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Over the last few weeks, I got the clutch master and slave cylinder on and bled. It was a bit of a pain in the *** given that I didn't do it off the car and didn't put a little bit of brake fluid down the feed line going to the clutch master cylinder. I used my MityVac and reverse bled the system by sending fluid up the slave to the master. After about 30 minutes or so, it finally built pressure up. If you do this, make sure to not pushing the pedal while the slave cylinder is out. Mine accidentally popped the seal out on the rod and had to get it back in.

I also replaced all four O2 sensors since it was the perfect time to do so. Getting to the rears were pretty straight forward but getting to the forward ones was a pain! To get to it, I had to remove the side covers near the rear of the inner fender to gain access from the side. I used a O2 socket with a 3/8th swivel head ratchet to break them loose. Be sure to route the cables in their appropriate clips to keep them away from the exhaust manifold. I reused the old O2 sensor bracket on the driver side of the transmission to hold the connector and the cable in place.

Auto part Fuel line Automotive fuel system Exhaust system Suspension


For the passenger side, I attached a bracket on the transmission at another location to hold the main O2 sensor harness away from the exhaust. I also test fitted the custom cooler lines. I cut down the stock M3 lines and welded some -6 AN fitting and just capped them for the meantime while I figure out a way to run a transmission oil cooler in the front and a thermostatically controlled switch to power the factory trans pump. While they do fit and probably work without a hitch, they are rubbing up again the trans tunnel so I will re-do these prior to the car running. I have them mounted in the stock location where they would be in the M3. It's a nice fit in that location as it hold many of the wires back and routes the lines up and away from the header. Just need to tweak it a bit to get it right.

Pipe Exhaust manifold Auto part Automotive exhaust Hose


Plumbing Hose Pipe Auto part Spark plug


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I also took this time while waiting for the shifter components to refresh the 6 speed driveshaft prior to it going into the car. My carrier support bearing and CV joint on the driveshaft were toast as the center bearing had rips and the CV joint didn't really move smoothly or freely. I got to work taking this apart. There is a 18mm bolt that hold the rear and front shafts together by the u-joint. I used a prybar and a thin open-ended wrench to get to it. Be careful how you hold the prybar and where you put your fingers in the u-joint at times; I wacked myself in the face once and pinched my finger! ALSO, MARK THE FRONT AND REAR SHAFTS! BE SURE TO DO THIS! I thought I had done this and it turns out I did it incorrectly. I only had marked the rear but not the front. I had taken a video of me taking it apart and guesstimated where the original location was. We will see if this causes any vibration.

Auto part Suspension Suspension part


I just took a drift to bang out the center bearing carefully while not marring the driveshaft or damaging the splines. The CV joint was a bit more difficult as the snap ring doesn't have the holes to insert a snap ring plier. I had to carefully spread it open with my tool and try to not let it go flying. Once that was done, I was just able to cut the dust boot clamp off and slide the joint off. To install, I used a 35mm socket to tap the center bearing back in its place, put the spacer that goes between the center bearing and rear half of the driveshaft and tightened up the 18mm bolt. The CV joint, I just packed it with Mobil 1 bearing grease, slipped it back onto the splines and put the snap ring back by slightly spreading it and tapping it back in with a hammer.

Auto part Transmission part Vehicle Wheel


Auto part Automotive super charger part Machine tool Steel


I have yet to install the CV cover that is supposedly pressed. Need to figure out how to do that. Will update if I figure something out. I'm running out of things to do while I'm waiting for the shifter assembly to arrive. The wait is killing me! Homestretch! *not sure why the photos are sideways/upside down. download them and rotate them if you need to see them better.*
 
So quick update, got the CV cover on by using the stock driveshaft bolts, the spacers that go with the driveshaft to differential bolts and 6 M10X1.5 nuts. Before I did that, I put a little bit of RTV gasket maker around the mating surface of the cover to help it seal a little more. Didn't use a lot, just a little dab all around. Once I did that, I placed all the driveshaft bolts into the CV going the other way with the spacers and used the nuts on the back of them to press in the cover. I lightly used my impact gun and drove them in and it worked like a charm. Was worried I would need some special tool but this worked great. Just a little tip if someone decides to change their CV joint cover and isn't sure how to put it back on.

Auto part Disc brake Brake Vehicle brake Wheel


Now to stare at this gorgeous ZHP shift knob and wait for the shifter components to arrive.

Electronic device Technology Finger Hand Gadget
 
Z3 M Roadster - I was trying to also find the part number for the connector but came up empty handed. Hope CHARIOT may post it if he still knows it.

If you want the short and sweet story lol - I finished the swap and car runs! Put 500 miles on it and hasn't blown the F up.

Long and detailed story! So I began to work on finishing the car last week. I had ordered the shifter assembly parts from BMW South Atlanta back in early September for a early October arrival (most of the parts had to come from Germany which is a 2-3 week wait). While that was happening, I started to put back together some of the undertray and heatshielding panels underneath the car. I fixed a few things that I hadn't done yet from previous work before the 6-speed swap and began waiting for the parts.

Fast-forward to October 3rd, 2018. The shifter parts arrive in all their glory and I'm ready to get this thing back onto the road and driving.

Gun Firearm Airsoft gun Airsoft Rifle


Putting the shifter assembly was a bit tricky as there isn't much space and you have to be careful how you assemble things in order to get it to fit into the car. The shift rod bushing that attaches to the chassis of the car was a bit tricky to get it and you need to get it in right otherwise it won't clip into place. Also, I had put the shifter with the ball into the socket prior to putting it into the shift arm. I did it the other way where I put the socket into the shift arm before putting the shifter on and it wouldn't go in.

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Seeing this in the car made everything up to this point so worth it.

Center console Gear shift Personal luxury car Car Vehicle


Once all that was finished, I went ahead and put my rebuilt driveshaft into the car. Couple of bolts on later and it fits just how you would expect a OE part would. The big moment was finally turning the car on and checking all the gears, clutch engagement and shift linkage. Although I wasn't able to turn off DSC, the car went through all the gears when it was up in the air and had no weird noises, grinds, pops. It worked! It was time to take it out onto the road for the first time in 6 months to its second home.

Land vehicle Vehicle Luxury vehicle Car Personal luxury car


So far, the car has lived up to my expectations and made me fall in love with this car again. Having owned the car in both a SMG and now a manual variant, they are worlds apart different in their own great ways. It was great to drive this car again. Here are some undercarriage photos.

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Motor vehicle Tire Vehicle Suspension part Automotive tire


However, this isn't a 100% perfect swap. While there aren't any major error codes or engine malfunction issues, there are a few little things that I need to fix. The big one is that the car can't see when it is in reverse. The reverse lights and PDC sensors don't come on. Second, the oil level seems to not work as well. Not sure what that is all about but will need to figure it out. Third, the E9x M3 transmission cooler lines need to be re-worked again as the lower one is touching the header bracket and making a loud rattle at idle. I will also be making an actual trans cooler for this.

Car is running great and is such a joy to row through the gears with the V10. Time to go enjoy the car for a bit and back to fixing the little issues. Add this M5 as another 6-speed running in the wild.
 
However, this isn't a 100% perfect swap. While there aren't any major error codes or engine malfunction issues, there are a few little things that I need to fix. The big one is that the car can't see when it is in reverse. The reverse lights and PDC sensors don't come on. Second, the oil level seems to not work as well.
Double/Triple check your reserve light wiring and the pin location. When I did the manual swap on my E61 the reverse wire was in the correct connector in the DME but a wildly incorrect location that had no correlation to the wiring diagrams I was following. It was one of those "why would I do that" moments and I consider myself to be fairly thorough when it comes to automotive projects. After swapping the pin location the reverse light worked as it should. Your issues sounds 100% like a signal issue as opposed to coding or anything else.

Evan
 
Car is running great and is such a joy to row through the gears with the V10. Time to go enjoy the car for a bit and back to fixing the little issues. Add this M5 as another 6-speed running in the wild.
What an amazing (and well deserved) achievement.

Nice to see another 6MT on the road...
 
What an amazing (and well deserved) achievement.



Nice to see another 6MT on the road...


It has been a great experience to share my findings with this swap. Just pure joy here with the 6-speed.

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve got the car running. Everything so far has been working except for the few things I’ve detailed in my last post. Some may be wondering what the swap costed me in terms of out of pocket total. I will go into some detail about that in this post.

Disclaimer - These numbers may vary greatly depending on parts availability, time, and location. All these numbers are from the USA and purchasing here in the states. Also, the final total does not include any labor costs as I did the entire swap here at my place. I spent about 40 hours in total between working on wiring, figuring out stuff, etc.

Long story short, I spent $4,678.32 on just the manual components for the swap. This is before I sold some SMG components. The actual total is higher but I’m leaving out the O2 sensors and other stuff I replaced during the swap that aren’t related. This number ($4,678.32) is what I spent for the manual swap.

I sold the SMG transmission to someone locally for $1,200 and the SMG steering wheel for $125. Recouped $1,325 for a grand total of $3,353.32!

$3,353.32 factors in the E90 M3 transmission, DMF, clutch, shifter components, electrical harness and pins, clutch hardlines and components, interior pieces such as trims, fluids and a lot of other small things. Some of the components were brand new BMW parts, others were new OE aftermarket parts. The one things that were used in this swap was the transmission and driveshaft. Everything else was brand new. I shopped around and got parts from many different outlets and vendors. I will post a detailed itemized figure list with part numbers in another post. Not a bad figure for a manual swap after it is all said and done. I still need to finish the transmission oil cooler mod so stay tuned for that one. If anyone in SoCal wants to see the car, more than happy to show it.




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Yeah I have it and it’s the same thing pretty much except I am having an issue with the tire monitor since the manual was based around the tpms but it doesn’t bug me much it not being on haha. No issues on the install other than that.


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Yeah I have it and it’s the same thing pretty much except I am having an issue with the tire monitor since the manual was based around the tpms but it doesn’t bug me much it not being on haha. No issues on the install other than that.


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You can code that out completely - unplug the TPMS module in the trunk and remove $2VB from your VO and recode all the modules.
 
It has been a great experience to share my findings with this swap. Just pure joy here with the 6-speed.

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve got the car running. Everything so far has been working except for the few things I’ve detailed in my last post. Some may be wondering what the swap costed me in terms of out of pocket total. I will go into some detail about that in this post.

Disclaimer - These numbers may vary greatly depending on parts availability, time, and location. All these numbers are from the USA and purchasing here in the states. Also, the final total does not include any labor costs as I did the entire swap here at my place. I spent about 40 hours in total between working on wiring, figuring out stuff, etc.

Long story short, I spent $4,678.32 on just the manual components for the swap. This is before I sold some SMG components. The actual total is higher but I’m leaving out the O2 sensors and other stuff I replaced during the swap that aren’t related. This number ($4,678.32) is what I spent for the manual swap.

I sold the SMG transmission to someone locally for $1,200 and the SMG steering wheel for $125. Recouped $1,325 for a grand total of $3,353.32!

$3,353.32 factors in the E90 M3 transmission, DMF, clutch, shifter components, electrical harness and pins, clutch hardlines and components, interior pieces such as trims, fluids and a lot of other small things. Some of the components were brand new BMW parts, others were new OE aftermarket parts. The one things that were used in this swap was the transmission and driveshaft. Everything else was brand new. I shopped around and got parts from many different outlets and vendors. I will post a detailed itemized figure list with part numbers in another post. Not a bad figure for a manual swap after it is all said and done. I still need to finish the transmission oil cooler mod so stay tuned for that one. If anyone in SoCal wants to see the car, more than happy to show it.




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Alex, it was a real pleasure to meet you and see the car on Sunday. It is absolutely fantastic, and a testament to your work ethic and mechanical aptitude. Thanks again for the test drive!

For everyone else on the forums, Alex is the real deal. Extremely sharp, nice as the day is long, and clearly a gifted mechanic. If I hadn't know the car was swapped, I simply won't have - full stop, no qualifications. I am damn impressed, and can't wait to do this to my car!
 
In case anyone was ready to fork up 1600 for new shaft, its officially discontinued by bmw...

Does anyone have exact measurements of front portion of manual shaft?
I can get the measurement off my car and post it here. I will be extending my SMG driveshaft to a 6-speed driveshaft length and testing it on my car soon. I want it to be a good work around to having to find a 6MT driveshaft as those are VERY hard to find.
 
I can get the measurement off my car and post it here. I will be extending my SMG driveshaft to a 6-speed driveshaft length and testing it on my car soon. I want it to be a good work around to having to find a 6MT driveshaft as those are VERY hard to find.
That would be very helpfull thanks.

Another thing to consider is using S65 DCT or MT front shaft, but someone would need to measure them :|
 
ECO Green Auto parts in Atlanta has an '08 Manual salvage car incorrectly inventoried as an SMG:



They have the trans, driveshaft listed for sale and you could also get the trans harness, shifter carrier, etc all from the same car.

BMW M5 sequential manual gearbox-0MI Stock No: A00753 $350 Eco Green Auto Parts USA-GA(Atlanta) Request_Quote 404-752-8886 / 404-892-9090 Request_Insurance_Quote

They have the part listed incorrectly as an SMG shaft, but the car is a 6MT (checked the VIN).
 
gearbox harness 5spd manual

Big news everyone, I got the transmission into the car this weekend. It was a pain in the *** to get that thing to line up on my back. I went and grabbed a transmission jack from HF tools and it helped much more than using the regular floor jack. Once it went on, it was a matter of just putting all the bellhousing bolts back on and getting it nice and tight. I was able to fire up the car with no error codes present! Man is this car loud with just open headers!

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This pretty much confirms that a E9x M3 6-speed GS6-53BZ transmission works with the E60 M5. I used the E60 M5 6-speed clutch and flywheel. Makes me wonder if the S65 flywheel and clutch would work with the S85? Even with additional electric oil pump on the passenger side of the transmission, it clears everything. I still yet have to mock up the transmission cooler lines but should have this done soon. I will be utilizing the stock E90 M3 cooler lines but I will be cutting them short and welding AN fittings to the lines to use flexible rubber hoses to a cooler up front in the bumper. I also have mocked up block off plates to delete the transmission cooler ports and the electric oil pump if you so wish to do so.

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The things I had to transfer over from the SMG to this transmission were the crossmember and the O2 sensor brackets. Don't forget to do this. I also ended up using the E90 M3 manual transmission harness that came with the transmission. I eliminated a few connectors such as the O2 sensors and repinned the connector to work with my wiring in the engine bay. It worked flawlessly however if you go this route, you have to disconnect the harness from the engine electronic box as its just a single harness where as the E60 M5 6-speed harness disconnected near the transmission harness on the transmission itself. If someone is interested, I have an extra E60 M5 6-speed harness for sale that I ended up not using.

More progress to come soon, this car starts and has no errors and makes me so ecstatic! I am going to be sending the driveshaft out for refurbishing and hope to have the RTD carbon shifter in soon to install. There's a video on my IG at idev_s30 if you're interested in taking a look at the swap there too. Homestretch people!

Do you still have the gearbox harness?
Did you find how to set up the eletric oil pump to work properly?
did you reflash the ECU by ncs export?
 
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