[mrjawagner]

Hello this is John again with my first question to try to pick someone's brain with knowledge.

I have an e34 525 and over the weekend I picked up an e34 535 parts car. The reason I did this is I want to convert my automatic to a standard and the 535 has a manual transmission. Now common sence says it should be a straight swap with additional parts adds in concideration for the clutch and stuff. However, I dont have any experience with this type of action on the bmw. I know the computer comes in to play but dont know exactly how. So I guess what I am asking is if anyone has any experience with this type of transaction and if so can you offer any advice, pointers, guidance, things to look out for other then the obvious save the effort and go buy a bmw with a standard tranny in it that runs. Thanks again in advance. :help

 

[marti5]

Its possible, you have to change the EGS to the manual EGS and I think you may or may not have to get it programmed so that the DME will be in tune with the manual EGS rather than the auto.
As you have the whole donor car maybe you could swap out DME & the manual EGS straight in, Im not sure, but thats what I would do..................

 

[mrjawagner]

Its possible, you have to change the EGS to the manual EGS and I think you may or may not have to get it programmed so that the DME will be in tune with the manual EGS rather than the auto.
As you have the whole donor car maybe you could swap out DME & the manual EGS straight in, Im not sure, but thats what I would do..................

I was thinking it would be a straight swap. I am going to put the two cars side by side on lifts and as i pull from one put in the other. I figure that would be the best way. As I am new to this the abbreviations I dont know yet. I do appologize. EGS? DME ( i assume is the computer )? My main concern I guess is I have heard tails about the electronics in it. That there may be a compatability issue there and when the manual tranny is in it may not start. That there are relays and or jumpers that may need to be taken out or put in other wise its a waste of time. My thoughts are being that they are both e34 it should be the same (excepting tranny of course) so by swapping the computer it should recognize the 525 set up as far as engine and what it looks for in the manual tranny it should see. Again i am guessing though.

 

[Torque]

The transmission from a m30 will not bolt up to a m50 ... actually, the only thing you can use from the parts car that will actually do anything for your swap is the pedal assembly.

 

[mrjawagner]

The transmission from a m30 will not bolt up to a m50 ... actually, the only thing you can use from the parts car that will actually do anything for your swap is the pedal assembly.

They are not m's. They are both 5 series (535, 525) and they are both e34's. I want to take the manual tranny from the 535 and put it in my 525.

 

[Torque]

They are not m's. They are both 5 series (535, 525) and they are both e34's. I want to take the manual tranny from the 535 and put it in my 525.

M30 is the code for the engine from a 535i; the m50 is the code for the engine from the 91+ 525i. I know they're not M cars.

I guess I should have just said the tranny from a 535i wont bolt up to the engine in the 525i, but either way, it wont work.

 

[mrjawagner]

M30 is the code for the engine from a 535i; the m50 is the code for the engine from the 91+ 525i. I know they're not M cars.

I guess I should have just said the tranny from a 535i wont bolt up to the engine in the 525i, but either way, it wont work.

OUCH!!! :eek

I guess i should have checked that before. Well I guess I bought the 535 for nothing then. Maybe I can sell the tranny itself on craigs and buy another. Ill see. I guess its time to make lemonade. lol.

Everything esle should be the same right?

 

[Torque]

OUCH!!! :eek

I guess i should have checked that before. Well I guess I bought the 535 for nothing then. Maybe I can sell the tranny itself on craigs and buy another. Ill see. I guess its time to make lemonade. lol.

Everything esle should be the same right?

If you sell the 535i stuff all together (transmission, diff, driveshaft, pedals and clutch), you can get over a grand for it. Manual swap stuff for 535s is very sought after.

What I'd do if I was you is: part the 535i out, make a little bit of money, find a wrecked 91+ 525i with a manual tranny and use that.

The transmission from a earlier (m20 powered) 525i (89 and 90) can actually work on your car, but that requires custom transmission mounts and what have you, so it's best to just get a 525i with the engine like yours and use that.

 

[shadowpuck]

yup, the 535 stuff won't work with the 525......

typically, when talking about OBD-I BMW's, there's absolutely no computer trickery necessary for an auto to manual swap. The engine ECU (DME) isn't all that worried about the EGS (transmission computer)...

there are some wiring changes necessary to allow the car to start, etc. but that's a simple wiring change and has nothing to do with changes needing to be made to the DME.

 

[mike_5er]

Just browsing google about a manual tranny swap for my car and look what i find. Sorry to hear the parts would not work for you man but i have a 1989 535iA and this parts car you have (if you still have it) would be perfect!