E46 330ci Manual conversion 5 speed

[Kezz 0]

Hi There,

I have a 1999 323ci e46 5 speed manual that I’ve had for a few years, written off from a fairly minor rear end, and I’m at a loss what to do with it. Seems like it’ll be uneconomical to repair with cost of repair cert etc, so I’ve been considering buying an auto 330ci and doing a manual swap using mine as a donor.

I’ve seen a few threads from some googling, but only for 6 speed swaps on American examples. Does anyone know if the earlier 5 speed etc is compatible with the M54? Or has anyone else done this swap?

I’ve done a manual swap before, back in the day with Nissan Cefiro’s and Skylines, but I’m picking it will be a bit more involved with the e46?

Any help or advice is appreciated!

Cheers.

[Eagle 1662]

Been done plenty so should be plenty of info on it, 5 vs 6 speed is pretty much the same process, not hard to do but you need a laptop and software to do the coding side of it.

Auto and manual share the same body so all the mounting point and holes etc are there. You should be able to swap everything over easy enough, but bear in mind your 323i will have a weaker drivetrain than factory manual 328i or 330i. You want a 240mm flywheel and clutch rated for 330i power, plenty of single mass options available.

[Harper 546]

The 330 motors have been known to break the getrag 5 speeds under hard use. But it will bolt up and work fine.

Only other thing to note is your 323 driveshaft will not directly bolt to the 330 diff. You'll have to swap the input flange on the diff from the 6 bolt 330 style to the 4 bolt 323 design.

[Vass 830]

Not sure how it compares to the Nissans but it's all fairly well documented and very much doable.

Involves a bit of wiring and coding which is easy enough to grasp following some handy DIY guides. Happy to lend a hand with those if you run into trouble, seeing as you're also Chch based.

The hardware will mostly bolt up with the main incompatibility being the diff as alluded to above - can either swap the input flange or the whole diff, depending on the ratio you'd prefer I guess. The 330i automatics have a 3.38 ratio diff, your 323i will probably be a 3.07, assuming it's factory manual.

A manual swap technically requires going through the certification process if you want to do things by the book but you'll fly through WoF's without it if you do a tidy enough job.

[Harper 546]

28 minutes ago, Vass said:

Involves a bit of wiring and coding which is easy enough to grasp following some handy DIY guides.

323 will be ZCS though. This guide for the coding

Edited September 9 by Harper

[Vass 830]

Wouldn't the coding depend on which variant the new 330ci turns out to be? Don't think the donor car matters unless you're swapping modules over for some reason. But yeah will be one of the two links anyway. Don't think the type of clutch switch matters either, both the hall sensor and the trigger type ones send the same type of signal I would think.

[Harper 546]

29 minutes ago, Vass said:

Wouldn't the coding depend on which variant the new 330ci turns out to be? Don't think the donor car matters unless you're swapping modules over for some reason. But yeah will be one of the two links anyway. Don't think the type of clutch switch matters either, both the hall sensor and the trigger type ones send the same type of signal I would think.

Sorry you're 100% right. Me being a dumbdumb, forgot it wasn't the 323 that was being converted. Only very early 330ci's are ZCS, most will actually be FA. 

Edited September 9 by Harper

[Eagle 1662]

4 hours ago, Harper said:

The 330 motors have been known to break the getrag 5 speeds under hard use. But it will bolt up and work fine.

Only other thing to note is your 323 driveshaft will not directly bolt to the 330 diff. You'll have to swap the input flange on the diff from the 6 bolt 330 style to the 4 bolt 323 design.

You'd want to run the the 323 diff if its the manual 3.07 ratio. Should be able to use swap 330ci output flanges into the 323i diff.