I did some looking and got a few answers, but has anyone actually done the swap? I did an auto to manual swap in my Camaro and know it can be done. My tranny in my truck is about done, I'm planning a 408 stroker kit down the road, probably next year and don't want to worry about the auto trans anymore. I know I can have one built, but in the long run I honestly think that the manual would be a better choice. I do quite a bit of hauling and towing and there are plenty oh hills around here too. My truck currently has 35s with 4.56 gears so hopefully the OD ratio in the manual is close to the auto so I'm not running tons of RPMs at highway speeds.

But so far I have gathered that I will need:

Both driveshafts (rear is longer and front is shorter with the manual)
PCM (or reflash??)
Tranny wiring harness (is it really needed? Can I simply splice the speed sensor into the old harness?)
Dash cluster and steering colum (cosmetic purpose only)
Shifter, tranny, clutch pedal, slave, master, pressure plate, flywheel, flywheel bolts, yadda yadda yadda
Let me know if I'm forgetting anything

Also does anyone make a short throw shifter for the dodge trucks? And what is a good quality clutch kit to get that will hold up to a 408 stroker motor?

Thanks in advance guys and hopefully I will have this down over the next few months. I'll try to take pics and do a write up of sorts if anyone is interested.

 

Your list is pretty good. I haven't done it yet, but I've been wanting to FOREVER!!! Maybe one day I'll dive in.

You will need a new PCM. The manual PCM's are different than the auto's.
You don't need the gauge cluster. Just cover the PRND21 with something. If you get a new cluster, you'll change your odometer reading (someone correct me if I'm wrong here).
You will need the tranny wire harness. You can use the auto's wire harness and bridge two of the pins (not sure which one's) on the tranny plug together so the PCM thinks the auto trans is in park and will let the truck start/run. Bad part is you'll be driving with a CEL because the PCM will be looking for the solenoids and won't find them (obviously). I would only do this as a temporary measure.

 

This thread should help i plan to do this swap as soon as the money tree starts producing :-)

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=719449

 

Thats why I mentioned the computer reflash. Thats what I did on my Camaro, I still am using the auto tranny harness with a T56 speed sensor plug spliced into the auto harness. And I wired my neutral saftey switch into the clutch switch so it will only start when the clutch is fully depressed.

I'll have to look for the tranny harness and the PCM then, but can't SCT or any of the tuners solve that problem? I don't think it would be that hard.

But I found a tranny, just have to wait a few weeks until the funds are there. My auto is acting really goofy, but the fluid is nice and red still, but that got changed last night and its still acting up. Hopefully it will make it to spring.

 

SCT will not fix the PCM. The manual PCM is electronically different (different mainboard I suppose) not programmed different.

I plan on replacing the harness and PCM. I don't want to deal with the hassle of not being able to get my truck inspected because of a CEL. In Texas, if you have a CEL at inspection, it automatically fails without any further tests as to why the CEL is there. I hate vehicle inspections.

 

Thanks for the info. but I'm not too worried about the CEL since we have no vehicle inspections here , but they do get annoying after a short period of time. But I read that NAPA sells replacement PCMs for a decent price.

I found a tranny out of a 96 and my truck is a 98, does that really matter? I plan on getting a PCM from NAPA and the tranny harness out of the truck that the tranny came from. It will also get a new flywheel, clutch, and possibly slave and master depending on how much extra money I have.

 

Sounds like a plan to me!

If you actually go through with this, please, Please, PLEASE, take a gazillion pictures and do a writeup. You would help a LOT of guys who are sick of POS 46RE(tarted)! I am begging you to take pics and post a writeup. I'll even bribe some mods to make it forever sticky.