i have the same problem... I WANT A MANUAL ! what happend was i couldnt find a used manual and my mom needed to buy me a car and of course i had to have a lancer (nothing else would have pleased me except for a more expensive car ) so i had to stick with an auto. i have talked about converting with people, but unless you have the time, energy and money to do it its not worth it. what i plan on doing is doing whatever i am able to do to my car(performance upgrades/audio and all that) even though its an auto, then selling it in the future when i have a good job and some extra cash, and depending on how good of a job either get a newer model(manual of course) or get an evo . thats just my thought. plus some sucker might buy my car for more than what its worth if i just put an exhaust intake and audio in it. people in cali love ricey cars (not saying lancer is ricey)

 

I am not sure what you guys consider expensive but if all of the parts can be obtained for under $1500 this can be done in your own garage without a lift

i have never done this but for a volvo 850, the auto to manual conversion entails the same kind of parts as for the lancer and u can wheel out the auto tranny while the car is on jack stands and do it in your garage under a day. the only hard part is just rigging up some of the sensors since the manual tranny doesn't need an ecu for it (engine and tranny ECU are seperate)

i say don't be discouraged, look for a totalled lancer or start emailing/calling junkyards

 

I asked someone i know that owns a ford dealership (and runs the garages there also..) and he said it would cost about $3000 to get the parts and install a manual in ANY car (maybe more, maybe less, depending on the car).

Just sayin what i know, not worth it in my opinion .. just get a torque converter and a tranny cooler

- Rob

Edit: you can get the tq conv. from level10

 

Wait a while, find a Ralliart doner, and do an engine / tranny swap. Might as well get more horsepower and the third pedal, too........

MY studies of pinouts and engine mounts continue.......

 

yeah if u buy all the parts brand new from the dealer and have them do it for you then yes it will cost $3000

transmission replacement is usually like 10 hours of labor at around $100/hr
but now u wanna switch over so yeah add on like 5 hours more

if money is not an issue then take it to a real place and have them do it otherwise make it a weekend job and do it yourself by finding parts and piecing it together

 

yeah im sure the new lancers 04+ with the same engine we got have the same trannies as well....so u dont even NEED the 02-03 tranny, an 04+tranny would work as long as its not the ralliart...unless they have the same tranny as well...i dunno

its not THAT hard, just replace the tranny than the ecu and drop out the auto shifter and put in the manual shifter(might as well hop on Ebay and get the $30 short shifter) and ur fine. u also need a new console cuz the 5spd center consoles are different than the auto ones lol

 

My dad (a mechanic) said conversion really ain't worth it...costs too much money, time, etc...besides, he'd rather trust manual transmission that was made in factory rather than trust a work of some mechanic who probably doesn't have very much experience with conversion (since not many ppl actually do the conversion)

 

whats not to trust if u do it yourself
its not like you are making the transmission, you are putting on the there what mitsubishi put on if you bought a manual

not many ways to hook up a manual transmission if you ask me

 

the actual car body is set up for either auto or manual transmission. if you look closely u can see that the auto comes with the cut outs large enough to house the manual cables, along with a cut out for a third pedal. go for it!

 

nice find man...seee the car is wanting to be a manual

don't deny her birthright.....SWAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

sounds easy... but what about the wiring ****?

 

i really dont think the swap would be that difficult either. swap the trannies, swap out the ecu, pull out the old auto tranny sensors, install the pedal and clutch lines, clutch fluid resevior, shifter and linkage, and new console. that should be about it i would think. sure, it would take a lot of time, but ill bet it can be done for no more then 1000 bucks if you do it yourself. im begining to look into it myself.