'96 tranni swap.

[CRich[814]]

hey guys. im new here.

i have a '96 grand am se with the 3.1 auto tranni.

i was wondering how hard it'd be to get either the old style z24 manual tranni from the 3.1 and put it in the grand am or if i could use any of the other gm 2.2 manual tranni's. im sure ill need a new driveshaft, alternator, maybe flywheel? any help/tips will be appriciated. also, what other motors bolt into the grand am with little/no modifications. i was thinking get a manual tranni worked up before winter then in spring find a nice grand prix gtp thats totaled and bolt in the supercharged 3.8.

-Rich.

[skibum1111]

Welcome. To put a manual trans in your car its alot of work. First you have to find the trans, plus you would need a flywheel, clutch, shifter, clutch and brake pedals, cv shafts, and probably a few things I'm forgetting. It's alot of work. There's a bunch of threads here about swapping to a 3.8 sc motor, to summarize them quickly its a major job needing custom wiring and computer work. Good luck.

[CRich[814]]

thanks alot man.


besides finding the parts (i work at a used car dealership and my dad owns a new ford dealership) i think i could get a 3.1 manual tranni out of the z24. and i know there is enough of the sunfire gt/caviler z24 (new style with the 4 cyl) but i dont know if either would work.

[skibum1111]

The 4cyl trans will not fit the 3.1. You would need to find a 3.1 with a manual trans. I have not seen many of them around here lately, its probably something you would have to search around a bit. Good luck with it.

[CRich[814]]

so anyone know for sure what i'd need besides a manual transmission out of the old caviliar z24?

[xeroinfinity]

It's not going to be easy at all.
The z24 3.1 motor/trans mounts are in different locations so new mounts would need fabed/swapped.

I'd just pull the entire wire harness from the z24 including ecm. About 200+ hours reinstalling that and getting every connector mapped out depending on your skill level.
Some major tuning to get it going.
Then you'll probly hav another 200+ hours into mounting the trans/engine properly.

Thier are sites out thier specificly to swaps, though I have no clue where they are.
Might also ask in the cavi/sunfire/z24 forums and see what those guys know.

I regularly visit many many salvage yards every WEEK and I have yet found a z24 with the 5 spd with a 3.1, thier mostly 4 cyl's. If I did, I'd probly scoop it up quickly!

Good Luck!

[CRich[814]]

Originally Posted by xeroinfinity

It's not going to be easy at all.
The z24 3.1 motor/trans mounts are in different locations so new mounts would need fabed/swapped.

I'd just pull the entire wire harness from the z24 including ecm. About 200+ hours reinstalling that and getting every connector mapped out depending on your skill level.
Some major tuning to get it going.
Then you'll probly hav another 200+ hours into mounting the trans/engine properly.

Thier are sites out thier specificly to swaps, though I have no clue where they are.
Might also ask in the cavi/sunfire/z24 forums and see what those guys know.

I regularly visit many many salvage yards every WEEK and I have yet found a z24 with the 5 spd with a 3.1, thier mostly 4 cyl's. If I did, I'd probly scoop it up quickly!

Good Luck!

not what i wanted to hear. and the only z24's with 6cyl were the old body style.

[xeroinfinity]

I have a friend that has one, pretty nice but he says he'll never part with it.
It came with a factory fiberglass hood w/ram air deal built in.
Only problem was they didnt come with the proper hood latches . So some people had the hood fly open and smash the wind shields.. breaking thier expensive hoods.
He installed hood pins, works great.
Thankx GM!