Caldina GT-T manual conversion

Hello everyone, I have a tiptronic '98 Caldina GT-T and I was wondering what was needed in a manual conversion. I have a manual gearbox from a Caldina GT-T, and I was wondering what else I'd need. I understand that the front half shafts are different on the manual car to the auto. So far the complete list of bits I'd need so far include: Manual box, front halfshafts, clutch bits, gear shifter and linkages, and a smaller brake pedal etc.

What I need to know is if I can use the existing ecu, with the transmission loom simply disconnected, or do I need the ecu from a manual car? Is it just a matter of removing the auto trans and bolting the new stuff in, or do I need to go bridging certain wires etc to get the computers working properly?

Reply 1 : Caldina GT-T manual conversion

id ont know much bout this car i drive a different toyota, but ive had an automatic before and asked mechanic about it.



The transmisson it self, should bolt in, as far as wiring theres nothing there, its manual, all gears. You will need to disconnect the throttle control from the automatic trasmission. As far as the space inside car, im not sure about urs, but usualy the AUTO is bigger a bit then manual. so it should "fit" if its from same car.



The HARD part is this, ur car will need a SHIFTER, which is usualy expensive, u will have to install it instead of urs, and plug it in, mine has 2 cables, which go through the firewall, im guessing automatic one doesnt, so u will have to TAke engine out or somehow drill holes without cutting through the wires if u dont have holes. the clutch also needs a hole, and usualy works off hyrdalic fluid from brakes i think, or powersteering, some cars have it separate but on cheap cars its usualy togeather with something else. if u connect it to whatever that is, u will need to bleed the fluid which is a pain in the ass.



I think thats it, its realy a hard job, mechanics usualy DOnt do this at all, because u will have to CUT the car or drill parts which they dont wanna do, lazy bums lol



I hope that helps, im not a pro this is for "referance only"

Reply 2 : Caldina GT-T manual conversion

In my honest opinion, I wouldn't waste your time or money. The cost of it all is going to be ridiculous. First off, the manual GT-T's have a LSD to control the power to all four wheels, whereas the automatic GT-T's have VSC to control the power to all four wheels. I'm sure the automatic ECU wouldn't work with it either. On top of that you'd have to cut a hole for the clutch pedal, install a clutch master and slave cylinder, run the clutch lines, install the throwout bearing, fabricate space for the 5-speed shifter, get the flywheel and pressure plate etc etc etc. There are quite a few other things you'd have to do too.



It would be much easier to just buy a 5-speed GT-T. They pop up quite frequently on TradeMe. If you are determined to do the conversion however, go for a Celica GT Four gearbox as they're a lot stronger than the Caldina's. Good luck with whatever you decide!

Reply 3 : Caldina GT-T manual conversion

You're in luck - I was randomly browsing TradeMe and came across this - A complete 5-speed conversion kit to convert your Caldina from auto to 5-speed:



http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Mo...-305623047.htm



If you do most of the work yourself you should be able to keep the job under a grand, if not then you're looking at a couple of grand (if not more) depending on where you go.

Reply 4 : Caldina GT-T manual conversion

Thanks for your reply.

Finding the parts is not a problem, I also own a Celica GT4, an st185 model and have fully rebuilt the motor etc, and in the process bought a complete donor car. As a result, I have a heap of parts lying around that could possibly be of use. Plus I already have a manual gearbox from a caldina gt-t that I bought for the celica, but didnt fit because it doesnt have an internal speed sensor.The gearbox is the same code as the st185 gearbox, and while it is weaker than the st205 gt4 gearbox, I wouldn't consider it to be a weak box.

Clutch parts not a problem, the flywheel off a Celica should work fine and a new clutch kit is not expensive.

I have read of some people using the Caldina engines in older cars, with the auto ecu and they reckon that the ecu will still work with the transmission completely disconnected from the ecu without throwing any fault codes.



What I want to find out is if the VSC will still work, and will I need to get an ecu from a manual caldina or not. The mechanical side is fine, I just want to find out if the VSC and ABS is linked at all to the trans, or if it will still function with the auto trans disconnected.