2003 4 Door Auto To Manual Swap!

Cost is one reason - scoring a good used bracket should be very cheap, I generally prefer the aftermarket poly bushings (like the one pictured) for everything, even tho they are a little more harsh.

 

I dont remember exactly why I chose the solid one, but I will say it was a piece of art. I even lamented over having to paint it and cover those beautiful welds. lol. I did not notice it transferring a lot more vibration.

 

I'm about to start this swap on my double cab same year. I've got all the parts off my parts truck if you need pictures of anything to compare to.

 

@Brojohanson I have a pretty good handle of the whole swap at this point although I still can't decide if it's more cost effective to buy a "donor" truck and do the swap that way, or to get the pieces individually. The only specific parts I need to know about are the ECU and the clutch-start-cancel wiring. If you get a new ECU let me know what you chose, and if you wire in the CSC switch please let me know how you do the wiring.

 

Get the donor truck. A lot of small pieces you'll probably miss if you buy individually. Wiring harnesses/brackets/etc

 

Very nice! Eventually I'll be doing a manual swap on my 2001 DC so I'll be following along here as well. Good luck with the project, and thanks for sharing your notes!

 

I did an auto to manual (Non 4WD) and with my driveshaft I used a couple of these to make my existing driveshaft to work. I think you can get them in .5", 1" and 1.5".

$59 Trail Gear Driveshaft Spacer 1.5'' compatible with 1979-1995 Pick-Ups and 4 Runners, 1995-04 Tacoma

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09BPZ26SB?ie=UTF8

Here's a link to my journey.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/auto-to-manual-w58-complete-96-taco-2wd.834057/

 

YO I think I worked out a deal tonight to secure a donor truck. Did you have to make any modifications to the ECU/wiring? How did you wire in your clutch-start-cancel button? Any issues with cruise control?

 

Also I recently swapped in a J-Shift VF2 Transfer Case to replace my Push-Button VF2. I've had no issues so far. The truck that I'm getting already has a J-Shift VF2 so now I have a backup! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcJb9upBckw

 

Dooooont doooo iittttttttt

 

I personally haven't wired my clutch-start-cancel button. But you could wire it the same way as a brake light pedal switch. I think there is even a mounting hole for it on the clutch pedal.

Or, just remember to only start your truck in neutral.

 

I live in an area that gets really dang cold. I'd like to just be able to reach in and start the truck if possible.. The brake light idea is not bad! I'll have to take a look at the wiring

 

Yes I've had todo wiring modifications. You have to modify the neutral safety switch that plugs into auto. I'm also doing 4wd swap and adding e locker so more wiring there.

 

@Brojohanson do you have any photos of the clutch start cancel switch wiring that you did?

 

Haven't wired that in yet.

 

I've done this swap if you'd like to read through my build thread as well. 02 Tacoma double cab 4x4. It looks like you've figured out the crossmember mount and driveshafts piece.

Anyway, for you clutch cancel switch question that no one seems to know the answer to lol it's extremely simple. You should worry about it after you've modified the park/neutral safety switch since you'll be routing wires from Pin 6 and 9 of the pnss to the clutch switch that you'll later be splicing into for the cancel button.

It's an 8 pin connecter that should have 4 wires coming out of it. The wire colors are for a 2003. Pins should be the same across the board though if you pulled it from a different year.

Pin 1 Y-Gr: Splices into one side of the clutch switch
Pin 3 Gr: Splices into the other side of the clutch switch
Pin 5 W-B: Ground
Pin 7 B-R: Switched Power (Factory goes through the gauge fuse)

The power/ground is so that light on the switch turns on when it's pressed. If you only wired pins 1 and 3, it'd work just the same.

Sucks about your ecu. I have a 2002 5VZ MT ecu I will probably end up selling. From what I remember looking some 8 years ago, there was a big enough difference between 02 and 03 that I didn't want to gamble. That may or may not have been debunked since.

ETA: If you're only looking for a manual ecu to get rid of CELs. There are workarounds with resistors for the solenoid and AT temp sensor codes. The VSS error was solved with the speed sensor in the auto trans sensing the driveshaft bolts. It's a simple but genius solution and I'm annoyed I didn't know about it until after I bought a MT ecu.
Post Here: P1700 Fix

 

Hey bro, are you my guardian angel? Thank you for all the info. I'm getting my donor truck this week and it's the same year as mine (with electronic throttle body confirmed) - only thing I don't know is if it had the factory immobilizer. Any advice for the wiring on that IF it becomes an issue? I know it's different for each rig..

 

Lol just glad I can help!

On your immobilizer question - I'm a little confused. As far as I am aware, 1st gen Tacoma's do not have a typical immobilizer like what you're probably thinking of in the ECU. At least, I've never heard of one or seen one but I've not owned 03-04 Tacos. I have seen them in 3rd gen 4Runners, though. Starting in 2003, Tacomas were pre-wired from the factory for keyless entry (TVIP 2300 plus, iirc). If you don't have a key fob, congrats and fuck you, all you need is a key fob and you can program the already installed module in the driver side kick panel to get keyless entry. It looks like you don't have the alarm status/glass breakage sensor (it goes into one of the switch blanks by the 2 12V outlets) and that is plug n play since your truck is pre-wired for it. Definitely take the module and wiring from your donor, us plebes with not an 03-04 desperately search for it to get keyless entry/alarm.

Back to the immobilizer, you can pull the trim around the ignition off and see if there is a separate antenna. It would most likely be a plastic piece mounted onto the ignition that goes around the cylinder. Or, easy option, get a generic key cut and see if it starts your truck lol If they do have immobilizers, I'd be willing to bet they are fairly dumb and can be bypassed. I had this dilemma when I swapped my 1UZ VVTi into my Taco. The Lexus ECU has a logic chip that needs recoded in order to bypass it. I can't imagine this would be the case.

(Edit; maybe you can't do the poor mans twin. Just remembered autos have a N and L4 position switch on the transfer case. I'd have to look into it more.) Also also, you can do a "poor mans" twin stick in the meantime by adding a push button on one of the wires going to your 4H sensor lol I did a deep poverty mans twin stick by unplugging the 4H sensor from the transfer case.

 

I guess I am confused as well and I will take more pictures when I get the donor to my house, but I was under the assumption (maybe wrongly) that the immobilizer was the little black plastic with the red dot by the 12V outlets. I've not heard of a glass-break sensor, but I'm also used to driving rigs that are pre-2000 so this is all new to me! Also I do have a key fob, it sounds like I'll need to recode it to the "new" ECU?

You don't have to worry about the twin, I own The Driver's Market LLC, and I've just designed a set of twin sticks and installed them. They work great and have no effect on the A.D.D. functionality (however I am also making a mechanical replacement for that as well). DualShift model DS-01. You can read more about it on my website www.thedriversmarket.com

 

Ah, ok! Super cool, I'll check out your site!

For the immobilizer, that is in fact not an immobilizer lol that is the alarm status and glass breakage sensor. Below is a picture of my truck when I added keyless entry and the sensor last April. The sensor is essentially just a microphone that listens for breaking glass. The entire system is separate from the engine's ECU. It has its own module in the driver side kick panel and goes through the body ECU (which is part of the interior fuse panel). You don't need to recode anything. If the donor has that status/sensor by the 12V outlets, then you can straight up pull it off and plug into your truck, unplug a one-wire connector under the steering column, and boom you now have an alarm. I pulled mine from a junkyard Tundra.