ZF320 off center

[AllydNYC]

Got an M52 into my 318is tonight however the ZF320 seems terribly misaligned. Looking at the transmission from under the car, it is off centered to the right. Looking where the shift carrier would go it seems off. I have not tried installing the shift carrier yet.




I tried putting on the transmission brace and it's not lining up at all. These are with the old transmission mounts. I tried the brace both ways, still very off. It would take a lot more than a push to get it aligned.






So I removed the wooden blocks and tried moving/wiggling the transmission to see if it just was off because of how it rested but unsurprisingly, it won't budge. It stays misaligned.
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I have AKG swap mounts. The engine brackets look to be sitting flush on the mounts and the mounts look to be sitting nicely on the subframe. Though even after torquing to spec, I find it odd that the right motor mount nut barley gets on there. While the left one is fine. There are no washers under the brackets. Is this a sign something is off?

Right arm:




Left arm:



I hope this is an easy one. I've tried searching but that didn't help and I don't have the energy to play around with it any more tonight. Thank you in advanced for any help.

[pazi88]

Just force it in place. In our both e30 m5x swaps the transmission is misalinged like that. The transmission mount will get that straight when you bolt it in place.

[7pilot]

I used those mounts.
You're ok on the passenger side mount.
I believe that you may just need to loosen the mounts...back the nuts off X4, then give the engine a good shaking/jostling.
I has been 7 years since I did the swap but I recall the flood of panic, when I saw that the engine mounts did not appear to line up.
You'll be fine as long as the chassis is not bent.

m

[AllydNYC]

Just force it in place. In our both e30 m5x swaps the transmission is misalinged like that. The transmission mount will get that straight when you bolt it in place.

I used those mounts.
You're ok on the passenger side mount.
I believe that you may just need to loosen the mounts...back the nuts off X4, then give the engine a good shaking/jostling.
I has been 7 years since I did the swap but I recall the flood of panic, when I saw that the engine mounts did not appear to line up.
You'll be fine as long as the chassis is not bent.

m

That's all it took! I had to loosen all the mount bolts, lift the engine slightly and give it a good shake to get the transmission in place. Once everything was lined up I lightly bolted it in and then set the engine back down.

I should have thought of this, I was in a flood of panic and exhausted.

Thanks guys!!