I have a 1997 2wd stock 5.9 and I Want to replace the 5-speed manual with an automatic. The truck is used around the farm for light hauling. Max is 10,000lbs 1500miles infrequently. Tranny lost 5th gear so I figure if I'm going to replace it now would be a good time. Question: What changes are involved, as far as mounts linkage etc. Would a stock tranny work, or would you recommend a "Built Tranny"? You guys have always helped, don't fail me now. BTW Feel free to recommend a "Built Tranny".
Happy Mardi Gras


It ain't gotta be easy, it's just gotta be done.

 

IMO, try and find a local guy wanting to swap the other way and work something out. There's a lot of pieces involved.

Might be easier to just fix 5th gear. Its a common one - usually just falls off.

 

I have 425000 miles on my 5sp manual with no issues. always overfill it by 1qt of oil.

 

To go with an automatic, you'll need the liquid/liquid heat exchanger (mounts under the turbo) to exchange heat between the engine cooling system and the transmission, the air/liquid heat exchanger (looks like a typical add-on trans cooler) that goes in front of the AC condensor/intercooler/radiator, all the lines to connect between them and the transmission, probably brackets for mounting the cooler lines and the air/liquid heat exchanger (not sure if it has built-on brackets or not).

There are two versions of the cooler lines and fittings on the liquid/liquid heat exchanger - one version uses quick-connect fittings (with nylon/plastic clips) and the other uses flare fittings. On the liquid/liquid heat exchanger, it's easy to convert from QC to flare if needed. I don't know of a source for a new liquid/liquid exchanger - American Cooling Solutions used to make one, but its not listed any more. The originals were made by Behr - I don't know if they still make them (I can give you the part # from my spare, if you want). If you're towing 10K lbs, you'll need that heat exchanger, or you'll need to find a big add-on cooler/exchanger to take its place.