Any tips for my upcoming manual swap?

[ChrisSilva]

I have an 02 330i we swapped the auto, no luck. Decided to do a 5 speed swap. It's what I originally planned but enough people said to swap the auto that I went that route first. I've read a few swap threads on here and e46fanatics. Just wondering if anyone had any specific input. Like the guy on the phone at pelican said I should be able to just put the clutch pedal on the current assembly, if I don't want to change the whole thing out.

Picking up the swap this weekend.

[dark55]

Too much money and youll need a new vehicle order.

[ChrisSilva]

What?

[shadowpuck]

in short form - the VO is the config of the car. at some point in the e46 production run (maybe it was later e36 run - i can't recall now off top of head), there was a change in how the VO is coded or set up.

essentially - you'll just want to line up someone that can help you do the software coding of the car once you are done with the hardware portion.
there are many, many threads on this - particularly in other forums (such as e46fanatics).

i auto/manual swapped my e36 years ago when the auto failed and haven't looked back. it wasn't any less expensive than replacing the auto and it made the car a blast to drive on track. in fact, i still have that e36....

read the threads on the swap (it's well known now what the issues are and how to do things, etc.) - and have the parts ordered. don't be surprised if you find you need to order a part or two in the middle of the project...

[dworthy]

Too much money and youll need a new vehicle order.

Humm not much help are we?

Like noted above, you will have to code the DME to remove the automatic connection. I would also check to see iif the driveshaft from the auto is compatibly for I think you will need the manual one.

[328 Power 04]

The programming part is the easier part, if you have INPA and NCS Expert and the appropriate cable and computer. (EWS, instrument cluster, DSC, and a few others will need to be coded and processed)

Just post here when the physical labor is done. Dark55 is just trying to up his postcount with unhelpful info.

[MauiM3Mania]

....Dark55 is just trying to up his postcount with unhelpful info.

46 one liner posts in a day. Yup.

[ChrisSilva]

I have a foxwell....nt510 pro or nt 520. I'm pretty sure I can use that for the coding and aligning or whatever they call it. I'm probably going to ask some questions on e46fanatics too. One of the members over there is where I'm getting the swap. Once I get the car on the road again I can start sorting other things out. Been doing work on my E34 as well. Still need to change struts and tie rods and get an alignment. Did the ofhg, just need to get the vcg done. The E46 will probably take awhile to sort out. But I like it better the my E34.

[shadowpuck]

i'm pretty sure the nt510/520 will not do this type of thing....

[ChrisSilva]

So I guess I better invest a one o f those k/dcan cables? Hopefully I can get inpa and ncs expert running on the surface pro 3. Do you have any recommendations on a good set of instructions to set that stuff up on windows 10? Thanks.

[328 Power 04]

Make sure to get a k-dcan with a switch, preferably the one from Bimmergeeks. There are differences.

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...xperimentation this will work fine for your E46 and win10.

[ChrisSilva]

I know nothing about those cables, so thank you. Cable with a switch from bimmergeeks. I'll read the thread you linked when I have a chance.

[328 Power 04]

Everything you need to install it and run is on the first post. It's quite simple to run.

Coding it and running it right after manual swap is a bit more complex.

[dworthy]

+1

You will also need a battery tender, for it can take some time in order to code those ECU's.

[ChrisSilva]

Broke down an hour away from picking up the swap. So upset. Not sure what to do.

[ChrisSilva]

I got the trans, flexplate, flywheel and trans cooler lines out. I got the shifter assembly out. I got clutch and brake pedals on the bracket. No gas pedal. Do I need to switch that, since it has the step down switch for the auto? Ordering a rear main seal and seals for trans. Not sure how difficult/expensive the detent bushings are, considering that. I know a lot of the nuts and bolts are TTY/single use hardware. Are there any that people reuse regularly or should I just replace them all? I have to wait for my order to get setup and I have to order the k/dcan cable. But I got to where I'm at in a few hours of work. And I think I found why the car wouldn't move, wonder if the auto is still good. It looks like the torque converter bolts weren't in/in properly. I couldn't even find them when I separated it. Not sheared off either.


Thanks again

[shadowpuck]

questions about the swap:
youtube and e46fanatics have all the info you could ever want on this.
50sKid, and shoplifetv amongst others are good resources for this swap.

for the flywheel i use new hardware - same for pressure plate.
if it were me, i'd want a new throwout bearing, and i'd rebuild the shifter. i'd also do a full clutch service - new pivot pin and such as well.
those items aren't strictly necessary - but, i only want to put the transmission in once...

the proper/correct clutch alignment tool is a lifesaver as well.

i'd do the detent service while you have the transmission out of the car.
google bmw transmission shift pin and you'll have all the info on that - several good writeups/videos, etc.
i don't recall the parts being too expensive - probably less than $100. there were some drifts that make installation possible/much, much easier.
thayer motorsports has a nice kit - as does bimmerworld, but, i don't know if they have the drifts for installation.
there are also detailed drawings on the internet if you have access to machining your own drifts.

[moroza]

I'll add to that list:
1. Transmission selector shaft seal. Cheap, fails often, way easier to do before the trans goes in (ask me how I know). The input and output shaft seals don't fail nearly as often, and I consider those optional. If you do change them, use genuine BMW parts only.
2. Rear main seal and RMS housing gasket. The gasket can be RTV (and needs sealer in the corners anyway); for the seal, use German-made OE or equivalent. I used Reinz 81-20745-40.

A sufficiently large collection of deep sockets and random round objects can make for surprisingly good clutch alignment tools.

As far as getting new bolts, I would do that for flywheel-to-crankshaft (they come with threadlocker), pressureplate-to-flywheel (add red threadlocker), and reuse the rest. I'm not sure about the 5-speed, but the 6- has enough clearance to use regular hex bolts, instead of failure-prone ETorx, everywhere except the lower block corners. I would certainly replace any partially-rounded ETorx, and use antiseize on those, and on the pilot bearing.

[ChrisSilva]

Im going to get flywheel bolts, pressure plate bolts, trans mounts, selector shaft seal, manifold to exhaust gaskets, rms and rms gasket. Not sure if I'm going to get anything else right off. I did add a pilot bearing to the list. Any recommendations for trans oil? And brake/clutch fluid?
I have to get parts ordered and here, so I can put it back together. I have it ready to start going back. Thinking I'll work on the pedals, clutch lines, wiring and shifter between now and then, or at least as much of it as I can without the trans going in yet.

[shadowpuck]

everything you need to know is in the sources i mentioned earlier....

i use red line fluid in transmissions and diffs - but, any quality fluid will do.
for brake fluid - in bmw street cars i always run bmw fluid - it's cheap and plentiful, easy to get online or at dealers.
again, any quality fluid will work fine.

i've done clutch jobs with and without an alignment tool (and once at the track). i'll use the alignment tool every time if i can.....

i've not generally had any issues with etorx that i couldn't easily fix, but, absolutely if regular hex bolts will work then that removes that issue completely.

last time i did a RMS there was a sealant i used which was recommended by bmw - Curil-T. i'm sure there are alternatives as mentioned by moroza.

[ChrisSilva]

Got the pedals done. The clutch hydraulics are in. The flywheel and clutch are in. I was putting the shifter in a noticed I'm missing the rear mounting. It's listed as the shifter are bearing. On hold until I can get one.

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=25_0375

[dworthy]

The good thing is BMW puts that bracket in there even if you have an Auto boxed car. I think that it streamlines the manufacture process, which in the end saves money for the company.

[ChrisSilva]

My car has a spot where the bushing goes, but not the hold down bracket. I need to get both.

[ChrisSilva]

I got my shifter arm bushing. I can't seem to get the trans all the way on. Going to try again this weekend with a friend, but I'm thinking the clutch disc may not be centered. So I'm going to look at getting an alignment tool. I may just get a clutch kit, since the one I have came with the swap. If I do that I'll probably replace the master and slave too. Is the SAC the only option with the dual mass flywheel? I'm also looking for a pump oil can or something similar to reverse fill through the slave bleeder.


Thanks.

[328 Power 04]

Used or new clutch kit?