2003 Auto to Manual swap

Like you, I did all OEM. The slave cylinder, hydraulic lines. I did upgrade to the Marlin Crawler braided line to replace what would’ve been an OEM rubber line, but basically every else, including the ECM came from a Toyota for the transmission swap. Even the clutch parts. The flywheel is a Marlin Crawler one, but only b/c the guy I bought my parts from had done that swap a few years back. I had it resurfaced.

To fill the gap in the trans tunnel, I used an old license plate and the used 3M adhesive to stick the foam to the plate. I bolted that into the existing holes where the automatic shifter bolted. Cleaned everything up and reinstalled my console and the manual shift boot. I took it for a drive around the block. . Still needs an alignment and I think a better clutch bleed.

 

This is the gap I wanted to fill.

 

The wiring wasn’t bad at all. You just have to follow the diagram. I depinned the automatic neutral safety switch and even bought wiring and a connector that was a close enough match in factory color.

I don’t know if my reverse lights work yet, but my neutral start switch works and even my aftermarket backup camera works I was also intimidated by the wiring, but I marked every wire with a piece of tape and a number.

 

Okay, I'll ask a dumb question.

When you say "ECM" that's the same thing as an ECU, right?

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/crowe’s-auto-to-manual-01-1st-gen-swap.651201/
I’ll link my thread here, I listed out everything I bought for the swap, some of it I could’ve taken from the donor but it was a VT truck for 10 years and let’s just say it had a wee bit of rust on a lot of stuff. So yeah I got hydraulic lines and everything I believe from Camelback and mcgeorge Toyota online. I didn’t have any parts I had to get that held up the process since I did a lot of research before hand and just used my not so smart common sense to put together a list of actual necessities needed for the swap and I waiting until I had every part in and double checked my list to my parts before I started, that definitely helped things go fast by having everything on hand ready to go.

The wiring diagram that Bossfan posted is the exact one I used, I finally found the picture that I used. I forget where I got it from but it is the easiest diagram I have found. Also here is some pics from my swap of the wiring, now I hate electrical stuff and didn’t do the prettiest job of it but it hasn’t given me any problems since 3 years ago.

So for the wiring I ended up just using some 16 or 18gauge I had laying around to run from all the switched back down by the trans where the loom is that has the wires in it you need to connect, I know I used all white but I labeled them as I installed them but I probably fucked up being that I will have a hard time finding out what is what in the future if I ever have to disconnect it.

Also I did this swap outside and half of it was done in the rain at 10pm because it is my daily driver and didn’t really have a lot of time to wait on weather haha. But being under the truck most of the time keeps things dry other than the ground lol

 

You’re my hero.

If you ever find yourself in Colorado with nothing to do, just sayin’….

 

Yes same thing. I thing Toyota calls it an Electronic Control Module (ECM) and other manufacturers call it an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) but they are the same thing.

 

If I was I would definitely be down to help but from Florida its a trek haha, if you decide to do it don’t hesitate to ask any questions though

 

Got the truck back from my buddy’s shop today. Had him do the alignment, weld up the exhaust better and also install a new set of JBA UCAs (I should’ve ordered them when I had the front end all apart). I drove the truck about 100 miles today. Shifted nice. I can say this project is done, except I still need to get new swat bar end links and put the sway bar back in. Could not have done this without the help of the TW members on this forum. Thank you all so much!

 

Nice work man. Fun following along. I love my manual Tacoma.

 

Congrats.

I have so much envy.

And wood.

 

Thanks guys! Madjik, you could do this as well. If you were closer, I’d say bring the truck by. I think with two people this could be done in a weekend, provided you have all the parts. My swap took months because I wasn’t in any hurry, plus I did a bunch of other upgrades at the same time, which definitely ate up a lot of time.

I’ll put together a full reconciliation of everything I did and what it cost. Another TW member did that and I found it helpful for budgeting.

Still on the project list, in no particular order:

• FN-5 bronze wheels and new tires
• Bullet bedliner
• Supercharger (waiting for the new 3.4L version to come out)
• Winch
• Nerf bars
• Marlin Crawler short-shifter

 

Well done and congrats, OP. I hope to begin procuring parts for my swap in the coming weeks. What was the verdict with the cross members - did you determine if there was any difference between the two?

 

I am using the auto-crossmember in mine because the little bracket that holds the exhaust was less rusty than the one I got with the manual transmission. So I don’t there is any difference. Granted, my donor truck was an Extra-cab (2002) like mine (2003). Since you have the full double cab, the auto crossmember may not be correct for the swap. I think @SafetyDang may have had a photo showing they were different. That would mean that it is ‘body dependent’ not ‘transmission dependent’.

 

I believe I misspoke. I went back to @SafetyDang thread on TTORA and in p2 of his thread, he said the crossmembers are in same location on both the X-cab and Double-cab.

 

10-4. I found a truck locally last night that I should be able to get most of the parts from.

 

Ok cool. Happy to help in any way I can.

 

@BossFan

now that you’ve (hopefully) been driving it for awhile, do you notice any difference in fuel economy with the manual vs auto?

In my 98 xtra cab 3.4 manual I’ll be at 2000 rpm’s going 60 mph.

In my 04 double cab auto I’ll be at 2000 rpm’s going 72 mph.

If I do the manual swap into the 04 DC I’m hoping I don’t see a significant economy drop.

 

Hi, thank you for posting your journey on manual swapping your truck. i have a few questions,

i have the same truck as you (electronic 4x4 not “j” shift). whould i need to get a manual tranny that has the electronic shifter or could i get a j shift and swap my electric over?

TIA

 

Not sure if you ever found an answer to your question. The transmission output shaft on the manual trans is shorter than the automatic, you can put a transfer case from an automatic (electronic or j-shift) behind a manual but you will have about 3/4” less spline engagement on the t-case input. Ive done it and wheeled it, although it was a short term fix so I don’t know long term how well it would hold up.