The Official Auto-to-Manual Transmission Swap Thread

[Mpowered95]

car is fixed and runs great, very fast and pulls extremely hard. another successful auto to manual swap over!!

[finallyhere]

Anyone know of somebody in PA, DE, or MD who can do this... i live right on the boarder of all three states.

[NHbmw325I]

no idea, but I plan on doing it myself very soon!

[Seeker]

OK.. here's a pic of the rewire...

basically you jumper 5 & 7 on the autotrans. wiring harness that went to the range switch.. then in order to interrupt the signal that goes to the CC module to tell it the car is in park or neutral (which wouldnt allow CC to stay on), just clip the wire to pin#5 on the CC module. Dont splice into #5 or ANYTHING except cover up the cut wires to avoid any connections.. we dont want any signals to get to pin#5.. we just want to completley sever that connection.

When clipping wires to the pins on the CC module, you'll have to locate the correct wire on the harness connector going to the CC module.. make sure you cut at least 3-5" back away from the connector so you got some wire to work with.. you dont want to be too close to the connector.

Then, cut into the wire that goes to pin#2 on the CC module.. splice into the wire you just cut that goes into the module.. just cover the other wire you cut.. we dont want it getting any signals.
(You'll prolly want a 5ft pieces of wire for the clutch switch wires). Hook up the other end to your clutch switch.
Dont really matter which wire on the clutch switch.. just hook it up to one of them and use the other for the next wire.

At Pin#13 on the CC module.. again you want to cut the wire, splice a new wire into the wire going to the CC module. After splicing into #13, find a bolt behind the glove box that has good ground. Cut some insulation off the wire where you can wrap it around a bolt to get a good ground connection and tighten the bolt back down.. continue your wire around to the clutch switch and make a connection to it.

Thats it, your car will start and CC will work and shut off the moment you put a little pressure on the clutch pedal.


Shadowpuck may have pics of when we did this to clarify. It appears that this will work all the way up to 98.

I'm looking into Early 95's and 92-94 rewires. Its completely different and a bit more troublesome to figure out.. so I was wrong what I said earlier about the early models possibly being easier to do.

[shadowpuck]

this worked flawlessly on my car - many thanks to seeker!

[BMWpartstrader]

Having trouble using the same harness with the old tranny selector. Do I have to create a closed circut for the computer to think that the car is in "park" to start?

[Seeker]

Having trouble using the same harness with the old tranny selector. Do I have to create a closed circut for the computer to think that the car is in "park" to start?

Yes. Thats why you short pins 5 & 7 on the auto range switch connector.

But if you have a 92, then your situation is different and I've not quite figured it comepletely out.. its like there's something wrong with the Bentley Schematic..

But I bet if you short 5 & 7, then on your Cruise Control Module you'd want to cllp wire #25 and cover the wires.. this is where a signal would get in from the shorting of 5&7 to tell it it is in park/neutral and shut down CC.

Problem I see with this schematic I've worked on is that I dont see how a signal is going to goto the clutch switch AFTER the brakelight switch.. its like you gotta tap into the power lead going into the brakelight switch and then to the clutch switch..
Cuz if I'm reading this right.. there needs to be voltage going to the clutchswitch in this setup to trigger the CC to shut off when the clutch switch is activated.


Cannot predict the outcome of what I show here until its actually tried.. which I may get around to someday..

[ModMaster]

Hi i wanna swap the auto gearbox in my 328i e36 with a 5MT from an e34 525i .. is this the same getrag from the e36 325i ?
should i do it ?

[Seeker]

Hi i wanna swap the auto gearbox in my 328i e36 with a 5MT from an e34 525i .. is this the same getrag from the e36 325i ?
should i do it ?

what year is the e34?

It might have a ZF in it.. which would be a better tranny.

[shadowpuck]

i think e34's had getrags in them, but not sure....

your 328 would have had a ZF as a manual from the factory....

the parts catalog seems to indicate that the e34 5spd is different from an e36...that usually means they aren't compatible....

[94calypsored]

Alright, time has come to do this!
Gonna get the getRAG piece of you know what auto trans out of my car, and put in a 5 speed ZF from a 98 M3.
I subscribed to this thread a long ass time ago but never finished reading the whole thing(has anybody?) Anyway, I trust the person who will be doing the actual swap for me, so I don't have to be concerned with all of the intricate details of how to do it myself.
Originally, I had planned to put in a euro 6 speed, thought about it for a while and for practical reasons I decided against it. This car is more like a daily beater right now. But one day it will be the hobby track car.
Wish me luck.

[NAe36]

actually your auto tranny is a GM piece of you know what.

[Mpowered95]

attention to all autos in the NYC area, if you want this conversion, just message me. a buddy and myself can do this in about 3 days if all parts are present.

[roberttran]

My notchy shifting has finally gotten to me. When I put everything back together, I forgot to grease the tranny input spline. I think this is what's causing my notchy shifting because the clutch disc isn't sliding away from the flywheel smoothly. I've already bled my slave cylinder 5 times and I don't think that's it.

I ordered the grease BMW recommends on the input splines and it should be here in a week. I'm thinking about swapping out my master cylinder too since that's the only used part I used for the clutch system.

[mbadger]

My notchy shifting has finally gotten to me. When I put everything back together, I forgot to grease the tranny input spline. I think this is what's causing my notchy shifting because the clutch disc isn't sliding away from the flywheel smoothly. I've already bled my slave cylinder 5 times and I don't think that's it.

I ordered the grease BMW recommends on the input splines and it should be here in a week. I'm thinking about swapping out my master cylinder too since that's the only used part I used for the clutch system.

Mine was a little notchy at first, but got better each time I drove the car.


Did you get that lithium grease under the throwout bearing (behind the clutch fork) also?

[94calypsored]

actually your auto tranny is a GM piece of you know what.

so I heard, what a surprise, what years/models did GM make tranys for BMW?

attention to all autos in the NYC area, if you want this conversion, just message me. a buddy and myself can do this in about 3 days if all parts are present.

With all the parts present, Bill from Bimmer Clinic, also known here on BFC as "Bill", along with the help his tech Mike, did it in one day. Swapped to a 3.23 diff also. She's clutching firmly and shifting smoothly, solid, perfect. Thank you Bill and Mike for an outstanding job.

[Seeker]

Dont think this has been covered before.


In Regards to 92 Thru Early 94 Production Auto's ONLY

I had a problem with my starter a couple times. I found this schematic for 92-Early94 models and lookie whats on it, the autorange switch pins 5 & 7, PLUS a Starter Relay.

ONLY AUTOS COME WITH A STARTER RELAY.


Look at the schematic below..
The manuals wont have one.. it's direct. W/EGS means With Auto Trans.
W/Out EGS means Manual. You can see the w/egs version goes to the starter relay.

Why is it on there? Thats how the starter is disabled in an auto setup.. again, if this had been a manual car, the starter would try and turn the engine over if you didnt have the clutch pedal pushed in on OBDI cars.
This thing is only blocking/allowing the power to get from the ignition key switch to the starter sillynoid.

SO, you can essentially completely bypass the jumpering of 5 & 7 pins on the autorange switch harness and just jumper direct the wires that go to that relay.. That would be terminals 6 & 2 for the starter relay socket.
WHY? Well, first of all.. this relay is gonna be on the entire time you drive. When you have the autorange switch in, it will shut off when you are in drive.. only comes on when in park or neutral so you can turn the starter over.
So it's getting a workout, I'm sure. That leads to...
#2 Imagine finding out you were stranded because this relay went out on you... it could have been avoided by bypassing that relay and leave it out of the circuit.


In regards to late 94 Production and on units, they have the pins 5 & 7 from the auto range switch going to the immobilizer unit. There is not a starter relay in these. Evidently the immobilizer takes its place.

I'm gettin that relay outta my car ASAP and going direct.

This relay on my car is located directly above the driver's kickpanel speaker.. gotta take the lower dash panel off to get to it.


Here's a pic of the schematic..

[wingnut1961]

I'm about to plunge into a trans swap on my M3. Can anyone recommend a competent shop in (or near) FL to reprogram the ECU (OBDII) and make it a complete success? Anyone else driving a E36 with 3.38 LSD and a manual? Are the revs annoying on the highway? Thanks!

[freshprince]

Hey guys
i got a bmw 325i 1995 auto
i wana conver to manual
i know sum one with all the parts from a 3181 4cyl engine,
do i need to change my computer as well? since mine is a 6cyl..

can some one please help me out. i need to knw what the diffrences are
is the flywheel and all same or diffrent?

thanks..

[wingnut1961]

According to ETK the transmission S5D-250G-TAKU (or TAJR) was used in the 318i and the S5D-250G-TAKG (or TAKZ, TAKT, TAJT) was used in 325i. The clutch and flywheels are different diameters too. So the short answer is no the parts from the I4 aren't interchangable with the I6. You should be able to find parts elsewhere pretty cheaply. Also, shouldn't need a different ECU but you will have to rewire a bit to get things working properly. Good luck.

[NAe36]

you should be able to run the 318 tranny in the 325, because thats what im running and I got my parts from zionsville autosport. Dwight from zionsville informed me that the 325 and 318 trannys are the same, i dont know on the flywheel or clutch though.

[BL4CK-OUT]

Hmm, well I've decided I really want to go through with this, but what are some notable changes I should be aware of?

My car is a March 1996 build. I guess I have to reqire the cruise control, what about anything else such as the ECU, Auto Trans Control Module, ABS, Traction Control, etc...?

[DeltaSix]

Hey everyone, I just started the swap a few days ago and everything was going well until I started to bleed the clutch line. No matter how long i pump the clutch pedal for I can never get all the air out of the line. Am I missing something? Can I not bleed the clutch line just by pumping the clutch pedal?
Anyone have any hints on bleeding the line?

Thanks for all the good info on this thread.

[NAe36]

I had to take my slave out of the trans and bleed it by hand. Take it out, loosen the bleeder screw push the plunger in with one hand and once the plunger is all the way in close the bleeder screw. And repeat. I couldnt get my slave to bleed just by pumping the pedal. Also DO NOT push your pedal with the slave out of the trans it will shoot the plunger out of the slave and ruin it.

[DeltaSix]

Thanks a lot NAe36 clutch works perfectly now. However I now have a new problem. Everything is finished but the selector rod is too low and is hitting the flex disc at the flex disc's closest point. Like the bend it just a bit too far forward. What I figure is that I was sent the Getrag gear shit assembly opposed to the ZF one... is the Getrag assembly shorter than the ZF? or did I mess something up?