Finished my 5 Speed conversion / Tranny Swap

[FlyOverCountry]

Before:


The automatic is gone, and my Car now runs on the Getrag 265 Transmission.

And the worse part about the whole thing is the Pedal Box swap while adding the Clutch Hydraulics.........

What was replaced in my 85 735i

- 4hp22 Automatic (non-eh)
- Drive-shaft
- Pedal Box
- Shift console
- Transmission Brace

While I was in there
- Lighter Weight Fly Wheel 16lbs
- Getrag 265/6 5 speed Transmission
- Differential (Open 3.46 to 3.73 LSD)
- Diff Mount (latter M535i Cheaper)
- Power Steering Pump
- Magnaflow Downpipe and Cat to Muffler (fit pretty well and looks stainless)
- e34 (non-V8) Driveshaft Center Bearing
- Shiftplate bushings and rear rubber mount with solid mount
- New Clutch hydraulics
- New Sachs M30 clutch Kit (Rock Auto)

Details about Wiring:

Since my Car had a non-electric auto Transmission, the wiring changes were very simple. Basically 3 Steps that need to be wired when performing a swap.

If you have a 735, no ecu wiring changes need to be made nor TPS wiring changes either my 85 735i has no TCU and uses the 059 ECU. Made life easier.

1. Bypassing the neutral safety switch:

- Neutral Safety Switch
The NSS is built into the automatic shifter, and sends signals to a starter relay. The purpose of this design is so that you can only start the car in Park or Neutral. Bypassing the circuit is easy. Remove the kick panel above the driver's feet. There is a glob of wires and connectors that hangs on the lower end of the steering column. Push in the tabs to and slide the connectors out, off of the steering column.



Dig around under the dash some more, until you find the connector in the foreground of the above picture. It has a Black and White connector, with Yellow/Black wires and one large black wire coming from it. Remove the black plug with the single black wire coming from it (on the steering column wire connectors). Unplug the black connector with the Yellow/Black wires, and plug it into the connector from the steering column. You have now bypassed the NSS. For neatness, plug the two loose connectors into each other. When you're done, it should look like this:



Now clip the connectors back onto the steering column, You do not need anything plugged into the connector from the automatic shifter, just leave it flopping around the console, unless you want to take the time to remove the wire set from the car...that's something I didn't car too much about.

2. Connecting cruise control to the clutch pedal:

Once again, BMW made this easy. Dig around under the dash and find a connector with a loop of wire connected to it. The wire is Yellow/Red.

Pull off the loop of wire, and plug in the clutch pedal switch.

Now mount the switch to the pedal.

3. Hooking up the reverse lights:

Your manual transmission will come with a reverse light switch. It will be mounted on the side of the transmission, near the top. Cut some wire, and add female connectors to the end that will plug onto the reverse light switch. Run the wires through the clips on the side of the transmission, and up through the hole that the shifter comes through. It doesn't matter which wire goes where. Next, find the connector shown below, it will be near the hole for the shifter on the center console.


I need to Give credit to SicStang03 from this Board he helped with his Write up and help selling me parts.

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...icial-write-up

E28 shorter driveshaft vs e23 longer driveshaft:



Some things needed:







Drop the Exhaust:



Drop the Tranny:


Correct e23 265 Cross Brace that is NLA





Flywheel issues:





Pedal Box change:



This SUCKED:











add the clutch and fly:



then the Bellhousing (if using a 265)



Tranny Ready:



And UP and in:



Added Magnaflow Manifold Back to muffler Old had a hole (new is quite a bit louder) ($260 shipped at hottexhaust.com Magnaflow_23559):




couple trim parts left, but she runs:



Lessons Learned:

-Getting under the dash and pulling the pedals while dismounting the brake booster and dropping the steering wheel and then trying to add it back with extra switches and pedals is not a fun endeavor.

-If you want to swap a e23 to a manual I would suggest finding a parts car that is a manual (like others have said). I pulled my transmission from an 85 535i e28, only thing that works in the e23 7 was transmission and flywheel.

-Finding the pedal box, shift console, driveshaft and transmission support brace was very hard. I guess they didn't import that may e23s with manuals especially ones with 265 trannys 85.

-Try to do as much (While your there) work as possible and budget allows, Rear seals, Tranny seals, clutch, bushings, exhaust.

-- pics to come

[D Unit]

Congrats!

[7THRTY2]

Congratulations and welcome to the club. I added and Ireland Engineering short throw for extra kicks. I understand the undertaking and expense $$$, congrats once again.

[FlyOverCountry]

AHH! The 265 is Whining. This SUCKS!

[Hit Man X]

AHH! The 265 is Whining. This SUCKS!

How much fluid is in it?

[FlyOverCountry]

Checked the fluid, add 1/2 quart. I used Redline MTL. That seemed to fix it..

[timgal1234]

My e30 took atf. If your running gear oil make sure it's right for that trans.... I had a green label on my trans that said "special fluid". I ignored said label and put gear oil in it and had a number of problems. When I switched to atf the noises and not wanting to shift cold issues I had went away.

[SicStang03]

Glad you got everything swapped out. What was the issue with the flywheel? Does the trans whine in all gears? I have a couple of G265's laying around, but since you already have the correct bell housing, I thing you can use an G265.

[offroadkarter]

AHH! The 265 is Whining. This SUCKS!

These transmissions are all old and high mile, mine has well over 250k on it now. I'd just run it but keep an eye out for another trans since nobody rebuilds these anymore.

It is what it is sadly, sucks. At least you got the hard part done, so congrats on finishing your swap.

[8991XJ]

How hard was the tranny to bell housing install? On the e28 that is not really a good option because the tunnel is not quite big enough for access to the for nuts.

Maybe a fluid change will help the whining.

[FlyOverCountry]

How hard was the tranny to bell housing install? On the e28 that is not really a good option because the tunnel is not quite big enough for access to the for nuts.

Maybe a fluid change will help the whining.

The Bell housing method made life alot easier with the e23. You can get to 3 of the 4 large bellhousing nuts pretty easy. The 4th you have to move the clutch slave but its not a big deal.

I had new fluid in the tranny, Redline MTL, I'm going to drain it and try ATF.

We'll see.

[offroadkarter]

I had new fluid in the tranny, Redline MTL, I'm going to drain it and try ATF.

We'll see.

my trans has been running MTL for 6 years and currently is. I bet your trans is just going to be noisy but hell, I might be wrong.

These are all old very used transmissions, I have gear engagement issues with mine at times if I'm sitting at a dead stop trying to go from N to any gear. Sadly nobody rebuilds these anymore.

[FlyOverCountry]

its good now

[Hit Man X]

Run it until it breaks, then toss in the recycle bin. You can find just the trans easy enough.



I ran Amsoil manual box oil I think in my old E23 735i, shifted okay. R/1 were always a pain in the ass unless I first shifted into 2nd, then back to the gear I needed. Probably helped line up the shifts forks and/or syncros. Since the 4HP22 has a detachable bell, someone really needs to figure out a way to adapt a T5 or TKO variant to it, they are plenty strong for most people's needs.

[GazM3]

looks a difficult swap. Must wake the old girl up a little with the lower diff and manual trans

[offroadkarter]

someone really needs to figure out a way to adapt a T5 or TKO variant to it, they are plenty strong for most people's needs.

A T-5 would not be strong enough unless its going into a 733i/735i thats just tooled around town all day. I know people who have blown them up in low 200hp box crown victorias. A T-5 is like the G260/5. The size/weight of the car would make it an issue if you tried it in a 745i.

Honestly, if you're going to go through the trouble of fitting a completely different manual, a T-56 (or a variant of like the TR-6060 or T-56 Magnum) is where its at.

[Hit Man X]

A T-5 would not be strong enough unless its going into a 733i/735i thats just tooled around town all day. I know people who have blown them up in low 200hp box crown victorias. A T-5 is like the G260/5. The size/weight of the car would make it an issue if you tried it in a 745i.

Honestly, if you're going to go through the trouble of fitting a completely different manual, a T-56 (or a variant of like the TR-6060 or T-56 Magnum) is where its at.

Six speed too long, a strong five speed is fine. Besides, I am sure you have priced out a T56 right? Even used.

Also remember, the M30 does not make a pile of torque. I think the B35 was rated at a tyre shredding 225ftlbs.



The '89 LX Stang a tenant left me had the T5 still in it, after 263k it was still able to shift. Rest of the car was comedy. I just kept the ECU as a spare for my F150 and trashed the rest.

[offroadkarter]

Six speed too long, a strong five speed is fine. Besides, I am sure you have priced out a T56 right? Even used.

Priced out? I bought a brand new t-56 magnum and shoved it in my marauder. it is 1500 less than a reman 420G from BMW even new





I know one or two people put a 420G from a e34 m5 into a e28, I see no reason it couldn't work in a e23 with a shorter driveshaft and some trans mount work. Hell I'd consider it myself but those transmissions are a lot of money even used. Also a lot less common than a T-56 when it comes to finding one with the right bellhousing.


A T-5Z or at least a world class T-5 I think would be a safer bet just because of the weight of the car. Still, it'd come down to finding one from a 3rd gen F body as fox bodies had clutch cables. That held true all the way into 2004.


A T-3650 from a 05-10 mustang GT is hydraulic and has a remote mount shifter (like the G265), I think that'd be an interesting and better choice over a T-5 if someone was to do this swap. The 3650 is stronger and a very smooth shifting 5spd.

Just my 2C

[Hit Man X]

What was the cost of that T56 versus a World Class T5?

[GazM3]

The problem with the T56 tremec is its a dual overdrive, I have one in my L98 holden ute, and I had to put 4.11 diff in it to make it have some form of acceleration. In a high revving bmw even 4.11 would be too tall

[thecarstylist]

I have a set of clutch pedals from a 85 735, and converting my 87 735 E23, will these pedals go right in?

[thecarstylist]

so if I have the pedals from a 5 speed 1985 735i, they will work of my 87 735i 5sp conversion?

already got driveshaft re done, made brace for mount, need pedals now.

thanks

[lynnbilodeau]

Yes, your pedal box should fit fine in the 87.