S6TEN

Hello Guys,

Just finished up my 6 speed swap and wanted to share some tips, I apologize for the pictures not being an order, but they should help in understanding a bit.

Parts list:

-2004 crossfire trans, transmount,
-Flywheel and clutch from 02 SLK 320
-Pedal assembly from a W202 280 diesel (the MC hits the firewall a bit when pressing the clutch in, i'm hoping it molds to it over time. )
-Coolerworx pro shifter
-Tom woods 3.5 inch driveshaft
- Creative steel motor and trans mounts
- M12x1.5 to 4AN adapter
- Benzforce driveshaft adapters



First off, this swap came out to about 3500 bucks maybe even a little more, but to me it was well worth it.

Installing the actual transmission to the motor is easy, no issues there. The way i mounted the transmission to the body was welding 2 10mm bungs on each side to , i did burn holes in the chassis while welding but the bungs are in there nice and strong.

The transmission is shorter than the stock auto trans, so ideally the drive shaft should be lengthened if you can find some one to do it, nobody wanted to touch my driveshaft since it was friction welded, so i ordered a custom one piece driveshaft from tom woods driveshaft, at a length of 64.5 it has to be 3.5 diameter, I was nervous it wasn’t going to clear everything but it did! The driveshaft utilizes traditional 1310 u joints and a company called Benzforce out of texas makes adapters that converts the Mercedes/chrysler 3 prong flange to the 1310s.
He sells both trans and diff side.

I have installed a coolerworx pro shifter for a Bmw which is chassis mounted, the shift linkage was the hardest task for me and i lost about 3 days total trying different set ups, the spacing between the chassis and the trans is small, so you need perfectly bent angles from the trans to the shifter, this was an issue because i couldn’t not find an OG chrysler linkage.

On first start up, i was so happy, all gears shifted, but i noticed one thing, the stock crossfire trans mount has no place in the swap, and it was new! The amount of movement the mount had was no bueno, this resulted in a clunk coming the driveshaft when driving, it’s important that a one piece driveshaft stays put as much as possible as there is very little compensation,

so i ordered creative steel mounts and the car is honestly a different animal, no more clunks and the power feels put, the mounts improved my driving experience 100%,

I still have a few things to tidy up, but it’ll be my winter projects, along with my quaife lsd install

Hope this helps somewhat, all other information is available on the web

99CEEFOURTHREE

That's an interesting swap.Much research trial and error.Car must be loads of fun to drive! GREAT JOB.

MattCordell

How much torque would Crossfire transmisson hold for now that you have the 55 lump?
Auto trans held for 580NM but still weak if not serviced properly.

S6TEN

Yessir, once you wrap your head around the basics, it goes smoothly, thank you!

S6TEN

That is thee question, I do know a member from the UK named RAW AMG (who helped me with some questions) has a powerful c55 that he pushes quite often, he actually upgraded his clutch and flywheel as well, and it has held up so far.
SRT6 crossfires also have some power to them..time will tell..

Sulaco

Great work an thanks for documenting!

I've also got a c55 and have struggled with the idea of a manual swap. I always assumed the crossfire swap would be much cheaper and bolt on, but this is way more work and money than I expected.

XF motorsports sells some custom fabricated parts to make the 6 speed cd009 from modern Nissan Z cars bolt in. It's a much stronger and allegedly better box than the mercedes unit. I was not going to go that route due to cost. It's under 2k for the parts and kit but you have to find a used transmission, which is easy since there are so many idiots wrecking them every day.

But I'd probably still have the drive shaft problem to sort out.

Link for the curious. And he's done this to an m113k E55 already. Maybe i should do this to my E55 wagon instead...

https://xfmotorsports.com/shop

Creative Steel

Glad to hear that you are loving the Elimivibe mounts. We are pretty excited about them and now you can see why.

The C43 or C55 now is absolutely amazing! I personally would love to cruise something like this. Great job!

S6TEN

Thanks man!


I also thought it would be cheaper than what it was.


I took a look and that kit is $1270 and looks like it comes with the flange adapters for the drive shaft. I would be curious to know how much was spent on a flywheel that makes up for that spacing of the adapter.

I will keep this in mind in case the crossfire trans breaks.

Sulaco

Would love to see that thing in action! If you had a Dragy, you could post up some launches and show how much better these are with a manual.