E36 Manual conversion

[pjay 8]

Hi guys,

I have a simple question for those that can answer it.

Can E34 Manual running gear swap into an automatic E36?

More info:

Parts are out of an E34 520i

- includes ZF 5 speed gearbox, cross member, pedals, master and slave cylinders, fly wheel, all lines and hoses, console insert and shifter.

My car is an E36 328i.

I know ill need a new drive shaft, clutch, pressure plate and somebody to do it, which brings me to my 2nd question. If this is possible, who can do this for me?

cheers,

Peter

[Mark 178]

If the E34 has the M50 engine then I don't see why not...

[westy 614]

Pedals; no

Master cylinder; highly unlikely

Cross member; no

Lines and hoses; no

Console insert; no

Hoses; not if you have to buy a master cylinder

Flywheel; posibly

Shifter; unlikely

Which leaves the gearbox. Do you have any more info on it? Its likely it uses the same bolt pattern so it should work.

You'll also need a drive shaft.

The gearbox is the difficult part to source, everything else is avaliable at least new.

[325_driver 422]

Westy, that was pretty straight up.

I dont know how relevant that comment was. haha

Im guessing the gearbox will line up, im guessing its the non vanos m50b20

btw How similar are e30 manual conversion parts to the e36 parts, e.g. master cylinder, shifter, x member etc?

since were on this topid

Edited May 30, 2008 by 325_driver

[westy 614]

Same thing.

Basicaly anything that attaches to the car you can assume isnt going to fit.

There are probably some exceptions but there wont be many.

[westy 614]

I should say, dont be put off tho.

Its the best thing you can do to a 328.

[pjay 8]

Perfect reply West.. Exactly what i wanted Ok so this isnt the way to go then, it is really really cheap though - $200.. Ah well, the search continues. Im looking for the simplest possible way to convert mine to manual.

[westy 614]

Find out more about the gearbox first.

At $200 its worth buying anyway.

I paid $1500 for a 328 gearbox! The only one I could find after 2 years waiting.

[Yuen 16]

Find out more about the gearbox first.

At $200 its worth buying anyway.

I paid $1500 for a 328 gearbox! The only one I could find after 2 years waiting.

I actually thought your car was a factory manual!

[Grant 4]

I actually thought your car was a factory manual!

No - by doing it himself, Westy managed to not have to use a dual mass flywheel (which when roots itself, is damned costly to replace).

Cheers

Grant

[pjay 8]

Find out more about the gearbox first.

cheers, what am i finding out? Im as noob as they come

[kerrynzl 3]

Been there, with a E34 box . I ended up selling the whole E34 manual conversion because it wasn't worth it.

the E34 ZF box is O/D 5th , the E36 ZF box is 1:1 5th. [ they are a different animal ]

I ended up buying a complete E36 manual car [ with a fuct engine ] and swapped everything.

It is very easy to do, it took me about a week, after hours, in my driveway, in winter. the hardest part was threading the clutch hardline behind the engine [ bloody RHD ]

I posted a complete E36 conversion on the forum about a year ago [ for a friend ] he never got a single reply.

[BM WORLD 1286]

yes thats right , e34 box is longer , so shifter wont line up and none fit from other models .

driveshafts going to be different to the e36 manual ones .

pedals . no . master no.

clutch lines no .

slave yes .

flywheel yes .

if you get a e36 320i 318i 325i 328i kit you also need to change the diff to match the gearing .

gotto go to about 3.07-3.25 ratio for 325i medium case or about 3.46 for 320i small case .

you can use a m40/m42/m43/m44 318i kit for 325i but just dont load it up too much

[pjay 8]

Hmmm so what I've learned is E36 to E36 is easier that E34 to E36. Sounds logical.

kerrynzl: you wouldnt happen to have that E36 conversion writeup handy would you? I searched and searched but could not find

[kerrynzl 3]

You dont really need a write up. It is all bolt in.

The shifter boot clips in, the clutch pedal goes on to the stock brake pedal hanger etc

the hole in the firewall for the clutch master cylinder is in place [ covered with a chassis plug ]

the bracket for the shifter is already welded in etc

The only bracket missing is one that holds the clutch hydraulic hard line to the firewall [ not really needed ]

The wiring can be a bit daunting to a novice.

You will need to wire in the reverse switch from the gearbox back to the plug by the Auto shifter [ if you have reverse chimes they will still work OK ]

you will need to run a wire from the starter [ key ] to the same plug [ yellow/red at key to brown at the plug ]

to bypass the starter inhibitor switch . Don't try to bridge the switch if you have cruise control, as the computer will think the car is in neutral all the time.

Then unplug the Trans computer and the trans light on the Instrument Panel. The plugs that went to the Auto trans were sealed with a bit of silicone to keep water out.[ they are wired into the main engine loom, so a short-out could create problems ] All very simple

The hardest part was removing the old auto plus all the Oil cooler lines.

I used the BMW dual mass flywheel, because the are absolutely smooth and dont shudder in traffic [ the dual mass clutchplate doesn't have center springs ]

If you need to chat about this pm me and I'll give you my phone number

[pjay 8]

That would be fantastic. Ill source parts first of all. Got quoted at 2750 yesterday for a complete conversion kit. But thats what id like to spend including labour as im not confident with the wiring side.

[325_driver 422]

That would be fantastic. Ill source parts first of all. Got quoted at 2750 yesterday for a complete conversion kit. But thats what id like to spend including labour as im not confident with the wiring side.

ALMOST 3 GRAND !! ? no way?

was that including the box ?

surely you can pick up a m20 box for 600 ish, and the rest of the parts for a maximum of 800?

Dont even worry about labour, its a good thing to learn how to do.

[pjay 8]

ALMOST 3 GRAND !! ? no way?

was that including the box ?

surely you can pick up a m20 box for 600 ish, and the rest of the parts for a maximum of 800?

Dont even worry about labour, its a good thing to learn how to do.

Sorry i lie:

I was quoted $1750. plus $1000 for labour (at most)

[Jammasterjames 0]

Sorry i lie:

I was quoted $1750. plus $1000 for labour (at most)

May I ask who quoted?

Any of y'all got da low down on who can do the conversion? (I only know of SD European offering it).

[pjay 8]

May I ask who quoted?

Any of y'all got da low down on who can do the conversion? (I only know of SD European offering it).

Parts from this guy: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Members/Listings.aspx?member=488791

Labour from a mechanics in West auckland. I wanted to scope out a price.

Im hoping for more like 2k all up for the conversion

[Guest Simon*]

Parts from this guy: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Members/Listings.aspx?member=488791

That's Ray - HellBM

He's a member and sponsor here

[westy 614]

Thats a pretty good price for parts plus labour.

The only way I can see you beating that is with a cheap donor car.

[steve R 0]

yea that seams like a good price, alot of over seas forums suggest around 10-15 hours labour