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6 Speed Manual Transmission Swap Guide and Harness Info.

88149 Views 115 Replies 48 Participants Last post by  6sp7gen, 
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There has been much confusion with swapping a 6 speed manual transmission into a 6th gen V6 Accord. I thought I would write this post to allow people to easily understand how the process works without unnecessary reposting of this topic over and over again. As well as filling my PM box with one sentence messages asking "How do a swap a 6 speed in my car?"

The Module
Overview
The swap module allows for the interfacing of the 6 speed manual transmission with the stock Accord 4 speed automatic transmission computer.

Without the module the following feature will not work.
-VTEC
-Full rev limit
-Speedo
-Reverse lock out
-Reverse light
-Passing inspection due to CEL

Parts list
The parts used for this swap are quite simple everything is available from Honda except the harness. Try to get as many parts off the donor car as possible. Here are some diagrams of the parts needed.

You can purchase parts and view detailed diagrams at Honda parts sites such as www.hondaautomotiveparts.com and www.acuraautomotiveparts.org. I find these are great sites for diagrams which allow you to see what is involved in a swap.

Mounts
The only mounts that are required to be change are the transmission mounts. The rear engine mounts can also be changed with a CL-S mount which is stronger but is not required. For the transmission mounts use the ones from the 03 CL-S 6 speed.

Axles and Intermediate shaft
The stock axles and intermediate shaft work just fine with the 6 speed transmissions. The CL-S axles are suppose to be stronger and thicker.

Pedals
You can use either the 03 CL-S or I4 Accord pedals.

Clutch hydraulics
You can use the clutch lines from the CL-S as well as the master cylinder. I have tried using a master cylinder from a mid 90's Civic as well and it works just fine and is a good bit cheaper.

Clutch Disc, Pressure Plate and Flywheel
You can use the clutch disc, pressure plate and flywheel from any 6 speed transmission. The Accord, TL and CL all use the same clutch but the CL uses a different flywheel which doesn't matter with this harness.

Shifter and Linkages
The I4 Accord shifter and linkages are not a direct fit and will have to be modified. The only linkages and shifter that are a direct fit are the from the 03 CL-S.

Starter
The automatic starter will not bolt up to the 6MT transmission you will be one from any 6MT car.
03 CL-S 6MT
03-07 Accord 6MT
6 Speed Transmissions

6 Speed transmissions from the following cars can be used. But the Accord and TL transmissions will have to be modified slightly by welding on a stud for the shift linkage. (more on this later)
03-07 Accord V6 MT (NO LSD)
03 CL-S MT (LSD)
04-08 TL MT (LSD)

Special Preparations
Before installing the harness the mechanical aspects and stock wiring should be checked for functionality. This can done be driving the car in limp mode, by removing the transmission range switch from the automatic transmission and connecting it to the engine harness. Then by manipulating the the switch to the N or P position using a screw driver. Test to see if the car will drive. This will eliminate difficult troubleshooting due to the possibility of problems with both the car and harness.


Common Questions
Q: What car will this harness work on.
A: 98-02 Accord V6

Q: Will the harness work with a TL or CL.
A: Not yet we are working on the Type-S ECU currently. The harness might work on the 99 TL and will soon be tested.

Q: Can I use a I4 or Prelude transmission.
A: No only the listed transmission will work.

Q: Can I use this harness with the J32A2 Type-S ecu.
A: No, we are currently working on a harness that works with a Type-S motor. We hope this can be applied to the Accord, TL and CL.

Q: How can I get a harness.
A: The design has been modified for a easy install and will be mass produced soon. The first ones should be ready in around April.

Success Stories
Please let me know of any corrections.

Richie V6
99 Accord J30A1 with TL 6 Speed
99 Accord ECU

Capnff
00 Accord J32A1 with Accord 6 Speed
00 Accord ECU

MikeyMike
99 Accord J30A1 with CL 6 Speed
99 Accord ECU

JDMGRNAV6
99 Accord J30A1 with Accord 6 Speed
99 Accord ECU

Cmann87
99 Accord J30A1 with Accord 6 Speed
99 Accord ECU

2nd Gen Harness
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IcyAccord
Before the shop does anything, the car needs to be in PARK or NEUTRAL?

Or did I hear something about putting it in D1? Some clarification for that would be nice.
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IcyAccord said:
Before the shop does anything, the car needs to be in PARK or NEUTRAL?

Or did I hear something about putting it in D1? Some clarification for that would be nice.
Click to expand...
Added :D
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H
very nice write up

would be nice to know which ecu the successful-swap guys have used

eagerly awaiting to find out if the accord harness works on the 99tl
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99MBPTL
We'll know soon enough :D



BTW, nice write-up
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ComptechV6
very nice
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99v6sedan
good stuff richie. you know what i just noticed? after im on that list in a couple months it will be 5 99 accords swapped.......
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99v6sedan said:
good stuff richie. you know what i just noticed? after im on that list in a couple months it will be 5 99 accords swapped.......
Click to expand...
99 was the good year lol of maybe we got the worst auto trans.
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J
Here's some more questions for you...

1. will there be any CELs with the new harness?
2. what happens to the people with the older connectors from the first batch of harnesses? will the new ones connect with the old?
3. me and kris are going to complete his swap this week, if we test your harness and it doesn't work for the TL-p, then what? Will you come down here and test on our cars since we've been waiting?
4. will the same colored wires (2 white/1red/1yellow/1green)be used for the new harness?
5. how "adjustable" will this type-s harness be?
6. what kind of warranty will you be offering with the harness? (we all know every product ever sold gets one.)
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vietazndragon00
really nice write up! hope to try this sometime this year
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J
ONE MORE THING...

Axles and Intermediate shaft
The stock axles and intermediate shaft work just fine with the 6 speed transmissions. The CL-S axles are suppose to be stronger and thicker.
Click to expand...
They're stronger.. sure that's true.. but they will mess up. I used the CL-S axles once before on the tl-p and they eventually went bad, thought it was the axle that was defective.. got another pair of CL-S axles for free, tried those, went bad... went back to my original factory axles, no problems, and then used another set of TL-P axles and they worked fine. I wouldn't advise using the axles from the CL-S.. everyone should just keep their own axles. just fyi from experience.

I could be wrong, but i just don't want everyone going through the hell i went through.
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IcyAccord
99v6sedan said:
good stuff richie. you know what i just noticed? after im on that list in a couple months it will be 5 99 accords swapped.......
Click to expand...
6 during the summer.. LOL

99' ftw.
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joe80055 said:
Here's some more questions for you...

1. will there be any CELs with the new harness?
2. what happens to the people with the older connectors from the first batch of harnesses? will the new ones connect with the old?
3. me and kris are going to complete his swap this week, if we test your harness and it doesn't work for the TL-p, then what? Will you come down here and test on our cars since we've been waiting?
4. will the same colored wires (2 white/1red/1yellow/1green)be used for the new harness?
5. how "adjustable" will this type-s harness be?
6. what kind of warranty will you be offering with the harness? (we all know every product ever sold gets one.)
Click to expand...
First off this harness is only for the j30a1 ecu. To get the type-s ecu to work requires a lot more work.
1. Already answered. No CEL
2. No it wont be directly compatible but it can be made to work.
3. Thats just a risk he's going to have to take. But I have researched it and I am confident it will work. The main reason the harness didnt work on your car is because you told me the auto trans from the 99 TL was the same as the type-s auto trans. When your auto trans is more like 6th gen accord's auto trans.
4. No new simpler connections.
5. There will be no type-s harness, it will be a ECU and engine harness combo. There is no simple harness for the type-s ecu.
6. Lifetime warranty to the original purchaser.
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Richie V6 said:
3. Thats just a risk he's going to have to take. But I have researched it and I am confident it will work. The main reason the harness didnt work on your car is because you told me the auto trans from the 99 TL was the same as the type-s auto trans. When your auto trans is more like 6th gen accord's auto trans.
Click to expand...
Just to clarify, I said that the 99 TL'S 4-speed transmission was similar to the 6 gen accord's auto transmission. This is why I went ahead and tried to test the harness to see if it'd work.

Now, another question. I remember a while back, when bob finished his type-S conversion, he used the PCM from an 2000 AV6. V-tec, speedo, etc work fine. Now, is it possible that if I were to downgrade to a TL-P Ecu or even AV6 ecu which come for really cheap, may your harness work? I won't have a problem running then engine, and the wiring going to the speed sensors are exactly the same from the '99 TL to the type-s within the engine harness, just the ECU is different internally. After staring at the alldata screen for several hours, that's the idea I came up with. Elaborate on this please
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joe80055 said:
Just to clarify, I said that the 99 TL'S 4-speed transmission was similar to the 6 gen accord's auto transmission. This is why I went ahead and tried to test the harness to see if it'd work.

Now, another question. I remember a while back, when bob finished his type-S conversion, he used the PCM from an 2000 AV6. V-tec, speedo, etc work fine. Now, is it possible that if I were to downgrade to a TL-P Ecu or even AV6 ecu which come for really cheap, may your harness work? I won't have a problem running then engine, and the wiring going to the speed sensors are exactly the same from the '99 TL to the type-s within the engine harness, just the ECU is different internally. After staring at the alldata screen for several hours, that's the idea I came up with. Elaborate on this please
Click to expand...
If you use a 99 TL-P it should work. But you loose the type-s mapping, IM actuator control and rev limit. My only concern would be the cam and crank sensors as well as mapping runinng the motor lean or rich. Has anyone attempted to a swap a type-s motor to TL-P car over on acurazine while keeping the auto trans?
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Richie V6 said:
If you use a 99 TL-P it should work. But you loose the type-s mapping, IM actuator control and rev limit. My only concern would be the cam and crank sensors as well as mapping runinng the motor lean or rich. Has anyone attempted to a swap a type-s motor to TL-P car over on acurazine while keeping the auto trans?
Click to expand...
They should be fine, the only thing is that the IM actuator will not work and vtec will engage a little earlier, but that's about it. Nothing e-manage couldn't fix. Want me to try it out? I can find a '99 TL-P ecu easily for less than $50 shipped. Let me know. If so, I still may be able to use the harness that you originally.
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H
Now, i noticed that your harness is working on a 99 which has a distrib, what about 2k+ cars without the distrib, still no problems?
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joe80055 said:
They should be fine, the only thing is that the IM actuator will not work and vtec will engage a little earlier, but that's about it. Nothing e-manage couldn't fix. Want me to try it out? I can find a '99 TL-P ecu easily for less than $50 shipped. Let me know. If so, I still may be able to use the harness that you originally.
Click to expand...
what happened to your original 99 ecu?

HondaTech1146 said:
Now, i noticed that your harness is working on a 99 which has a distrib, what about 2k+ cars without the distrib, still no problems?
Click to expand...
we will know in about a week when 00suprchrgdAV6 gets his swap done.
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T
very nice write up!! i will also be waiting for the answer about the 2k+ cars without the dis.
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capnff
just so ya guys know.. im not a 99 im a 00 and yes it works perfect... rich, we need toget together on a new harness.. i want the full version this round with no cels..(nobody worry i asked for a version that didnt fix the cels..Richie's Autosix(my lil name for it haha) harness's are woth the wait) how much difference in price?? will ya take a trade in??
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