Starting another 535i auto-5-spd swap . . . Day 1

[gale]

Call me a glutton for punishment, crawling around on a cold hard cement floor in the coldest month of winter. Gotta a 3-day weekend and ALL the pieces so decided to go for it.

Tonight's agenda:

- sweep the garage floor and get the heater going
- pull the car in and put it up on jackstands
- let it cool and pull the exhaust
- pull the driveshaft
- undo the trans cooler lines and drain the trans
- take a break
- pull the cooler lines out
- pull the trans & torque converter
- pull the console panel & auto shifter business
- call it good for the night
- take lots of ibuprofen so I can move tomorrow morning

Day 2:

- clean the rear of the engine & install new rear main seal
- install pilot bearing
- install flywheel, disk, pressure plate
- install Getrag trans
- swap diff's (going from the stock 3.91 open to a 3.64 LSD)
- install manual shifter
- scratch my ass and decide how far to go from there (I suck at planning too far in advance)
- more ibuprofen

Day 3:

- finish whatever I didn't get done on day 2
- face the "dreaded pedal swap chore"
- install the clutch hydraulics & plumbing
- install & adjust the clutch cruise control cancel switch
- install the driveshaft
- put the exhaust back on
- fill & bleed the clutch hydraulics
- short out the "trans program error" pin
- remember to put a jumper in the starter relay (remember not to jumper the horn relay this time!)
- take it for a spin :D
- take lots of ibuprofen so I can move on Tuesday when I have to go back to my day job :(

I'll try to take more pictures & maybe finish my webpage:

http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/page_41.htm

Heck, maybe I'll even put a few photos on YouTube ;)

[attack eagle]

good deal gale.

I have the same plan, except I already have the pedals swapped, and all the wiring done, and already changed the diff.

my neighbor just offered me a grand cash for my beater, (94 saturn Sl2, cracked radiator, cracked windshield, never die POS car.) So I sold it and i need the touring back together Tuesday after almost 3 months.

I hate that autotrans... what a PITA to try and get the bolts out.


I think the pedal swap is the easiest part of the job... I can pull the upercolumn swap lowers and reinstall in about 90 minutes

[Jeff N.]

Yeah..the pedal box would be the PITA part for sure.

Ever tried the Z8 shifter? I think you'd like that one. Didn't see it in your options on the web page.

[BigKriss]

is the driveshaft from the donor car needed as well? I assume the gearboxes aren't exactly the same length.

[Ross]

Good show Gale. How's that 745 project going?

[gale]

Yes, I was able to get the driveshaft from the same donor car. I put a new center bearing in it and will put a new front pilot bushing in it. The Getrag 260/6 manual trans is about 6" shorter than the ZF 4hp22 auto.

I haven't started the turbo project yet. Other funding needs put it on the back burner (gotta cough up a huge pile of money for my son's orthodontist). I'm hoping to work out all the mods this summer and install it in the fall. That way I can do my bi-annual emissions test on the stock motor & have 2 more years to not worry about the turbo making it fail a visual inspection. I'm going to flycut & bore a hole in the donor intake manifold to move the throttle body to the other side & that will give it lots of room for a larger intercooler on the cold side of the engine.

Well, the meds have finally kicked in this morning. Time to warm up the shop & get working on day 2 of the swap. Made my milestone last night & got the auto trans out. Gonna start in on the rear main seal & flywheel install today & bolt the Getrag on it & swap diff's this afternoon. Should go pretty quick after that.