Is a Manual Transmission Swap Worth It? 

You guys should start adding a “time spend” counter. I’m curious to see how long all these projects take

I love how Zach always works on the ground with jack stands. Like, we know he has access to a lift, but he chooses to do it cowboy style because thats the shit most of us are doing. What a beauty.

Mad respect for not using a lift. This gives us a lot of confidence we need. Awesome work!!!

I actually did this because of this video on a 2006 ford mustang, and it was my first big job. I did it while I was pulling the engine so it is not fully the same , but if you plan to tackle this I have some advice regardless. First, he isn't kidding when he says do your research, Take tons of videos and pictures of everything together , and as you take it apart, stay organized by keeping bolts in Baggies and marking on them what they go to. Now planning is key you're going to need too dedicate a lot of time to this especially if you're relatively new don't expect it to be done on a weekend Plan accordingly. Speaking of planning, order everything you need before you start the job you're going to be very annoyed that you wasted an entire week in the garage because you have to wait until the UPS gods deliver your aftermarket clutch line you desperately wanted. Biggest tip of all. If you're learning how to drive a manual try to stick to an oe style clutch when picking parts Try to stay away from 6 puck, or really aggressive stylings, you can go to stage twos to account for horsepower, but you're going to stall out so much at red lights trying to learn on a hyper aggressive design; ask me how I know. Other than that take pictures of your progress, and take pride in your ride I grin constantly as I im banging gears on the road It really is a riot.

“i want a car that hasn’t been abused” “why?” “i want to abuse it”

Up to Speed on how Donut Media came to be please

Is no one gonna talk about his magic hand at 16:08 when he tossed the razor blade at it and it just sticks!!!

that is so freaking cool. seems like the hardest part is having the tools necessary to do the job.

22:40 i love how no one talked about this legendary guy wearing a turkish hat

22:36 my man's rolling up in style

This is freaking amazing. I did not even think that would be even remotely possible without completely butchering half of the car. Great content, thanks!

The only Manual Transmission swap I've ever done, or to be more accurate, helped a friend who had the mechanical experience, was on a 1981 XE Ford Falcon. The reverse gear in the stock 3 speed auto shat itself, and I managed to find a reconditioned 5 speed manual for a good price. We did it on ramps in my sloping driveway and took the whole weekend to finish, but it was the best thing done to that car. The 5 speed manual went like dream and the Falcon became a hell of a lot more fun to drive.

You guys should put the “episode” numbers on eat one of these money pit and since it’s a new car new “season”

22:39 guy casually rockin the Fez.

The best thing is this transmission is higher price than my car

This was very relaxing to watch. Its nice to see a swap video where the process is just as important as the end result. The music was also very calming. Thank you guys.

Zach is the perfect host for this content format. Dude is charming as hell and his enthusiasm and excitement for these project cars makes watching these episodes incredibly satisfying. My only complaint is that these episodes aren't an hour long!

16:07 no ones gonna talk about how Zach is magnetic?

I love the fact that your showing yourself doing this on the ground as most of us would be doing with no hoist. Respect

This was a really nice format. Not full of clickbait crap, not super over produced but enough splices together with just enough tech info on the process to be watchable. More of this please.

13:54 You know what im torquin' about? Yeah that should be made into a t-shirt

22:37 Are we going to ignore the fact that Aladdin got out of his Silver Hyundai Sonata? Hahaha

I love how you all work on the floor. I never had a hoist in my driveway. Thank you

Zach and Jeremiah were some of the best things to happen to this channel

Shout out to the guy with the fez, on a side note a “time spent” timer would be cool so we can see roughly how long it should take for different projects

No one gonna talk about how the razor sticked to his hand when he threw it at it

“As easy as that” he says while the sweat drips down his back washing away whatever oil is on him. Hands destroyed but gives it a little tap enough for someone to see he has a bandage from probably either a tight spot cut or a breaking a bolt loose. What a man.

finally some really decent easy to follow content from a great channel ! thanks guys for the help 😁👍🏽

22:36 man's straight up rocking a fez in broad daylight. Respect.

Zach might be the best addition to donut. This kind of content is absolutely awesome.

Besides gaining more car knowledge this was just a fun video to watch. I could not help but grin stupidly when you pulled that sucker out of the garage and started shifting gears. Beautifully done sir

16:07 bro am I the only one that’s wondering how tf he made the razer attached to his hand like a magnet

That high strength threadlocker is giving me flashbacks to ChrisFix and his medium strength threadlocker addiction.

I would like to see a compilation of every time he swore during this installation

Watching how this is supposed to be done makes me feel like my dad and I replacing his clutch was a lot sketchier than it felt like

Zach is a legend, I love this channel, I just got to drive my 1st Manual car and this is awesome, keep it up guys!

Can we just take a second to appreciate that guy's magnificent hat in the background at 22:36

too bad I don't know more about cars being a donut host would be fun asf

Awesome video. I can understand this easy enough, but I know when I take those last two bolts out, I’m getting crushed by a transmission. Great work, Zach

My dad and I used to swap Auto to Manual all of the time. Good job and very good job with explaining what you need and did.

The money pit series has massively helped with my knowledge of cars, I was already quite knowledgeable, but this series gave me the confidence to send it and swap my engine myself

22:39 the guy with the weird hat in the background had me dying.😂😂

Big smiles here. Been planning on manual swapping my mustang and now I have some reference material. Thank you thanknyou thank you!

This is one of my all time favorite videos from you guys. I’m curious why you didn’t show or talk about the oil at all though? That part is very important lol but the excitement is top tier in this video and I live for that feeling 🤙

22:36 never seen a gangster wear a fez before.

Love the new series: "lofi hip hop radio - beats to change a transmission to"

Yes, you have to look around for more in depth videos on certain areas but i love the overview that these guys give. Great. Would be nice to see something like your total cost at the end

I suppose a finishing touch would be to instal a slightly shorter gear stick so one can quickly grasp the top of the knob to change gears rather than grasping the stick like it was a railway switch lever. BTW, I love Zach's enthusiasm and charm. He reminds me of Kyle Hill. :)

This video should be called "Lo-fi Hip Hop beats to watch Zach Jobe work to".

16:07 homies hand is magnetic

I love donut media, y'all are the best sponsor in dirt 5, and you teach me so much cool stuff

Great video. If somebody watching this isnt planning on doing this, at very least, this will educate you on the logistics of a manual system and all its connecting parts.

Anybody else gonna talk about The Razor Blade just sticking to Zack's hand? 16:05

Short summary: Yes, yes it is. Not even a competition.

I've been wanting the g6 6-speed in my malibu maxx. I just would like to figure out if I could get my ecu to work with it but this helps a lot.

It’s so crazy how good you are at explaining shit/ breaking down the parts and what not.

Let’s be honest this is the best series of the whole channel

He just raised the value of this bmw by 80% just by a transmission swap

That was so satisfying to watch. Really motivated you made it look easy😂

This is crazy! I never thought I'd see a video on this! Incredible!

22:35 homie lookin like he just got back from a secret meeting

He makes it looks so easy. I'm sure if I try to do this swap, in 3 months of hard working I'd have two gearboxes and a damaged car to sell

I did this swap this past winter on my Camaro. Took out the 4 speed auto and installed the 6 speed manual. Best thing I have done to my car!

I converted an old automatic into a manual. Left the shift selector attached so I could put it in neutral or park to start it. Also makes for a handy theft deterrent! Just had to change the pedals and install a clutch cable.

22:34 is no-one going to say anything about that amazing hat

You guys should definitely release the audition tapes from everyone there, that'd make some great content.

I love these videos it has really helped me be more confident to start working on my own car 🙌🙏

I like all the guys from donut but for some reason Zach seems most identifiable. He seems pretty chill with a subtle sense of humor, and I like the way he explains things.

Automatic E36's sales after this video: Stonks 📈

A manual swap is definitely looks and sounds more intimidating than it actually is. Had a roommate who needed to do one on his Volvo wagon after his automatic trans died and his brother was already planning on swapping his current manual for a newer/better one. My roommate took the old manual from his brother and put it in his car and, for a dude who hadn’t done a whole lot of work on cars before, he managed to knock it out in a weekend with the help of his brother (who was a decent amount more experienced) and his dad. The only reason I pretty much sat around and watched was because they didn’t need any extra help. The 3 of them got it done no problem.

Brother you are probably one of the smartest people I've ever seen how you do all this shit without a sweat. Awesome job. This is one of my dreams to be this savvy with automotive technology that I can manual swap a car by myself. 🙏🙏

Love this made me do my own bmw and swap the engine. A shame they forgot to Tell you need to solve issues with your EWS system and the re wiring of some components to keep your lights working ( keeping it road worthy in Europe ) But you guys definitely inspired me and this week I will get to manually shift my swapt 328i convertible thanks

22:36 what a baller! Never thought I'd see someone casually wearing a fez and this guy is killing it!

ChrisFix: E46 Money pit: E36 BMW fanboys: yes Hans it's all coming together

Miss vids like this. Bring it back donut!

Recently bought an el Camino that has an automatic transmission. Thinking I might put in a manual. This video was a great help

I’ve learnt more from Zach than any other person in my life . Huge respect to you man

16:07 are we not going to talk about the fact that Zach Jobe is magnetic?

That's sick! I loved the video Zach!

GREAT VIDEO!! Congrats Jobe

Such an interesting market you have there in the US. In most parts of EU, you will only find E36 with a manual, you must pay quite higher price to buy an automatic.

Can y’all start giving us a time frame that you did it, and about how long you might think a beginner would take?

The weight saving and better distribution of the weight is something I’d love to see.

Thanks for all the details. Great video.

"Clutches don't like Oil." Meanwhile... Quite literally all my motorcycles.

Donut: “We bought an automatic because it’s a thousand dollars cheaper than a manual.” Also Donut: **Spends over 2k and a full day of work on an automatic transmission swap**

Swapped an e30 325 couple years back, manual swapping is always worth the effort especially when you go from 4sp auto to 5sp manual. got a project e32 750il planning on doing the same.

This makes me want to work on cars! I would absolutely love to do something like this. I am not a mechanic but I have changed my slave cylinder located in the transmission on my 02 ranger, changed the clutch, changed the brake lines and some electrical for the lights I swapped from a Ford explorer. I just watch RU-vid and copy what they do. So I'm definitely going to try this with my 07 Honda Accord.

This is so sick

6:05 - My heart skipped a beat when I saw that jack stand move, until I noticed what it was holding up.

I just acquired a 94 E36 and was contemplating this swap. Definitely going to happen now.

Credits to the filmed amazing job well done !!!

I'm looking into manual swapping my car. Yeah it's probably easier to sell it and buy a manual but the car itself has a lot of meaning to me and I want to keep it for as long as possible. This video was awesome on helping me figure out if I should commit or not.

12:02 Missed opportunity for, "You don't want your flywheel flyin' off."

Been contemplating a manny swap on my ‘02 As200 Altezza 1GFE. Mates have done a few of them and said it was finicky but is a good learning experience in terms of knowing your car. I’m still keen to tackle it as I want to get into drifting.

This is one of the best RU-vid videos I’ve seen in a while 🙏🏻

22:39 he vibin with the fez

"There's really nothing left to it, but to do it." -Zach Jobe That's my quote of the week

10:06 What did i just witness? his hand just caught a razer with with nothing

Dude you actually made that job seem easy ASF. In which I've changed a transmission in a 2wd truck a few times it's not to bad but you made the swap look easy. Lol hardest part was pulling gear shifter and plastics out of interior without breaking something!