Has anyone ever converted their Sidekick from an automatic to standard shift? If so how difficult is it.

This is a frequently asked question in many forums, and the answer is almost always the same - sell what you have and buy what you want.

Here's the reason why ...

To do the job properly you're going to need quite obviously, the manual transmission, from a 2WD, if that's what you have, or a 4WD, if that's what you have, clutch, flywheel, pedals, drive shafts, differentials, possibly the ECU along with the engine harness (depends on which automatic was fitted), the early OBDI automatic ECU would run the manual transmission engines, I'm not sure about the OBDII which is what your 96 will have, along with a ton of little fiddly bits - console, interior trim, etc., and then you need to find somebody willing to put the hours in to swap everything over.  It's not difficult, but it is time consuming.

The easy way to get everything you need, without spending your weekends hunting for stuff in junk yards, and paying through the nose for it, is to get a "donor" vehicle, now if you're lucky you can find a donor that's a statutory insurance write off, that's in useable condition and get it cheap, or maybe you can find a donor with a dead engine, but beyond those two scenarios, you would want to find a donor in decent condition to guarantee a transmission in good condition, and at that point, you might as well just drive the donor and sell your car.

Thanks for the help. I do have a vehicle that is a 95 Sidekick 4x4 with all the parts and only 37,000 miles on it. Something to think about. Thanks.

If you plan on swapping stuff from a 95 to a 96 or vice versa, watch out for the OBDI/OBDII differences.

Like Fordem said, this question is asked often. I am not sure if we have seen more than one 4x2 to 4x4  conversion completed.

Like Fordem said, this question is asked often. I am not sure if we have seen more than one 4x2 to 4x4  conversion completed.

I've done at least three 2wd to 4wd conversions. I just didn't post them on here.

I haven't done an auto to manual or manual to auto conversion though. Kinda looked into it and took a few measurements several years ago. From what I recall, the hole in the top of the tranny tunnel is in a slightly different spot between and auto and manual. Not sure if the hole would need to be cut differently to accept the manual shifter setup or not.
Most other things that Fordem mentioned needs to be considered. The driveshafts may work depending if you are working on and your donor are both 2 doors or 4 doors. But since you have a donor (and if it is the same body style, 2 door or 4 door, as your donor) you'll have the driveshafts you need if the original ones won't work.
I would doubt the wiring would need to be changed. Although, it may throw a check engine light if your 96 is a 4 door, since the autos in them are computer controlled and might not like not seeing the auto tranny connections.
The axle gears are probably different ratios between the two you have, so ideally you would want the axle gears out of the donor. Good thing is trackicks use drop out thirds, so they are easy to swap. The 96 will have 26 spline front axle shafts on the third side. The 95 will have 22 spline. So you'll need to swap out the whole right side front axleshaft and the inner axleshaft (the one that goes inside the axle housing) on the left side.

Yeah, the auto select hole is back slightly from the manual shift hole. It will work but your boot will be a little pinched at the front (can't really see it) Everything is is good. Hanging the pedal assembly is a snap and there's a hole for the clutch cable already there.

It is easy mechanically... On the computer, I'd give it a go. Even though it's OBD2 it's pretty primative and I think it may through a light but it won't go into a limp mode or anything like that.

-Eric

I've done at least three 2wd to 4wd conversions. I just didn't post them on here.

I haven't done an auto to manual or manual to auto conversion though. Kinda looked into it and took a few measurements several years ago. From what I recall, the hole in the top of the tranny tunnel is in a slightly different spot between and auto and manual. Not sure if the hole would need to be cut differently to accept the manual shifter setup or not.
Most other things that Fordem mentioned needs to be considered. The driveshafts may work depending if you are working on and your donor are both 2 doors or 4 doors. But since you have a donor (and if it is the same body style, 2 door or 4 door, as your donor) you'll have the driveshafts you need if the original ones won't work.
I would doubt the wiring would need to be changed. Although, it may throw a check engine light if your 96 is a 4 door, since the autos in them are computer controlled and might not like not seeing the auto tranny connections.
The axle gears are probably different ratios between the two you have, so ideally you would want the axle gears out of the donor. Good thing is trackicks use drop out thirds, so they are easy to swap. The 96 will have 26 spline front axle shafts on the third side. The 95 will have 22 spline. So you'll need to swap out the whole right side front axleshaft and the inner axleshaft (the one that goes inside the axle housing) on the left side.