Diy R34 Manual Conversion Using R33 Parts

[E_Lu-SHuN]

Hi guys,

I've Just recently did a manual conversion on my 1998 r34 sedan gt-t and it was a success. It took me a while to research on all the parts needed but the end result was excellent.

Now obviously if i used all r34 gtt manual parts in my car, it would most likely fit without knowing that you dont need to HACK up stuff, but i had a r33 gearbox. With not many people knowing what is EXACTLY done when using a r33 gb, i have taken this opportunity to basically document everything ive done.(not much write up of swapping the gearbox over, but the pics will surely help ).

First off here is a list of all the parts needed, including pics.

-r33 manual gearbox(mine came from a series 2, no difference to series 1, just newer)

PRICE: $1100-$1800

Make sure its a complete gearbox. Just so you dont need to hunt around for bits and peices

-r33 or r34 manual tailshaft(front part of the tailshaft)

PRICE: $100 from forum

This part was my biggest concern. I just bought a r33 manaual tailshaft and i was told that i needed to modify it to fit an r34(wheelbase length of r34 is shorter) After many sleepless nights thinking what should i do..Should i modify my r34 auto tailshaft to fit the r33 yoke on?( that means the car will have to be off the road for a while so it can be measured up) Or should i modify the r33 manual tailshaft to suit the length of an r34( car will be also off the road to get the exact cut up measurement. So nearing the day of my conversion i decided to go to JustJap. Asked if they had a r34 manual tailshaft, luck hit me and they did. So i purchased it, went home and put the two manual tailshafts side by side. Now i found out that the front part of the r33 and r34 tailshaft is EXACTLY the same length!. That was good news so off back to JustJap to get my refund.

After hearing people and workshops saying i need to MODIFY/HACK the tailshaft to suit, i now can conclude that front part of r33 tailshaft WILL fit in a r34. NO MODS, JUST A SWAP OVER.

(comparing (starting from the top) manual r34, r33 and auto r34 tailshaft)

(the rear part of the r33 tailshaft is longer than the r34)

(yokes are the same for the manual r34 and r33, the auto tailshaft is smaller)

(comparing length of r33/r34 manual and r34 auto tailshaft)

( Auto and manual front part of the tailshaft are interchangable)

-clutch kit for a r33

PRICE:$450 on Forum

This is a 5 puk button exedy clutch with Daikin Pressure plate recently purchased from C&B. Rated at 300kw

(the bearing that is supplied with the clutch kit)

-RB manual flywheel with 6 bolts (All RB manual flywheels should fit, in my case, i got a r34 one)

PRICE: $125 from forum

Here is the flywheel when i got it

And here it is when it got machined

bolts

-manual spigot bush

PRICE: $20 From NISSAN

I used an 1996 r33 gtst manual Vin number to get the spigot bush, but all spigot bush should be the same for RBs, well i know the RB25DET's are the same.

-clutch Master cyclinder( r33 gtst or r34 gtt will do)

PRICE: $70 second Hand in mint condition from import wrecker

-slave cyclinder with 2 bolts to bolt on to the gearbox(from r33 gtst)

PRICE: $100 from NISSAN for the salve cyclinder itself

-clutch MC to Slave Cyc lines

PRICE: $95 from online trader (Maltech)

(braided lines)

- Pedal assembly

PRICE: $70 for clutch pedal assembly and a trade, manual r33 brake pedal for my auto brake pedal assembly. From a import wrecker.

I used an r33 gtst clutch and brake pedal assembly. If you can grab an r34 clutch and brake pedal assembly, it be better.

-4lts of Gear oil ( i used Motul Gear 300)

PRICE: $29 for 1lt at Autobarn

RB25DET boxes take up around 3.8l to 4l

-brake/Clutch fluid ( i used Castrol response)

Edited October 23, 2006 by E_Lu-SHuN

[paulr33]

good work, appreciate the effort

[E_Lu-SHuN]

Now If you are planning on doing the conversion with jack stands, then good luck. It will take ages if you are doing this for the first time. I didnt want to do it under the stands so i opted for a hoist.

I also didnt want to pay alot of money for the conversion.

I rang up a workshop and asked how much the conversion was and they quoted me $1500. I didnt feel like paying that much because most of my $$ went to getting all the parts. I decided to do the pedal area myself. I figured that most of the $$ would of went to making holes and alot of cursing due to limited space around the pedal area.

Now i dont have much pics to explaining the process of doing this because i only started to take pics after i did this area.

What tools you need.

-Socket set. size 10,12,14

-phillps screw driver

-different size metal files

-sand paper

-hole saw set

-power drill(cord or cordless will do) and differnt size drill bits

First off undo the cluster surround( 2 screws on the top)

Then remove that surround and undo the cluster itself ( 4 screws)

Remove the cluster, there are 3 plugs connected to it. It may be easier to remove the key hole/steering wheel surround first.

Remove the bottom trim( the one with the coin pocket)

It has one screw on the left side and 2 screws that hold the bonnet lever.

remove all the connectors on it so you can remove the surround.

Now once all those are done, You can see all wiring loom surrounding and blocking you from accessing the firewall area. You have to manouver around it.

To locate where you are going to mount the clutch pedal and clutch master cyclinder is easy. You can see on the heat insulated material, the outlining of the position for the clutch pedal. Remove it just by ripping it and now you can see the firewall. On the firewall, Nissan have made a template for you to clutch so you can fit it in. Remove the heat insulated material in the engine bay where the clutch master cyclinder will go to.

There would be 3 holes.. 2 small holes are for the clutch pedal bolt to go through to the engine bay and the big centre hole for the clutch master cyclinder to go through from engine bay to cabin.

You have to use a power drill and hole saw to do the centre hole. You dont need to cut the hole to EXACT length on the template and DO NOT cut the hole bigger than the template.

The centre hole, from memory is 47mm in diameter. I used a 38mm. i had a 51mm but it will go over the template. You will need to put alot of pressure on the drill so you can make a hole. Once the hole is done, Use a file to make the hole abit bigger. Sand paper the area you just drilled .

With the smaller 2 holes, You can use a drill bit that is closet to the template size .Drill it with force. Make sure you DO NOT use a LONG drill bit, because if you do , you might damage something in the engine bay when the hole is made.

You will need to drop the steering column because it will be in the way for you to drill the top small hole and you will need to remove a section of the air con ductsjust for clearance. To drop it, use a size 14 socket and undo it, there are 4 bolts holding it, 2 at the bottom and two on the top of the steering column.

When the holes are done, put the clutch pedal assembly in. IT should sit nice and easy and put the clutch master cyclinder in too and connect them together. bolt them up. 1 bolt in the cabin and 2 in the engine bay.

( a pic with the clutch pedal in. You do not have to connect the switch that is on the clutch pedal assembly)

Now with the manual brake pedal assembly, Just remove the fork from the brake cyclinder to brake pedal.Then disconnect the brake switch and shift lock swtich ,then undo all 5 bolts .

Put the new brake pedal assembly in. If your using the r33 brake pedal assembly like i did. 4 out of 5 bolts will fit. the one that does not fit is the top bolt. the frame is further away from the hole that connects to the car. You can get a new long stud bolt to reach the hole. In my case i used heaps of cable ties for now and it works. Manual cars dont have a shift lock switch, so you can cable tie it to all the wiring looms because it will not be in use when you do the conversion.

Once all that is done it should look like this

Put all the surrounds back together and connect the cluster back.

To save a little bit extra time. You can remove the auto gear stick and whatever is around it.

[E_Lu-SHuN]

Once all that is done You can bring it to a mechanic, What you can realise now that the rest of the work, will be like a clutch change in a manual. Dont let them tell you otherwise. The spigot bush in the auto may be time consuming but it shouldnt take more then 20 min to take out. The wiring is easy if you follow my diagram so dont let them use that excuse to charge that extra $$$

Bleeding the clutch is easy.. extra charge?

changing gear oil is simple

No mods to the gearbox cross member was done. It fitted in EXACTLY

The tailshaft WILL bolt on.

Make sure you have all 9 bolts for the pressure plate to flywheel. If you dont have it then you might want to ask NISSAN for it.

You can remove the speed sensor on the autobox. The connector is next to the plenum. Just follow the wiring and unplug it

All up the conversion from the workshop cost $300 and under 5 hours. That was cheap considering i supplied EVERYTHING but just set the budget to $500 for the conversion, just in case.

Here are a series of pics during the conversion

( undoing the torque convertor 4 bolts)

(Auto GB flywheel)

(We had to cut the spigot bush because greasing it was not working NOTE: Rear main seal was still fine)

( auto box out)

(manual flywheel bolted on. ALL bolts tightened to correct torque settings)

(bearing getting replaced)

(starting from left to right, reverse switch, Neutural Switch, and speedo signal)

(scattered bolts for bellhousing and pressure plate)

( manual gearbox bolts on with the original holes for the gearbox cross member)

Edited January 31, 2008 by E_Lu-SHuN

[E_Lu-SHuN]

You will need these when you get the gearbox ( These are all r33 parts except the gear knob )

(Circlip is in place to hold the gear stick in )

(had to cut peices off so it would go into gear)

( still using the auto surround for now until i find a r34 manual one )

Here is the wiring for the inhibitor and reverse switch. I didnt connect the neutural switch.

that is the connector from the car the wires to work with are the RED(REVERSE), BLACK with PINK(INHIBITOR), and Grey(POWER)

Anyways here is the allocating pins from the auto gearbox

And here is a rough diagram of how to connect it to the manual gearbox. Colour coded

**both brown wires are the same.Doesnt matter which brown goes to what..its the same**

The reverse switch consists of two brown wires(as seen in diagram) . One brown wire from the reverse switch joins together with the inhibitor(BLACK with Pink) and the power(GREY).

The REVERSE wire (red wire from the auto plug) connects onto the remaining brown wire of the reverse switch.

So for the reverse switch, one brown wire connects to the reverse signal(red wire) and the other brown wire joins with the inhibitor and power(3 joint wires).

Hope that is explaining it easy.

The auto ECU will work fine with the gearbox. You will geet a A/T light up on your cluster, but dont worry nothing is wrong.

Hope my tutorial is helpful for all you r34 tiptronic owners wanting to do a conversion with r33 gtst parts.

Glad to help others.

cheers,

Edited January 31, 2008 by E_Lu-SHuN

[Howie]

Great work E_Lu-SHuN, thanks for posting this up for us.

[wrxxy]

Great work E_Lu-SHuN thx for that as I will be doing this soon also.

[mlttat]

Excellent work E_Lu-SHuN !!!!!! My mechanic is just about to do a manual conversion this weekend. All this information would really help alot.... Thanks mate !!!!

[E_Lu-SHuN]

Thanks guys,

If theres any other questions dont hesitate to send a PM

[maike]

any ideal on the size for a r34 sedan tailshaft? would it be the same as the coupe? or would i have to get a r33 sedan tailshaft?

[PHATR32]

f**king top work mate!

i love conversions!

[maike]

any ideal on the size for a r34 sedan tailshaft? would it be the same as the coupe? or would i have to get a r33 sedan tailshaft?

nevermind that msg.. i just realized you did your conversion on a r34 sedan to begin with.

[Manwh0re]

So how much did it cost you all up in the end ?

[E_Lu-SHuN]

it costed about $3000 if you can pick up a cpomplete box for $1200, around there

[AlexR34]

it costed about $3000 if you can pick up a cpomplete box for $1200, around there

GODDDDDDDDDDDDDDD why didnt u just buy a manual 34 if u wanted it that badley ffs. That is a crap load of work for little satisfaction. Nether the less good work

[E_Lu-SHuN]

wot?

who said i wanted the manual gearbox badly?

and no it wasnt a crap load of work and no it wasnt for LITTLE satisfaction cause i've learnt alot from this conversion

[d00dz]

Wow Khoa.. Nice work on the conversion!

Pictures tell a thousand words..

Hows the car feeling with Manual?

[T04GTR]

im impressed. nice work

[E_Lu-SHuN]

it feels better

i still havent got it tuned yet

oh and that 5 puk button clutch shit itself on me

now waiting for a twin plate

[drmafia]

good tut, thanx for posting it, im not having a go at this conversion at all im stating the diffrance i felt

thought id share my experience

i blew my manual 34s box n couldnt find another manual one for a resonable price anyways so ended up dumping a 33s manual box n swapped the bell housing around..

while i had the 33s box in there it was very very sloppy compared to the 34s, it didnt feel nice at all which made me sell it n get straight cut gears .