HOW TO: Intstall a 6 speed in a GA GT

[timka86]

Cost wise, I've spent right about $3000. some of these costs were needed to see if the parts would work. Like the spare block I bought for a mock up, spare grand am axle, center console(which is identicle to the auto GA console).
More pictures are available at http://s51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...0SWAP/?start=0

Parts needed:

15296500 shifter
55351918 shifter cables to transmission bracket
22668353 passenger side axle (G6)
10357933 intermediate axle shaft (G6)
15823114 parking cable assembly - ignition (is not necessarily needed, will explain later)
15296498 shift knob
15296501 spring for reverse shift
15296499 shift boot assembly
21018899 trans fluid (sold in 6 quarts)
15788845 shifter cable assembly (both cables and firewall grommet)
15840117 alternate P/N - for shifter cables (these were backordered)
22708444 rear trans mount
10357932 Driver's side axle
94' 3.1L sunbird stickshift flywheel (i believe 91-94 should all work) Fidanza makes aluminum 8 lb version as well)
Clutch pedal assembly from 99-05 5spd grand am
hydrolic clutch cylinder from 99-05 5spd grand am
tuning software (dhp or hptuners) I'll be using DHP
clutch assembly and aluminum spacer from V8 Archie part #VA884F (www.v8archie.com)

transmission information:
F40 transmission (MT2 or MU9) only difference is gear ratios:

2006 F40 (MT2)
Type: transverse front wheel drive, six
speed manual transaxle
Engine range: 3.9L
Maximum engine torque: 245 lb-ft ( 333 Nm )
Maximum gearbox torque: 295 lb-ft ( 400 Nm )
Gear ratios: MT2
First: 3.77
Second: 2.04
Third: 1.32
Fourth: 0.95
Fifth: 0.76
Sixth: 0.62
Reverse: 3.54
Final Drive 3.55
Maximum validated gross vehicle weight: 3527 lb ( 1600 kg )
Case material: aluminum
Center distance: 197 mm
Fluid type: Castrol BOT 0063
Transmission weight: 56 kg ( 123.5 lb )
Fluid capacity (approximate): 3.1L / 3.27 qt ( dry )
Power take off: no
Applications: Pontiac G6

2007 GME Germany F40 ( MU9 ) 04/04/06
Type: transverse front wheel drive, six-speed manual transaxle
Engine range: GM 3.9L V6 ( LZ9 )
Maximum engine torque: 245 lb-ft ( 333 Nm)
Maximum gearbox torque: 295 lb-ft ( 400 Nm )
Gear ratios: MU9
First: 3.769
Second: 2.040
Third: 1.365
Fourth: 1.048
Fifth: 0.846
Sixth: 0.707
Reverse: 3.538
Final Drive Ratio: 3.55
Maximum validated gross vehicle weight: 3527 lb ( 1600 kg )
Case material: aluminum
Center distance: 197 mm
Fluid type: Castrol BOT 0063
Transmission weight: wet: 56 kg ( 123.5 lb )
Fluid capacity (approximate): 3.1L / 3.27 qt. ( dry )
Power take off: no
Applications: Pontiac G6

a lot of the research was done on fiero forums, since they have been swapping this transmission in since about 05' when the G6 was introduced.

the G6 has a dual mass flywheel, which means it's thicker and heavier then your normal stickshift flywheel. To compensate for this, the option is to use an aluminum spacer to make the input shaft of the transmission reach the clutch.


these are pictures of the aluminum spacer, I can't take the credit for this invention Archie, from www.v8archie.com is responsible for it, I bought it from him, he's done a lot of 6 spd swaps and some that have the same flywheel spacing as my application, he has these custom made for him by Spec Clutches. It came with this clutch assembly.


it's a stage 4+ clutch.

So all of the above get's bolted to the FW and it's all good to go, no other modifications necessary.

More good news is that the clutch cylinder from the 99-05 5spd Grand Am's has the same fitting that connects to the hydrolic Throw Out (T.O.) brearing that the G6 does:



The 3.1L sunbird flywheel is the exact same size as the Grand Am stock flywheel, same # of teeth, so the stock starter can stay:

[timka86]

you will need both of the G6 axles, drivers and passenger side as they are different, unlike the Grand Am axles which are identicle on both sides, the driver's side as a male inboard end and a female inboard end on the passenger side for the G6. They also have a third axle (a jack shaft) or intermediate shaft that mount behind the block because the stickshift trans is smaller then the 4t45e that the grand ams come with.

Top axle is a stock grand am axle(dark in color), bottom is a G6 axle (light in color)

and as you can see the outboard CV's are identicle on both G6 and Grand Am axles. Same length too.

[I)ark-ChiLD]

when ur done. do mine please.

[notsoaveragej0e]

Looks liek it is going to be very cool- I can't wait to see the finished product!

I think it would be cool if you kept the stock shift knob from the G6 in the Grand Am, just so that its sort of covert: no one will realize what you did unless they know cars.

[KhellendrosxS]

Finally someone who isnt all talk! My hat is off to you for taking on this project and giving some hope to those of us who might want to consider this in the future. I cant wait to see how the PCM reacts to these changes and that you are going to use a DHP tuner to button things up. This should be well worth it!

[onesexyga]

Originally Posted by notsoaveragej0e

Looks liek it is going to be very cool- I can't wait to see the finished product!

I think it would be cool if you kept the stock shift knob from the G6 in the Grand Am, just so that its sort of covert: no one will realize what you did unless they know cars.

I'll second that. Very stealthlike.

[timka86]

Originally Posted by khellendrosxs

Finally someone who isnt all talk! My hat is off to you for taking on this project and giving some hope to those of us who might want to consider this in the future. I cant wait to see how the PCM reacts to these changes and that you are going to use a DHP tuner to button things up. This should be well worth it!

Originally Posted by onesexyga

I'll second that. Very stealthlike.

well that's exactly how i'm doing it, i want it to look as original as possible, clean, not so ricey.

Yes I'm using all the original shifter parts from the G6, as far as knob is concened. The boot is still being debated. The G6 came with a black boot and a silver/chrome ring around the base, the grand am doesn't have any of that in the interior, my interior is gray.




I do have a great am stickshift boot that will fit around the shifter into the center console with no cutting, but the top of the boot near the knob has two snap buttons. clip onto the shifter itself.

On the G6 the boot is sold as am assembly because it's sewen onto a plastic peice that goes on before the knob that keeps you from shifting in reverse without actually lifting a stopper, same principle as the 5spd grand am, for those who have it know what I'm talking about. some cars you ave to push down on the shifter to shift into reverse, here you have to lift a "safety blocker" to allow the shifter to go into the reverse position so you don't shift into reverse when you're not trying to. So even if i didn't want to black boot, i still have to buy it cuz it comes with this one necessary piece.

so black boot, or gray boot that'll actually match the rest of my interior? When it comes closer to it, i'll takes pics of both in the car and then I'll see.

As you can see the knob itself is black leather/plather i think, with a chrome(actually chromed plastic, kinda like chrometech) insirt with the gear diagram.

[timka86]

couple more pics or the trans, Grand Am 5 spd gray boot, and clutch pedal assembly.

[silvergtjrad]

Awesome man! Ive gotta stop in and check it out sometime, you are pretty close bye.

Whats the running total on $$$ invested so far?

[lone_wolf025]

Hmm a very good alternative to the 5 speed swap. How solid is that trans, do we know yet?

[timka86]

Originally Posted by silvergtjrad

Awesome man! Ive gotta stop in and check it out sometime, you are pretty close bye.

Whats the running total on $$$ invested so far?

3k almost right on the dot, that's only transmission related. i'm upgrading some engine components too. i didn't count engine upgrades into the total. I wanted to keep this strictly transmission costs so to have a better idea.

Originally Posted by lone_wolf025

Hmm a very good alternative to the 5 speed swap. How solid is that trans, do we know yet?

solid as far as I know, 400hp LS2's have been swapped with this tranny into fiero's and nothing brocken yet, BUT lot's of burned rubber I know Saabs used this tranny with some of their turbo cars, 9-3 and/or 9-5 i just don't know what years.

[g4mbl3]

this would truly be amazing...


btw was this swap done with an auto trans or an already man swap? and if it was just a man swap, then would it cost anything more to do this with an auto? thx

[Rich]

^he had an auto.

looking forward to seeing the progress!

as far as the boot, maybe look into www.redlinegoods.com. they have quality stuff.

[timka86]

I have an auto currently, 3.4 L with a 4t45e to be exact. I'm in the process of converting it to a 6 spd stick. cost to convert an already stick GA would be slightly less, you already have the clutch cylinder, and it's a perfect match for both tranny's (6 spd and the 5 spd), you'd need to get the 6 speed shifter, but the cables can be customized from the 5 speed to work with the 6 spd. you already have the flywheel so you wont need that. but those aren't the biggest costs, that saves you about 200-300$.

[LukeL]

Very impressive project as well as to the amount of knowledge you have. I look forward to watching this build. Good work!

[timka86]

Originally Posted by LukeL

Very impressive project as well as to the amount of knowledge you have. I look forward to watching this build. Good work!

Thank you, most of everything i know about this is from reading forums. All the information is out there. Honestly I think I do more research when it comes to my car then school work...

anyway, another update. for those who still need to get rid of the doubt whether the trans will bolt to our block, here you go:


the first big snag is the mounting of the intermediate shaft., the holes on the back of the block don't align with the bearing mount holes, but only by a hair, a couple degrees and about 1/10th of an inch vertically, and a whopping one inch horizontally.


plan of attack is to make a wedge shaped mount that'll bolt to the block and then to the bearing. In this picture I tilted the mount away from the engine on an angle, so the wedge will fill the space between the engine and bearing bracket.


for those thinking why don't I just put a washer in there and make the loop for the bolt slightly bigger on the two holes that almost align; what about the other two holes, I'll have to way of making a bracket to mount the other two holes. and this is a critical area, if the shaft binds, it'll break or blow the bearing.

[timka86]

bracket is finished, here it is:

How to make the bracket:
Step one, cut out two plates out of 1/4" steel, and drill four holes in each plate, one plate corresponding to the holes on the block, and the other plate the holes need to correspond to the holes on the intermediate half-shaft support bearing.

After you have the two plates, you bolt each of them to their corresponding parts (block and support bearing.
You'll need the transmission bolted to the block to do this. When the two are attached, you insirt the intermediate axle into the transmission, and the bearing support bracket, will rotate around the axle. You rotate the axle so that the plates on their corresponding parts come together at an angle, you don't want it too close, because you'll need to get bolts in between the two plates to attach this bracket to the block. look at the pics to get an idea. I used all four bolt holes on the block, so the two holes at the bottom would be aweful hard to get a bolt into them that's removable. You'll need to drill two holes corresponding to the holes on the block in the plate that bolts to the bearing bracket on the intermediate shaft. Basically, through holes so you can get bolts to attach the whole thing to the block. See pics for a better idea of what I mean.

[silvergtjrad]

Damn, im getting jealous now!

[AaronGTR]

Yeah, I knew you were gonna have trouble with that bracket. They changed the mounting bosses on the back of the block on the 3500 and 3900. There was never any doubt the block would bolt to the tranny though. We all know they share the same bolt pattern.

Looks like you've made a lot of progress. Lots of good info here too. I think I would have waited to make a "how-to" thread until it was all installed and working though.

[lastyear4gt]

Looks great, but thats alot of money just to convert to a manual. Original though.......