I'm about to swap out the noisy, grinding 5-speed in my 530i for a nicer, hopefully happier and quieter one.
Can anyone give me the DL on pulling and installing transmissions from this car? I've pull Volvo and Alfa units many times but if there are any tricks, common hiccups, etc. it would be great to know.
I've already seen the thread with the blue bouncy ball helper - I'm going to try and manage without this tool. I figure I can probably get by balancing the until on my jack. Call me a fool if you like...
Thanks for your help.
cheers,
Brian
one Alfa Romeo
One BMW - '78 E12 w/M30 3.5 Motronic
Gradually improving looks and performance
You're going to want a crows-foot 19mm wrench for the top left bellhousing nuts. Take your hydraulics out and disconnect the speedo drive. Just undo the 4 19mm nuts. You can use a floor jack to lower the transmission. The last tranny I pulled (260/6 in an E28), I used a relatively sturdy cardboard box and from the front of the car, slid the tranny out. Do NOT let the input shaft hang up - to help with this, make sure the shifter is out of the hole, and that it will clear the support for the back of the console. With the crossmember removed, you should have plenty of clearance with the back of the head against the firewall (put a rag over the back of the head). Once the tranny landed on the box, it obviously didn't crush the box or crash to the ground, so I used a boxcutter to cut the box down gradually to lower the transmission. Admittedly, I wasn't expecting having to do that, and pulling the tranny without the bellhousing will probably be a bit easier.
To install, I just lay under the car with the tranny. Trying to line it up with just a floor jack is pretty difficult, in my opinion. Perhaps I'm just not gifted enough.
I finally broke down and purchased a transmission jack. I used it last week to remove a automatic transmission from a '90 735i. It was good in that I was not trying to balance the tran on that small spot on the jack. When I lowered it I then had to slide it off onto a board so to clear the bellhouseing.
It goes up 23 inches. I got it at harbor freight for about $40.00
- I'm going to try and manage without this tool. I figure I can probably get by balancing the until on my jack. Call me a fool if you like...
