How much should it cost to convert my 2002 VW cabrio from Auto to Manual?

[PaigeG]

Also what I'll need to do so. I'm just looking at a possible project. Come next summer my Cabrio should be paid off and I'm wanting to make some changes to it to make it worth more than what it is now. It's all about upgrades. So eventually I'm wanting to put a manual transmission and i wanted to know what supplies and how much money I should put aside for the project.

Included in my potential upgrades are a new air intake (turbo) and new wheels/tires. And eventually after that, some coilovers (because wheelgap kills duh). I could go on and on. I'm mainly into performance over cosmetics, because it takes some performance to back up the looks that you might be able to create with a paint job and some hecka sick rims.

And yes, I'm looking into the Bentley manual for my model/year =] =]

 

[JBF]

Well, first you will need to by a cabrio with a manual transmission. Then you will need to remove from it the transaxle, CV shafts, mounts, center console and complete wiring harness and ECM. Then you will need to transplant all of these things into your car.

Or you could just buy the manual transmission car and drive it like a sane person would do since it is dramatically cheaper, will have resale value and be quite a bit more reliable.

 

[Nick]

Woo for the Bentley! Mine is invaluable.

Cost is anywhere $500-$3,000 depending on where you get parts and if you do all the work yourself.

You can use any transmission from a 2.0l OBDII ABA car, same goes for the ECU.
You will need:
-ECU
-Pedal Cluster
-Shift box
-Shift cable
-Shifter bracket
-Shifter bushings
-Shift tower
-Shift knob and boot w/ accompanying interior plastic piece
-CV Axle assemblies (left and right)
-Wiring harness engine/trans/dash
-trans
-front trans/motor mount
-rear trans mount
-rear trans mount brace(small brace connecting the mount to the driver's side of the tranny)
-pressure plate/flywheel/clutch disk
-starter and the bolts that go through it
-shift linkage/box/brackets...(all of it)
-clutch cable and retaining hardware
-clutch pedal & the shaft through the pedal assembly
-NEW clutch and installation kit

**** ^^^^^ Most likely incomplete, just what I could scrounge up from memory and some quick Vortex-ing ******

You car has an immobilizer so you will encounter a bit of trouble here, either you must find another Cabrio that is a 5 speed and take the ECU and immobilizer AND THE KEYS, or find a pre-2000 Cabrio that has no immobilizer and take it's ECU (and remove your immobilizer from the car).

Probably the your best bet for an actual guide: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5491185-MK3-obd2-Automatic-to-Manual-Swap

As for your potential upgrades and the whole intention of swapping a manual into it, if you don't know already now is a good time. You WILL never recover the amount you put into a car upgrading it when you sell it. If you want to do all that I strongly suggest meaning to keep the car indefinitely or keep the costly upgrades out of the equation so it will be easier to sell (and try selling it on VWVortex for best results).

An air intake is not a turbo, this is an air intake: http://eurosportacc.com/eurosport_coolflo_air_intake_systems_cold_air.htm

I suggest buying another engine to rebuild if wanting to add a turbo if the car is your daily driver to keep down time to a minimum and to ensure the added power won't cause foreseeable problems.
Also, I suggest to buy coilovers before wheels/tires because when you decide how low you want to be, it should be then when you decide the best wheel/tire combo for your car (saves you from buying two sets for the same wheels). Much of the Mk3 crowd is biased towards 16" wheels being the best looking wheel size. Be mindful of the wheel offsets as well, spacers can't fix everything. Depending on wheel/tire and drop a fender roll/pull might be in order.