I am a frustrated 2003 Owner and need to replace the tranny. It seems that the 6 speeds are quite a bit cheaper. I know I will sacrifice MPG but would like to know if a swap is possible and what I may have to do to make it happen..... I know that some of you guys and gals are very knowledgeable about this stinkin 2003, please help me out....
Thanks,
Dave

 

With all the extra work you would have to do to swap to a 6 speed you'll end up spending more than if you would have stuck with a 5 speed. There is a thread on here with a looooooong list of other things that would need to be changed out as well.

 

Main advantage of changing from a 2003 5 speed (Midlands) transmission to a
6 speed is to avoid the unreliability of the somewhat failure prone Midlands unit.
Changing to a Getrag 5 speed is also a step up in terms of reliability, but either
way you need to change a lot of stuff to do the swap from Midlands to a Getrag
5-speed or Getrag 6-speed compared to swapping to another Midlands.
Extra parts include transmission mount, clutch, flywheel, axles, starter mounts, clutch slave and tubing, extend reverse switch harness, etc.

 

It will cost you more to put the 6spd in as you'll need the complete clutch and flywheel kit, shift cables, axles, mount, new intake, and a few other things.