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Thread: The Tranny Swap Begins...

  1. #1
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    Talking The Tranny Swap Begins... (pics added)

    Well, I just got back from Munich Sport (the shop that's doing my tranny swap). Good God, I'm excited now . Seeing the parts sitting in a box for 2 weeks can only do so much for me, the installation is where it's at.

    They really started on the car today and had the entire pedal assembly installed and started working on the bigger parts of the swap. I walked into the garage and saw my old brake pedal tossed to the side. Yes sir, there was definately a clutch pedal in my car. I sat in my seat and put my feet on the pedals... it was great. I'm gonna go back tomorrow and check the progress, and hopefully bring back some pictures.

    Jack (guy working on my car) had originally told me the pedals were probably going to be a pain. I was talking with him a bit, and he said it's gone pretty smooth so far. I'm the first swap that they've done, so it's a bit of a learning experience for them. However, I'm confident that they're gonna do great.

    My 3.23's should be coming in tomorrow and they'll get those put in and start removing the old tranny, driveshaft, ect...

    I'll keep everyone updated and try to get some pics.
    Last edited by pianoman90; 11-23-2004 at 11:51 PM.

  2. #2
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    I'm ready for some pics

  3. #3
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    Patience grasshopper

  4. #4
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    Day 2 - I went over to the shop today and looked at the progress on my car. They had removed my AA exhaust and the cats, and started to remove the driveshaft. They drained the coolant out and removed the cooling lines.Jack showed me the cooling lines to the transmission and how he plugged the tranny cooler. It was nice to actually see some of the things that everyone was telling me about.

    So he said that he was going to keep removing parts today, and tomorrow sometime, he'll start bolting parts back up. The 3.91 still needs to come out, the auto tranny itself needs to be removed, and a few other small things but it looks like it's all coming together nicely.

    OK about the pics... I spend nearly all the money I get on my car (I'm a student). I wanted to buy a digital camera in the past, but there is always something I want to get for my car. So to keep everyone satisfied, I went to Wal-Mart and bought a disposable camera to take some pictures. I'm using 1 camera for the entire swap, or until I run out of film. Once the camera's used up I'll get the pics put on a CD and problem solved. I'll update everyone sometime tomorrow.

  5. #5
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    you mind telling me how much you're paying for the tranny swap (labor)?
    Mods: Eibach Sways, xbrace, JC chip, jtd underpanel, ssk

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by oraph
    you mind telling me how much you're paying for the tranny swap (labor)?
    They gave me a quote of anywhere from 10-15 hours. I'm expecting it to be somwhere around $1000 in labor (@ $65/hr), give or take a couple hundred. I'm splitting the costs with my dad, so that helps me out a bunch.

    All together, the swap should cost about $2400 for labor, the tranny swap kit, 3.23 LSD, and misc. parts. It seems like a lot of money, but I didn't even think about selling my car for a 5-speed. I've put money in my car that I'll never get back, plus there is a sentimental value with the car as well.

  7. #7
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    just wondering why you didn't keep the 3.91's in there. You'd have sick acceleration.

  8. #8
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    The acceleration would be rediculous. I didn't keep the 3.91's b/c I don't want a top speed of 120. I'd like a reasonable RPM for the highway (around 3000rpm, like my 3.91's). Also, I'd like the 3.23's because it puts 60 at the top of second, the 3.38's get to 60 in 3rd, I think. I know I didn't want 3.15's, I wanted better acceleration.

    ...that and the 3.38 is near $1000

  9. #9
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    nice man... hope they finish ur car up fast so u can enjoy it.

  10. #10
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    Yea, I'm looking foward to it. I kinda want the install to continue though because it's pretty facinating to watch the progress each day.

  11. #11
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    Wink

    Quote Originally Posted by pianoman90
    Day 2 - I went over to the shop today and looked at the progress on my car. They had removed my AA exhaust and the cats, and started to remove the driveshaft. They drained the coolant out and removed the cooling lines.Jack showed me the cooling lines to the transmission and how he plugged the tranny cooler. It was nice to actually see some of the things that everyone was telling me about.

    So he said that he was going to keep removing parts today, and tomorrow sometime, he'll start bolting parts back up. The 3.91 still needs to come out, the auto tranny itself needs to be removed, and a few other small things but it looks like it's all coming together nicely.

    OK about the pics... I spend nearly all the money I get on my car (I'm a student). I wanted to buy a digital camera in the past, but there is always something I want to get for my car. So to keep everyone satisfied, I went to Wal-Mart and bought a disposable camera to take some pictures. I'm using 1 camera for the entire swap, or until I run out of film. Once the camera's used up I'll get the pics put on a CD and problem solved. I'll update everyone sometime tomorrow.
    the "coolant" that he drained from the tranny is actually oil

    i remember the "coolant" lines from the tranny to the radiator were a PIA to take out, so i just sawed them into pieces

    2 things YOU might have to help him with, 1) wiring the transmission switch to fool the computer into thinking the tranny is in neutral, or else you wont be able to start the car (do a search under my name, i went into detail on this)

    2) rewiring the back up lights, i never got a chance to do this, so next time talk to him about it and if you could post in detail how it was done, id really appreciate it

    otherwise goodluck, your gonna love your knew beast!

  12. #12
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    EMMM TREE- I thought to start the car, you just ground the neutral safety switch, maybe I'm wrong though. Sure, I'll ask him about wiring the reverse lights. I don't think he's really looked at it yet, he's more focused on the big parts of the swap.

    Tell me, what were your impressions when you drove the car after the swap?

  13. #13
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    yes, it is that simple to be able to start the car, however i had alot of trouble with actually finding the right wire, so what i did was just plug the switch back into the little yellow box, and moved the lever into the N position, and stashed it away

    my impressions were great, the only problem i had was that after bleeding the master and slave cylinder oils, the pedal still needed to be depressed all the way to the floor to disengage, however after a couple of days, the pedal stiffened up to the point where it should be (i guess it took time for all the air to get out)

    otherwise its a great mod, only thing is that the tranny light is on in my dash, if your mechanic knows of an easy way to turn it off, let me know!

  14. #14
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    I think we may end up pulling the bulb from the cluster, but I'll let you know if there is a fix.

  15. #15
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    Day 3 - Everything is out of the car: Auto tranny, driveshaft, exhaust, cats, ect... but we hit a snag. The new clutch kit that came with my kit was for a 96-99 M3, not a 95. Jack didn't realize it until today when he tried to install the clutch. The splines on the tranny wouldn't line up with that clutch kit. I called Steve at Bavarian Auto Recycling and he got everything taken care of for me. The new clutch kit should arrive sometime next week, so there's not a whole lot that can be done without it. I guess everything will be finished up next week.

    Jack said if the correct clutch kit today, he probably could have finished up the swap tomorrow night. Not much I can do about it at this point though. Well, at least it gives me something to look foward to on Monday.

    Oh yeah, I took more pictures today, so I'll finish up the roll next week.

  16. #16
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    GGray is offline Did someone say racetrack BMW CCA Member
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    cheap flywheel upgrade

    Are you putting the heavy ass dual mass flywheel back in???I hope not...

    If you are, stop the train..Put a 528e flywheel in it with an E30 M3 clutch kit...its considerably lighter.
    Gary Gray



    If you can take it apart you can make it faster!

  17. #17
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    I would've gone with the E34 M5 clutch / UUC Stg 2 LTW Fly, but I'm "out-o-cash." Maybe sometime in the future though.

  18. #18
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    We just learned that Sach's made a few boo-boo's on the clutches. SSF nor us could have even known

    Anyhow it's on it's way pianoman
    Got a new bimmer. 2006 e90. 330i. More to come. First big boy car.

  19. #19
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    Well, the swap is still going on... We were just waiting for the correct clutch kit to arrive from Baviarian Auto Recycling on Friday. The clutch kit finally arrived and Jack gave me the call at 4pm. I made it over to the shop by 6pm, right before closing, to look at my car. There were 3 guys up under the car and they had already installed the clutch, and had the transmission bolted up to the motor.

    On Monday, they are going to reinstall the driveshaft, tighten the bolts on the 3.23's, put the exhaust back up, put the shifter linkage in place, and some other odds and ends. Basically, by Monday afternoon, they're going to have the car back together, and start messing with the small electrical issues (neutral saftey switch, reverse lights, cruise, ect...) The the rest of Monday into Tuesday, Jack's going to be looking at the codes/lights/CEL that may come up, and take care of that. Then finally, I should get my car back somtime Tuesday. Jack said he's wants to get my car back to me before the holidays, and it seems promising, provided we don't run into any more unexpected problems.

    I'm down to the last few shots on the camera, so pics may be coming Tuesday... stay tuned.

  20. #20
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    Hooray for tranny swaps. I did mine about a year ago. Good times.
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  21. #21
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    The splines wouldnt line up with the clutch??

  22. #22
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    Dude, I am in Birmingham, too....

    Maybe you will let me check her out sometime when she's done????

  23. #23
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    im jealous!

    hooray for you though
    95 cosmos black metallic m3/2A ///M3 Cc 83
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  24. #24
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    I need pics, especially since I'm gonna do the swap soon too!
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  25. #25
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    Funkmasta - everything from the 95 and 96+ clutch kits are the same, with the exception of the clutch disk itself. The disk itself wouldn't match the splines on the 95 ZF tranny. Like Steve said, the kits were mixed up, but no harm done.

    phillyb321 - where in Birmingham are you? Sure, I wouldn't mind meeting up sometime

    Jlac - I'll get some pics posted when the swap is completed. The pics I took are not very specific, but they will give you some idea of what's involved.

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