Hello gentlemen, I have a 1998 Cavalier with the 2.2 LN2 OHV engine with an automatic transmission. From doing research I found out that they came with three different manual transmissions, the Izuzu, the Getrag F23 and the Getrag 282. Will either of them bolt up to the LN2? I am planning on getting a complete car to do the swap. Also if I need to know certain complications or other information please let me know. I would like for this to go as smoothly as possible.
Steve,
I have a stock 98 4-door sedan with the LN2 and the Isuzu 5-speed. The Isuzu 5-speed is the stock manual transmission for our year. The Getrags came out on the later Cavs. (after 2002 I think).
That much said, you will need to do lots of work to convert your auto car over from an automatic. Getting the complete car with the transmission from the factory like you mention is the best vs. changes that will be needed on your current car for the mounts on the engine cradle - think welding, grinding, repainting, etc.
There are other really informative posts in this forum that cover these mods in high detail but (sadly) the pictures are probably all gone now. They do a pretty good job of explaining the work required. (try site searches using the term "swap")
If your Cav is a 2-door and you want to stay 2-door, it should be relatively easy to find the car that you need. If it is a 4-door sedan you want with the standard they also do exist but are much much harder to find. I found mine on a total fluke. I had read of their existence on this forum but had never seen one until I actually stumbled upon it on craigslist by accident. I have only seen one other since (also a 98) and was highly tempted to buy that one too but my wife would have definitely revolted over that so I had to let that one go.
There are great deals to be had on craigslist and there are still lots of Cav diamonds in the rough out there but they are disappearing to junkyard heaven! Everyone completely writes off Cavs & Sunfires these days so complete cars can be had for well under $1000 with maybe one or 2 things wrong that very easy to fix. Just watch out for unibody frame rust underneath - especially towards the back area around the trunk & fuel tank. If you end up with a 1995-1999 car and want an uncracked dash look for a 1995 Cav to salvage for parts and its dash probably won't be cracked. If your current 1998 dash is (still) not cracked, you can always "transfer the flag" to your new stick shift car. When you have it out you can do a little bit of preventive reinforcing work to the back side with fiberglass or carbon fiber to keep the dash from cracking. You can also epoxy steel washers and rubber pad washers to the mounting flanges hole areas for additional crack suppression.
Good luck & please keep posting! I really thought this site died about 2 weeks ago like Clubcav did and was really worried when I could not get it to come up for about 2 days and I was very relieved when it came back up. It's very quiet here now vs. 10 years ago. It's up to all of us who are left to keep it alive and going.
Brian
Will the Isuzu trans only work? The donor car I my friend has is a 2005.
From 2003 to 2005 the only engine option was the L61 Ecotec which has a different bellhousing. The 2005 transmission will not bolt onto the LN2. However I am pretty sure GM switch to the Getrag around 2000, so if you can find a 2000-2002 LN2 5-speed car the transmission will bolt to your engine. I am also pretty sure that the Isuzu and Getrag mount to the car differently.
You can't switch bellhousings on them? I know I did for my Jeep but I don't know about these.
Steve Marton wrote:You can't switch bellhousings on them? I know I did for my Jeep but I don't know about these.
You can not switch the bellhousing from isuzu to getrag.
FU Tuning
I just wanted to say thank you guys for your knowledge. I still have had no luck yet with finding a donor car yet, but I will keep searching.
