Thoughts on AT > MT conversions.

[Kruzen]

I'm still actively shopping around for a good E30 to buy, and i was curious what your all's thoughts on AT to MT conversions are. Personally i wouldn't trust myself to do the work, heh, aren't there alot of calibrations and such that need to be perfect in order to get the most out of a manual shifting configuration? I just think it would be unreliable and that a 'factory from the start' setup would be much more reliable and effective.

perhaps i am wrong?

please share.

[Rob]

if you dont have the car yet, save yourself the trouble and buy a manual.

[Kruzen]

if you dont have the car yet, save yourself the trouble and buy a manual.

up here in WA its nearly impossible to find a bimmer in good condition for a decent price, let alone MT.

Basically i'm just trying to gauge my options if i find the right car, in the wrong transmission

[Rob]

you might have to go out of state...its seriously worth it. hell i flew from NC to Texas for my car

[James Crivellone]

a manual swap can be just as reliable as a factory one, in fact in many cases you KNOW it will be reliable because you installed it youself.

Hell if I could not swap to a manual I would sell my car right now

[Kruzen]

you might have to go out of state...its seriously worth it. hell i flew from NC to Texas for my car

thats one thing i have a problem with .

1) i'm 17 (18 in a couple months) and money is tight.

2) i have serious issues with buying a car out of state, or even agreeing to buy a car out of state, until i have personally looked at it.

example: here in WA i thought the perfect car popped up, fairly high mileage, but it was red w/ black inside, a real beauty. 325i 2-door '91. The guy wanted 3700$, i thought it was a little high, but from the pictures, it looked worth it.

so i took the 2 hour drive to go look at it. After a fair analysis of myself and some afterthought from mr crivellone, i nailed down 1500$ in parts that would need replacing on it. Perfect car from description and talkign to the guy, but once i showed up it wouldn't be worth half what he was asking. I was upset over that for a 2 hour drive, i would be HELLA pissed if i spent 300$+ to go fly to a car and then be out 300$ once i find out that he 'forgot to mention' a few things :roll:

[Sean]

If you get an I, I'd have all the pieces you'd need for a manual swap - I'm parting out an IS - tranny, a really good clutch (the thing grabs like it's new - you'd just need a few new pieces) pedals and whatnot.

I think as long as you can get the pieces, you could do it. I'm not evern quite sure what's needed, but I am parting out a 325is, so everything's there.

I say, cehck and see what automatic tranny choices you have, and just be sure to weigh in the tranny swap as part of it.

[Jand3rson]

if you dont have the car yet, save yourself the trouble and buy a manual.

If you go to look at one and it's an auto, tell the guy sorry, and walk away. I've done it twice in the last month.

[Super Eta]

Fine someone who can look into helping you get a dirt cheap airfare to your location. :)

Matter of fact i might be one of those people...i "think" i am not to sure if i am too old for it or not but i can or used to be able to fly in coach for free and fly in first class for $15 to certain locations in the USA. Now there are things called buddy passes but again i dont know much about that. If you needed a ticket i am sure i could be nice enough to ask about it and see if i can help you out. 8)

[Bill 84 318i]

You're unbolting some factory parts and putting in new ones. It's a little more complicated than that, but if done right it can be just as reliable as if it came from the factory.

[M-technik-3]

Mine was done, in fact I am glad the car was a slushbox. The auto's generally don't get as beaten on as the sticks. Mine had 107k when I bought last July now it has 113k and a M50 with a stick in it. The conversion can be done by shops for approx. $1500 about 10 hours of labor.

Auto in my book are worth less so you get a lower asking price also.

[Jay Stock E30]

my 325is started life as an auto. My friend bought it with a broken timing belt, and restored it, the auto trany lasted him 3k miles before he cooked it. He then swaped to a manual. The cars are the same, there are really no difference, all the parts just bolt up. So assuming you get good parts and replace the ones that wear it will be just as if its from the factory. Here is the write up my friend did after his first at to mt swap. The only thing is, to get the cruse to work you have to eather build a relay, or just put in a switch (which is what I did, no big deal)

The parts I used came from an 86 325e and some new parts I bought from Bavarian Autosport. here's the parts list.

5 speed transmission
Driveshaft for a 5 speed
brake and clutch pedal
gear shifter
shift knob
all shifting mechanism
brake fluid resivoir (I bought the whole master cylinder but only swapped resivoirs)
clutch kit from Bavarian Autosport
shift boot from Bavarian Autosport
new guibo from bavarian autosport
new transmission mounts from bavarian autosport
transmission support (metal part) from 325e


I got an e flywheel from the parts car, but ended up using an i flywheel because it's so much lighter.

Now that the job is complete I would have replaced the shifter bushings with new bushings or I would have bought a short shifter.

1st I removed the exhaust system. I broke 2 studs due to seized bolts which set my project back several hours. Always use new bolts when reassembling exhaust stuff. There's a reason people say that!!! It only cost me $2 but it took several hours of aggrivation.

2nd I cut out the front 1/2 of my old driveshaft with a sawzall. This could be saved by removing the bolts, but that's a lot of work and after breaking the studs in the exhaust system I was pissed and this relieved stress.

3rd I undid the bolts around the transmission bellhousing. The top bolts take lots of patience and time to get off. I looked at the new transmission for a guide to where the bolts were. I also used a 24" 3/8 extension to help me with this.

4th I removed the transmission pan plug and undid all the lines coming into the transmission. This got fluid all over the floor and me, it seems that it'll go everywhere except where you put the pan. While at this you should remove the kick down cable from the throttle body on the engine. I forgot that until the transmission was 1/2 out and ended up cutting it with bolt cutters in a desperate attempt to get it off.

5th after the transmission is drained, undo the shifter mechanism by reaching up and popping the clevis pin out. Remove the rear transmission mount with either a jack under the transmission, or as I did working on my back, I crawled under the transmission with my stomach under it and my feet toward the back of the car. Pull the transmission off of the engine and lower it to the floor however you can figure out. This was the weirdest part of the whole job. The torque converter will stay on the engine and ATF will go everywhere.

6th unbolt the torque converter from the flywheel and take the flywheel off the engine. This is where I stopped for the night to start again the next day.

7th I started using parts from the clutch kit. I put the new rear main seal on the engine and replaced the seals on the manual transmission.

8th I prepped the flywheel, clutch plate, and pressure plate for installation by rubbing them down with rubbing alcohol. Then I installed the flywheel, clutch and pressure plate. I didn't use new bolts for the pressure plate because I had ones that looked good, but if I were doing this again, I would have used new bolts. So if you plan to do this, order the bolts ahead of time so you can replace them.

9th I installed the 5 speed transmission the same way I removed the automatic. It goes easier because the 5 speed weighs less.

10th I started on the inside of the car. Disassemble the center console to remove the automatic gear shifter. I didn't actually remove the center console, just loosened it to get to the bolts with a wrench. Also remove the brake pedal by taking out the 4 bolts and undoing the clevis pin going to the master cylinder.

11th I started working on the brakes. Using a turkey baster I sucked all the brake fluid I could out of the resivoir. I then set a towel under the master cylinder and popped the resivoir out of the master cylinder. I stuck the new resivoir on immediatley and filled it 1/4 full with brake fluid. My goal was to not need to bleed the brake system, which I succeeded at.

12th I worked on the interior again by installing the new pedals. This was a very aggrivating task and I removed the driver's seat for easier access. This is a very straightforward task, but it was difficult getting access to the bolts.

13th, from under the car I installed the 5 speed shifting mechanism, this also was rather easy and straightforward if you have all the parts. Here is where you'd replace the bushings or get a short shifter if you'd thought of that before the job unlike me.

14th I installed the driveshaft and new guibo. then install the exhaust system while you're under the car.

15th I found a friend and bled the clutch. The mechanical part of the project is now done. But the car still will not start.

to get the car to start you need to put a jumper on two wires that are under the front ashtray where the old shifter plugged into. I forget off the top of my head the colors, but it's the wires that are not the ones that go with the reverse lights.

I still have yet to figure out why my cruise control doesn't work, but I think it has to do with the jumper I have to start the car.

I hope this helps and I hope I got all the steps here in writing that people can understand.


andyman

[evo30]

im about to swap my AT to MT im just waiting on my pedals and clutch ..but now that i have read what jay shock posted i think ill need to change all the shifting parts ...

[5Toes]

Wow thread bump

[Mossman]

Yes. And I didn't read what that dude wrote but you'd be silly to not do at least a short shift lever and the knuckle that attaches to the steering rod. Sometimes the rods also are worn into an oval and should be swapped. And the shift cup thing cuz it's cheap. And the output shaft seal and shift rod seal.