'89 316i E30 LS1 Swap Build Thread

[shiboujin]

Pay friends in beer :)

[Q8y_drifter]

So here's the deal. Took me another 2 hours to fully remove the trans without the help of a lift, trans jack or a friend.

I highly recommend removing the shifter plate and sealing up the hole with masking tape so crap wouldn't get it. Also don't forget to drain the trans fluid.

Had to deal with a few areas where the trans contacted the tunnel (mostly the shifter hitting the factory BMW shifter bracket) and the lack of space to wiggle it out. This wouldn't have been a big deal if I had hammered out the tunnel and cut any interfering metal prior to installing the engine/trans. Also you're gonna want to use a large pry bar to separate the trans and bell housing.

I have no idea how I'm gonna be able to reinstall this thing but for now it's done and it took me about 5 hours total alone with no trans jack

[Q8y_drifter]

No problem.

A cutout for the shifter hole is a must IMO. You can't access the shifter mounting bolts from the bottom, which means simple shifter maintenance/replacement/etc will require a trans drop. Plus its almost impossible to reach those upper tranny bolts without the shifter removed already (some shifters are easier than others).

[shiboujin]

Thank you! I'll have to replace my clutch sometime this year at the rate I'm abusing it and was wondering how hard it is. I really didn't like the cut out for the shifter hole but it's making more and more sense in the long run.

[Q8y_drifter]

So I attempted to drop the trans today to fix the leaking slave while the engine is still in the car.

Removing the trans and bell housing together seemed impossible given the limited amount of space so I decided to take out the trans alone.

Removed the driveshaft
Removed shifter
Disconnected the wiring and clutch lines
Supported trans with jack and jack stands
Removed trans cross member and lowered trans until the rear of the engine hit the firewall.

5 of the lower bolts connecting the trans to the bell housing were fairly easy to reach. 3 of the top bolts however required long extensions and a swivel head and have to be accessed from the shifter hole. Reaching those and loosening them took me a solid couple hours of work as the bolts were awkwardly positioned.

GREEN = Access from bottom
RED = Access from shifter hole



I still haven't taken out the trans completely as I need a second pair of hands to wiggle it out safely but all the bolts have been loosened/removed.

So if anyone was wondering if the trans can be removed with the engine bolted down yes its possible. The bell housing should now be a piece of cake to remove with the trans out.

[Q8y_drifter]

Got my X-Force Varex muffler a couple days back. 3" inlet, 3" twin tips

[shiboujin]

Yep. For some reason, this is the only place I don't use that username.

[Q8y_drifter]

Ah, you're the guy on reddit :)

Protomor I'm guessing?

[shiboujin]

Ah, you're the guy on reddit :)

[Q8y_drifter]

No vids? Boo. Build is looking super fresh man.

Start up video posted a couple days back

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we1w_gk-cCQ

[shiboujin]

No vids? Boo. Build is looking super fresh man.

[Q8y_drifter]

Still got a ton of cleaning and tidying up to do but it starts and idles so that's good.

[Q8y_drifter]

[Q8y_drifter]

https://www.psiconversion.com

I don't remember but it was just a bit more over the advertised price since I needed a couple different connectors wired up.

[Reyhan335]

What website did you get your harness from. Do you remember how much it was


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