Herbmiester

Just reading for the first time, your attention to detail is impressive. I am really intetested to see the end result. A n54/55 in an E34 was someting I often thought of.

My Techno Violet 540is sat on FB for a while, the seller was a bit old school and really hated stupid questions, once we got some dialogue going we agreed on the price. It was below $20k. Ironically about 6 months after I bought it, I was parked in Lower Hutt and a chap came up to me and asked if it was for sale, he offered $25k without promting. I declined, but he gave me his number if I changed my mind. I think that prices for a lot of cars are quite cheap now, a buyers market so to speak. That said good cars should get decent money.

I saw this and started wondering, but then reality smacked me in the face, you already have too many cars.

If you get the correct box no programming is necessary, you just have to re pin the connector. Full instructions on the XHp blog. https://www.xautomotive.com/blogs/news/from-gm-to-zf-6hp

Dan, I am keen to do this sooner rather than later. My 6L45 shudders and clunks gears similar to yours and mine has also been serviced. If you do this let me know I will pop over the hill and give you a hand. (If you need it )

I did some checking and an 8HP starts at around 3k, plus 2k for the Cantcu, that's 5k plus working out the cooler swap parts. I can do the 6hp for about 1.5k. While its not as good a trans, with an XHp tune it's a pretty good. The 8hp can be someone else's project.

Take it back to the mechanic who did the job and get them to fix it. N47 engines can have timing chain issues, make sure that is not the problem.

An 8HP is an awesome trans and I have driven, and owned a few cars that have it. However, it's quite a bit more expensive to buy, and there is no simple "how to" guide to fit it. I dont know if I will need new driveshaft, what trans mounts will work and the fact the Cantcu controller is $2k. The 6HP is a simple bolt-up and the DME talks to the TCU with no programming needed.

You can use a BMW vin checker like ths one, https://www.mdecoder.com/ to see what options the car came from the factory with. This wont tell you what a dealer may have installed, and as mentioned by Brent, it could just be a body kit. Personally I would get the 3l over the 2.5, there is only a minor errect on fuel economy but noticeably better power.

I was never quite sold on the black style 67 replicas that came with the 130i, not to mention the front tyres were Crosswinds brand, so I decided to replace them. When a set of near new style 436 wheels turned up on marketplace with near new Pilot Sport 5's at a very cheap price, I bought them. They really change the look of the car and as you would expect, handling is much better. They also ride a bit better as well. I am probably going to raise the ride height slightly, but I am not getting any rubbing and bumpy roads don't cause any issues.

Yes getting the right box is the key. My research, including a good chat with the local transmission guy, painted a decent picture on ZF6 reliability. He really doesn't like the 6L45.

I am looking to swap the GM 6L45 in my 130i for a ZF6HP. Some of you may wonder whey swap an auto for an auto, but bear with me I do have what I think are solid reasons. Firstly and probably the big one for me, is the GM6L45 is an average box. It's not that smooth, especially when being pushed. It clunks up and down and does have a habit of chopping down when its not needed or holding on when it should drop down. I find it a bit of a guessing game. It does work ok when you use the paddle shifters. My 6l45 has had a service ad works as it should. In comparison the ZF box's I have had are noticeably smoother. The y have a much more refined converter lock/unlock and shifts are smoother. It also seems to be a lot smarter about when it shifts up and down. Finally it can be made very sharp with an XHP flash tune. Having had 6HP boxes in a few cars now and have always been impressed. The question of why not manual convert is a simple one, at best its a 5k job and could easily be 7k plus. One the other hand the ZF swap is a 1 to 1.5k job. Also my wife drives the car in Wellington traffic and is not interested in having a manual. I can get my manual fix driving the E34. Getting the right ZF box is the key and there are a few small parts needed. I am pretty sure I can do it myself (using a lift), and again if the right box is used, no reprogmaing of the TCU or DME is required. I am still gathering information but this article from XHP covers it. I am in the market for a ZF 6HP19/21. https://www.xautomotive.com/blogs/news/from-gm-to-zf-6hp

I put the wiring to the side of the structure. Its a bit tight but I managed to get it throgh and down. I just have the 2 screws at the front holding it down. Mine already had an older android head unit in place so it was already cut to fit.

Rock Auto is usually the cheapest and their shipping is pretty good as well. They dont always have the same selection as FCP, ECS or Spareto.

Mine were second hand and I rolled the dice as they did look a bit average. However the inserts were in excellent shape and the bumpstops were perfect. I just cleaned them up and installed them. I did regrease my strut mounts as they had no roughness and the bearings looked fine. The reason I went with them was that one of my KW coilovers had blown. Replacing it was going to be expensive, and time consuming to get to NZ. I have subsequently found a KW insert so I will rebuild them. The Bistein is a little softer, not by much but the bumpstops are as new and the bumstops on the KW were perished. This is a pretty important factor with lowered suspension. My rears are KW. You could acheive the same with a B8 and lower springs.