Posted by john on October 21, 2004 at 00:23:30 from from 67.169.124.139
Perhaps this can make its way to the FAQ section to help others that loose their minds like I have and replace a perfectly working automatic with a unknown 5 speed gear box.
Here is a rough outline of the steps taken. No doubt, I forgot a few items and the sequence of tasks may not be in the right order. This is a fairly straight forward project and requires a fair number of parts – some of which are quite different for manual vs automatic transmissions. Good luck!
TAKING THINGS APART
Under the hood
1) Remove kick down cable from throttle linkage
2) Remove transmission cooler lines from radiator
3) Remove throttle linkage at pedal assembly
4) Remove 4 nuts that hold on brake booster
5) Unhook the O-2 sensor
Under the car
1) Remove exhaust , heat shield and drive shaft
2) Remove and discard transmission cooler lines
3) Disconnect shifter linkage and lower speedometer cable
4) Remove transmission
5) Remove drive plate from flywheel
6) Disconnect the lower steering shaft from the coupler
Inside the car
1) Remove radio
2) Remove lower portion of drivers side dash
3) Remove center console
4) Disconnect wire connector to shifter assembly
5) Remove automatic shift handle assembly
6) Remove brake pedal push rod
7) Disconnect accelerator pedal
8) Disconnect all wires that go to column switches
8) Remove upper steering column assembly
9) Remove lower steering shaft
10) Remove entire pedal assembly
PUTTING THINGS BACK TOGETHER
Under the car
1) Install new rear main seal
2) Install flywheel (Note: flywheel bolts are NOT the same as what it used to attach the automatic drive plate), clutch disc, pressure plate and bell housing (Note: inspect plastic ball pivot inside bell housing and replace if needed.)
3) Install gear box (Notes: replace the shift tower and linkage bushings if needed; fabricate a provision to secure the rear end of the shift platform – I used a rubber bushing/stud used to mount an air flow meter and drilled a hole in the tunnel; install an new foam insulator.)
4) Install shift lever – use lower portion of 320i shifter to shorten the throw (Notes: there is a wide assortment of special plastic cups, nylon washers and bushings that make up the shift platform/linkage assembly. My suggestion is to get a detailed picture of this from the parts book and replace most, if not all, or these depending on their condition. There will be no better and easier time to change these little items to prevent a lousy shift experience.)
5) Install lower speedometer cable (Note: automatic cable will work fine, 4 speed cable will likely be too short.)
6) Install hydraulic line to slave cylinder
7) Install slave cylinder (21-52-1-116-300)
8) Install drive shaft (Notes: automatic drive shaft is 1 inch too short and flex disc is different for manual vs auto transmissions; bolts that attach the flex disc to the transmission are longer than those used for an automatic)
9) Install heat shield and exhaust
10) After the pedal assembly is installed, reconnect the lower steering shaft.
11) After the hydraulic system is connected, bleed system.
Inside the car
Notes: While the upper steering column is out, there is no better time to remove the 4 or 5 "sheer" bolts that hold in the ignition lock assembly. Sooner or later, either the switch, key cylinder and/or the barrel will fail and you will be happy you replaced these ridiculous fasteners. I took this opportunity to install a new barrel and key cylinder to restore the concept of one key for all of the locks. The best way to remove these sheer bolts is to drill a small hole and use an easy out.
1) Install master cylinder (21-52-1-156-004) on the used pedal assembly (with provisions for the clutch pedal.) The pedal assembly should come equipped with a two-wire cable coming thru a rubber grommet which attaches to the back up light switch on the transmission and to a white connector under the dash.
2) Install the pedal assembly.
3) Reattach the brake pedal accelerator
4) Attach the clutch master rod to thee pedal (Notes: special bolt, nut and (2) plastic bushings are required (21-52-1-102-721, 07-12-9-964-672, 35-31-4-640-116).
5) Adjust clutch pedal height
6) Reattach lower steering shaft (under the car)
7) Install upper steering column
8) Reattach all electrical connections
NOTES: Hopefully, the used pedal assembly you obtained came equipped with a long shield containing two wires and a three prong connector with two wires attached (green and blue.) These wires attach to the back up switch on the gear box and a connector to the left side of the newly installed clutch pedal. Look for a white, three-prong connector matching the one supplied with the assembly. It should be currently attached to a set of wires going upward inside the dash. Disconnect and reattach to the wires coming thru the pedal assembly from the back up light switch. Follow the black wire from the ignition switch to a relay. Remove this relay and the block connector it plugs into. Attach the black wire from the ignition switch into the black wire removed from the back of the relay. If successful, the car will start and the reverse lights will work correctly.
Under the hood
1) Connect the clutch hydraulic system (Notes: there are several parts involved here -
flex hose from brake master reservoir to clutch master (21-52-1-163-714), a little angle pipe that connects the flex hose to the top of the master (34-32-1-102-282), a high pressure hose (21-52-1-114-543) connecting the master to a metal line with a threaded female nipple on both ends that connects to the slave cylinder. The brake fluid reservoir has a capped stub that needs to be cut.)
2) Connect the throttle linkage at the firewall
3) Connect the brake booster to the pedal assembly