Help - Removing M60 4.0L V8

[Panzer Captain]

Hey guys,

Need a little assistance - I'm yanking the 4.0 + 6spd out of a '95 540, and have a few questions:

- Do you have to remove the tranny to pull the motor? Or can you pull the motor + tranny as one unit?

- Do you have to remove the headers to pull the motor?

- Any special tools required to remove the tranny?

I have everything disconnected, etc, and have tried a few times to pull the motor + tranny out (with the headers on) all as one unit. It looks like the subframe and possibly the swaybar are preventing me from being able to do so.

Thanks very much,

[RallyD]

headers can stay. trans has to go.

[Jon K]

trans really? the best part of pulling the engine is that the trans can stay on the M5x motors

[Panzer Captain]

headers can stay. trans has to go.

Really? Dammit.

Anything special required to pull the tranny?

[winfred]

the steering box side headers gotta go, sometimes you can leave the other side on depending on the engine compartment, the tranny comes out like any other tranny except that it's ungodly heavy/huge, the usual bmw inverted torx sockets are needed e12 and e10 if i remember right, i don't think the v8s have the e14s that are on everything else

[yaofeng]

Hey guys,

Need a little assistance - I'm yanking the 4.0 + 6spd out of a '95 540, and have a few questions:

- Do you have to remove the tranny to pull the motor? Or can you pull the motor + tranny as one unit?

- Do you have to remove the headers to pull the motor?

- Any special tools required to remove the tranny?

I have everything disconnected, etc, and have tried a few times to pull the motor + tranny out (with the headers on) all as one unit. It looks like the subframe and possibly the swaybar are preventing me from being able to do so.

Thanks very much,

The motor and the gear box come out and go in in one piece. You need to remove the sway bar, the cross member for the thrust arms, the radiator. loosen the power steering pump and the AC compressor. The exhaust headers you remove after lifting the drive train up a few inches up in the air.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b274/yaofengchen/BMW_95_540/DSC_3380.jpg

[whiskychaser]

Imagine your engine/gearbox are hell of a weight. Any chance you could leave them where they are and lift the body off instead? Seen it done in breakers' yards but they dont care about denting a few panels

[Panzer Captain]

Awesome - thanks!

Looks like the shifter has to come out, huh? That sucks.

[bsell]

The motor and the gear box come out and go in in one piece. You need to remove the sway bar, the cross member for the thrust arms, the radiator. loosen the power steering pump and the AC compressor. The exhaust headers you remove after lifting the drive train up a few inches up in the air.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b274/yaofengchen/BMW_95_540/DSC_3380.jpg

How much fun is it to remove the water hoses right above the bellhousing?:(

You have to love a captured tailshaft for making this job less messy.

Great picture by the way.

Brian

[winfred]

i didn't notice that it was a stick that you were pulling, yea it may be small enough to be worth leaving the tranny on the engine for the ride out, sometimes it's possible to leave em on but you run out of room pretty quick and it's a pain in the ass it you gotta set it back down and pull the tranny or you punch a hole in the condenser

[yaofeng]

i didn't notice that it was a stick that you were pulling, yea it may be small enough to be worth leaving the tranny on the engine for the ride out, sometimes it's possible to leave em on but you run out of room pretty quick and it's a pain in the ass it you gotta set it back down and pull the tranny or you punch a hole in the condenser

I pulled an auto tranny to put in a stick. The longer slush box is not a problem as much as the V8. Space is tight but manageable.

[yaofeng]

Awesome - thanks!

Looks like the shifter has to come out, huh? That sucks.

The shifter is not critical. I believe you can have it in place, pull or install. A few more pics of what came out.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b274/yaofengchen/BMW_95_540/DSC_3132.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b274/yaofengchen/BMW_95_540/DSC_3135.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b274/yaofengchen/BMW_95_540/DSC_3130.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b274/yaofengchen/BMW_95_540/DSC_3126.jpg

[Panzer Captain]

i didn't notice that it was a stick that you were pulling, yea it may be small enough to be worth leaving the tranny on the engine for the ride out, sometimes it's possible to leave em on but you run out of room pretty quick and it's a pain in the ass it you gotta set it back down and pull the tranny or you punch a hole in the condenser


Looks like Yaofeng left the condenser in place while pulling the motor / tranny combo?

[Brandon J]

No joke. If you are pulling out of a junk car, then see where a sawzall can help. lol, easier to destroy then to neatly remove.

[yaofeng]

Looks like Yaofeng left the condenser in place while pulling the motor / tranny combo?

The AC condenser won't be in the way as it is beneath the top front cross frame. You don't want to break the pressure boundry of the freon either.