Another note: if you have access to someone that can import an S/V40 specific m56 and associated parts like a pedal box, MANUAL ECM, flywheel and clutch/pressure plate, shifter assembly, master and slave cylinder from Europe, I would highly recommend going that route, as everything will bolt right up and you will save a fair yourself amount of headaches and time. However, if you would like to source all your parts in the US or have an m56 lying around like I did, this is the write-up for you!
Parts list:
Below is a list of everything I bought for this swap and where to get it, as well as all the custom mounts and pieces I made. This list may vary depending on what transmission you are using; my m56 was from a 1995 850 with a 20 tooth spline output shaft and a single mass flywheel with circular drilled holes instead of teeth for the engine speed sensor.
Buy New:
Volvo 850R 20 spline clutch and pressure plate – VIVA performance (SKU 272218)
Flywheel bolt 10 pack, manual transmission – VIVA Performance (SKU 9454743-10)
V40 clutch master cylinder – Ebay (Part #30611705)
Clutch release bearing – FCP Euro (Part #SAC-SB60120)
850 clutch hose/line – FCP Euro (Part #FTE-A544011)
Clutch Slave cylinder – IPD (Part #112959)
Redline trans fluid MTL, 2 quarts – IPD (Part #106979)
Rubber brake line – the clutch master cylinder connects to the brake reservoir and will have to be connected with rubber line, I got some 8mm EPDM line from a local euro shop. You can find some on Summit and other online stores
Source Used From 850:
M56 H or L transmission
Resurfaced Single Mass flywheel (the bolt pattern will match the crankshaft on the 1.9 and T4 engines and teeth will line up with the starter)
Brake and clutch pedal box (these will have to be cut up and adapted to the s/v40 pedal box)
shifter assembly including aluminum baseplate and cables
Keep From Your S/V40 or Buy New:
driver and passenger CV axles (the splines will fit into the m56 transmissions and are the correct lengths)
Auto transmission PNP switch (To trick the auto ECM into thinking its in park)
Lower front and rear transmission chassis mounts (these will bolt up to the older style m56’s, not sure about later versions)
DIY Components:
Custom clutch and brake pedals – made from 850 pedals and S/V40 Pedal box
Aluminum adapter plate for m56 shifter assembly
Driver side frame rail transmission mount – You will need to buy a steel sleeve and bushing for this. I found one on Ruffstuffspecialties.com (Bushed DOM Sleeve, Part #
Additional Parts: While these are not necessary for the swap, I would recommend replacing these parts while you have the engine and transmission out of the car.
- Rear Main seal
- m56 output seals
- intake and exhaust manifold gaskets
- exhaust studs and bolts
- Turbo drain pipe seal kit
- turbo oil inlet/outlet banjo bolts
- turbo coolant return hose
Removing Automatic Transmission:
Torque Spec Quick Reference:
Flywheel bolts – 45nm + 65 degrees
Pressure plate – 25nm
Bellhousing bolts – 50nm
While it is possible to do this with the engine in the car (look at the noodle swap forums on volvospeed) I would highly recommend removing the entire engine and transmission assembly, as you will have way more room to correctly install the flywheel, clutch and pressure plate, and it will be exponentially easier to install the transmission.
Another good note to have here, the drivers side cv axle has a lock ring inside that will prevent you from pulling it straight out. I found it easiest to insert a pickle fork between the transmission and inner cv cup and slowly hammer it out. It should come out fairly easily this way.
Once you have the auto transmission fluid drained and the engine/trans have been pulled from the car, remove all the bellhousing bolts and pull off the auto transmission. Undo the torque converter bolts in a clockwise pattern and remove that as well as the auto flywheel. at this point if you can remove and install a new rear main seal. Next, install the 850 flywheel with the manual trans bolts (do not reuse the auto hardware) and torque to 45nm + 65 degrees in a crosswise pattern. Align the clutch and install the pressure plate, tightening the bolts in a crosswise pattern to 25nm. At this point you can reinstall clutch release bearing and fork, then install the transmission and torque all the trans bolts to 50nm. Because the m56 has bolt holes that are threaded differently than the auto transmission, the trans bolts will not go in exactly the same way they came out, at least in my case, and you may have to put a couple bolts in a different direction or will have to use a different length than originally for any particular hole. Lastly, install the clutch slave cylinder and finally, the starter.
Image of Volvo 850 Flywheel bolted to engine:
Image of 850R pressure plate/clutch installed:
Image of m56 bolted to engine:
Interior Components/Shifter Linkage:
Before reinstalling the engine and trans, I would recommend putting in the shifter assembly and installing the master cylinder, which requires putting a hole in the firewall. Start by removing the plastic center console and all the associated buttons, carpet console sides, plastic trim around/below the steering wheel, and the old shifter mechanism which will have one shift cable going through the firewall and one going to the steering column (this is the shift lock mechanism I believe, you don’t need it for the manual swap). there is a small metal plate under the dash on the firewall on the drivers side that you will have to painstakingly unbolt in order to get the shift cable out. after this, remove the 8 bolts for the pedal box, disconnect the throttle cable and brake master cylinder, at which point you should be able to move the pedal box around. unbolt the upper steering column ( 4 bolts right below the steering wheel) in order to finagle that damn pedal box out from under the dash. At this point, everything should be removed and ready to start installing manual parts.
DISCLAIMER: I ended up making my own manual and brake pedals by cutting up the 850 pedals and welding them to parts of the original pedal box. I also made my own mounting bracket for the clutch pedal. If you want to do this step more legitimately and using OEM parts, you could find a v40 manual pedal box (make sure its left hand drive) from europe, ebay, etc. to use, and everything else in this thread will still apply.
Clutch Master Cylinder:
In the engine bay, remove the brake booster pump and other components in the drivers side corner so the firewall to the right of the brake booster is clear. There is an indent in the metal the same shape as the clutch master cylinder that you will drill a pilot hole into the center off. Then draw a small circle around the pilot hole the same diameter as the master cylinder piston and rubber shield. using a dremel, small drilled holes or another method, cut out that circle. next, mock up the master cylinder and drill the two bolt holes on either side. The master cylinder should then be able to slide into place and be bolted in with stainless M6 hardware.
Pedal Box: This process is mostly by feel depending on where you want your clutch and brake pedal to go/look.
Brake Pedal – There are two methods to do this. You can either just cut the left side of the pedal surface and leave the rest of the brake pedal alone, or you can cut off the auto pedal surface completely, cut the lower third of the 850 pedal off and weld it to the v40 brake pedal mechanism to move the brake pedal closer to the center of the footwell between the clutch and gas. This process was pretty straight forward, but be sure to leave room for the steering column and don’t put the brake pedal surface too far to the right. Once that’s done you can reinstall the pedal box under the car. The finished product will look like this:
Clutch Pedal – I started by unbolting both 850 pedals from the bracket and cutting out the spindle the pedals rotate on, making it long enough for the clutch pedal to be right in front of the clutch master cylinder fork. next, remove the plastic bushings from the clutch pedal, and cut off a section of the pipe from the brake pedal and weld it to the right side of the clutch pedal. You will then have to make an extension off the clutch pedal to bolt the clutch master cylinder to out of 3/8″ steel plate. The end result of the clutch pedal installed should like like fig 1. Next, drill a hole into the top left side of the bare metal pedal box thats large enough to pass an m8 bolt through. Take some 3/16″ aluminum plate and make a 90 degree bent bracket with the same size hole drilled about 2.75″ down. run a long bolt through these brackets and the clutch pedal. While this is not the cleanest solution to a clutch pedal, it works well enough for me and is more than adequate strength wise.
Fig 1:
Adding on a bracket to connect to the clutch master cylinder from the pedal:
Shifter assembly:
Start by cutting off the rubber firewall grommet from the shifter cable on the 850 assembly. You can then take the metal plate and grommet from the V40 assembly and manhandle it on to the 850 shifter cables. After this, thread the cable under the dash and through the firewall the same way the auto cable was routed, and spend way too much time bolting the metal plate and rubber grommet back on to the firewall. The 850 aluminum base-plate bolt holes are close to the v40 holes, but don’t quite line up. to remedy this, I made a plate out of 3/16″ aluminum with four holes that lined up with the v40 bolt holes and 4 threaded holes that lined up with the 850 base plate (fig 2). I bolted the baseplate down to the center console first, then bolted the 850 shifter assembly on top with stainless M6 hardware (fig 3).
Fig 2:
Fig 3:
Finished photo of the interior:
