5 speed trans swap tips

[LouieD]

There's no need to do a step by step as there are plenty of great write-ups on this and other forums. But there are a couple of details that I thought I'd share from things learned along the way.

Parts list

When collecting your parts make sure to grab this little jumper. It replaces your starter relay and makes for a clean factory install. Just swap it and your done. The car will start and no messing with wires at the shift selector switch.


Here it is installed in place of the starter relay used by the automatics.


Another item worth mentioning is this little spacer. It sits between the flywheel and the bolts. It helps spread the load of the bolt heads and prevents galling of the flywheel. Make sure to get this if you are sourcing parts from different places. This spacer is only used on the single mass flywheels.


Another small detail that could be a major headache is the pilot bearing. M50's use the larger ID bearing. It would suck to press the wrong one in, it would suck even more to try and install the trans into it. I caught the would be problem before hand.


Along with the above mentioned pilot bearing is the clutch alignment tool. This may only be an issue in a case like mine where I used an m20 clutch kit because of my flywheel choice. So wrap the end in electrical tape to match the ID of the larger bearing. Then your disk will be properly aligned.



Don't forget to grab this little reverse light harness. Make sure it has the square rubber boot.


You can use the plug that was used by the sensor mounted in the tail shaft of the auto trans. It fits the reverse light switch perfectly.


Splice the plug onto the reverse light harness and the finished product should look like this.


The other end of the harness can use the plug from the shift interlock solenoid off the old a/t selector. Snip that off the solenoid and splice that into the reverse light wires from the car's harness. PnP. Here it is installed in the trans tunnel. Notice the other plug. It came off the a/t main harness. I cut the end off the harness and slid the boot off it. Then I took a rubber plug and sealed the hole. Popped it in place and 'voila. I later rotated these away from each other for more clearance for the 5 speed.


My car is a 92 and has the provisions for the front trans mounts. Luckily so did my trans. Some say that this front trans mount is not required, but I like the fact that 4 mounts will be supporting the trans instead of 2. Also if I remove the engine the trans is self supported. The problem is that the U shaped bracket from the auto will not work on the 5 speed and the 5 speed part is NLA. Hard to come by at the yards too. So I modified mine.

There is a large bump that needs to be removed. Quick work with a cut off wheel and a flapper wheel to clean up the burrs. Yes that is a genuine Harbor Freight $14.99 grinder.


Next I sized it up...


Then I welded in a fender washer taking care to line up the hole as needed.


On the back side I added a couple of washers to match the rise of the other side. This way the mount sits perfectly flat on the trans. Ugly welds but they'll hold



A perfect fit.


Here's the trans fully supported and ready for the motor.


Next I messed around with fabbing up a DSSR. I couldn't justify the $$$ for the beautiful UUC piece so a made something up out of some scrap, two square nuts, threaded rod and some washers. The threaded rod allowed me to hold everything together and gave me extra weight in the rod.


I welded the nuts inside the larger tubing, threaded everything together and used the factory selector rod to measure prior to drilling the holes. Here it is mocked up prior to fully welding it. I wanted to use bolts with lock nuts so I can dial in how much drag will be on the rod. I can leave it floppy loose for a factory feel, or tighten it up a bit and give it a notchy feeling. I have it somewhere in the middle and it feels mechanical but smooth and very positive. (notice the rubber plugs have been rotated for clearance.)


I also eliminated the rubber bushing at the trans shift arm.


Here it is pressed into the arm with the pin ready to install.


...on the trans and ready to go. Notice the reverse light wire harness running across the top of the trans.


That's it. I'm all out of things to type.
Thanks.

[Steve547i]

This thread is amazing. Thank You Louie!

[TouringDan]

Nice~!

[sfgearhead]

Very Nice. The devil is in the details, this is the kind of stuff that's gold. Of course I'm missing a few of these pieces like the reverse hardness and plug., I wonder if they're similar across all manual e34's.

[russiankid]

I don't have that spacer you're referring to, and neither did my auto setup.

[LouieD]

This thread is amazing. Thank You Louie!

Thanks, hope it helps.

Nice~!

Thank you.

Very Nice. The devil is in the details, this is the kind of stuff that's gold. Of course I'm missing a few of these pieces like the reverse hardness and plug., I wonder if they're similar across all manual e34's.

Thanks. The reverse harness I used came from an 89 m20 manual car, so they might be all the same.

I don't have that spacer you're referring to, and neither did my auto setup.

The auto's don't use it. It's strictly a manual trans item for the single mass fw. I'll edit the above post to reflect it. Thanks for pointing it out.

[darrenforeal]

Louie....once again you are awesome. I can't wait to do my swap. August needs to come sooner!

Does your offer still stand for helping me find a lift and air tools and help busting out the swap over a long weekend?

[Racerhoze]

Hmmm, so if I swap my 535 from a dual mass to the single mass out of an e28 535, then I will require that spacer?

[MaxSteel]

Damn this is awesome. I hope I can grow the balls to do my own swap. Maybe once I go through the process of collecting all the parts.

[LouieD]

Hmmm, so if I swap my 535 from a dual mass to the single mass out of an e28 535, then I will require that spacer?

According to www.realoem.com yes. http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...11&fg=20&hl=25

Same spacer. (shim is what the ETK calls it) p/n 11221262827.

[Racerhoze]

According to www.realoem.com yes. http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...11&fg=20&hl=25

Same spacer. (shim is what the ETK calls it) p/n 11221262827.

Well, I am glad I saw this thread in that case!

[paulmer]

Well done sir!

[357]

Great tips! The pictures are very informative. They certainly would have helped me in a couple spots, even though the swap I did was on an M60.

[jel]

Louie, thanks for more great details & pics.

[zubbie]

Now that's an informative post. I'd vote but the option is gone!

[LouieD]

Well, I am glad I saw this thread in that case!

Glad to be of help.

Well done sir!

Thank you.

Great tips! The pictures are very informative. They certainly would have helped me in a couple spots, even though the swap I did was on an M60.

Thank you very much. For me, even if a thread does not directly apply to my situation, it may get me thinking in the right direction. I hope my posts do the same for others.

Louie, thanks for more great details & pics.

Thank you for the kind words.

Now that's an informative post. I'd vote but the option is gone!

Thanks, it's the thought that counts.

I've edited the first post to include a link to a PDF with my particular parts list. If anyone knows a good place to host an excel spreadsheet let me know, and I'll do that as well. Thanks to RussianKid for the idea to put together a spreadsheet parts list. It became a great tool to keep track of my parts and expenses.

[russiankid]

Thanks, hope it helps.

Thank you.

Thanks. The reverse harness I used came from an 89 m20 manual car, so they might be all the same.

The auto's don't use it. It's strictly a manual trans item for the single mass fw. I'll edit the above post to reflect it. Thanks for pointing it out.

Oh ok, single mass. I have dual so that is why I don't have that nor does it show up on realoem.

[AHenry014]

im LOVIN the DSSR, ive been wanting to do this as well, and will once i order up a 545i shifter. where do you acquire the brass bushing there?

[sfgearhead]

I've edited the first post to include a link to a PDF with my particular parts list. If anyone knows a good place to host an excel spreadsheet let me know, and I'll do that as well. Thanks to RussianKid for the idea to put together a spreadsheet parts list. It became a great tool to keep track of my parts and expenses.

How about Google docs?

[AHenry014]

also, are those cubelike white pieces bushings? mo pictars of dssr!

[LouieD]

im LOVIN the DSSR, ive been wanting to do this as well, and will once i order up a 545i shifter. where do you acquire the brass bushing there?

I picked up two bushings at OSH hardware and sized/pressed them together to make one. Then I sized that to the arm and the pin. Would have been super easy if I had access to a machine shop, but it was all done by hand.

How about Google docs?

Thanks, I'll look into that.

also, are those cubelike white pieces bushings? mo pictars of dssr!

The shiny piece (reflected flash) and the one next to it are the square nuts that fit into the larger square tubing. I'm going to make another one just for the sake of practice and write up. I didn't want to put out too much information on it until I had a chance to drive mine around a bit, but 250 miles later it still feels great. My son drove my touring the other day and loved it. He wants one for his e30.

[AHenry014]

very nice, looking forward to the writeup!

[mtg729]

Did nobody else find connecting the hard line to the master cyl on the fire wall a huge PITA?

Would that shim that goes in between flywheel and bolts cause the starter not to crank? I am currently having that issue with my car right now and I know I didnt use that spacer.

[LouieD]

Did nobody else find connecting the hard line to the master cyl on the fire wall a huge PITA?

Would that shim that goes in between flywheel and bolts cause the starter not to crank? I am currently having that issue with my car right now and I know I didnt use that spacer.

The hard line off the clutch master is a real PITA, and I had the engine out! The shim should not cause any issues in your situation as it does not locate or change the position of the flywheel.

[mtg729]

The hard line off the clutch master is a real PITA, and I had the engine out! The shim should not cause any issues in your situation as it does not locate or change the position of the flywheel.

Lol so did I. I actually have to take it back out. I think this time im just going to cut a 11mm craftsman wrench so it will clear the brake booster and steering column.

I am still stumped as well on my issue. I had if rigged up like a M20 with the battery in the front. Im going to do a m30 setup with it under the rear and check a few other things over.