When changing a 92 W250 from an auto(A518) to Getrag, do the driveshaft lengths change? Are the flywheel housings the same, or do you have to get one from a manual? Also, is the crosssmember the same? Does anything have to be done to fool the PCM? Thanks

 

The flywheel housings are the same, crossmember/driveshaft are different, as far as the pcm issues i am not certain but since it only controls transmission on these trucks it could probably be eleminated. We just did this swap on my brothers 91 w/tf727 and found it cost much more than anticipated. Unless your truck has sentimental value (most first gens do though) best bet is selling the auto and buying one with manual trans.

 

Where did you encounter the hidden costs? I have most of the parts from various parts trucks, getrag/bellhousing/shifter, NP205/shifter, flywheel, hydraulics, etc. Is the whole crossmember different, or is it just the top part? Mine might be different too because mine has overdrive.

 

I had a donor parts truck and still had over $1000 in rebuilding the gutbag and a new Sach's clutch. I could have probably just stuck in a 1-2 shift fork in and been on the road but the sycros were worn and the donor tranny had over 300K on it. The old clutch was a Sach's but it had a few broken fingers and the lining was loose on the rivets. I don't like doing jobs twice so I spent the money. Driveshafts are the same (at least mine were), I reused the auto cross member and stuck in some new mounts, don't know about the PCM as computers confuse me.

 

It was my truck we did this on. Like BHD. I bought Everything (i thought0 from a guy on craigslist. For $600 I brought home flywheel, getrag, clutch, pedals, shifter, driveshafts, crossmember. Then I had to get hydraulics ($320 prebled from Dodge), new clutch ($500), clutch bolts, flywheel bolts, pilot bushing (cause Southbend sent a pilot bearing that wont fit), about $50 for all that. Rebuild kit and input shaft $350. New tranny mount, new u joints and carrier bearing....would you like me to continue. Starting cost~$600. Final cost~$1900 or more. Worth it to me, but I already had a fortune and sentiment in the truck. Like my bro said, if no sentimental value, think about selling.

 

YOU DIDN'T MACHINE OUT THE FLYWHEEL AND PUT IN THE BIGGER BALL BEARING TYPE INPUT SHAFT!?!
Well all I can say is never idle at a stop in gear with the clutch pushed in. That bronze input shaft bushing is worthless.

 

I believe the only difference between the PCM on an auto vs manual truck is the PCM on an auto truck will have the circuit to control the overdrive, and the manual truck does not. In your case switching from an auto to manual, you will not need that circuit any longer. You are going to have a computer that is capable of controlling more than you need it to. However, if you were switching from a manual to an automatic, you would need that overdrive circuit and would not have it. I am almost certain all other circuits in the PCM is exactly the same.

 

From what I can tell from all the posts above, the crossmember, driveshafts(4x4), flywheel housing can all be reused from the auto setup. With a new clutch and flywheel and a refreshed getrag I figure I'll be into it for about $1500. Plus I have a perfectly good A518 and 23 spline NP205 to sell... I can see how things start to add up though, depending on how many things need to be bought new or rebuilt. FYI for everyone, there is an ebay store that sells the OE Sachs clutch kit for our trucks for ~$435 shipped. I think what makes swapping an auto to a 5 sp. worthwhile is that autos can be bought for much less than a 5 sp truck and usually they're in much better shape and haven't been beat to death...

 

yes that vendor is trustworthy on ebay I am using one of his new clutches along with many others here.

 

Thats good to hear, I called Sachs and talked to a tech and he conformed that # is the original equipment cast iron dinosaur on our trucks. They seem to last a long time.

 

Make sure that the pilot bushing is indeed bronze and not bronze coated steel. I lost an input shaft due to this, took .085 off the shaft within 100 miles.

 

Why not just ditch the Bushing all together and install a ball bearing in there. We all have done it already. Machine out the flywheel to accept the larger and more stout BALL BEARING.

"As for the pilot bushing....Engineering knew it was not going to work before the first one left the plant...But if you did not haul trailers it would work long enough to get out of warrantee....Engineering wanted to use a ball bearing but . We were shot down due to cost ...
In 94 it was decided to go to a Torrington needle bearing...Great in theory but it just made matters worse....They ate the inputs alive....

As for the worn out ends on the input shafts...What I do is put them in my cylinder grinder and make them round and back on center..Then I make a steel sleeve on the lathe and press it onto the shaft end.... Then I put them in my cylinder grinder again and finish them to the correct diameter for the ball bearing I am going to use ...The tolerance is .0001 ot centerline . And no your Craftsman engine lathe you got from dad is NOT going to do the job accurately enough ! " - Terry Elders aka Mysteryman

 

I had never heard of that before, and REALLY wish someone had mentioned it when I was asking what all to do (not blaming anyone, just regretting). The bushing is solid copper and is from Dodge, so hopefully it will hold up, cause I already dropped 170 on a new input shaft during the rebuild.

 

How is he anyway? I read alot of his posts and it seems he got sick and disappeared.

 

wellllll I haven't heard from him at all since last feb... and his last post was 2/03/07
but I noticed his acount was active on TDR: "Last Activity: 07-19-2007 11:28 AM " so I pm'd him since but he hasn't been on since then.
I should prolly just give him a call.
And Sorry Rttbcummins I posted all of this information and spam about the getrag from Terry several times! I have stopped spamming it as is it all very redundant in my posts and searches... It wasn't intentional, it just slipped through the cracks I guess but everyone knows that the bronze/copper bushings from dodge or sachs or otherwise are utter crap in real world scenerios! It wouldn't take "too" much to get in there and take the flywheel out again next season :-)