Transmission swap?

First off, better admit I'm 75 years old, no good at crawling under cars any more. Medical issues. The one concerning this thread is a snapped tendon in my left foot that gave me a "slappy foot" when walking, and makes clutch work very difficult.

The car, a stock '09 Bullitt. I'm exploring options now. I really enjoyed the car until this foot problem. Now at 30,000 on it's odo. Was kind of hoping it would be my last car. But it seems I may be forced to move to an automatic. Man, this really hurts the male ego...I've always had manual transmission cars. Hell, my first new car was a '65 Goat. Yes, "three deuces and a four speed"...

Anyway, to the big question...how difficult would it be to swap the 5 speed tremec out and put an automatic in? Would it be cost effective? How would the swap work with the car's computer? Would my 3:73 rear end give an automatic any problem? Or should I forget about it, and buy a new GT with the new 10 speed auto that I read rave reviews about?

Thanks in advance...

Paul

pwd72s said:

First off, better admit I'm 75 years old, no good at crawling under cars any more. Medical issues. The one concerning this thread is a snapped tendon in my left foot that gave me a "slappy foot" when walking, and makes clutch work very difficult.

The car, a stock '09 Bullitt. I'm exploring options now. I really enjoyed the car until this foot problem. Now at 30,000 on it's odo. Was kind of hoping it would be my last car. But it seems I may be forced to move to an automatic. Man, this really hurts the male ego...I've always had manual transmission cars. Hell, my first new car was a '65 Goat. Yes, "three deuces and a four speed"...

Anyway, to the big question...how difficult would it be to swap the 5 speed tremec out and put an automatic in? Would it be cost effective? How would the swap work with the car's computer? Would my 3:73 rear end give an automatic any problem? Or should I forget about it, and buy a new GT with the new 10 speed auto that I read rave reviews about?

Thanks in advance...

Paul

Click to expand...

I get the love for the Bullitt, I had one. There was a member in here I’m sure will be mentioned who had a Bullitt he swapped an auto into, I’m sure other members will fill you in.

My personal opinion would be to get a newer car with the auto already in it but that’s just my personal preference. Not sure on overall costs but an upgrade to a nicer equipped auto might make more financial sense with less headache than swapping a transmission.

Swapping the old transmission out is possible and has been done. Since you won't be doing the work yourself, it won't be cheap. Only you can decide if your love for the car warrants the expense versus buying another one.

I agree with trading the car. Unless the shop is adept at this conversion, you may end up with a mess.

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Thanks guys. Another factor I thought of was that Ford made the Bullitt only with a manual for a reason. A manual trans for those who are "drivers"...who want control over luxury. Probably best to just let somebody else enjoy the car for what it is...a well balanced driver that may not do anything in a spectacular manner, but does everything well. If I go with a newer automatic, this is going to be a car I'll miss. Might even make that "cars I wish I hadn't sold" list. Alas, only a 2 car garage here.

With the AUTO conversion, you need the AUTO's engine harness, and ECU as
well. If you do this, you can't use an 05-06 5R55S, it has to be a 07-10 5R55s,
and you can't use the V6's 5R55S because the starter is on the other side.

In the end, for cost, it may not be worth it since you're not doing it yourself.
You will also destroy the resale and collectors value of the car.
Trading it, you'll take a beating, try and sell it outright first if you plan to upgrade.

More thanks..to '08. This the kind of what it would take info I really appreciate.
This is indeed the "hands on" 'Stang guy forum!

Following...
I've often thought of doing an auto swap. I've already modded the car past a reasonable resale value.

HG6283 said:

Following...
I've often thought of doing an auto swap. I've already modded the car past a reasonable resale value.

Click to expand...

That's not what I mean. The Bullitt only came as a standard. If you swap it to an
AUTO, you destroy the value, not increase it. IT will then not be appealing to most
collectors. It won't matter what you've done to it after putting an AUTO trans in it.

The other issue is, the Bullitt ECU is tuned at the factory, if you go AUTO, you need
an AUTO ECU, which from another AUTO GT won't be 315 Horsepower. Since they
do not make an AUTO Bullitt, you won't get the same HP output since you have to use
an AUTO ECU. You will need to buy a tuner to tune it once you're done with the swap
to regain that 315 HP rating back. Can get 319 HP with the Ford Racing air intake, ECU,
and upgraded exhaust system from the Shelby GT or GT-H.


Optimal Swap means:
07-10 GT 5R55S Auto Trans, ECU & Wire Harness from Shelby GT or GT-H, and all the
work and troubleshooting installing it. Else you're gonna have a 300 HP Automatic Bullitt.
Not to mention the loss at the wheels from the auto trans parasitic loss.

What I meant to say was I may already have destroyed my resale value as a collectable Bullitt. It has a full exhaust, supercharger, cams, and 6-speed. It's now at 525HP to the wheels.
If I go to Auto, it may have to be built for the HP....

Yeah, the stock 5R55S can handle 425-450hp as is. It wouldn't hurt to
upgrade the cooler to a larger one in any case.

The input shaft and 3rd gear are what can't handle the higher TQ. There are
hardened input shafts. You would need the servo bore fix done, and better
bands. 3RD gear and O/D use bands, the intermediate band (for 3rd) being
the most used. Reverse has it's own band too, non adjustable, with an
internal servo.

A larger trans cooler would also be needed if you remain stock with that
kind of HP. It was able to handle 510 HP, the motor blew before the trans
did. I am reading that they're holding up under 475HP stock... I'd still update
the cooler...

You'd want the LEVEL 10 Stage III build for yours...

I would give my left nut for the new Tremec DCT from the 2020 GT500 swapped into my 08 Bullitt!

I had a '13 Jetta TDI with a DSG transmission, was great! I got 243,000
miles out of it before VW bought it back.... I replaced NOTHING, just did
the fluids maintenance on it. I have had three more gas engine Jettas since
then, and have replaced all kinds of shit on them. That Diesel was a
work-horse! My last '15 TSI, I had replaced the wheel bearings TWICE!
Not ONCE on the '13 Diesel... I have a '12 SE, and replaced the wheel
bearings a few months ago. I have had to renew the whole front suspension
on this '12 SE I have, yet that '13 Jetta Diesel ran and ran... I didn't even
use 507.00 low-saps oil, I used cheap DELO 400 5W40 diesel motor oil...

Anyhow, yeah, the DSG is great. You see that new 9-speed ‘Light Speed
Transmission’ in the new Koenigsegg Jesko?

The Light Speed Transmission is made up of eight actuators, eight pressure sensors, and eight clutches, one of which is used for the electronic differential. There are also six actuators for the forward gears on three shafts and an actuator for reverse. Do the math and that means there are two clutches per shaft.

Koenigsegg says this setup allows for direct shifts between gears, meaning; drivers can shift from 7th to 4th, or any other combination, almost instantly.

You may think cramming all those components into a transmission leads to one thinking that it's far too heavy for any Koenigsegg model; but you saw the second paragraph, right?

Well, the Jesko’s Light Speed Transmission weighs just 198 lbs (90 kg) and can handle the hypercar’s 1100 lb-ft of torque. To put that into perspective, the dual-clutch transmissions found in mid-engine Ferraris and McLarens can only support 660 lb-ft of torque and they weigh in at 275 lbs (124 kg).

There is no real flywheel, the crank connects directly to the transmission trough a gear shaft, and the clutches inside the transmission that act as mini-flywheels to store the inertia, and give it back.

The unconventional 9-speed(+ reverse) transmission design is all packed together in a cast aluminum housing. According to von Koenigsegg, this tight packaging, as well as a super-lightweight crankshaft, means the Jesko will “rev like a Formula One engine on idle. And sound completely crazy.”

Personally I would look into the 6R80 for a swap. Run the Quick 6 controller and you won't need a new ECU. A couple guys have done it on here. And I think you can set it up to manual shift as well. So you'll keep some fun.

If you love the car and have no plans to sell it do what you want. Let someone else worry about resale value.

With having to pay someone to do the job, I'd use that money and upgrade to one of the newer auto cars. You gain 100+hp going this route as well.
Or just buy an auto equipped 05-09 mustang GT and put the money into suspension parts. The suspension parts will be cheaper to buy and install and are a lot more straight forward than a transmission swap. Throw a cold air intake and a tune and then LMR's bullitt grille and you'll have something close to the bullitt that you can still enjoy.

The 6R80 transmission will bolt directly to all Modular and Coyote Ford engines.
This will give you six forward gear ratios of, 4.17, 2.34, 1.52, 1.14, 0.87, and 0.69:1.

What about the drive-shaft? Did you have to change the length?

Also, finally, they're using a trans that doesn't have bands...

This is cool, and nice to know there is an option from the 5R55S....
https://www.usshift.com/usq6.shtml

An aftermarket or stock 11-14 mustang GT driveshaft will work for this swap.

I don't know of anyone who sells a full 6R80 swap conversion so there will be some parts chasing so make sure you are up for that. If you are paying a shop by the hour, this would be a very bad idea.

The US Shift controller is still somewhat limited in its control of the 6R80 so the better way to do it is to use a 2013-2014 Mustang GT Copperhead Automatic ECU as it can run the 3v motor or any modular motor. Shrader performance sell a swap guide for using a 6R80 and copperhead ECU for a mod motor.

A lot of great info here. As I am getting older, I realize that the one commodity I am running short on is time. The time spent getting the car converted and sorted, would not be worth it to me. I would buy a s550 with the 10sp auto and go on with my life.

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Not a fan of the S550s, they're now looking like every other Japanese
car on the road... Wide open mouthy grills, like the original Cylons
from the 1980's original Battlestar Galactica... It looks more like a
Mazda now, than a Ford Mustang.

08MustangDude said:

Not a fan of the S550s, they're now looking like every other Japanese
car on the road...

Click to expand...

Yep. When Ford moves on from the S550, it is my opinion that it will mostly be a forgotten generation and that it will mirror the SN95s.

With the SN95s, the 03/04 Cobra is really the only well-respected rendition these days. I tend to think the GT350s and GT500s will be the only S550s sought after years from now.