330 MS auto to manual

[central3 31]

So I've been driving the 330 motorsport for a year now and its time for a change. I'm looking at swapping the auto for a manual 5 speed. I did this swap on my 1994 325 a number of years ago and I am very happy with the result.. The mechanical side of the conversion will be straight forward given this experience. I have a conversion kit (gearbox, gearbox mount, diff, driveshaft, flywheel, clutch, pedals) lined up for $2,800. What worries me though is the electronics. I have read a couple of swap write ups which I found on the E46 Fanatics site. They describe the electrcal changes required to set up the clutch and reversing light switches so that should be ok. They talk about having the ECU flashed to eliminate the dash issues (transmission fault light, gear position indication etc). This is the bit that concerns me. Does anyone have any experience of this aspect of a conversion or do you know of a workshop that has the expertise? Any advise would be appreciated.

Edited July 17, 2009 by central3

[*Glenn* 854]

I'm not going to say this cant be done...however I will say it cant be done economicaly. I havent done one, and I dont know of anyone in NZ that has. If you want it road legal, everthing must work. I havent researched this fully, but I can tell you, the wiring loom is different and every control unit in the car is either different, or coded differently. All control units in the car comminicate with each other... DME, EGS, ABS, SRS, ASC, Kombi..etc etc and this communication line cannot be broken or interfered with.

You would need to research it more and have very, very deep pockets. I personaly would not undertake to be the ginea pig doing this for someone. If you had a damaged 330 manual donor car (rare as hens teeth) it would be easy, but still very costly. I'm sure it would be cheaper to keep the car youve got and go buy a manual BMW for a toy.

A very brave man (Tony) on our forum is in the process of doing a conversion into an E30 with E46 running gear. The cost I think is going to be the limiting factor for you. And finding the person who is willing to give it a go.

If you end up getting it done, I would be very interested to know what was involved and how much it cost.

This can be done on all pre 1998 vehicles quite easily as you can split the systems. I've done this on mine, however to do it properly it still costs heaps. I have spent close to $18,000 on my car converting it to a M52B28, manual, LSD, suspension, brakes etc etc the list goes on & on and thats without labour over a 2 year period. Nearly all the parts I used were new appart from the engine, geabox & diff head

Edit: Are you absolutely sure youve been reading E46 threads and not E36 conversion threads ??

I wouldnt mind having the links to have a look if you dont mind....if you have time to post them

Edited July 17, 2009 by *Glenn*

[hybrid 1039]

As Glenn said the big thing is in the coding. The guys on e46 fanatics had everything working up until the coding of this. There were a couple of people from the shops that told what they needed to code. You need to get very friendly with someone with a GT1 coder and isn't affriad to use it.

I'm pretty keen to do this myself to my e46 once the race car is finished so am behind you 100% to do this!

The monster thread you've probably already seen (one for you glenn too as requested)

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=659314

[hybrid 1039]

And from that thread ... here is some crap around coding

Step 12: Coding

Alright, I'm adding this coding section an exact month from when I made this DIY, the coding went great but not without a lot of problems. Just read on...

I decided to do my coding the old school way (I'll explain that later) rather than the traditional way of coding where it runs a script and everything is automatic. I think in today's world, you HAVE to do the old school coding because not all of us have access to NCS expert and pass through tools. Well ok, lets get to the instructions. Before you start any coding, remove the 3 blue wires that connect to the automatic transmission computer. It's next to the DME in the engine compartment next to where you wired the clutch switch DME wire. You can see it in one of my pictures above. If you fail to disconnect these wires before you code you ASC/DSC module, your traction control light will still be on and you will still have a check engine light... ask me how I know....

First off, you will need to get access to a GT1 with Progman/SSS. Hook a battery charger up to your battery terminals in the hood and hook up the pass through (yellow head). In Progman, start a session and choose the vehicle as E34. This will start up the "old dis/zcs" coding program and then choose E46. This will allow you to modify the ZCS. You need to go into Option 3: or ZCS/FA coding when the menu pops up. Then choose the KOMBI as the first module to code. It will ask you if the VIN is correct and you say yes, then it will ask you if the ZCS values are correct? You answer NO. This will allow you to manually input your new SA code and it will program the instrument cluster in a matter of seconds. If the gear indicator light turns off, you know you have the correct SA code.

After you code the KOMBI, you need to go back into the ZCS/FA option and code these modules:

EWS: by coding it you will be able to start your car without any wiring bridge in the auto tranny wiring harness

ASC/DSC: by coding it you will be able to disconect the auto tranny module(egs) with out any error in the dash (traction light error)

GKE or ZKE: this will make the cruise control and clutch switch electronics to activate

Last and very important.. tell the tech to go to the "programming" option rather than the ZCS/FA option, and select program DME. Since now your new options will be for a manual car, the new programming will overwrite the engine management of the DME. Then it will ask you to align the EWS with the DME and clear all of the fault codes in the car. Turn off your ignition for about 30 seconds in between all of these when it asks you. After the fault codes are cleared and all of the coding is finished, cycle the ignition a couple of times to make sure all error lights are off.

[mitchE30 0]

A F/L perfect E46 ms in white.

[central3 31]

Hmmm.........this is what I have been trying to get my head around. Mechanically I can take on most tasks but the electronics intimidate the hell out of me. The 2 threads I have read (see below for the second one I previously referred to) appeared to make the swap seem possible - even straight forward. As Hybrid says the secret will be in finding someone who can handle the electronics. Its not only the dash indications that I am worried about. The auto shift in the 330 is very smooth and I assume there is an interface between transmission and engine that facilitates this. I don't want to end up with any perfromance penalty that may come with an improperly configured control unit set up. Up until recieving this feedback I was going to go ahead and source the mechanical parts and deal with finding an electronics specialist later. Might need to think again - I'm very keen to do this but I want the car spot on when I'm finished.

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.ph...ht=5+speed+swap

I'm not going to say this cant be done...however I will say it cant be done economicaly. I havent done one, and I dont know of anyone in NZ that has. If you want it road legal, everthing must work. I havent researched this fully, but I can tell you, the wiring loom is different and every control unit in the car is either different, or coded differently. All control units in the car comminicate with each other... DME, EGS, ABS, SRS, ASC, Kombi..etc etc and this communication line cannot be broken or interfered with.

You would need to research it more and have very, very deep pockets. I personaly would not undertake to be the ginea pig doing this for someone. If you had a damaged 330 manual donor car (rare as hens teeth) it would be easy, but still very costly. I'm sure it would be cheaper to keep the car youve got and go buy a manual BMW for a toy.

A very brave man (Tony) on our forum is in the process of doing a conversion into an E30 with E46 running gear. The cost I think is going to be the limiting factor for you. And finding the person who is willing to give it a go.

If you end up getting it done, I would be very interested to know what was involved and how much it cost.

This can be done on all pre 1998 vehicles quite easily as you can split the systems. I've done this on mine, however to do it properly it still costs heaps. I have spent close to $18,000 on my car converting it to a M52B28, manual, LSD, suspension, brakes etc etc the list goes on & on and thats without labour over a 2 year period. Nearly all the parts I used were new appart from the engine, geabox & diff head

Edit: Are you absolutely sure youve been reading E46 threads and not E36 conversion threads ??

I wouldnt mind having the links to have a look if you dont mind....if you have time to post them

Edited July 17, 2009 by central3