VT_Maverick's 5 Speed Swap

[Mile High VX]

I see you are in Austin. I am planning on being in Austin for a visit sometime in February or March. I lived in the Austin area for about 12 years.

I think I have the cruise portion figured out. We will see if my idea works when I get feeling better.

I'll be there the week of Feb 27th and again the week of March 12th...

[Triathlete]

If I recall correctly, Troopers with autos have TOD & Troopers with manuals get a non-TOD transfer case.

I stand corrected...my brain for some reason was not seeing auto vs. manual, it was in the gray area

[Etfren]

According to BigMeatVX the TOD still works the same with the 5 speed! I am excited to see how things will work once all the wiring is done.

Yup, TOD works just fine, as does 4-lo (and low it is in first gear!) and his TOD on/off switch for some RWD VX fun! No idea if he ever got the Cruise working 'cause I never use it anyway and haven't driven the truck in a few months.

Sorry about never getting that wiring diagram posted. I found it, but my scanner isn't working for some reason. I can take some pictures of it if you think it might be helpful but it sounds like you are getting it worked out fine on your own.

Plus I'm a little busy with my own project. Finally got my garage cleaned out and started working on pulling my Dragon VX's blown engine and swapping in the 02 Axiom motor. Planning to do a write up on it when I'm done.

[blacksambo]

Great work. Did you know Isuzu built at least five VX's with manual shift and TOD??? Yes, that's right, rally competition models. You can verify this plus learn a thing or two by consulting the VX parts book. Sections 2-20 and beyond detail the pedals etc. If you don't have access let me know, I'll have my wife scan and post the manual transmission pages. Good luck.

[vt_maverick]

If you have the time that would be great!!!

[vt_maverick]

Just learned something... the same AR-5 manual that we're swapping into my VX was also used on the Pontiac Solstice GXP. That car featured a dual-turbo 2.0 L I4 Ecotec engine that made 260 hp and 260 lb-ft torque while getting 19/28 MPG. The VX is heavier by almost a thousand pounds, but you'd drop a good chunk of that just by going from a V6 to an I4...

So since we know an AR-5 mates to an Ecotec engine is it conceivable that you could swap that engine instead? Discuss...

[VXorado]

So since we know an AR-5 mates to an Ecotec engine is it conceivable that you could swap that engine instead? Discuss...

You have boggled my mind with this statement.

[VXorado]

Another nice thing about the manual swap is getting a better crawl ratio because the AR5 has a lower first gear than our auto.

Stock VX crawl ratio: 2.86 (1st) x 2.48 (T-case) x 4.30 (axles)= 30.5

Manual VX crawl ratio: 3.75 (1st) x 2.48 (T-case) x 4.30 (axles)=39.9

Yup, TOD works just fine, as does 4-lo (and low it is in first gear!)

Sounds like the difference is noticable???

[Buffy]

Sorry about never getting that wiring diagram posted. I found it, but my scanner isn't working for some reason. I can take some pictures of it if you think it might be helpful but it sounds like you are getting it worked out fine on your own.

If you can take a picture of the diagrams it would be great. I can take all the information I can get at this point. If nothing else to make sure I am thinking correctly.

[Buffy]

Great work. Did you know Isuzu built at least five VX's with manual shift and TOD??? Yes, that's right, rally competition models. You can verify this plus learn a thing or two by consulting the VX parts book. Sections 2-20 and beyond detail the pedals etc. If you don't have access let me know, I'll have my wife scan and post the manual transmission pages. Good luck.

I was not aware that Isuzu made 5 manual VXs. Learn something new every day. If you could scan the documentation I would love to read it!

[blacksambo]

Also, did you know that the VX auto tranny was used on '91-'92 3 series BMW's? So there's another engine option.

You guys should be talking to Bruce Garland in OZ. He built several manual shift VX's for competition, like the Australian Safari Rally etc.

[vt_maverick]

No thanks, not trying to make my engine less reliable AND more expensive to fix.

[blacksambo]

Good point. Merely letting the gang know all the options out there.

[Etfren]

Another nice thing about the manual swap is getting a better crawl ratio because the AR5 has a lower first gear than our auto.

Stock VX crawl ratio: 2.86 (1st) x 2.48 (T-case) x 4.30 (axles)= 30.5

Manual VX crawl ratio: 3.75 (1st) x 2.48 (T-case) x 4.30 (axles)=39.9

Sounds like the difference is noticable???

Yup, its got a super low first gear. I haven't wheeled much in a stock VX, but I can tell you I was going down a really steep hill at about 3-4 MPH just letting it cruise down in 1st. Going uphill it pulls really well too.

If you can take a picture of the diagrams it would be great. I can take all the information I can get at this point. If nothing else to make sure I am thinking correctly.

I'll see what I can do today and put them up in my gallery.

[vt_maverick]

Good point. Merely letting the gang know all the options out there.

Just razzin' you a bit sambo - really appreciate the input and look forward to reading the material once you get it scanned. Thanks!