The Official Auto-to-Manual Transmission Swap Thread

[ProjektMayhem]

+1

There is a post here explaining how to wire up that clutch switch to not have engine rpms raise/lower when the clutch is depressed, the engine not start if the clutch is not depressed and the CC turn off/not work when the clutch is depressed. I want to do that but am way too lazy to find that post.

i concur. i don't like the idea of not having to push in the clutch to start the car. same with the cruise. i want it as close to stock as is humanly possible.

btw, one of my retarded-ass friends lost the two bolts for the starter, so i went ahead and just ordered up a whole new set of transmission bolts from the $tealership. we shall see what kind of price i receive, but they were spot-on for the water pump pulley ($30), so i'm sure they'll be somewhat kind to my wallet. on the bad side, i couldn't find the bmw part number for the two starter nuts (i have a '94 325is with a '96+ zf trans). if anyone could locate those for me, i'd be most appreciative.

bmw of peoria (illinois) is the shizzle when it comes to parts and ordering up new ones. they don't have most things in stock, but they ALWAYS eat the cost of the shipping to get what you want and usually have it NEXT DAY. i heart bmw of peoria.

[Seeker]

i concur. i don't like the idea of not having to push in the clutch to start the car. same with the cruise. i want it as close to stock as is humanly possible.

Your car, with manual stock from the factory, will start w/out pressing in the pedal. That's how the 325i's were. Cruise did shut off when pressed in though.

sometime around 96+ BMW put the kill switch on the clutch for the starter.

[Studie]

FINISHED! hah its great. the 3.91 honestly isnt too bad.

did anyone notice more vibration from the car after they lost their autos? im wondering if something is wrong with my driveshaft or if im simply being paranoid. if the vibration is being caused by my driveshaft (it only happens at higher engine speeds) then what do you think i could do to get rid of the problem?

anyway... easiest way to get transmission bolts off:

drop the rear transmission brace, the one with 4x 15mm bolts, and let the transmission/engine tilt back and hit the transmission bolts straight on with a 20 inch extension and a 10 inch extension connected to a breaker bar. easiest to do if you poke your head into the transmission tunnel.

and when it seems like the engine wont line up with the tranny... well make sure the pin is in the starter, which will line the starter up to the tranny bellhousing, and just poke the long skinny bolts into the starter. ta da, the bolts will help line up the transmission to the engine. it still sucks though.

[randytt]

With all the acronyms, I'm not sure whether software was covered.
What about the automatic's Transmission Control Module (TCM)? What do you do with that?

u dont need to touch it...all i did was zip-tie the plugs that go to the auto-tranny off the the side... if there is nothing for the tranny plugs to go into.. there would be nothing for the TCM to control.. i think thats why u get a CEL..

[randytt]

FINISHED! hah its great. the 3.91 honestly isnt too bad.

did anyone notice more vibration from the car after they lost their autos? im wondering if something is wrong with my driveshaft or if im simply being paranoid. if the vibration is being caused by my driveshaft (it only happens at higher engine speeds) then what do you think i could do to get rid of the problem?

anyway... easiest way to get transmission bolts off:

drop the rear transmission brace, the one with 4x 15mm bolts, and let the transmission/engine tilt back and hit the transmission bolts straight on with a 20 inch extension and a 10 inch extension connected to a breaker bar. easiest to do if you poke your head into the transmission tunnel.

and when it seems like the engine wont line up with the tranny... well make sure the pin is in the starter, which will line the starter up to the tranny bellhousing, and just poke the long skinny bolts into the starter. ta da, the bolts will help line up the transmission to the engine. it still sucks though.

if you car didnt have any vibration before u did the swap.. u might wanna recheck the driveshaft... i reused all the bolts that i had.. just put some red lock-tight on them... and got no vibration problems...

congrads on the swap... 3.91 is not bad at all....i know i love mines

[Seeker]

u dont need to touch it...all i did was zip-tie the plugs that go to the auto-tranny off the the side... if there is nothing for the tranny plugs to go into.. there would be nothing for the TCM to control.. i think thats why u get a CEL..

where'd you grab that quote from racermx?

If he has obd2, he needs to have his ecu reflashed... or is the cel actually a transmission light?

[ProjektMayhem]

if the trans bolts up without trouble, does that mean the starter pin is properly placed? my trans is bolted up but i don't think i ever specifically placed the starter pin correctly. it should just line up right?

[Studie]

just look up into your transmission and see if the little bronze colored nub is inside the starter. in between the starter bolts.

anyone know what a bad center support bearing going bad feels like versus a bad flex disk?

[roberttran]

After reading the thread, I'm a little confused on the issue of the master brake cylinder. Do I have to change the master brake cylinder? How is the clutch system fed brake fluid?

[Seeker]

After reading the thread, I'm a little confused on the issue of the master brake cylinder. Do I have to change the master brake cylinder? How is the clutch system fed brake fluid?

There's a nipple that is untapped at the back of the brake reservoir.

You have to cut the end of the plastic nipple off and then it will flow fluid down to the clutch mast. cyl.

Wait until you have the pedal set in and are ready to bleed the slave before you snip it.


Here's a pic

[ProjektMayhem]

alright, i'm trying to bleed the clutch pedal and the pedal literally springs to the floor and nothing comes from the bleed valve on the slave... i figured that i just needed to bleed for a while longer, but no dice so far...

i have a brand new spare slave cylinder from pelican. do i replace my slave? keep trying to bleed? am i even bleeding right (one person pedals down, then crack the bleed valve, close the bleed valve, pedal up, repeat)?

any help would be most appreciated

[Seeker]

sounds like the clutch mast. cyl. is worn out.




Also, when I bled mine, I used a simple bleeder kit like this:



It was helpful in watching for air bubbles.. just bled until no more bubbles were seen, shut the valve and it started working.

It's also alot less messy using a bleeder kit.

GL

[ProjektMayhem]

where did you get that bleeder kit, if you don't mind my asking?

[Seeker]

where did you get that bleeder kit, if you don't mind my asking?

think I got it at the local auto parts store.

It was VERY helpful (read like a trans. jack.. ) when bleeding that clutch line.

I had a buddy push the pedal back and forth and I watched the clear tube for bubbles.. it was simple and barely any fluid got on the floor.

Might help to have another small hose attached to the vent hole on it if it begins to overflow.. I ran the extra hose back into a brake fluid container to catch the overflow.

The idea is not only can you see the bubbles, but you dont have to keep opening/closing the slave valve... it will pull fluid back up the tubing from the kit jar(put some fluid in it before starting).


I'd put that new slave on while you're at it too.

I have like three of those clutch mast. cyl.'s. I'm pretty sure one of them was bad by the way it felt when plunging it by hand and did not use it. I used the one that seemed to feel like it was tight and pumping air thru it. A bad one can have a worn seal and allow the fluid to seep around the seal.. thus not pump it to the slave... it just recycles itself inside the clutch mast. cyl.

[ProjektMayhem]

well, the clutch master that i have looked barely used. should there be resistance on the clutch master when pumping the clutch by hand and no hoses run up to it?

when replacing the clutch master, do i have to remove the whole pedal assembly (*sigh* again?)? or can i just unbolt the sucker and pop a new one in. i'm hoping for the latter because we all know how much it sucks to do the pedal assembly...

if my experiment this evening does not work (a different method of bleeding), does anyone have a guaranteed GOOD clutch master that they'd like to let go of for cheap (i need the one with the "snap" bottom for the hardline, not the screw on type)??

[Seeker]

well, the clutch master that i have looked barely used. should there be resistance on the clutch master when pumping the clutch by hand and no hoses run up to it?

when replacing the clutch master, do i have to remove the whole pedal assembly (*sigh* again?)? or can i just unbolt the sucker and pop a new one in. i'm hoping for the latter because we all know how much it sucks to do the pedal assembly...

if my experiment this evening does not work (a different method of bleeding), does anyone have a guaranteed GOOD clutch master that they'd like to let go of for cheap (i need the one with the "snap" bottom for the hardline, not the screw on type)??

Did you make sure the rear section of the brake fluid reservoir had fluid in it? How about the plastic nipple at the rear.. did you make a large enough hole in it to flow the fluid to the hose/clutch mast. cyl.?

We felt really no resistance while bleeding, only when we were at no bubbles in line, shut the valve and pumped it a couple more times did it stiffen up.
Your clutch mast. cyl may be OK if it looks fairly new. It's hard for me to explain the worn out one I discovered I had cuz I compared it to one that seemed to be working right(the one I actually installed).

Yea, you swap the clutchmast. cyl. w/out taking the pedal set out.

[ProjektMayhem]

Did you make sure the rear section of the brake fluid reservoir had fluid in it? How about the plastic nipple at the rear.. did you make a large enough hole in it to flow the fluid to the hose/clutch mast. cyl.?

We felt really no resistance while bleeding, only when we were at no bubbles in line, shut the valve and pumped it a couple more times did it stiffen up.
Your clutch mast. cyl may be OK if it looks fairly new. It's hard for me to explain the worn out one I discovered I had cuz I compared it to one that seemed to be working right(the one I actually installed).

Yea, you swap the clutchmast. cyl. w/out taking the pedal set out.

i'm definitely going to be checking those particular items this evening when i get back to the garage. the hole in the nipple makes sense, though. it might be a little pinched. reason i say that is because in the process of trying to bleed it last night, i would see dribbles of fluid come through the tube, but no decent flow. i would imagine that checking the fluid in the back area and the hole in the nipple might just fix the issue. i don't really want to replace JUST the clutch slave as i've heard that it'll wear down the "older" piece between the two (clutch master/slave).

in an unrelated note, i have the stock selector rod and have installed it, but it feels a little sloppy joe when i shift it. i get it into gear and i have about an inch of horizontal play on each side... i know the dssr would help somewhat. maybe i'm just used to the shifter i have now (VERY VERY tight and notchy... if i could transfer it over I'd do it in a SECOND) on my dd.

[Studie]

yeah its just worn out bushings. mine doesnt have any slop but i've heard that many shifters do.

[ProjektMayhem]

i hadn't tried wrapping my select rod in sodder yet. i need to pull the rod out anyways, so i figured i'd see what this was all about... anyone shed some light on the point of wrapping a pound of sodder around the selector rod?

[Seeker]

try replacing those little yellow plastic washers/bushings. They can wear down a bit and make the shifter sloppy.

The solder makes the lever top heavy and easier to throw in gear. I'd pass on it.

[ProjektMayhem]

perhaps finding a metal washer of the same size might be beneficial?

[Seeker]

perhaps finding a metal washer of the same size might be beneficial?

doubtful.

They should be a very cheap item. Look for internet vendors to have them or try the local bendmeoverandrapemedryship.

It's like 4 plastic washers. total.

[ProjektMayhem]

wasn't implying metal replacement for money's sake, but for longevity and strenght's sake...

but something tells me i'm not the first one to think of this.

[Studie]

engagement might be a bit harsh... thats the only reason i can think they're made of what they are.

[Seeker]

engagement might be a bit harsh... thats the only reason i can think they're made of what they are.

yea.. prolly would have a rickity feel to it.

my guess is the plastic has some give to it to make it more pleasant