My 4L60E A4 recently went out and Im gonna be replacing it in the next few months. Now Ive always been told that a manual tranny = more power and better mpg, so would it be worth the time and $ to turn my A4 into a manual or should I just invest in a performance torque converter and call it day?

 

a manual tranny does not change the horsepower output of your engine, but it gives you alot more control over the vehicle
generally speaking manual transmissions give you better gas mileage simply because there is no slipping torque converter

if swapping would be worth it or not depends on your mechanical skills and your available time

if your auto trans is dead a performance toque converter wont do anything unless it comes with a new tranny

i'm pretty sure there are write-ups on the auto-manual swap
just use the search feature and i'm sure you'll find penty of helpful threads

 

Manual transmissions will give you more power at the wheels, and better mileage. If you have the time/money for a manual I would do it, but that is my opinion. A performance converter will hurt city mileage, or any mileage when it is not locked.

 

It depends on what you want. If this is an all out drag car then I'd keep the A4, however if it is a cruiser the M6 does have the fun factor Rebuilding the A4 through someone like CPT would be cheaper than converting to a M6. I am currently doing the project myself and after the price of a used t56, a good clutch and flywheel you could have nearly paid for having your A4 done and a good stall converter. Then there are many other small components, depending on how thorough you want to be with the swap that add up fast (the whole swap is about 2-3k).

A manual will improve fuel economy for a number of reasons: the rpm is lower on the highway and there is no slippage. So you just have to decide what you want with the car and what you want to spend.

 

I converted mine, but only because the overall price difference wasn't going to be much either way (rebuild 4L60E + new converter, vs. buy all M6 parts), but I did it for a REASON ... I've gotten into taking my car out on a couple road courses (the ultimate reason why my A4 died) so I want the T56, which is "designed" to handle that type of abuse . If I was still more into drag racing, I would have stuck with the A4 and put in about a ~3500 stall ... that's easily a mid ~12 second car with no engine mods . Your '94 TA should at least get down into the mid-low 13's with a well built A4 and stall converter.

 

I also did the swap on my car, and it's the single most enjoyable mod I've made. It all depends on what you like to do. My auto was fun but the car just seemed to be missing something. Like Capn Pete says, by the time I did the rebuild on my auto, I could pick up a stick for about the same money.... it was close, I bought a car with a blown engine, so I got a bunch of other goodies with it.

It's a bit time consuming, but with a little bit of research and prep work it's pretty easy to do, especially if you have a buddy with a hoist.

As far as MPG goes, it depends on how you drive the car. If you take it easy on it and use the overdrive gears all the time you'll get better mileage, but if it downshift it to keep her in the sweet spot so she pulls hard, you wont.... I think I was getting over 30 on the highway with mine in the summer. I still haven't changed the rear gear in mine as of yet. I left the stock 2.73 in it. I am going to swap it out this summer when I do rear suspension, swaybars and exhaust. Nice and easy with the axle out of the way.

The other thing to consider is you need to have your computer reprogrammed for the conversion and you have to do some minor wiring to get everything to work. The article they're talking about is this one: http://www.afrashteh.com/tranny_pics/T56.htm Check it out and if you feel comfortable doing that kind of work, feel free to ask any questions

 

I don't plan on using my baby as a drag car and since I've recently learned how to drive a stick and enjoy having more control plus the possible increase in mpg and power. Now that ive made that decision to spring for a T56. What tools and equipment will I need to invest in to do the job right the first time?

 

This job only requires some basic tools for the most part. You must have the car elevated enough to be able to get the 4l60e from out under the car. This is very important becasue once you are this far it will be very difficult to lift the car higher. You will also need some sort of tool to cut a hole in your floor board for the shifter as well as a hole for the clutch master cylinder. And depending upon how you choose to do the electrical, some sort of soldering tool will be needed.

I think this covers most of the "nonstandard" tools, but you can read the site that most people refer to as a guide and this should give a good idea as to what is needed also.

 

The other thing you need or should consider is some shrink tube, a hole saw, some drill bits and a set of shears.

The thing that makes mounting the pedals easier was making a template up. I used the light cardboard from like a cereal box and made templates and cut out all my holes and stuff before cutting my car. I was able to figure out what I needed to use and was able to make nice neat holes that look factory and didn't need any extra sealant to plug up afterwards. That little bit of prep makes for a really nice job.

The other template I made was for the shifter boot. My hole fit perfectly and the boot was a perfect fit. The only thing I did do was take some of the scrap from the tunnel I had cut out and welded a small piece back into the tunnel where the automatic shifter passed through the tunnel to the tranny. When I located the shifter from below and located my template, I had this small piece... approximately half the hole still exposed. If you take your time, go slow, measure twice, you'll get a nice neat job you can be proud of

 

Do the swap, its worth it.