NV3550 manual to 32RH automatic conversion

rancholago

rancholago

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 31, 2020
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CA
Here is what I have going on. I am looking for a TJ and found a 2001 outfitted the way I want Except its a stick and I want an Automatic. I have access to a donor jeep 1999 TJ with Auto, both are 6 cylinders. Very similar Jeeps, the stick is the 2001 and the auto is in the 1999.

My question is; will the 1999 automatic transmission work in the 2001 when the trans are swapped out, and I am speaking about the computers wiring etc. it seems to me that the details are what get you when you do a swap. Are the 1999 and the 2001 enough the same to make the swap "smooth"?

Is there any thing that would raise its ugly head to bite me that I am not thinking about?
 
ECC97EE0-DE4C-4245-835A-FC7D4A1B9441.jpeg
 
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rancholago said:
Here is what I have going on. I am looking for a TJ and found a 2001 outfitted the way I want Except its a stick and I want an Automatic. I have access to a donor jeep 1999 TJ with Auto, both are 6 cylinders. Very similar Jeeps, the stick is the 2001 and the auto is in the 1999.

My question is; will the 1999 automatic transmission work in the 2001 when the trans are swapped out, and I am speaking about the computers wiring etc. it seems to me that the details are what get you when you do a swap. Are the 1999 and the 2001 enough the same to make the swap "smooth"?

Is there any thing that would raise its ugly head to bite me that I am not thinking about?
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That's a great conversation and it will work very. I did the same conversion on my 97 4.0 and it truly one of the best things I've done my TJ over the past nearly 25 years. Especially for hard-core exceptionally tough trails. That's because the automatic's torque converter gives both an infinitely low 1st gear ratio and it provides 2-3X low end torque multiplication.

Not a difficult job, I got mine done over a weekend with a friends help.
 
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Jerry, So using the 1999 donor, transmission, PCM everything will bolt right in the 2001 kind of plug and play?
I would use the computer from the 1999 because the computer should go with the transmission?
...and what about the Skim does that enter into the equation?
 
If I could fairly easily swap a 32RH into mine I would definitely do it. Unfortunately it's more of a project than I care to take on.
 
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All I can speak on is the computer. 1999 uses CCD bus and 2001 uses PCI bus, which are two different methods of transferring data from the PCM to your gauges and back. You can send the PCMs off to be programmed for auto/manual (Flyin Ryan, Hotwire Auto, Hemi Fever. Etc) but it’ll cost you. You can’t use an auto PCM with a manual (limp mode), and vise versa (torque converter won’t know when to lock up).

As far as I know, if you have a donor you should have everything you need. Transmission cooling lines will be different from 1999 vs. 2001 because the AC compressor moved from the top left the of the engine to the bottom right in 2000, which is right in the path of the lines. So you’ll need some cooling lines from an 00-02 wrangler.

There’s speculation that the wiring is already in place for the auto transmission. TJs are notorious for having and not having wiring for options they never came with (cruise control is the biggest example of that), so be prepared going into this that the auto wiring might not be present on your 01. If that’s the case, you’ll have to de-pin the auto wiring from the 99 and add it to your 01.

I guess I spoke on more than just the computer 🤣
 
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Im confident a 2001 will not start with a 99 PCM but i wont go into details until we understand why manuals are cooler than autos.
 
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Jamison C said:
All I can speak on is the computer. 1999 uses CCD bus and 2001 uses PCI bus, which are two different methods of transferring data from the PCM to your gauges and back. You can send the PCMs off to be programmed for auto/manual (Flyin Ryan, Hotwire Auto, Hemi Fever. Etc) but it’ll cost you. You can’t use an auto PCM with a manual (limp mode), and vise versa (torque converter won’t know when to lock up).

As far as I know, if you have a donor you should have everything you need. Transmission cooling lines will be different from 1999 vs. 2001 because the AC compressor moved from the top left the of the engine to the bottom right in 2000, which is right in the path of the lines. So you’ll need some cooling lines from an 00-02 wrangler.

There’s speculation that the wiring is already in place for the auto transmission. TJs are notorious for having and not having wiring for options they never came with (cruise control is the biggest example of that), so be prepared that the auto wiring might not be present on your 01.

I guess I spoke on more than just the computer 🤣
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The wiring for the auto when doing a manual swap is always there. The only thing that may be missing is the connector harness for the NSS and reverse light feed. Both of those are in the harness since the reverse light feed is used by the manual. The NSS circuit is also present since the manual uses that as well.
 
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mrblaine said:
The wiring for the auto when doing a manual swap is always there. The only thing that may be missing is the connector harness for the NSS and reverse light feed. Both of those are in the harness since the reverse light feed is used by the manual. The NSS circuit is also present since the manual uses that as well.
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My understanding is you will always need to make or purchase the auto nss harness.
 
mrblaine said:
The wiring for the auto when doing a manual swap is always there. The only thing that may be missing is the connector harness for the NSS and reverse light feed. Both of those are in the harness since the reverse light feed is used by the manual. The NSS circuit is also present since the manual uses that as well.
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Thank you for the clarification.
 
How big a leap is it to put a 32RH into a manual '03 Rubi.
 
AndyG said:
How big a leap is it to put a 32RH into a manual '03 Rubi.
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I put one in an 03 sport. Not a big deal if you understand Ohms law and what wires do. A rubi adds complexity. Factory lockers?
 
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