240 automatic wagon to manual

Apart from the gearbox, foot controls and gear selector, what needs to be swapped to convert a 240 wagon from automatic transmission to manual gearbox with overdrive?

(I'm mainly wondering, do you need to swap the driveshaft? Or is it the same length with both gearboxes?)

Thanks for reading.

Reply to
justallan
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I've done a few of these. The front half of the driveshaft is different, overdrive relay and wiring are different, neutral safety switch is bypassed by a loop plug where it plugs in near the shifter. You will also need to pull out the pilot bushing and replace it with a pilot bearing, and the drive plate is replaced with a flywheel and clutch. LH

2.4 injection cars need a flywheel with the 60-2 hole pattern drilled around the perimeter for the crank angle sensor.
Reply to
James Sweet

Thanks, James... A bit more effort than I thought then. I have the opportunity to purchase a nice 1978 wagon (with slipping auto) and have access to a badly rusted 1984 (manual). Which is why I was thinking about doing the swap. Maybe I'm better off just waiting until I find another wagon that is already a manual. (Or just fix the auto.)

But I've heard in the past something about automatics use more fuel than manuals. Is that true? If so, what kind of economy difference would we be talking about?

Reply to
justallan

It's really not that bad, especially if you have access to a parts car. Several years ago I converted my mom's 240 wagon to a manual in a weekend, it's just a matter of swapping parts around. Since you're dealing with older cars you don't have to worry about the crank sensor and drilled flywheel, that didn't come about until the late 80s. You can replace just half the driveshaft (they plug together) but if you have a parts car you might want to just pull the whole shaft to make sure it stays balanced. Also there's a few tricky nuts that hold the pedal assembly in, I found it easiest to pull the instrument cluster to access them. You'll probably want to buy a new clutch kit for the job, that will come with the pilot bearing you need to stick in the end of the crank, if the old bushing is stuck you can get pilot bearing pullers pretty cheaply. If you decide to go through with it feel free to ping me with questions.

It varies by car, but just for reference the '86 240 wagon I did came with a AW70 4 speed automatic and got about 24 mpg highway and after the conversion to a M47 5 speed manual it jumped up to 29 mpg. If I swapped the rear axle ratio to the taller gearing normally used in the manual cars it would likely push it up over 30 mpg so the difference can be substantial. Another bonus is the car feels so much more responsive and powerful without the slushbox sapping away all that power.

Reply to
James Sweet

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