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E36 OBD II 5 Speed Manual Swap......

43K views 38 replies 12 participants last post by  naturedude32 
#1 ·
So.... as you know I have been contemplating this for a while now & was ready to dive in & just do it......I researched threads & found a couple of DIY's......but they were for OBD I vehicles......the end results were good with no CEL's......


ZF 5-speed Maual Transmission



LINKS:
CONVERSION PROGRESS

Zionsville Autosport: BMW E36 Six Speed Conversion Manual

Also, found used swap kits available for both OBD I & II.....

M52 Kit costs about $1,200 plus $150.00 shipping plus the new stuff.....clutch assembly, shift kit, etc.

BMW E36 M52 5 speed Transmission Conversion Kit 328i M3 : eBay Motors (item 150406913623 end time Feb-18-10 07:59:40 PST)

Parts Photos

with further research, I found out that with the OBD II........ CEL's.......are a problem!

I contacted Turner Motorsports & they said they could reprogram the DME from Auto to Manual Trans mode...2 hours labor @ $95......
& the car would have to be there......5 hour drive from NJ to Amesbury, Massachusetts.......so I'm going to see if I could find someone local to do the reprogramming!

So, I will have to think about this a little more & I have time, because the fundage is coming from my Income tax return.....which will come in March or April........

So, if you want to encourage me to do this.......feel free to do so!


jb :)
 

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#8 ·
FINALLY! I'm Excited! cant wait! many pics please!
 
#11 · (Edited)
Started my Auto to ZF 5 Speed Manual Swap!

Picked up my donor car about a month ago, for my 5 Speed Manual Swap......along with diff.

Car was completely stripped, basically except for the clutch pedal assembly with switches, 5 speed S5D...Z trans, Short shifter, Trans mount, drive shaft, rear diff & CV axles......

Car before it was stripped:




Car was purchased for $700.00 after it was stripped: On it's way to my house for my next project!



finished stripping the donor car for my 5 Speed swap.......





I have been busy ordering all new seals, clutch & pressure plate, bearings, ZHP weighted shift knob, Shift boot, new guibo, shifter bushings, shift pin kits.......etc.

johnny :eek:hnoes
 
#12 ·
Cleaned trans & diff, replaced all the seals in my ZF 5 Speed & Diff. Input, Output, & Gear rod selector. Replaced trans & diff. fluid with Red Line fluids. Also, replaced all the shift pins & bushings with kits from BMW......







 
#14 ·
questions

called turner motorsports today in amesbury mass.they said they could not change a auto ecu to manual by flashing it .tulley bmws foreman said the same thing.he told me to buy a manual ecu.then they could align it with the cars other computer.i forget the name?so now i wonder if the abs will work.isnt that part of the trans computer.bimmers are very difficult to mod.
 
#16 ·
Not exactly sure, what are the years...you can cross reference all the major components using the link below: just open 2 & compare!

RealOEM.com Online BMW Parts Catalog

johnny~
 
#17 ·
The driveshaft lenth is the same. The gearing in the differential is different in a Manual, but the housing is the same. Get an M3 diff if you can, as their geared better. 3.15 LSD i think.
 
#20 ·
Check your local Craigslist or other free ad sites. Ive seen a few parts cars come up for sale.
 
#22 ·
finished the 5 speed swap a couple weeks ago, its quite a bit quicker with the automatic diff, i love the 5 speed!! i got ahold of a guy in my area that parts bmw's out for a living and it was pretty smooth but frustrating at some points i gotta do the computer end of it still though. the check trans and traction control lights are on and the cruise control doesnt work but its no biggie
 
#23 ·
Hey congrats...finished mine today..no issues, no CEL's on dash used the Ediabas/INPA software purchased on UK eBay & cleared codes & all adaptations!
Give me a few days & I will contact you to help you out!

Johnny
 
#27 · (Edited)
How about just recoding the car as a manual instead of pulling bulbs in the cluster. All the necessary software links can be found here Diagnostic Software - Bimmerforums - The Ultimate BMW Forum and a comprehensive guide to the correct procedure for the electronics side of swapping a manual transmission into an automatic E36 can be found here Used DIS v44 to get rid of auto tranny warning light - Bimmerforums - The Ultimate BMW Forum .

I would also suggest that anyone contemplating diagnostics, coding and/or programming on an E36 should get a switchable ADS/OBD interface, as this is the only type capable of accessing both data lines on these cars. The best ones I have found on the market at the moment are available here http://interfaces4beemers.com .
 
#28 · (Edited)
How about just recoding the car as a manual instead of pulling bulbs in the cluster. All the necessary software links can be found here Diagnostic Software - Bimmerforums - The Ultimate BMW Forum and a comprehensive guide to the correct procedure for the electronics side of swapping a manual transmission into an automatic E36 can be found here Used DIS v44 to get rid of auto tranny warning light - Bimmerforums - The Ultimate BMW Forum .

I would also suggest that anyone contemplating diagnostics, coding and/or programming on an E36 should get a switchable ADS/OBD interface, as this is the only type capable of accessing both data lines on these cars. The best ones I have found on the market at the moment are available here Interfaces 4 Beemers .
Will try this when I get my Ediabas/INPA cable back from a friend, I lent it to in New Hampshire. Just when I thought I was done, I will do this even though I am not experiencing any issues at all! No tach revs & idle issues! As far as the 1 bulb in the cluster I removed, which was the A/T bulb. There is no A/T bulb in the stock factory manual car's cluster, so removing it is not a big deal. I do understand the whole driving a manual while having the DME thinking it is a manual. In reality the swap will never be 100% factory OEM, because you are leaving the A/T computer & harness in the vehicle! But I will definitely recode the Engine DME to manual status.

Thanks for the info. & links!

John~
 
#30 ·
Thanks...David, I was so overwhelmed with the whole thing, more mechanically inclined than computer savvy. Luckily my sister in-law is! I actually was helping this guy out in New Hampshire, Zack, he has a E36 OBD II Convertible. He is doing the swap & video taping the whole thing, he is in the process of editing it right now! So I will forward the info you just shared with me to him. You may have seen some of his DIY video's on youtube, nice guy!

So when I get my software & cable back, I just have go deeper into the INPA files to complete the process of re-writing the DME info to manual mode?

Here is one of his video's:



johnny :)
 
#31 ·
Just PM me with the GM number of your car and I will send you the revised number to write to the Kombi (instrument cluster) and EWS modules using NCSExpert. If you have DIS v44, the process will be fairly straightforward and DIS will then recognise your car as a manual transmission vehicle.
 
#32 ·
#33 ·
It looks like you have INPA software, which is the diagnostic software used in the factory. You can use it as a basis to install DIS (which is the dealer-level software and can be installed with a guide to repairs). There is a guide to installing DIS v44 with links to software in the Diagnostic Software thread of Bimmerforums.com.
 
#34 ·
Ok...great! Will do & you will probably be hearing from me again, about this topic! lol

again thanks...should be more members out there like you & I, willing to help!

johnny ;)

Question, what did you wind up doing with all your automatic parts? Seems nobody wants them! lol
 
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