Project: 530i Auto Gets A 6 Speed 420G, Finally.

[AHenry014]

man pedal time! have fun with it man. ive been having issues with my new clutch setup and now wish i still had my stock stuff....

[darknezz7]

man pedal time! have fun with it man. ive been having issues with my new clutch setup and now wish i still had my stock stuff....

oh noes whats wrong with it? it was a uuc setup correct?

So yesterday I went back to the car having made my flywheel tool over the weekend at a friends and got the trans bolted up.

Was not hard to grind down at all and worked great. Torque flywheel down to 105 nm


fits nice, new pilot bearing set in the crank too




Align the clutch disk and tighten down the pressure plate


get the trans under the car


align the dowels



I wrestled with it for a bit at this point, it just would not go in any further, seemed to be hanging up on the passenger side. Oh whats this flywheel sensor in my way, took that out and went right in. Does the e34 even use this or is that for obd II m62's?

push trans up to engine


snugged up


3 more hours to that point to total 8. Not including 3 hours to swap pedal assembly.

Today Put on the new sachs slave and ran the clutch line. line was a 4ft (i think) piece of euro spec 4.7 mm 3/16th bubble flare male male end brake line. I ran it up through that hole (don't know if that is right) with a grommet, under steering column and 2 loops. Then a piece of rubber brake hose I already had and a female to female coupler to a shorter piece of brake tubing I had around that happened to have a perfect bend to go into the master.


Let me know if this sounds like it should work ok. I don't have much experience with messing with clutch lines or doing custom stuff and have never even seen how a stock BMW clutch line is routed. Other than RealOEM pic which doesn't help much to how it looks on the car.


I called the dive line shop and told them what I needed and the measurement today. It was 61 inches from the trans flange face to diff flange. 31 1/2 inches from trans flange to center of first holes for center support bearing. So that should be back to me by the end of the week.


Now I have a new problem! I either thought it would work or again forgot about it but my shifter assembly came with the transmission which was out of an e39 so it will not fit!
On RealOEM there is a complete set of shifter components for up to 10/1994 then from 10/1994.
So my question is, what is the difference? Is it on the car or transmission end? My car is a before 10/94 build.

The shift lever (stick) will work correct? Thats the expensive part, the other 2 are 20 bucks at dealer.

Thanks for looking and helping out with these little questions!

Oh! What fluid do you guys run in these? I know it says auto trans fluid, I use Castrol stuff, so like the multi vehicle import or the domestic dex/mercon stuff?

[T444E]

Yes that sensor is for the M62, it gets the timing or RPM from the flywheel IIRC. No need for that on an E34.
That's the reason you can use an E39 6 speed on an E34 but not the other way around.

[darknezz7]

sweet so if I ever want to go an obd II m62 that would be one thing out of the way lol. just get a lightweight m62 obd ii flywheel ^_^

anyway, how about the other questions? I want to order the shifter parts tomorrow, need them by weekend. I was rather looking forward to sitting in the seat shifting making vroom vroom noises. lol, j/k, kinda.

- - - Updated - - -


So according to pelican the one after 10/94 is a "bent" selector rod and is also the same for the e36 318

the arm is the same.

I still need to know though, is this a car or transmission change? Do i get the bent rod or straight?

[K Fox]

sweet so if I ever want to go an obd II m62 that would be one thing out of the way lol. just get a lightweight m62 obd ii flywheel ^_^

anyway, how about the other questions? I want to order the shifter parts tomorrow, need them by weekend. I was rather looking forward to sitting in the seat shifting making vroom vroom noises. lol, j/k, kinda.

- - - Updated - - -


So according to pelican the one after 10/94 is a "bent" selector rod and is also the same for the e36 318

the arm is the same.

I still need to know though, is this a car or transmission change? Do i get the bent rod or straight?

OK wait - you're asking about the shifter rod - the part that UUC makes a better version of (DSSR)? If that's the case, you just need to get the rod that matches which selector rod end you have. Or you can just buy both as a set - but the difference in the selector rod end piece is what determines which rod length you need in the shifter rod itself. The newer knuckle was a little shorter but stouter, if I remember the details correctly. There is a thread on the UUC DSSR somewhere here in the forum that has the details on it - I believe it was E34ornication that figured it out.

Fox

[darknezz7]

well if that is the case then if that is different on the e39 I need to swap that too. luckily autobahnjim sent me a selector rod knuckle too, but I still have ti figure out which one it is.

Ah I see now

up to 10/94 rod joint (number 7) 25117526415


from 10/94 25111222688


the e39 rod joint looks the same in the pic but has a different part number 25117580281

Pretty sure the one autobahnjim gave me was the later rod joint by the pictures. So I need the bent selector rod.


oh and UUC doesnt even show a shift rod for the e34 540

[DTMWERKE31]

Looks great ill be doing the same swap very soon

[K Fox]

oh and UUC doesnt even show a shift rod for the e34 540

Yeah, the pics you linked are pretty good - they actually show the physical differences pretty well. That said, I just looked at UUC's site, and they don't have the proper DSSR in the lists, but I remember the part numbers so here. Though this link is to the 205mm one, which they list as the proper one for the chassis - but if you go with the later type selector knuckle, you'll actually need this one. It's listed as being for the E30, but it's the proper length for ours as well as long as you get the later knuckle. Also, replacing the knuckle is a good idea anyway - there's a piece of foam in it that degrades over time and causes a little slop. Even if you don't get a DSSR, it's still cheap and it tightens up the shifter a bit if your old one is worn.

Do be aware though - I'm working off memory here, so if you're seriously considering a DSSR you should search out the other threads and confirm my part numbers above. But I'm almost positive I got them right - I still want my DSSR too...

Fox

[darknezz7]

Cool thanks for the clear up. I don't have the extra $100 for a shift rod right now, I'd get duds chip before that. Ordering oem from the dealer.

[darknezz7]

New e34 shifter rod and arm came today, drive shaft came friday.

Its all in and bolted down no problems. New problem.... THE EXHAUST BRACKET DOESN'T FIT ON THIS TRANS. UHG.... I'm just gonna mangle it and see if I can cut some out and make some rectangle brackets to add on and bolt up to the trans at the right spot til I order the real ones. I see 6 speeds brackets are completely different.


Shiny drive shaft, fit great and great service and turn around from South Bay Drive Line, shipped out on a Fri and I got back 1 week later Fri, $226 from the shop shipped and a NEW center support bearing.








Did the wiring up today to so it will start, reverse lights and not show trans program. Also a oil change since its been sitting for awhile and a new intake boot because the old one completely fell apart.

Its covered pretty well here and here


Tomorrow I will deal with the exhaust and hopefully go for a test drive.

[darknezz7]

Got the exhaust up for now and took it for a drive.

sadly I am not that impressed with the manual. The gears feel kinda knotchy, the thro is more than I'm used to and the clutch doesn't seem to grip til the last few inches, it is smooth and strong when it does.

I feel like I cant shift fast without breaking it.

Is this just how they kinda are stock?

I don't have a ton of experience with different clutches, the last manual I drove for awhile was an eclipse with stage 2 clutch and SSK, that thing shifted nice too bad the car was a POS, other than that mostly older trucks. I did drive a 325es manual for a bit but it also had some aftermarket clutch, SSK and poly bushings, so not much reference.

Also when slowing down with the clutch in (obviously) it likes to grind 1st, wtf....

I'm hoping new RP synchromax will help with some of this, I should have got new shift arm bushings as well.

The car also just feels like a slug, I assume that is because of the auto DME and the car is "retarded" in the timing. The rev drop thing is also quite annoying to me. So DUDMD's chip will hopefully wake the car back up along with an extra kick.


oh it still says trans program even tho I grounded out the wire by the shifter and the e brake doesnt work at all even after tightening all the way at the handle.

STILL ISO BLACK OR WOOD SHIFTER SURROUND WITHOUT ASC

[mottati]

sounds like you don't have the best example of gearbox and clutch. What you describe is not how it should feel. The parts i bought for my swap came from a wrecked 540 with 77k miles, and the trans shifted very nice (better than my e39 m5 did), and the clutch pick up was mid way thru the range of travel. The RP should help some, i'd found fresh oil made the gearbox feel much better (for a little while at least) in my m5.

The chip will make a big difference. When i first got my wagon back from having the manual trans swap done, i was really disappointed in the performance, the midrange power was gone. The man trans chip fixed that.

Fwiw, i think the shop that did my swap left the auto trans computer in place.

[darknezz7]

Man came with package today and it had this purple goo in 2 bottles. Put purple goo in trans.

Drove and put a big on my face

Did the shift bushings yesterday, just the 4 yellow washers, I was missing 2, the 2 rubber bushings at end of shift arm and the plastic swivel lever socket. Also got trans program to go away. I did'nt realize you HAD to ground pin 5 on x19 to the ground on the ecm. I was grounding it to the body and it gave check control, took a pic to show. All good now, I took some pics yesterday of it all but somhow lost them in the transfer lol. I have pics of the old trans fluid I'd like some opinions on I'll post later. Also gravity bleed the clutch for a quite abit, might do some more. It grabs about an inch sooner now.

Its a different car! Feels more like what I'd expect from a BMW, still a long throw but I'll take care of that later. It moves almost effortlessly into gears while nice and solid, I'd say 70% of the slop is gone along with all the notchy breaking feeling.

1st gear I can feel still wants to grind if you dont give it a little shove if your still rolling, hoping it will improve with the new fluid though I'm just going to avoid downshifting into first at 10mph rolls and pulling.

Also opened up the fuel pump hatch and sucked all the old gas out and put in 5gal shell 92 along with my concoction of seafoam and lucus fuel treatment.

Runs much better and smoother now has some more power but still seems down on midrange.

DUDMD CHIP HERE TOMORROW YAY!!!

cant wait to feel the difference

[camaroguy]

Can you actually get it into 1st gear w/out grinding at a roll now? I may push out my clutch purchase if I can somewhat get rid of this 1st gear grind w/out replacing the trans.

[darknezz7]

Naw like I said above it still grinds, but its alot better. Instead of a high pitched fast grind its more of a slow grind then it goes into gear with a little force. I just won't do that anymore. Though coming up my driveway if you wanted to go real slow I could see wanting to go into first... 2nd was bogging down a bit at 15 mph up a good hill.


I spent the rest of the day pressure washing and washing. Then went over some problem areas with 3000 grit wet sand, then went over the WHOLE car with scratch x 2.0. It looks much much better, had ALOT of smudges, swirl marks, some weird blue crap that wouldn't come off and a rust ring on the trunk. All gone though, amazing what a lil piece of 3000 and that scratch x can do. Tomorrow all the black plastics will get back to black and the whole thing waxed with carnauba wax.

I'll add pics tomorrow, tired as hell.

[K Fox]

...if you wanted to go real slow I could see wanting to go into first... 2nd was bogging down a bit at 15 mph up a good hill.

Practice rev-matching. It's something I picked up driving trucks, since you have to rev match in those. It makes shifting down world's easier in any car, and especially so when the syncro's are getting tired (like yours sound like they are). For instance, my RX7 doesn't have any syncros in 1st or 2nd anymore, and I can still get it to shift smoothly both up and down my rev-matching. I do occasionally grind a little if I'm not spot on, but its still liveable until I get around to replacing the driveline. Plus - double clutch rev-match downshifting is one of the elite skills to possess for a driver. Fun, and it spares my tranny??! Sing me up!!

Fox

[darknezz7]

Practice rev-matching. It's something I picked up driving trucks, since you have to rev match in those. It makes shifting down world's easier in any car, and especially so when the syncro's are getting tired (like yours sound like they are). For instance, my RX7 doesn't have any syncros in 1st or 2nd anymore, and I can still get it to shift smoothly both up and down my rev-matching. I do occasionally grind a little if I'm not spot on, but its still liveable until I get around to replacing the driveline. Plus - double clutch rev-match downshifting is one of the elite skills to possess for a driver. Fun, and it spares my tranny??! Sing me up!!

Fox

Hmm I will have to try that, gotta learn it first lol. I can see how it would be easier on the trans.

[K Fox]

Hmm I will have to try that, gotta learn it first lol. I can see how it would be easier on the trans.

Just take it easy at first - try it in the driveway you speak of. you just need to pop the clutch and out of second, pop the throttle to rev it a bit, then pop the clutch and into first. In big trucks that don't have syncro'd gears it's the only way to shift, and they teach a timing method to get it right most of the time - do you remember the Adam's Family? Do the theme song in your head - ba da da dum....pop...pop. Works on the trucks, and gives you time to shift out, rev, and then shift in. As you get better at the timing you can get faster.

Fox

[sbeckman7]

Looking forward to pics. Something about a small displacement v8 with a 6-speed just appeals to me, even if it is just as big and heavy externally as the 4.0

[darknezz7]

Just take it easy at first - try it in the driveway you speak of. you just need to pop the clutch and out of second, pop the throttle to rev it a bit, then pop the clutch and into first. In big trucks that don't have syncro'd gears it's the only way to shift, and they teach a timing method to get it right most of the time - do you remember the Adam's Family? Do the theme song in your head - ba da da dum....pop...pop. Works on the trucks, and gives you time to shift out, rev, and then shift in. As you get better at the timing you can get faster.

Fox

This actually made a lot of sense to me lol. I tried it a little and it did seem to help, need more practice. How do I know what rpm to rev to or do I just litteraly tap the throttle and let off right when I go to shift?

Heres some pics. Still need to take pics of the old trans fluid as I'd like some opinions on what it was. Had a pic of the new shifter bushing stuff but it got lost.

The relay box showing starter jump( big brown wire) and pin 5 to 9 on the green ccm connector with a small copper wire to get rid of trans program.



I was gonna use my pump that went to this hose but holding it upside down and squeezing worked much better. Royal Purple Synchromax



DUDMD chip





Heres a shot after a wash before detailing. These wheels SUCK to clean....


ISO VOGTLAND SPRINGS!!!! It has sure sagged in the rear and lifted in the front in the last years, the shocks are shot, haven't decided to go oem or spend the extra for bilstein sports.

I went over the whole car with scratch x and back to black, gonna wax it with carnauba and go take some nice pics somewhere, river or something, with a better camera.

I didn't drive it much with the chip yet, going out today, but it immediately seemed like it started faster, idled higher and smoother, def more throttle response and the rev hang on shift is gone. It seemed a bit more powerful but it probably hasn't settled in yet and should get better.

Thanks for everyone's help and positive comments! I've said this before but, without the wealth of knowledge on the web I don't know how I'd figure all this crap out.

[ross1]

Man came with package today and it had this purple goo in 2 bottles. Put purple goo in trans.

Drove and put a big on my face

Did the shift bushings yesterday, just the 4 yellow washers, I was missing 2, the 2 rubber bushings at end of shift arm and the plastic swivel lever socket. Also got trans program to go away. I did'nt realize you HAD to ground pin 5 on x19 to the ground on the ecm. I was grounding it to the body and it gave check control, took a pic to show. All good now, I took some pics yesterday of it all but somhow lost them in the transfer lol. I have pics of the old trans fluid I'd like some opinions on I'll post later. Also gravity bleed the clutch for a quite abit, might do some more. It grabs about an inch sooner now.
Its a different car! Feels more like what I'd expect from a BMW, still a long throw but I'll take care of that later. It moves almost effortlessly into gears while nice and solid, I'd say 70% of the slop is gone along with all the notchy breaking feeling.

1st gear I can feel still wants to grind if you dont give it a little shove if your still rolling, hoping it will improve with the new fluid though I'm just going to avoid downshifting into first at 10mph rolls and pulling.

Also opened up the fuel pump hatch and sucked all the old gas out and put in 5gal shell 92 along with my concoction of seafoam and lucus fuel treatment.

Runs much better and smoother now has some more power but still seems down on midrange.

DUDMD CHIP HERE TOMORROW YAY!!!

cant wait to feel the difference

Can't get it in first? Could be a bum clutch master cyl. Another member is selling one at a no brainer price, check the classifieds. EDIT; Mhax was selling but looking up the thread I see it is sold(it's about time @ $40!, big spenders in the E34 world for sure)

[Hofmeister]

Yea I bought it off of him, arrived yesterday.

[darknezz7]

But wouldn't it do it on other gears too? I guess its a little rough going into third sometime too. If I do the rev thing it def helps.

Yea the master is used and probably old... might get a new one at some point.

[darknezz7]

It's been about 8k miles and still going. Shifting seems to maybe got a little smoother, or just used to it, still grinds trying to put it into first unless almost completely stopped, annooooying.

Gather parts to do a whole intake rebuild and rest of cooling system, so far have rebuilt design III injectors, valve cover gaskets and intake/throttle body gaskets, $180 for that. Still need t stat and metal housing, water pump valley pan, pcv cover, then some spark plugs and fuel filter. Yup thats another $250. It probably needs all 4 knock sensors too... they are original, cracked and old, but $200 for 4 might be out of reason, no codes either.

Anyway thats whats instore for it soon. Its had a cel 1221 for awhile, o2 sensors are new. Think its just got vac leaks and I know the injectors leak.

[Leonator134]

Soooo how is the driving?! How's the acceleration and fuel consumption?