VT_Maverick's 5 Speed Swap

[VXorado]

Isuzu was looking for lots of street exposure of the VX design to trumpet their style capability. Average Joe's climbing rock piles was not the intended purpose. That terrain already belonged to dowdy Jeeps.

Surprisingly the trend is going toward auto transmissions in the 4 wheeling scene mainly because its much easier to drive an auto in rough terrain. Racing is manual transmission's last stand but with dual clutch autos now being used in supercars, they may be fazed out on the track too.

Personally I love manuals & can't wait to be stalling out on those rock piles soon

[rsteinmetz70112]

I'd be curious to know more about that emissions issue, if you have any info on that?

Not really it was just something rattling around in my brain.

[vt_maverick]

I have to remark here. No Isuzu did not miss the manual shift option, in fact five were built for factory racing efforts. What we must remember is that VX was a concept car that was designed to be seen by more than the auto show attendees. That mean't it had to be inviting to drive by the widest range of potential drivers possible. A lot of people hate manual shift. They think it's too much work, especially for a $30K purchase price vehicle. Isuzu was looking for lots of street exposure of the VX design to trumpet their style capability. Average Joe's climbing rock piles was not the intended purpose. That terrain already belonged to dowdy Jeeps. Isuzu was gunning for the suburban weekend warrior showing off in the supermarket parking lot so somebody would be inspired buy an Ascender or Axiom to please their wife, but still remember fun the VX halo cast on their family everyday vehicle.

Yes they did miss the manual shift option - notice I said "not offering the VX with manual option." Saying a race truck counts as an "offering" is like saying that Ford offers a 1000 HP engine in their Taurus because they built a handful of NASCAR cars. I agree that not everyone wants a manual, which is why most manufacturers generally offer only 10-20% of their models as manuals, even in sports cars (the Infiniti G35 is a good example of that tactic). In this case they elected to go all in on one transmission type, which I think is a shame. I believe 10% of original owners might have opted for the manual option, especially given the opportunity to gain a few MPGs.

Also, the purpose of a manual is not exclusively (and certainly not primarily) for rock crawling. If anything a manual makes the on-street driving experience more fun for those that like a manual transmission. I doubt many owners will actually ever do this swap, but I do think those that do will really enjoy the change.

[vt_maverick]

If I recall correctly there were also consideration of passing emissions tests with manuals.

I'd be curious to know more about that emissions issue, if you have any info on that?

The Trooper exhaust that we switched in was only from the headers to the catalytic converter - everything from the cat to the tailpipe stayed the same. I don't see how a transmission change would affect emissions, unless it resulted in lower MPGs?

[vt_maverick]

Surprisingly the trend is going toward auto transmissions in the 4 wheeling scene mainly because its much easier to drive an auto in rough terrain. Racing is manual transmission's last stand but with dual clutch autos now being used in supercars, they may be fazed out on the track too.

Personally I love manuals & can't wait to be stalling out on those rock piles soon

Lol - I think if I did a lot of crawling I would have strongly considered staying with the auto for just that reason. But since I do 90-95% street driving with a few trips in the deep sand each summer it's a much better choice. I also think the extremely low gearing in 1st and 2nd will come in handy when it snows - I can basically use those gears like the "Winter Mode" on the automatic but with more control.

[blacksambo]

Lol - I think if I did a lot of crawling I would have strongly considered staying with the auto for just that reason. But since I do 90-95% street driving with a few trips in the deep sand each summer it's a much better choice. I also think the extremely low gearing in 1st and 2nd will come in handy when it snows - I can basically use those gears like the "Winter Mode" on the automatic but with more control.

I think you might have the winter logic idea a bit off? You don't use lower gears for snow/ice. You use higher gears to start to reduce torque output on slippery surfaces. That's what winter mode does. It starts you automatically in third gear instead of first. You use lower gears for more torque application on grippy surfaces facing steep grade climbs, and for pulling stumps out of the ground. I hope this helps.

[vt_maverick]

You're right, got that backwards. Was thinking the lower ratios were at the bottom and not at the top (duh). Good catch.

[blacksambo]

I gotta love your enthusiasm, though!

[vt_maverick]

I've got spirit, yes I do, I've got spirit, how about you?

[LittleBeast]

Awesome!!!!! So when my 3.5L finally goes out and I have it rebuilt and bored-out to 4.0L I might need to go to the AR-5 as well, hmmmmm.

Also does AR-5 sound like an assault rifle to anyone else?

[RabidPony]

Also does AR-5 sound like an assault rifle to anyone else?

So, if an AR-15 shoots 5.56 and an AR-10 shoots 7.62x51, then what the hell would an AR-5 shoot?

[Ldub]

So, if an AR-15 shoots 5.56 and an AR-10 shoots 7.62x51, then what the hell would an AR-5 shoot?

Fiddy...

[Buffy]

So, if an AR-15 shoots 5.56 and an AR-10 shoots 7.62x51, then what the hell would an AR-5 shoot?

Hmmmmmm .223????? 22-20???

[eternal21]

The wiring was the biggest unknown for me going in. In the end it was very simple once I had the answers of course. I was thinking about creating a word document and maybe get it posted for reference. I will make sure the wiring portion of the write up is detailed.

Buying a 99 Trooper is the best way to do this conversion. There are alot of small pieces you can rob off it, there will be bolts, etc. be sure to save the manual heat shields as those will be important! The computer is a direct swap in, no reprogramming needed. You can use the hard line for the clutch master cylinder and the actual clutch master. I had to use the clutch switch from the donor. I used the wiring harness from the manual to make the connection for the backup lights and pulled wires from it to make the harness that went to the neautral and clutch switches. You run 4 wires to the switches ansd you are good. You can get the mode switch off the auto tranny and modify it for the swap. I might be able to create a wiring harness that is a pluc and play kind of thing by the time you get ready for it. Just send me tha old harnesses and I will send you what you need to install.

There are some gotchas to look out for like the OEM clutch kit does not include a clutch alignment tool. Advance Auto sells one for $1.50, Auto Zone and O'Riely did not offer one. The OEM slave cylinder does not include the push rod, usually not a big deal, but I was missing mine and had to go out and buy a cheapie slave cylinder to get the rod.

I will detail all of this in the write up.

About that write up.....

[Etfren]

Thanks for bumping this Eternal, reminded me I had a question for Mav.

What RPM are you running at at 60 and 70 MPH? Curious about some stuff on my rig and you are the only other person with a 5-speed to compare too. Glad you made it out to Moab, it was cool to see your setup in person.