Alright, let’s talk about getting that manual gearbox into the Charger. It’s something I’d wanted to do for a while, just felt right for the car, you know?
Getting Started – The Teardown
First thing, obviously, was getting the old automatic stuff out. We put the car up on stands – needed plenty of room underneath. Drained all the fluids, which is always a messy job, no matter how careful you try to be. Then, disconnected the driveshaft. Had to wrestle with those bolts a bit; they were really on there.
Undoing the cooler lines for the auto transmission was next. Always cap these off quick, or you’ll have fluid everywhere. Then it was disconnecting the shifter linkage and all the electrical connectors going to the transmission. Labeling stuff here helps, but honestly, a lot of it only fits one way.
Supporting the transmission with a jack, we unbolted the crossmember and then the bellhousing bolts. This part took some fiddling, reaching those top bolts is never fun. Finally, eased the whole automatic transmission and torque converter assembly down and out. Felt good to see it gone.
Prepping for the Manual
Inside the car, I ripped out the center console and the automatic shifter assembly. That left a nice big hole to work with. The biggest modification inside was fitting the clutch pedal. Found a good spot on the firewall, measured like ten times, then drilled the holes for the pedal bracket and the master cylinder. That first drill into the firewall always makes you pause, haha.
Underneath, we bolted up the flywheel – making sure to torque it down right – followed by the clutch disc and pressure plate. Used an alignment tool, crucial step. Don’t want to fight getting the transmission input shaft lined up later.
Putting it All Together
Now for the main event: lifting the manual transmission into place. These things aren’t light. Muscled it up on the transmission jack, carefully lined up the input shaft with the clutch splines and the pilot bearing. Pushed it forward, wiggled it, maybe cursed a little, until it seated flush against the engine block. Bolted the bellhousing tight.
Next, installed the new transmission crossmember. Sometimes the mounting points line up okay, sometimes you need to modify things slightly. Got lucky this time. Bolted that up.
Hooked up the clutch hydraulics – master cylinder to the pedal inside, ran the line down to the slave cylinder on the transmission. Bled the system, which took a few tries to get all the air out and get a firm pedal.
Installed the shifter mechanism from the top, through the hole where the auto shifter used to be. Fitted the boot and knob. Feels way better already.
Measured for the driveshaft. Usually, the auto and manual transmissions are different lengths, so the stock driveshaft might not fit. Had to get mine shortened just a bit at a local shop. Once that was back, bolted it in.
Wiring and Finishing Up
Wiring was probably the trickiest part. Had to figure out the reverse light switch on the manual trans and wire it in. Also needed to bypass the neutral safety switch system from the automatic (or wire in the clutch safety switch so the car only starts with the clutch pedal pressed). Spent some time with wiring diagrams here.
Big thing: The car’s computer (ECU). It was still looking for the automatic transmission. Had to get it flashed or tuned to tell it there’s a manual gearbox in there now. Otherwise, you get check engine lights and potentially weird engine behavior. Found a local tuner who sorted this out.
Filled the new transmission with the correct gear oil. Double-checked all bolts, connections, fluid levels. Put the center console back together.
The First Drive
Finally, lowered the car off the stands. Started it up – clutch in, of course. Felt weird at first after driving it as an auto for so long. Eased out the clutch, pulled away. Rowed through the gears. Yeah, that’s much better. Took a bit of getting used to, but totally worth the effort.
It wasn’t exactly a weekend job, ran into a few snags like seized bolts and figuring out the electronics. But we got it done. Driving it now feels way more engaging. Just feels right.
