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This is a write up on replacing the clutch and all of the shifter bushings on a 2002 BMW e39 M5. This writeup does not cover replacing the rear main seal or the flywheel because they just were not needed. The writeup will show a lot of the tools used but no torques because honestly, we didn't use a torque wrench on any of it.
At this point the car is 12 years old and has 81,000 miles on it. It has only seen one winter and has always been garage kept.
It should be noted the Russian translated BMW TIS instructions are very good if you get stuck and can be found here:
http://translate.google.ca/translate...ed=0CFYQ7gEwAw
First order of business, acquire a friend with an uncle that has a two post lift in a nice barn fully stocked with tools. I just happened to have one of those:
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Remove both under body plastic panels. The large rear one comes undone with Philips head 1/4 turn screws, the front one comes undone with the Philips head 1/4 turn screws and two 10mm hex head bolts.
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It is now time to bask in the glory that is the underside of an e39 M5.
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Assuming your exhaust headers are cool enough the first thing you should do is spray a good amount of PB Blaster on the bolts that connect the header to the rest of the exhaust system. On a stock system this will include 4 nuts on the outer pipes and 4 bolts on the inner pipes.
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While you are at it, PB Blast all other bolts you find connected to the exhaust system and the O2 sensors. After that is done it is time to take a break and go to dinner.
This photo is sponsored by PB-Blaster
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After coming back from dinner, take a good look at the underside of the car you might just find something else that needs attention. For instance I found a broken rear sway bar mount bracket. :sad2:
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Now comes the hardest part of the entire job, dropping the stock one piece exhaust system. It is said that removing the rear bumper makes this much easier. We decided to remove the bolt going through the center of the rubber exhaust hanger on each outside of the exhaust. This was a mistake, after inspection the two nuts on studs that hold the other part of the rubber exhaust hanger should have been removed, they are easier. If you are interested in taking this bolt out, a 13mm wrench will do:
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The O2 sensors need to be removed. It would be best to find somewhere to find someway to tie them up else your face will get black marks all over it from bumping into them. Wrench size is unknown, I used an adjustable wrench, they came out with surprising ease.
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Remove the 4 bolts an 2 nuts that hold on the central exhaust hanger plate. Both the bolts and nuts are 13mm.
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Remove the 8 nuts from the studs that hold both sets of inner exhaust hangers on. These are right next to the battery box and are easily reached with a 13mm socket with an extension.
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A two foot extension works well:
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When you drop the exhaust it helps to have at least 3 to 5 people on hand, it is very heavy. It may also help to tie a strap across your lift to help catch the exhaust.
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Unclip the O2 sensor wires from the center heat shield shields. Only the post cat O2 sensors are clipped up.
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Now it is time to take off the heat shields that cover the drive line, there are two of them. All of the bolts are either 8mm or 10mm hex head.
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Unclip the O2 sensor wires from the back of the transmission support bracket.
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Unclip O2 sensor wires from wire clip on back of transmission.
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Unclip O2 sensor wires from the passenger side of the transmission. There are 3 clips, 2 are visible in the photo below.
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Unplug this connector from bottom passenger side of transmission.
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Remove these two connectors from drivers side of transmission.
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The only way to unbolt the prop shaft at the guibo is to remove the rear trans mount. So the lift the car is on was lowered to about 3 ft off the ground so that a transmission jack could be used to hold the transmission. Now the rear transmission mount can be unbolted. All of the bolts and nuts on the mount are 13mm.
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Transmission being supported by a jack under a cinder block under a 2x4. Seems safe. hiha
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With the rear transmission support out of the way the guibo bolts are easily accessible. Both the nut and bolt are 21mm. You can remove the 3 bolts connected to the transmission or the 3 connected to the drive shaft. I decided to remove the ones on the transmission as there was more room for the wrench on them. For this it helps to rotate the shaft and then pull the hand break to lock the shaft from rotating.
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Remove the prop shaft carrier bearing. The nuts are 13mm, there is some sticky glue holding it in too.
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Strap the prop shaft up and out of the way. The goal is to prevent the rear CV joint on the differential from resting at it's max angle. If you just let the prop shaft drop you run the risk of ruining the boot on the rear CV joint.
![]()
Switching to the interior, pull up all of the boots and foam around the stick shift, unplug the wire for the stick light and get it all out of the way so that you can access the ball.
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The liner around the ball was a royal pain to get out. I don't have any good tips other then to destroy the two clips that hold the liner in and then have someone from down below hammer up on the shifter assembly while you pull. It wasn't a great method but it did work. The liner snaps into the two slots in the shifter carrier.
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The bonded rubber mount on the back of the shifter carrier was difficult to remove, we used needle nose vise grips. There are probably better ways in hindsight, like squeezing it. If my memory serves me right, this is known as part # 14 in the Real OEM drawings. It looks like I did not take a pic of removing the clip on the shifter linkage.
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Normally it is suggested to support the engine by the oil pan with a floor jack so that it will not rest on and destroy parts of the steering. We found a much simpler and better solution that does not get in the way. Lift up the engine by the trans ever so slightly and then slip a few small pieces of 2x4 under the engine above the frame. Please see the pic below for reference of location.
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To remove the shifter carrier, rotate the clip up and pull the pin out to the right.
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Take off the two 13mm bolts that hold on the exhaust hanger bracket on the back of the transmission.
![]()
Removing the salve cylinder take off the two 13mm nuts that hold it to the transmission.
![]()
Now removing the transmission. There are 12 bolts around the bell housing. The top two are torx e11 and the bottom ten are torx e12. A various set of long extensions and universal joints will be helpful.
![]()
While you have the exhaust system off it is easy to clean the tips. CRC brakcleen does an excellent job at bringing out the best of the stainless exhaust tips
![]()
All clean!
![]()
The bushings on the shifter carrier come out nicely with a socket and a press. They go in well with a vise. Lubricating them will help them go in easier, I used some hand sanitizer that evaporated quickly.
![]()
To keep the slave cylinder out of the way, one of the loops in the steel line fits nicely in the tip of the one exhaust header. This is a good place to put it to keep it out of harms way when removing and installing the transmission.
![]()
Removing the clutch involves removing six 5mm socket head cap screws.
![]()
New clutch, old clutch!
![]()
A slide hammer works quite well for removing the pilot bearing.
![]()
More write up is to come.
At this point the car is 12 years old and has 81,000 miles on it. It has only seen one winter and has always been garage kept.
It should be noted the Russian translated BMW TIS instructions are very good if you get stuck and can be found here:
http://translate.google.ca/translate...ed=0CFYQ7gEwAw
First order of business, acquire a friend with an uncle that has a two post lift in a nice barn fully stocked with tools. I just happened to have one of those:
Remove both under body plastic panels. The large rear one comes undone with Philips head 1/4 turn screws, the front one comes undone with the Philips head 1/4 turn screws and two 10mm hex head bolts.
It is now time to bask in the glory that is the underside of an e39 M5.
Assuming your exhaust headers are cool enough the first thing you should do is spray a good amount of PB Blaster on the bolts that connect the header to the rest of the exhaust system. On a stock system this will include 4 nuts on the outer pipes and 4 bolts on the inner pipes.
While you are at it, PB Blast all other bolts you find connected to the exhaust system and the O2 sensors. After that is done it is time to take a break and go to dinner.
This photo is sponsored by PB-Blaster
After coming back from dinner, take a good look at the underside of the car you might just find something else that needs attention. For instance I found a broken rear sway bar mount bracket. :sad2:
Now comes the hardest part of the entire job, dropping the stock one piece exhaust system. It is said that removing the rear bumper makes this much easier. We decided to remove the bolt going through the center of the rubber exhaust hanger on each outside of the exhaust. This was a mistake, after inspection the two nuts on studs that hold the other part of the rubber exhaust hanger should have been removed, they are easier. If you are interested in taking this bolt out, a 13mm wrench will do:
The O2 sensors need to be removed. It would be best to find somewhere to find someway to tie them up else your face will get black marks all over it from bumping into them. Wrench size is unknown, I used an adjustable wrench, they came out with surprising ease.
Remove the 4 bolts an 2 nuts that hold on the central exhaust hanger plate. Both the bolts and nuts are 13mm.
Remove the 8 nuts from the studs that hold both sets of inner exhaust hangers on. These are right next to the battery box and are easily reached with a 13mm socket with an extension.
A two foot extension works well:
When you drop the exhaust it helps to have at least 3 to 5 people on hand, it is very heavy. It may also help to tie a strap across your lift to help catch the exhaust.
Unclip the O2 sensor wires from the center heat shield shields. Only the post cat O2 sensors are clipped up.
Now it is time to take off the heat shields that cover the drive line, there are two of them. All of the bolts are either 8mm or 10mm hex head.
Unclip the O2 sensor wires from the back of the transmission support bracket.
Unclip O2 sensor wires from wire clip on back of transmission.
Unclip O2 sensor wires from the passenger side of the transmission. There are 3 clips, 2 are visible in the photo below.
Unplug this connector from bottom passenger side of transmission.
Remove these two connectors from drivers side of transmission.
The only way to unbolt the prop shaft at the guibo is to remove the rear trans mount. So the lift the car is on was lowered to about 3 ft off the ground so that a transmission jack could be used to hold the transmission. Now the rear transmission mount can be unbolted. All of the bolts and nuts on the mount are 13mm.
Transmission being supported by a jack under a cinder block under a 2x4. Seems safe. hiha
With the rear transmission support out of the way the guibo bolts are easily accessible. Both the nut and bolt are 21mm. You can remove the 3 bolts connected to the transmission or the 3 connected to the drive shaft. I decided to remove the ones on the transmission as there was more room for the wrench on them. For this it helps to rotate the shaft and then pull the hand break to lock the shaft from rotating.
Remove the prop shaft carrier bearing. The nuts are 13mm, there is some sticky glue holding it in too.
Strap the prop shaft up and out of the way. The goal is to prevent the rear CV joint on the differential from resting at it's max angle. If you just let the prop shaft drop you run the risk of ruining the boot on the rear CV joint.
Switching to the interior, pull up all of the boots and foam around the stick shift, unplug the wire for the stick light and get it all out of the way so that you can access the ball.
The liner around the ball was a royal pain to get out. I don't have any good tips other then to destroy the two clips that hold the liner in and then have someone from down below hammer up on the shifter assembly while you pull. It wasn't a great method but it did work. The liner snaps into the two slots in the shifter carrier.
The bonded rubber mount on the back of the shifter carrier was difficult to remove, we used needle nose vise grips. There are probably better ways in hindsight, like squeezing it. If my memory serves me right, this is known as part # 14 in the Real OEM drawings. It looks like I did not take a pic of removing the clip on the shifter linkage.
Normally it is suggested to support the engine by the oil pan with a floor jack so that it will not rest on and destroy parts of the steering. We found a much simpler and better solution that does not get in the way. Lift up the engine by the trans ever so slightly and then slip a few small pieces of 2x4 under the engine above the frame. Please see the pic below for reference of location.
To remove the shifter carrier, rotate the clip up and pull the pin out to the right.
Take off the two 13mm bolts that hold on the exhaust hanger bracket on the back of the transmission.
Removing the salve cylinder take off the two 13mm nuts that hold it to the transmission.
Now removing the transmission. There are 12 bolts around the bell housing. The top two are torx e11 and the bottom ten are torx e12. A various set of long extensions and universal joints will be helpful.
While you have the exhaust system off it is easy to clean the tips. CRC brakcleen does an excellent job at bringing out the best of the stainless exhaust tips
All clean!
The bushings on the shifter carrier come out nicely with a socket and a press. They go in well with a vise. Lubricating them will help them go in easier, I used some hand sanitizer that evaporated quickly.
To keep the slave cylinder out of the way, one of the loops in the steel line fits nicely in the tip of the one exhaust header. This is a good place to put it to keep it out of harms way when removing and installing the transmission.
Removing the clutch involves removing six 5mm socket head cap screws.
New clutch, old clutch!
A slide hammer works quite well for removing the pilot bearing.
More write up is to come.
