Manual swap on a 1st gen crew cab?

Hey I’m stuck Wether I get a ex cab obviously with the 5 spd or buy a auto 4 door but I’m really set on having a manual. Anybody have any experience or know the price range for a manual swap into a 1st gen crew cab?

 

Price depends if you're knowledgeable and can do the work yourself. If you can swap, my guess would be a few grand. If a shop does it all, upwards of 5k. They have to remove the part truck, remove your auto component, than install.

 

If your asking buy the 5 speed .

Depending on your skill level the swap is pretty much grunt work though if your in a state that needs emission inspections repinning the ECM or sourcing the Manual Transmission ECM will be another part of the job.

Finding and buying the Donor vehicle

Custom rear drive shaft

Flywheel and clutch kit plus clutch hydraulics and pedal.

Plus much more if I really think.

All the parts and Labor $5,000.00 would be a decent ball park price a nice chunk of change to put into the extra cab

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/crowe’s-auto-to-manual-01-1st-gen-swap.651201/

 

@osterhagen

 

Thank you for the feedback I appreciate it

 

He’s pretty spot on.
And yeah, if you’re not up for the task yourself it’ll probably cost half that just for labor from a shop. You could definitely pick up a very nice ext cab for cheaper than a double cab and then put 4k into it and have a solid 4WD rig if that’s what you’re going for. Or if you’re looking for a daily driver you could spend 4k on a supercharger setup lol

but speaking from personal opinion I don’t think I’d buy an ext cab based on space. I’m just a single guy that doesn’t carry any extra people but i really enjoy having the extra space inside the cab. After driving an ext for 8 months, I could definitely live with it but I prefer the double cab. Although I would like an extra foot of bed space for bikes and other stuff but I plan to chop the back off and make a canopy setup anyways in the future

I decided going donor route and bought it for 4k but I also am taking the bumpers and sliders and couple other things other than the trans and will be selling parts off the truck to make some money back. I have spent an extra 1k on a new clutch, all new seals for the trans, and a lot of other parts including a reman starter, a lot of “replace it while I’m in there” parts not necessarily directly related to the swap. I also bought a heavier LCE flywheel which was about $300. Definitely not necessary but I am hoping the myth of more torque with a heavier flywheel is true and it will make some improvement while offroad
Check out @osterhagen thread for a great write up.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/yet-another-dc-manual-swap-thread.661925/

I just started my swap today and will eventually put out my write as well just to add to the pile of others lol

 

you want to do what? just go buy the truck you want by the time you do all the work it would of cost you the same as a old taco anyway

 

There aren't double cabs with manual - that's why a good number of members have done the swap - it's not too bad.

 

I was thinking about doing this to the 01 3.4 SC I bought for $1500.. I will never understand why they didn’t offer double cab manuals.

 

Damn. I just did this swap on a 2nd gen. I only spent about $2k. That was with buying a low mileage (16k) 3rd gen transmission. Could have done it for $500 less if I was willing to get a higher mileage transmission.

 

The profit margin wasn’t large enough to offer double cabs in manual form otherwise Toyota would have. Auto was easier to offer both engines since it used the same transmission but not so with the manual also which could have added to the potential production & tooling cost.

 

Why couldn’t they have offered both engines with the same manual transmission?

 

Idk ask Toyota - they didn’t do that from 1988 through today - the crazy thing is 2nd gen 4 bangers used basically the same trans as 1st gen V6’s (R150 / R155) lol



Crazy thing is both transmissions came with nearly identical gearing - never off by more than .12 in the ratio per gear and only that much in 1st. I would guess they needed the shorter 1st gear in 4 bangers but it’s not a huge difference and I’m sure a little more skinny pedal could account for the difference in 99% of cases.

 

I agree. Seems kinda weird. Would be interesting to know what was driving the decision. It’s appears that performance isn’t the main factor in using different transmissions.

 

I’m sure some of it has something to do with the general decline of popularity of manuals, or the increased demand for autos? Maybe they assumed people getting the extra doors would have a family and want an auto? That’s my speculation.

 

SYyouoo
Omyh

That’s for sure - we’re joking around about the need for two different manuals throughout thirty years of model runs.

 

Your Quote of $2000.00 was with Labor and all the parts ??

 

All parts. No labor because I did it myself. Except for modifying the driveshaft, I paid to have that done and included the cost in “parts”.

 

Just an FYI guys.
Per an retired Toyota engineer I know he said all Toyota’s will be automatics within the next few years. I asked him why Toyota still offers a manual transmission in a Camry but not in a truck unless it’s a 4x4. He said it’s the Federal government and the EPA! Automatics can control the engine RPM’s better to control emissions. It’s the same reason Toyota over gears their car line. Not because of fuel economy but emissions. In a controlled environment the engine turns at a lower RPM and therefore creating less emissions. I told Percy you’re pulling my leg he said he wished he was. He said the internal combustion engine will probably be dead within the next 10 years as you know it with advancement of battery technology. NASCAR is even working with hybrid technology right now...
My wife is a high school English teacher and the maintenance department wanted her to move her car. She had a little Mazda MX-5 or you know it as a Miata. She didn’t want to go out to move it so she asked her class of 33 juniors and seniors who wants to move my car for me. Every kid in her class knew her car and every kid raised there hand. She then remembered most kids don’t know how to drive a manual transmission. She then asked how many of you can drive a manual transmission. Not One kid could drive her car. I’m dead F***ing serious‼️
I also have the same car and our neighbor wanted his 25 year old son to buy my Miata. But his kid didn’t want a car that he had to shift.