*DIY Swapping Auto to manual in my m50 525iT

[attack eagle]

DIY 5 speed swap

First, I would like to offer my public thanks to members Mr. Project and TouringDan for their excellent writeups. In each case, the transmission swaps were a portion of their very involved driveline swaps and the coverage was invaluable.
Please ALSO read over the below links if you are considering this swap:

Mr Project
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=554106

TouringDan
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=729157

And this thread has some good pictorial of stuff i didnt have the time or ability to show due to my
work environment and time constraints
http://www.bmwe34.net/E34main/Upgrade/5speedswap.htm


I would also like to give a public thanks and recommendation to member Xmon.
Anytime I have ever needed a part, Xmon has always come thru for me at very reasonable prices, and with exceptionally quick service. Everything I get from him is extremely well packaged, shipped promptly, and I don't pay thru the nose. I strongly recommend him for your used parts needs...
things he has found for me:
connectors for my smilies
reverse sockets for my rear fogs
rear maplights
the entire driveline and pedalbox assembly from a 3/92 525i for the current swap.

For the record, my auto transmission went down oct 31st. the entire driveline was sourced, pulled, shipped, and arrived on my doorstep within 10 days of giving him the go ahead to look for it.
If that isn't exceptional service, I dunno what is.

I would also like to thank Herb for an extremely well packaged and quick shipment on the OEM flywheel, clutch, and PP.



Thanks now being concluded, Let me explain what exactly this swap will entail and include...


EDIT: after numerous requests, here is a breakdown of what you need to get.
I will try to keep this generic enough to help m20 m30 and m60 also



Stuff that has to match the trans type:
(on m50s, 91-92= zf, or 93-95 = getrag)

complete trans shifter assembly, guibo, full driveshaft, new DS nuts, complete exhaust hanger,
transmission, trans mounts, trans x-member, slave, slave hardline, Throwout bearing,input shaft bearing, probably the reverse switch wire harness

Stuff from any manual e34:
pedal box, master, master hardlines + softlines. shifter mount, console plate and boot. Grommets for the master-firewall, and the ones in the trans tunnel (one is on the harness, the other I reused the auto and plugged it with window-weld, 3rd is for the manual lever)

Stuff that has to match the engine:
flywheel, flywheel bolts (dual mass and single mass are different), clutch disc and PP. clutch alignment tool.

Stuff that has to match the engine and trans:
yes, the differential. (3.23 for example was ONLY on m50 manuals)


note there are numerous bolts that I don;t have 5 hours to list. they are on the parts car you should get, or the junkyard car you took the parts off of. take them too. basically if it is attached to the trans, or to something attached to the trans, you need it. if it is between the crank, and the Diff's output flanges, you need it.


Goal 1:
Replace GM France auto transmission with a zf310, replace auto pedal box with manual pedal box, replace complete auto transmission driveshaft with manual driveshaft to avoid any rebalancing.

Goal 2:
Replace 4.10 LSD with 3.23 LSD, install new output seals on the 3.23LSD, clean up housing.

My ultimate goal is to:
A: get the car back up and running as soon as possible.
B: minimize the number of changes at one time to more easily facilitate diagnosing any issues
C: document more thoroughly the details of the actual transmission swap so others can more easily replicate it




Goal 1:

Step 1: Electronic trickery
A: enable removal of the assorted electronics while permitting the car to start without the gearshift sensor in N or P.
B: disable Trans program error, disable Gear indicator display, enable removal of trans computer.
C: Find wires for reverse so the manual switch can be connected, and the reverse lights will work
D: Figure out how to connect cruise to clutch pedal switch so it will deactivate

Status- Step 1 a,b,& c -Complete-

Goal 1 Step 1 A:

reference following discussion of 92 and 94 differences, plus alternate start relay wiring options.


See here for info on later cars with the relocated start inhibit switch

The starter relay will need to be replaced with a jumper wire from terminal #30 to terminal #87, the terminals are numbered on the underside of the existing relay. Note that the car will now start in any gear with or without the clutch pedal depressed.

See the picture of my test jumper. I did this to make sure I was interpreting the above quote correctly.




pins #2 and #6 on the relay socket itself


It is a good visual reference but I would not recommend you do this as a permanent fix:
For a more permanent fix I pulled the relay socket and joined the two Heavy gauge black w/ yellow wires underneath... cause I didn't have the manual 'relay'.

YOu can save yourself some time and just get a manual "relay" and plug it in. the manual "relay" isn't a relay at all, it has two prongs and simply jumpers the two connectors together, just like I did in the picture above with a piece of wire.



see this thread, page 2 for yet another alternate that Xmon came up with...


Goal 1 Step 1 B:

Best place to ground the CC pin is at the splice connector called X511 (black, ~ 12 pin) in front of the gear shift. Pull pin #10, I think it is, from the body side connector. Convenient place to ground it is to remove pin...#5, I think it is...from the A/M manual switch connector. I pop each end into a factory harness connector, plug them together and it looks factory.

I pulled the Trans computer... (EGS), unplugged the A/M and gear selector switch and after doing this (bold in the quote above) it's all good... It comes up "[S] [ ]" for about 10-15 seconds then the lights go out. this is a solution I can live with.


NOTE: The transmission computer is in the right kick panel on tourings, not under the hood.



Btw I simply replaced the socket side of pin 10 with a ground socket from the blue A/M switch connector. I then reconnected the x511 connector.
SO in conclusion...x511 on the pin side was #10 grey wire as normal, but socket side #10 was a brown ground. This was easier to me than pulling them both out into a new connector as lowell suggested.



Goal 1 Step 1 C:

OK, here is where I found the wires for the reverse switch.
They are listed in the wiring diagrams as being 6 and 7 on x511. I found them elsewhere so I did not bother with checking x511...

I used the black 8 pin connector that formerly went into the gear selector switch (In layman's terms: the big long white doohickey that sits just to the right of the gear selector). The wires in question are located on pins 6 and 7 (big surprise... right pins, wrong connector #?) . The factory gear selector bridged these two wires together to trigger the reverse lights, undim the rearview mirror, and also trigger the auto dipping external mirror if the car were so optioned.
Therefore when I install the transmission, I will simply extend the manual's reverse switch harness into the interior as suggested by Shrike071, and connect those two wires to pin 6&7. When in reverse the tranny switch will close, bridging the two pins and triggering all reverse functions.

EDIT: 01 01 08 Hint: the old plug from the clutch switch bypass (that you removed) is a perfect fit for the manual's reverse switch harness, if you grabbed it with the trans.
You can cut the looped wire on the plug, and wire the two ends into the auto's reverse wires, and it will plug right into the Manual transmision's harness

Goal 1 Step 1 D:

Completed...
According to Xmon and Lowell I had it already installed and simply needed to connect it to the switch after removing the jumper.
Thanks again fellows. Removed the Jumper and it plugged right in to the switch.


see new use for the jumper below...






We discussed shift levers in this thread:
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=864518
Very educational for those of you considering a lever swap to shorten the throw.

I originally decided to go with a z3 1.9 as my car will be driven by my wife (not an experienced manual driver) on rare occasions.
This is the same reason (besides budget) I decided on using the dual mass and oem clutch setup.

I later decided to be smart and keep the oem lever and instead buy a new clutch master with the money.

GOAL 1
STEP 2: Pedal Box

Picture will come later.

Auto pedal box is out. Pretty easy job, and not nearly as difficult as it was made out to be.

Remove wood trim, then remove hidden screws from lower dash section, as well as remaining screws. (phillips screwdriver)

Remove lower dash.
Remove knee bolster with a 10mm socket



Remove dash undertray

Unplug all the electrical connectors, and don't forget the SRS (airbag) connector.




I removed the lower shaft by undoing the single bolt on the upper spline section, then driving it off the upper splines and pulling it off the lower splines. Gave me instant easy access with the grinder to knock the head off the "unremovable bolt" and get the upper column off easily. Downside of this is that I will have to reindex the shaft, and/or steering wheel on reassembly. fair trade off i think.





Once the upper shaft is separated, it is easy to pull the upper column out of the car...



All the plugs are different colors and pin counts so the only concern is making sure you unplug the SRS (airbag) connector.
All the bolts and nuts are 13mm.


Once the upper column was out, removing the pedal box was as simple as removing the bolts, pulling the clips that retain the throttle bar and pulling it out out of the pedal box. then unclip the brake pedal and knock the pin out, and you have a loose pedal box ready for removal!
ANd yes I left the pedals hung.





Total time <2 hours. Probably closer to 60 minutes to remove it.

About to go bolt the manual pedal box into the car. Be back shortly.

OK back: Took all of 20 minutes to bolt the new pedal box in place.
PUll the throttle bar down and tuck the box behind it.
USe the 4 nuts around the brake pedal rod to pull the box up and into place squarely... once it gets close, Start the upper bolts but do not tighten them.

Once all 4 are cinched down, the top two would be next followed by the single bolt near the bottom.
Once all 7 are cinched down, the spring for the throttle bar is next. you need to start the end that goes into the pedal box while holding the loop end up, once both side are on, put the bushings into place on the pedal box, then sit in the seat and push each side home with your feet. Attach the clip over the pedal bar, and...
YOU ARE DONE!!!

Just have to reinstall the steering column and reconnect the wiring.




Well finally some under car progress.

Got the exhaust dropped, and just got the heatshield down so I cna finally get to the stuff i need to.


Tools you will need:

10 racheting box for the smaller under manifold heatshield bolts

11 mm and 12mm sockets for the larger under manifold heatshield.

13mm socket and extension for the rear muffler "brackets"

13 and 12 mm box wrench for the middle section.

13mm box and 13 mm socket for the front pipe holder

14mm socket and long extension for the pipe to manifold nuts
you may need a deep well 14 for a couple of them. I did.
A 36" breaker bar will make short work of breaking them loose


13mm socket and short extension for the driveshaft tunnel heat shield

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DRIVESHAFT REMOVAL:

Put new output seals in the 3.23LSD following the instructions from www.bmwe34.net.
Be careful that the seal puller doesn't gouge the walls. you want to pull on the TOP of the seal, not the edge.
I used a hammer and my largest socket (1 1/4" but still not big enough) to start it square and moving constantly around the edge to drive the seal in. any touch up if it got a little tilted I did with a wooden handle.

Then I got the Driveshaft out
18mm for the Guibo bolts/nuts
36" breaker bar to the rescue again... though for a few minutes I wondered if even that was going to be enough.

everything else was 13mm, except the bolt used to split the shaft.
That one was a 17mm.

TIP: break that sucker lose before you take the shaft out... or else you will wind up putting it back in the car with the auto in Park to be able to break it loose.

I checked the rear cv flange of the auto DS on the 3.23... they have a different bolt circle diameter, so it looks like I will definitely have to go immediately to the 3.23LSD to fit the new 5 speed shaft.

I don't want to run the 4.10 LSD as I originally planned because of vibration concerns.
It would require me to mix in match my old rear shaft with the new 5 speed front shaft.
Supposedly they are independently balanced and if you get the PHASE correct you will be ok, but... key word SUPPOSEDLY.
Bettter to run the matched shaft and do the diff at teh same time...
Xmon marked the 'new' shaft before splitting it so I might as well do it all at once.

NOW to learn how to R&R the center support bearing after splitting the shaft.

Thank god for bentleys!


BTW: I think I have come up with an elegant solution for the output shafts... might work, might not, maybe someone knows.
I had a hell of a time trying to break the outboard side loose when I did the kmacs in march, even had one round out requiring an air hammer and chisel blade carefully applied to the outer edge get it to break free, and of course immediate replacement of that one.

SO since the outboards are already broken loose and i can get them off again, I am thinking it MIGHT be possible to take the outboards off, and pull the output shafts and flanges as an assembly, then stab them into the 3.23. This also avoids my current concern over getting it upthere only to find out THEY are different too.
(May sounds crazy, but I only recently heard of varying sized input flanges on the final drive for auto and 5 speed variants, and to immediately find the issue on my own swap makes me paranoid about everything else).

Final thoughts for the night.

Man it is some nasty work and a real pita, but I feel a real sense of pride in being able to say "I did it all myself, in my own garage, with no lift and no air tools..."
And if I can do it, then so can you.





Guys: got the auto diff out this afternoon.
EASY...

My Idea worked fine, and I was able to remove the flange and output shaft together after lifting the suspension a couple of inches for clearance.

I only did this because I had so much trouble getting the outboard side loose last march, and the inners are even harder to get to. I didn't want to round one out again.

only 3 19mm bolts to remove the diff. Crazy.

drain and fill plugs are 14mm allens.
I couldn't get the fill plug out since I don't have one so I filled mine with 1.7 liters of mobil 75/90 thru the drain plug that Xmon had already loosened. After all what is a few more ounces when dealing with a 90 lb centersection? then I was able to use a 14mm headed bolt and a nut to TIGHTEN the drain plug.

i swapped the speed sensors just to be on the safe side, and put the old one in the old diff which i will keep along with the rear shaft just incase I ever need or feel the urge to put the 4.10 back in.

My take... lowered the diff to better reach the safety wire, then raised it back up to easier pull the plug.
once the diff was out a 1/4 drive 10mm socket up top and an offset box end 10mm on the lower.

And yes guys, the manual diffs do have a different flange than the autos, so get the complete shaft if doing a swap. you need the front half for the length, and the back half forthe manual diff flange... unless you are not swapping thediffs over... and you should.



tomorrow am got to call patrick.
I want my car done by the 8th as there is a euro show 12pm on the 9th and I'd like to debut it then, as well as cruise it with Strictly EA afterwards. This weekend will be spent writing papers unfortunately, but as of tuesday 4th I'm done with all but finals.

Still no shift knob sourced. I'm torn between holding out for a good used m technic stripe (not ///m) 5 speed illuminated knob (NLA from that I can tell), or a universal. I do like round knobs...


Decided that it would be wiser to live with the stock shift lever for now, and instead spend the money on a new clutch master. Better safe than sorry















Here you can see how I pulled the column apart to access the irremovable bolt.
To me it was easier this way, but there are several ways of accomplishing the same thing.
lowell 's way, shrike071 's way, xmon's /mr project's way...








Here you can see that you do not have to take the throttle pedal etc off the bar. Just pop the bar out of the lower column, and pull it down out of the way when removing the lower column.





I'll move stuff around later,



Well finally some under car progress.

Got the exhaust dropped, and just got the heatshield down so I cna finally get to the stuff i need to.


Tools you will need:

10 racheting box for the smaller heatshield bolts

11 mm and 12mm sockets for the larger heat shield.

13mm socket and extension for the rear muffler "brackets"

13 and 12 mm box wrench for the middle section.

13mm box and 13 mm socket for the front pipe holder

14mm socket and long extension for the pipe to manifold nuts
you may need a deep well 14 for a couple of them. I did.
A 36" breaker bar will make short work of breaking them loose


13mm socket and short extension for the heat shield



not much accomplished tonight, sorry.
Decided to spend some time with the Family enjoying "Monday Movie Night" since I spent a lot of time last night under the car.

Put new output seals in the 3.23LSD following the instructions from www.bmwe34.net. be careful that the seal puller doesn't gouge the walls. you want to pull on the TOP of the seal, not the edge.
I used a hammer and my largest socket (1 1/4" but still not big enough) to start it square and moving constantly around the edge to drive the seal in. any touch up if it got a little tilted I did with a wooden handle.

Then I got the Driveshaft out
18mm for the Guibo bolts/nuts
36" breaker bar to the rescue again... though for a few minutes I wondered if even that was going to be enough.

everything else was 13mm, except the bolt used to split the shaft.
That one was a 17mm.

TIP: break that sucker lose before you take the shaft out... or else you will wind up putting it back in the car with the auto in Park to be able to break it loose.

I checked the rear cv flange of the auto DS on the 3.23... they have a different bolt circle diameter, so it looks like I will definitely have to go immediately to the 3.23LSD to fit the new 5 speed shaft.

I don't want to run the 4.10 LSD as I originally planned because of vibration concerns.
It would require me to mix in match my old rear shaft with the new 5 speed front shaft. Supposedly they are independently balanced and if you get the PHASE correct you will be ok, but... key word SUPPOSEDLY. Bettter to run the matched shaft and do the diff at teh same time...
Xmon marked the 'new' shaft before splitting it so I might as well do it all at once.

NOW to learn how to R&R the center support bearing after splitting the shaft.

Thank god for bentleys!


BTW: I think I have come up with an elegant solution for the output shafts... might work, might not, maybe someone knows.
I had a hell of a time trying to break the outboard side loose when I did the kmacs in march, even had one round out requiring an air hammer and chisel blade carefully applied to the outer edge get it to break free, and of course immediate replacement of that one.

SO since the outboards are already broken loose and i can get them off again, I am thinking it MIGHT be possible to take the outboards off, and pull the output shafts and flanges as an assembly, then stab them into the 3.23. This also avoids my current concern over getting it upthere only to find out THEY are differnt too.
(May sounds crazy, but I only recently heard of varying sized input flanges on the final drive for auto and 5 speed variants, and to immediately find the issue on my own swap makes me paranoid about everything else).

Final thoughts for the night.

Man it is some nasty work and a real pita, but I feel a real sense of pride in being able to say "I did it all myself, in my own garage, with no lift and no air tools..."
And if I can do it, then so can you.

[attack eagle]

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[attack eagle]

fff

[attack eagle]

ok that is enough room (I hope) so I can list everything upfront and make it more legible for everyone, instead of people having to sift thru posts.

[romeox929]

nice, very nice write-up..subscribed. not like i would try anything like this. haha

[attack eagle]

that is what i said in shrike's thread... you just cursed yourself.

[E34N]

subscribed.. possibly doing this soon..

[DaveCN]

subscribed - I am assembling my parts now for this swap - using a getrag and its a 94, but this should be of great assistance.

[Analog]

Hopefully I will be at this point sometime at the near future. Great compilation of information btw.

[Jonny525]

subscribed! ... I hope to be doing this some time soon as well. I've got the trans already, but I've been putting it off for a while. My plan is some time next spring (when i can ride my bike (motorcycle) to work).
I like how clean, and informative your right up is already!! keap up the good work!!

[Jonny525]

btw; how much did you pay for your peddle box, and master/slave cylenders?

[andrewcconti]

Interested in the process although will probably follow SkateParks lead and have Euro Depot do my swap.

[brosher]

Another great swap thread for me to reference! This place is the best!

I contacted Euro Depot and they said E34 kits are the hot item right now. They are taking deposits for the kits out 2 months. I think it is in large part due to the great write ups on the forum.

[TouringDan]

Thanks for the kudos, AE. I am glad that thread is one that 'won't die'.

For others that are considering the swap, I'd say just go for it unless you really are mechanically inept. It's a complex job, but by no means does it wander into the 'advanced' category. That is the realm I reserve for a headgasket r&r, a rebuild, or the engine swap. The nice thing about these cars is that they are mechanically like legos - they really just snap together once you get the right parts.

If you have the tools and the time - it's a fun job and it's a kick ass feeling to drive it and know that you made it into something it wasn't with your bare-hands. Plus, with all the knowledge on this forum about the cars and the swap itself, you can get just about any question answered in short order.

Onward and upward!

[TouringDan]

btw; how much did you pay for your peddle box, and master/slave cylenders?

I got mine off of eBay for $25. The slave came on the trans, but new - they're not expensive. I just posted a link to an eBay pedal-box a few days ago.

[X Mon]

btw; how much did you pay for your peddle box, and master/slave cylenders?

Slave cylinder was awol. They're around 45-50 if you have Patrick at BMA pricematch to AutoHaus AZ's prices.

Pedal boxes with master and plumbing are hit or miss. If I can find one, you're looking at 25-50 dependent upon condition and what it cost to get one in hand.

[CAPEBOY]

I love my conversion which I didn't do myself BTW. But I still can't figure out how to get rid of that Trans Program shite!!! I guess I need to get out the Bentley and take my laptop out to the car and really try to understand what you guys are talking about. Anyone near Annapolis that wants to fix my problems?? I pay cash!!!

[attack eagle]

added step 1 c & d

C: information on reverse wiring location in post #2 -complete

D: still researching clutch interrupt for cruise control...

[X Mon]

1D - Research, $5 Mister!

The clutch pedal switch is normally closed (NC) with the clutch out, and opens when the clutch is depressed.

As I understand it, the automatic circuit uses a jumper in place of the switch. It should be a white two pin connector with the same colour wiring as found on the pigtail that's still on the reverse switch I sent. Simply unplug the jumper and plug in the switch.

[JeffNJM3]

very cool, if i decide to keep my car for a while, a 5speed and possibly another big change are in the cards

[Herb]

Thank you for the thank you AE. Great write-up, this will get printed when it is time for mine.

You'll love the z3 1.9l shifter. There is someone on here that has the z8 shifter in their car, hopefully they will chime in to clarify some ?? in the posted link on shifters.

What did you pay for the ds and 3.23lsd? Still looking for this stuff.

[kalevera]

With these early cars, all you have to do is plug in the clutch switch. The pigtail is tied back by the steering column.

Do like Matt said.