my mtx tranny swap

[bensenvill]

well thought it was about time to start documenting my swap.... trueth be told, I've never actually read anything on how to do it, and there has been very little conversation on the topic the past few years.

so please feel free to ask questions, or call me a dumb ass for doing things wrong and correct me... for the good of the community. lol.


10-16-07 to now.... -> the prep work
I wanted to get as many little things out of the way as possible. kinda a dry run so when the time comes where I need a few extra sets of hands that I am sitting there whith my thumb up my butt trying to get interior trim peice off or removing siezed bolts.

so lets start with the shifters. never have seen anyone post photos of this stuff and I'll hopefull snap a few in the coming days. Anyways, so ya need to swap the shifters obviously. turns out you have to remove a ton of stuff to do this.
1) gotta get the center console out. remove the ashtray and ligther combo. there are 2 screws behind that. there are 2 more screws on the sides near your feet with screw caps on them. Then there are one or 2 more at the bottom of center console compartment. You then need to pull the ATX shifter. be carefull doing this and search the forum before you do. you do not want to twist it or violently jerk it out [need to safely clip the O/D wires when you lift it out]. You then need to place the car in drive [you'll notice on the right side of the shifter is an electric lock out thing, you can pull this out of position to shift it without turning on the car, FYI], and make sure the parking brake is on. you can then lift the rear end of the center consol out and then slide it back to clear the shifter. tada, your center console should now be out.

now we gotta pull the exhaust. Actually you can probably get away with just removing the cat section of pipe. cant remember but I think all the bolts are in the 14-16mm size selection. Once you have that, you gotta pull the front section of the heat shield. Those washer/bolt things holding it to the car can sometimes be a real pain to remove. highly recommend taking a dremel with a wire brush attachment and trying to get as much of the rust resudue off these bolts as possible before you start and then spraying them down a bit with pb-blaster. Its easiest to use a 24mm socket to remove these, just be careful to not force them, there are 6 of them. slide the heat shield off. ok now you can see the underside of the shifter.

to remove the ATX shifter, you first need to remove the shifter cable. first detach it from the shifter column [it pulls off the knob ball]. now we need to get the wire detached from the bracket. squeaze the cable and slide it back out of its holder. Now you can remove the shifter from the car by removing the 4 8mm nuts that hold it to the car.

Once the shifter is out, you'll notice that there are 6 mounting holes, 2 of which are filled with rubber stoppers, pop these 2 out and shift them from the front-most set of holes to the 2nd row of holes.

Now you can bolt the new mtx shifter in the car using the 4 same nuts to secure it. also you've probably noted that the MTX shifter doesnt run the cables in the same place. they run on the INSIDE of the car until the firewall [or front most edge of that heat shield you removed] and then exit to the underbody of the car. I am not sure if you have to have the carpet removed to complete the mtx cable install or not [seeing as I already removed it in my car]. The cable runs through that square hole you see at the front edge of the heat shield you removed....



to be continued

[MaverickFlyer]

If you actually get it to work this would be a good how to thread. I'll be helping do a ATX=>MTX swap in the near future. so I'll keep my eye on this thread.

[bensenvill]

well I finally am bringing my camera's memory cards home, so yes, picts shortly.

ok the next part is swapping the goddamn pedal assembly. for the life of me I HAVE NO FREAKIN CLUE HOW TO SEPERATE THE BRAKE PEDAL FROM THE CABLE! the haynes manual is wildly inaccurate on this one, they say the little white peice of plastic holding it screws off [I know they are referring to the 95 tour and that its been revised since then].

eitherway I think this project is finally underway after stalling on it for 2 years. I have everything I need other than the replacement drivers side axle and a throw out bearing [and getting my torsen installed, not going to attempt that myself]

[aircougar1]

You will need to cut the carpet away from under the center dashboard/console to access the hole for the MTX shift cables to be installed.
cut down one side then pull the carpet to the other side (driver to passenger side)

To remove the brake pedal assembly, the white plastic piece will need to be pinched together with some pliers and then will be able to be slid down the shaft that it is affixed to... there is a groove in that shaft where the plastic piece is sitting... pinching it together should help get it out of that groove.

[bensenvill]

lol I dont think the carpet is going back in.

now I think most of my issue with the brake pedal is that I have no play in the brake pedal. I'm assuming I need to depress it a good amount to be able to slide it out of position [car has new pads and rotors]. is this something where I would need to bleed the lines or detach something to be able to get it off?

[Nick-Mac]

iirc, when I did my swap it took awhile to get the brake pedal assembly off, but it was simply because the bolts were really tough to get to. The top ones are a ***** to reach, I was laying on my back, feet over the driver's seat, and my head to the side of the pedal w/ a light next to me).

I remember having a real tough time getting them all loose, once I got them all off, you just need to pull off that little plastic piece like aircougar said, it should come right out.

[aircougar1]

Originally Posted by bensenvill

lol I dont think the carpet is going back in.

now I think most of my issue with the brake pedal is that I have no play in the brake pedal. I'm assuming I need to depress it a good amount to be able to slide it out of position [car has new pads and rotors]. is this something where I would need to bleed the lines or detach something to be able to get it off?

Unbolt it first, then rotate it a little to one side, then pull the white plastic piece off, and it should slide right out. getting the MTX one in, however will take a little time.
TIP: if you remove the steering column, it will be SO much easier, and since the interior is stripped down a bit already, that should be much easier for you bensenvill...

[bensenvill]

oh no, I never had any problems getting the other bolts out, just that plastic peice. cool, so I feel on the right track. I'll definitely get some pics of that plastic peice.

[bensenvill]

ok bit of progress. So the pedal assembly is held on by 7 bolts.

its not as hard as people are making it out to sound getting those bolts out. all you need is a 12mm deep socket, pivot joint, and a 8+" socket extension and they are all quite reachable without pulling any part of the dash. 4 bolts into the fire wall on the brake pedal, and 1 bolt kinda hidden behind the hvac stuff for the gas pedal [a socket extension can be fitted back there]. and 2 bolts up top.

the gas pedal needs to be removed before the brake pedal. get the 3 bolts holding it down out. then pull the cable a bit to get some slack and pull the grommet out that holds it to the pedal, the cable can then be removed.

still trying to get that damn plastic peice out.... pretty sure I have it figured out [I found my spare of it so I am less concerned]. thanks aircougar [and pole120 if he stops by] for assistance with that cursed thing.

[JScullin]

Here's the photos from my swap. They're not in any order tho.

'00 Cougar ATX to MTX swap