The Official Auto-to-Manual Transmission Swap Thread

[turbovan]

Hi I have been a member of this forum for 3 years, have been going through this thread and came across your page but can not access the pics I was wondering if you can email them to me at darren_dyoung@hotmail.com I live in Australia thank you in advance.
Darren

[rmdc1]

I have spent literally months going over this thread... its making me dizzy...lol... I am doing a 94 325is swap with a zf 5 speed now, not that bad actually. Now my 97 M3 auto with sealed 'lifetime' oil is starting to pop the dash light and check engine light...(which my peak will NOT erase)...

I am considering a 6 speed swap instead of a 5 speed for the 97 M3 OBDII.

Has anyone ever did a comparison in terms of differences. I came across some info from Zionsville, and am thinking on getting their 6 speed conversion manual for $50.00, is it worth it?....has anyone ever gotten this pricey bit of info?

What are some experiences? Pros and cons and anything else in between would be great... A lot of 5 speeds out there, not too many 6 speeds... I am in Sacramento BTW... may be interested in parts for the 97 M3.. getting close to needing a change on that... Thanks everyone.

[casperlynn]

I came across some info from Zionsville, and am thinking on getting their 6 speed conversion manual for $50.00, is it worth it?....has anyone ever gotten this pricey bit of info?

What are some experiences? Pros and cons and anything else in between would be great... A lot of 5 speeds out there, not too many 6 speeds...

The CD is well worth the investment being it has many color photographs of each step. I can't speak for the 5-speed. My combination of a ZF 6-speed, 3.91 LSD, centrifical supercharger, bumped up rev limit and speed govenor removed.......simply awesome for a DD. Anything more it would not be road safe

[rmdc1]

The CD is well worth the investment being it has many color photographs of each step. I can't speak for the 5-speed. My combination of a ZF 6-speed, 3.91 LSD diff, centrifical supercharger, bumped up rev limit and speed govenor removed.......simply awesome for a DD. Anything more it would not be road safe

Thats awesome, what clutch set up did you use? Thanks for the info!

[1SickEuro]

Hey everyone I'm about to purchase a Zionsville Kit with the Getrag 5-Speed Tranny that includes all the parts necessary for the swap EXCEPT a Differential for $1,690. I believe my 94' 325IS has a 3.91 Differential? Is it necessary to get a new Differential, or can everything be fine with my stock Auto Differentia? Thanks guys, looking forward to some answers from the site that has it best :]

[rajicase]

Does anyone know where I could find the bracket that attaches to the chassis that the shifter arm bushing fits into? Does anyone know what its called?

It is part #4 in this diagram: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...13&hg=25&fg=05

I have just about every part I need for this swap, but I cant find this? I think there is supposed to be a metal bracket that the bushing(#4 in the realoem diagram) fits into, and then the shifter arm fits into the bushing.

Does anyone have any info about this they could share with me? I have searched parts sites and I cant find it and don't even know what to search for? This is like the only thing I am not sure about as far as this swap goes..

[Chowbow]

Does anyone know where I could find the bracket that attaches to the chassis that the shifter arm bushing fits into? Does anyone know what its called?

It is part #4 in this diagram: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...13&hg=25&fg=05

I have just about every part I need for this swap, but I cant find this? I think there is supposed to be a metal bracket that the bushing(#4 in the realoem diagram) fits into, and then the shifter arm fits into the bushing.

Does anyone have any info about this they could share with me? I have searched parts sites and I cant find it and don't even know what to search for? This is like the only thing I am not sure about as far as this swap goes..

That bracket is already on your chassis. You just need the bushing itself (part #4) and it snaps into the bracket. It's currently empty if you have an auto.

[rajicase]

That bracket is already on your chassis. You just need the bushing itself (part #4) and it snaps into the bracket. It's currently empty if you have an auto.

Oh wow.. Thanks for the info!

[Stephen Max]

Hey everyone I'm about to purchase a Zionsville Kit with the Getrag 5-Speed Tranny that includes all the parts necessary for the swap EXCEPT a Differential for $1,690. I believe my 94' 325IS has a 3.91 Differential? Is it necessary to get a new Differential, or can everything be fine with my stock Auto Differentia? Thanks guys, looking forward to some answers from the site that has it best :]

The 5th gear of the 5 speed tranny has the same gear ratio as 4th gear in your auto tranny. Drive around in 4th for a while and you will know what it's like. I am in the same boat, I decided to go ahead and upgrade to a 6 speed tranny and leave the 3.91 alone.

[casperlynn]

upgrade to a 6 speed tranny and leave the 3.91 alone.

I highly recommend installing a limited slip locker in your 3.91 diff (3.91 lsd) as it makes ALL the difference.

[teamwelnick]

Hey all, I'll probably make a separate thread for this but I'm looking to do a manual swap on my 95 E36 325, but I definitely don't have 1.6k plus labour to drop on a zionsville kit. I've seen manual trannys online for as low as 300, is there a place where I can buy everything else or is anyone selling?

[flyfishvt]

Hey all, I'll probably make a separate thread for this but I'm looking to do a manual swap on my 95 E36 325, but I definitely don't have 1.6k plus labour to drop on a zionsville kit. I've seen manual trannys online for as low as 300, is there a place where I can buy everything else or is anyone selling?

Find a parts car. Take your parts off and sell a bunch of parts off it and it won't cost you a dime for the swap. That's what I did. P

[casperlynn]

Find a parts car. Take your parts off and sell a bunch of parts off it and it won't cost you a dime for the swap. That's what I did. P

Show off

[XMR525]

I am TRANSplanting a ZF 6 speed from a 2004 (E60) 530I into my E36 328IS. Go to Zionsville Motorsports for additional swap info

Hi, I am looking at a GS6-17BG ( from e90 ) ... will this fit up to my M50 ?

[XMR525]

Hi, I am looking at a GS6-17BG ( from e90 ) ... will this fit up to my M50 ?

It doesn't look like the GS6-17BG will fit my M50 ... will an e46 330 6 speed fit my M50 ?
I am planning on selling my 6 speed S50 e30 and can not face life without a manual gearbox ... !
Is there any other 6 speed that will fit to my M50 ?

[picklejuice52]

If anyone is interested I have a 5 speed from a 1999 M3 and am selling it on the forums. (just look at threads started in my profile) I also have the Clutch M/C, DME, ECU, and clutch pedal assembly. PM me if interested..

[boostedwolfie]

TO ALL STRUGGLING WITH THE CLUTCH HARD LINE; braided ss hose can be used in place of the hardline!!! Sure woulda been nice to know that when i was doing the swap. Ive been running braided in place of the hardline now for almost two months and its held more than well against all types of driving

[Stephen Max]

TO ALL STRUGGLING WITH THE CLUTCH HARD LINE; braided ss hose can be used in place of the hardline!!! Sure woulda been nice to know that when i was doing the swap. Ive been running braided in place of the hardline now for almost two months and its held more than well against all types of driving

I've used that little trick on Nissans I've converted to manual and it does indeeed save a ton of headaches. The Nissans used a standard threaded connection at both ends, though, whereas the BMW master cylinder has the o-ring connection at the master cylinder. What braided line did you use that fits into the master cylinder?

[autowa]

okay. so iv read pretty much all 100 pages of this swap but i am still confused about a few things. at the moment i ahve a 98 328i manual with a rotted out body. i picked up a 328i rolling chassis that was an auto with no motor/ecu-dme/trans/drive shaft.i am going to be using my old car for the swap so i all ready have everything i need to complete it. so i will be swappig over my ecu/dme, is the harness the same on the auto so will it just be plug and play after i do the swap or is there other stuff that has to be done electrical wise? thanks.

[flyfishvt]

Someone just asked this same question in the e36 forum. Maybe it was you maybe not. The answer is that your engine, harness and dme will swap in with no issue. You will have to complete all the conversions to the interior including all the wiring modifications.

[Stephen Max]

TO ALL STRUGGLING WITH THE CLUTCH HARD LINE; braided ss hose can be used in place of the hardline!!! Sure woulda been nice to know that when i was doing the swap. Ive been running braided in place of the hardline now for almost two months and its held more than well against all types of driving

What braided hose did you use and where did you get it? Are you talking about the hard line that connects to the master cylinder, or the soft line that connects to the slave cylinder?

[Stephen Max]

TO ALL STRUGGLING WITH THE CLUTCH HARD LINE; braided ss hose can be used in place of the hardline!!! Sure woulda been nice to know that when i was doing the swap. Ive been running braided in place of the hardline now for almost two months and its held more than well against all types of driving

Too good to be true?

[Tbuc29]

Hello, I need some help. I had my 98 M3 swapped from an auto to manual last year but haven't been able to get rid of the check engine and transmission light. I bought an old dell laptop, downloaded all the necessary software and had no problem installing and using inpa but could not for the life of me to get DIS to work properly. So I have given up on trying to do it myself and am looking for someone around the Chicago area that has a laptop with a working copy of DIS that could do the necessary coding. I have cash and am willing to drive to you.

Thanks.

[Coldaccord]

I can't believe I forgot to post this up in here:

I had a 98 m3 sedan, swapped to manual, with the check engline light for can-bus timeout fault. I left the transmission control module (chip removed) hooked up to keep the ASC light off.

After a shop in CT wasn't able to do it, I sent the DME to Active Autowerke http://www.activeautowerke.com/ and spoke with Andrew Fish, he's on bf.c but I don't remember his username. I believe the charge was around $200, they were able to do a couple other things for me while they were in there.

Got it back, readiness monitors reset, still no CEL.

Pulled the cluster out a bit (steering wheel removal wasn't necessary) and pulled the bulb for the trans warning light, no more auto trans.

[flyfishvt]

Getting rid of the Check Engine Light for Can Bus is easy and requires zero programming. Install the auto tranny computer chip then clear all codes in the engine and auto tranny Then clear all engine adaptations and auto tranny adaptations. then pull the auto tranny computer chip and leave the auto tranny computer attached to the harness. Your Check Engine light should be gone for good except for a valid reason. I did this a year ago and check engine light is still off but comes back if it is supposed to for some other issue.

The auto tranny warning light is a bit different. If your car is OBDI then you simply pull out the cluster bulb for the auto tanny warning light. If your car is OBDII then you need to use DIS and recode either the cluster or the DME. Ive done both and they both work fine as long as you have a working copy of DIS and the correct ADS cable. Don't throw out the auto tranny computer chip. You may need it.