95.5-97 Tacoma manual trans swap

Truck-1996 Tacoma xtra cab long bed 2.7 4wd with auto trans
Parts list:
Used Trans and transfer case (w59 with j shift)
New clutch
New flywheel
New slave cylinder
New master cylinder
New throw out bearing
One piece rear driveshaft (can just get a longer front section)
Front driveshaft from manual truck
Boots for the shifters (bolts to floor)
Clutch pedal assembly
Clutch line (I used a high pressure hose from a local company, works great)
Trans mount
Flywheel bolts from Toyota
Good wiring skills

 

I started by disconnecting everything from the auto trans (linkage, cooler lines, driveshafts, all electrical connectors, speedometer cable, etc.) then removed the shifter and cover from the interior to where I could see the trans. Be mindful that the bottom part of the plate on top of the tunnel is tax welded to the bottom of the tunnel in a few places.
Next I removed the inspection cover on the bottom of the bell housing and went to work removing the torque converter bolts. A long extension, u joint, and a 12mm (if I remember right) should be able to break them loose, also have a 19mm socket on a breaker bar to rotate the engine to get all 6 bolts.
Next I removed the 2 14mm bolts holding the starter, and pulled it out of the way.
Then I removed the crossmember bolts and dropped the crossmember (still attached to trans, make sure to have a floor jack under the trans) to help access the 2 17mm bolts at the top of the bell housing going into the engine block. Remove the 2 17's up top. On the right side there will be 2 17's holding a brackets r the exhaust. Remove the top one as it only goes into the bell housing and not the engine. Next make sure you have the trans supported and your not under it. Remove the 2 remaining 17's on the left and right sides and cautiously wiggle the trans to seperate it from the engine. Once it breaks looks gently lower it to the floor and slide it out of the way. Remove the 10 14mm bolts holding the flex plate to the engine, and set it aside.
Next take your flywheel, clean and wipe it down with brake clean. Before installing flywheel put your pilot bearing in the end of the crank. Helps to freeze the bearing before knocking it in. Using your new 12pt 14mm bolts loosely bolt the flywheel to the engine without the spacer that was behind the flex plate. The spacer is not used!!. You can look up the torque specs for these bolts and torque them, I just hit them all a couple good times with my impact and good to go. Next put your disc and pressure plate up there with the fat side of the disc facing the engine. Use your alignment tool to line it all up and tighten the 6 12mm bolts for the pressure plate.
Time to put trans in. Pretty easy, just lift it up with the floor jack and make sure you line up the shaft in the clutch and snug it up to the engine. Don't forget to remove the shifters. Insert and tighten the 2 17mm bolts on the sides, then the ones on top. Don't forget about the bracket for the exhaust. As for starter, the manual and auto starter are different (manual is physically smaller) but I'm not sure if it makes a difference since my starter was bad anyway I just replaced it with a new one for a manual. Tighten those 14's. For the trans mount your gonna need to either use the mount from the auto, jam it onto the manual, realize it's no where near the same, make a new plate on the crossmember, drill some holes, put a 2x4 block between mount and crossmember, screw it all up.... Yeah that's what I did. I recommend getting a mount and crossmember for a manual trans. Getting a manual mount and modifying the crossmember is also an option. After that's done you can start with the wiring. This is where I found a difference between mine and safety dangs swap. His trans was operated by solenoids on the trans, whereas the older trucks like mine use a cable attached to the throttle body. I found the only way for my truck to start was to wire 2 pairs of wires together on the neutral safety switch (ask if you need pictures) you can also wire up a plug for the reverse switch off of this switch too for the lights. You also need to mount the master cylinder and clutch pedal by drilling 2 holes in the firewall ( I eyeballed it) and drilling a 1 1/8" hole in the middle. Mount your slave cylinder to the bell housing. Hook up your clutch line to the master cylinder and fill it with fluid. Put the other end of the line into the reservoir of the master cylinder and pump the pedal to bench bleed the master, will make bleeding much less of a hassle. Then hook it to the slave and bleed as normal. From there it's just bolting your floor pan on and putting everything back together. If pictures are needed just let me know, I don't currently have any on my phone. Hope this can help with the lack of info regarding early Tacoma trans info

 

Mostly done with the same swap on a 97' 3RZ xtra cab 4x4. I bought a 96' 3RZ regular cab with a rusted, broken frame with 119k. Everything I researched said not to swap the longer front section of the 2 piece drive shaft because they are balanced a unit and vibrations will be an issue. I ended up doing a solid shaft and will hopefully get it in this weekend. Could you post or PM me wiring mods? I also still need to weld an extension tab on to the trans x member. Ive also read you can throw a CEL because the ECU thinks it's looking for the auto trans. Any problems with that? Also does anybody know if a Scan Gauge can cancel the CEL? I haven't installed one yet but it's on the never ending add on list.

 

I think the check engine light is for the 98-04 trucks because from what I know those transmissions are controlled through solenoid and ours are controlled by an old school cable on the throttle body. As for the driveshaft, vi ration is possible but if you get the front section it shouldn't be too bad as the carrier bearing should soak it up. Here's my plug I cut off that plugs into the right side of the auto trans. I had to wire the black and white wire on the top right to the one on the far too left and then wire the 2 bigger ones in the center together. I forget the colors, but this will let you start the truck. If you want, you can cut the plug from the clutch switch on your donor truck and wire that switch only one of those sets of wires for your clutch switch to work (don't know which one is drive) and you can also cut the reverse plug off the left side of your manual trans and wire it into this same plug also, just match up the wire colors. Kinda confusing but you'll see what I mean when you get under there. Also see if your truck and the donor have manual hubs or add for the 2 connectors on the left side of t-case. They can be swapped over.

 

I've had a check engine light on my truck forever because of a gutted cat so if my swap threw another code I wouldn't know about it, but I can say that my OD light isn't flashing. I'm thinking with those wires crossed my computer is seeing constant park, which since our speedometers are cable driven and don't go through the Ecu it isn't a problem unless you want cruise control

 

Thanks. Ready to get my truck back on the road. Both trucks have manual hubs, ECU explanation makes sense and I don't have cruse so everything straight forward. Most of the swap articles I have read were 98'-04 auto to R150 manual, not the W59.

 

Yeah and that's where a lot of my research ended, so I just had to go into it blind. But luckily for us, our trucks are a lot simpler than the newer ones and it's a lot easier

 

I'll see if I can take detailed pictures and maybe combine our posts turned into a sticky or something organized. There definitely isn't much anywhere on 340 auto to W59 swaps in 95'-97' Tacomas.

 

Yeah, I wish I had taken more pictures but once I was rolling I didn't even think about my phone. I think the most important part is that an Ecu swap is NOT required to do this on our trucks since we have a lot simpler mechanical operation