine? there are a few 5 speed trannys for sale from the same car year/model as mine on car-parts.com in my area so I'm hoping I can land one of those, that way I know it works lol.

 

Yup.

Get a friend, get some gloves and some degreaser, and get to work.

 

Not trying to piss on the parade but if you really have no knowledge or experience I think you should start with smaller stuff first..replace an IM, install a CAI, etc..

 

Well I'm not really concerned with not knowing how to do this stuff seeing as I've read the DIY guides about it on here. They all go pretty much step by step with somewhat detailed pictures so I have no worries. I just want to go through it slowly and correctly while still getting it accomplished fairly fast. I realize that is somewhat of a contradiction...

Anyways, I would appreciate it if anyone that has done the swap could let me know how long it took them, whether the dealer did it, or you did it