auto -> manual converion with e36 trans?

[papajetta]

has anyone tried doing the auto to manual conversion using a manual e36 transmission instead of an e30 manual?
just because i have plans to do a m50/s50 swap and would rather do the manual conversion 1st and then the engine swap. just dont want to be overwhelmed with 2 conversions at a time.

[Mike B.]

I completed both swaps at the same time as well - not too bad. The only real difference between the two is how the backup lights connect. They connect via the harness on the E36.

When the time comes to wire things up, send me a PM and I can tell you how I did it.

[FredK]

Hey Mike B, how do you hook it up? I'm doing both swaps at the same time as well!

[Mike B.]

I'll pull some pages from the ETM this evening and then add some commentary on how I wired things up. It involved around three wiring connections to get everything to work.

What year car's are you working on? The wiring may be a bit different between models and I want to make sure I get the right diagrams.

[papajetta]

i have a 91 vert
i was actually more concerned with the driveshaft deal
could i and if i bolt on the e36 5 spd trans to my m20, will i need to change the drive shaft? and which one e30 5spd dshaft or e36 5 spd drvsht

[FredK]

Cool. I'm doing a 10/88 325i. From what I gather there are three wires to solder together, 2 grn/blk and one grn/yel? Backup light works through the E36 harness, right?

[Mike B.]

i have a 91 vert
i was actually more concerned with the driveshaft deal
could i and if i bolt on the e36 5 spd trans to my m20, will i need to change the drive shaft? and which one e30 5spd dshaft or e36 5 spd drvsht

I would do both at the same time, don't worry about being overwhelmed you really aren't adding that much work. Plus, you will have better access to hook up the clutch master/clutch lines with the engine out of the bay.

The E36 trans will work fine with the E30 5-spd driveshaft, but you will have too pull the splines out a few mm's to get the proper length. Another nice thing about the E36 trans is that you can use the E30 5-spd transmission mount with minimal fabrication. I just had to slot the holes for the the mounts a bit to give me some more play to line things up perfectly.

What diff are you planning on using? A 3.73 or higher won't work well because the E36 5 gear is 1:1 and you will be turning huge rev's. I have a 3.46 and I am turning around 4K at 85mph.

[Mike B.]

Cool. I'm doing a 10/88 325i. From what I gather there are three wires to solder together, 2 grn/blk and one grn/yel? Backup light works through the E36 harness, right?

Diagram #1

Diagram #2




1) Bypass the 'Start Relay' located under the lower dash cover on the drivers side. Locate the black wire going into the relay and the black/yellow wire coming out. Connect these two wires, bypassing the relay. (see diagram #1)

2) Solder the green/black and green/yellow wires together to fool the DME into thinking that the transmission is always in park/neutral. (see diagram #1 or #2)

3) Pin #10 (blue/yellow wire) on E36 harness is for backup lights. Run this wire into the shifter and solder to the blue/white wire. (see diagram #1 or #2)

Hope this helps. If you need any other help, please let me know.

[papajetta]

thanks for the info mike, about the rear diff i wasn't really planning on changing the diff ratio. I'm not really concerned about top speed .( e30's are scary at high speed ). I'am designing everything more for autocrossing so it would probably benefit me more higher ratios.

[FredK]

Thanks Mike! That helps a lot. Once I get my clutch hose, hardline and firewall grommet I should be good to go.