320i auto to manual conversion help

[dalbye30]

anyone know of a guide for doing this? i have a rough idea but any help from someone who's done it would be great

ta

[daimlerman]

Pull the auto box off,pop the manual box on!

Do not forget the flywheel and spigot bearing,though.

Pedal box swap,or at least swap the brake pedal for a manual type pedal and add a clutch pedal,and fix a bracket to the r/h suspension tower for the clutch fluid thingy.

And do not get caught out with the auto start inhibit circuit,behind the glovebox,trace the black/yellow start signal wire,the auto start inhibit circuit splits this and adds a plain black,trace this back to it's relay and the gear selector and remove.The reverse light will plug into a lead that should be attached to your manual box.

[Topblag]

I'm sure auto and manual props are different length also and don't forget you'll need a clutch and master/slave cylinders. You'll also need to blank off the gearbox oil feed & outlet on the radiator IIRC.

[Curr946]

I'm sure auto and manual props are different length also and don't forget you'll need a clutch and master/slave cylinders. You'll also need to blank off the gearbox oil feed & outlet on the radiator IIRC.

the props are different lengths no need to blank of the oil cooler on the rad though.

you'll also need the bracket for holding the gear linage in place in the tunnel when you remove the auto pedalbox you'll see an oval mark on the bulkhead get a screwdriver and push this through it should break off easy this is where the master cylinder goes through for the clutch if you need a step by step guide drop me a pm with your email address

[antony_e]

pedal box
gearbox
spigot bearing
clutch and flywheel
associated hydraulics(master,slave and bottle)
prop (must be matching to the box ie 325 box 325 prop)
the bracket for the gear selector
and a quick google will bring this which is pretty good
http://www.rtsauto.com/bmw-e30-transmis ... to-manual/

also i found that early centre bearing brackets are narrower than later ones or vice versa

this and some patience makes it a worthwhile swap

my bad just seen the age of the post

[DmcL]

pedal box
gearbox
spigot bearing
clutch and flywheel
associated hydraulics(master,slave and bottle)
prop (must be matching to the box ie 325 box 325 prop)
the bracket for the gear selector
and a quick google will bring this which is pretty good
http://www.rtsauto.com/bmw-e30-transmis ... to-manual/

also i found that early centre bearing brackets are narrower than later ones or vice versa

this and some patience makes it a worthwhile swap

my bad just seen the age of the post

that about sums it up.. also change the fluid in the manual box before fitting it. make sure to use the correct fluid also as theres 3 variants of the getrag 260 and 1 uses ATF, the other 2 use different grades of manual box oil. there should be a little dot or sticker on the box thats coloured. i dont remember exactly as its been 2 years or so since i swapped mine to manual but i think no sticker means ATF and the coloured stickers indicate a certain manual box oil. also if the old fluid is red thats a dead givaway that its an ATF box.

also good time to install a short shifter.. dont bother with aftermarket short shift kits. u can get all u need from BMW and for less than an aftermarket kit. im running a Z3 M coupe gearstick and its insanely short.. Z3 M stick may require some fettling to fit depending on what flex disc is used and iftheres a balancer on the front of the propshaft or not. may have to bend the selector rod or whatever as it could foul the prop or flex disc in certain gears. heres a pic of the Z3 M stick on my box before the swap.. had to extend the support arm to straighten up the gearstick on mine as it was fouling the hole in the trans tunnel (its in neutral in the pic).

standard E30


Z3 M coupe


also u can sort out the park/neutral start wiring near the gearstick, its not mandatory to go and chase the wire all the way back and sort it out that way. i just wired mine right under the centre console instead of tracing wires back.