2001 E53 4.4L 6MT swap?

[williamx5]

Good day all!!

I didn't get lucky today at the PIY... It was a 3.0L but in automatic form... I'm still hunting the pedal assembly and shifter bracket that goes from the rear of the trans to the body of the X... I need all of that for every vehicle, so if you want to do the conversion, it might be a great idea to see if you can locate those items too... I'm striking out here in S.C... If I don't find what I need when I am ready to do my conversion, I may end up buying new... I doubt BMW has a surplus of that stuff, but I figure there are a few examples of everything needed in a warehouse somewhere...

I'm going to call around to some of the salvage yards to see if they can put me on a call list when they get a manual X5 in... I'm going to add up some figures tonight of what I think it might run in parts if needed to buy new...

Oh, if you are planning on doing a 99-2003 V8, the 540i transmissions are becoming more avail and cheap... If doing a 2004-2006, I would recommend getting the 6-speed that matches up to that year motor (545i) and associated parts... Just to keep programming easier and wiring harnesses that match better... I have to do one of each to start off with... I think my 4.6is will be easier in the end, but that is still up in the air... The 4.6is needs better gearing... I'm running far too many RPM's doing 80... Errrrrr, I mean 55....

Okay, I'm rambling...

Cheers for now!!!

[squidzilla]

I think I can take a pic for you. Just take some pictures of the clutch or do I need to remove some stuff? If I need to remove some stuff we will need to wait until it gets warmer here since my 5mt sits outside in the gate, on the side of my house.

[williamx5]

Originally Posted by squidzilla

I think I can take a pic for you. Just take some pictures of the clutch or do I need to remove some stuff? If I need to remove some stuff we will need to wait until it gets warmer here since my 5mt sits outside in the gate, on the side of my house.

Good day!!

EDIT::: WOW!!! There are two quarter-turn pins, but also seven screws, three connectors (that were really tight on my 06), one light, and the OBD port that was on the front knee pad cover... SO!!! Don't worry about it... I'll look at the pictures I just took... But at first glance, I think the casting is the same for both manual and auto versions... I'll look into this more tonight...
::::::


I think there is a cover under the dash that I would need pulled off... Two quarter-turn locking pins and it should pull out, if I'm not mistaken... I'm wanting to see all the brackets and how the manual pedal support looks compared to the automatic version all the V8 models have... Realoem says they are different and BMW has different part numbers for each, but I want to see to what extent...

No worries on waiting until it is warm enough!! Or to make your task even easier is if someone already has a picture avail...

Thanks so much!!!

Cheers!!!

[williamx5]

Good day all!

So, I was thinking about how to go about this... Do I post as I find and discover stuff, or just wait til the finished product and do one long how-to?

So, for now I'm gonna add as I go... I pulled a brake pedal assembly from one of the X5's in the PIY... I may go back for the other before they crush it... I also pulled a manual brake pedal assembly from a 525i... the brake pedal was obviously smaller, but the weld on the back of our auto brake pedal is in the same spot as the manual pedal... trimming the "fat" from ours would be just as good as buying one new or used... and the mods would go unnoticed under the cover from the donor 5-series! The 5-series pedal has a different welded sensor stop... The clutch pedals are all the same. The springs all work the same. The bushings are all the same. The brackets are all the same. The input cylinder is the same... even the mountings hardware for the cylinder is the same! I spent 37 bucks for two assemblies (only really needing the 525i) and got nearly everything I need to make my auto version into a manual version! No need to purchase anything on that assembly from BMW... there is a missing clutch pedal pivot pin on the auto X5 assembly... that missing pin denotes it's automatic trans part number instead of the manual trans part number... all those pins are the same... I need one... there are two in the assembly I got from the 525i... I'll press both out tomorrow and press one in my 2006 assembly and the other in the spare I got today... I'll have pictures and measurements for you all tomorrow... and the finished product... I'm also getting with BMW about the rigid hydraulic clutch lines being pre-bent... I'll probably just buy those new since they are X5 specific...

That should cover almost all the pedal mods... I hope all X5's are pre-wired for clutch switches! That would make my life so so so much easier! Short of finding where they hid the connectors!

Okay, until tomorrow! Pictures and finished assembly!

Cheers!

[williamx5]

Good day all!!

Well, as promised (maybe a little later than stated) here are the pictures I took today. You really do need a press for this part of the process unless you purchase the pedal support from BMW with both pins installed OR use the 3.0L manual trans donor X5... Keep in mind that I only needed the 5-series (E39 525i in this case) pedal support... With pedals and clutch cylinder and sensors, it ran me $12.78 (I think) from the PIY... The rest I did at work since I don't have a press yet...

This is current configuration... Now, you don't need to take the pedal off in order to get the support out, but it would make life easier... Only three bolts (13mm)... Disconnect the pedal from the brake master cylinder by removing the clip and pushing the pin thru... Wiggle it out...



This is the side that had the "input clutch cylinder"... Now, if you look in REALOEM.COM, you will find only one mounting bolt holding the bracket and cylinder to the support... I recommend breaking the bank and getting the other bolt and nut to keep it lined up right... You will notice a raised lip on the forward mounting point... It won't keep it centered enough to eliminate the arm from contacting the housing on the cylinder... That little bit does make a difference...



Now, all the pins I measured were almost exactly 47mm from the support...



You can press these in the support in either direction... It just depends on the better surface to use as a brace... I found it easiest to use the vice to press the pin into place... Don't go too far, like me!!! UGH!! I went to 46.33mm the first time... Work your way up to 47mm...

This is pulling the pins from the 525i support... A little pressure to break the bond it's had (for however many years) and it's easy after that...



Here are the pins out... One was brake pivot and the other was clutch pivot... They are both clutch pivots now...



Only the splines really bite into the aluminum... So, no worries about messing up the smooth surface where the pedal will slide on...



Getting into position...





All done...





I'm just going to trace the stock 525i brake pedal face and transfer that over to the long brake pedal in our auto version vehicles... A little cutting with the cut-off wheel and it'll work great!! Pedal arm weld on the back is in the same exact location... The only difference is the surface of the face, as you can see...



And, another bonus... You don't have to get a new cover... Just cut the plastic on the inside edge where that little white square is, and you have your clutch pedal cut-out done...



I'm still checking on the lines... I sent an email to one of the online BMW parts places... I'm not going to drop any dimes, but he stated that I sent him part numbers that were NOT OEM BMW numbers... Maybe he should use REALOEM (or even GOOGLE for that matter) at his dealership...

So, I am still trying to find out if the lines for the clutch hydraulics are pre-bent from BMW... If they are pre-bent, I may just order about a half dozen sets...

EDIT:: I was doing a little more digging and it appears this is the line that connects to the "output clutch cylinder" and is also on the 5-series donor vehicles... I'm going back to the yard tomorrow anyway, so I'll check to see if this is still avail and looks the same as the picture I stole off the internet...



Also still checking on the pre-wired harness for the clutch switches... I found a single twisted pair under the dash that could work, but the switches have three wires for each...

That's it for now...

Cheers!!!

[williamx5]

Good day all!!

I got my butt up and going this morning despite being on graveyard shift so that I could hit the yard again to get the hydraulic line and output clutch cylinder... Both were still there and in really great condition after cleaning them up... Unless the vehicle is from up north, I really don't see this stuff having any issues... So, subtract another item from the "Need to purchase NEW from BMW" list... That hydraulic line in the above picture was indeed on the 525i I pulled the clutch pedal assembly from... The bracket that holds it in place on the output clutch cylinder was also the same... Not sure how many of yous are aware, but BMW put a Clutch Delay Valve (CDV) on the output clutch cylinder to save us from ourselves... It was designed for those that don't know how to exactly master the release in 1st gear... For those of use that do know how to do this, the valve becomes a little annoying... I have deleted mine from the 540i as most others do... I have taken the one on this cylinder off as well... The line will thread directly onto the cylinder, so no need to pull the CDV and drill it out like most seem to think is necessary... The coil in the line (pictured above) will soak up any difference the lack of the CDV makes...

I also pulled the pedal assembly from the other X5 that was in the yard... Oddly, I found that it was different in a few aspects... The brake pedal itself was totally different where it mounts to the support and the master cylinder arm... It uses two roller bearings in the pedal and the pin is welded to the arm that connects to the master cylinder arm... I like the new version!! I think I will ditch this one and keep the support for future mods... The other thing different was the brake pivot pin is "pinned" to the support... Not sure if it is pressed in, but there is a roll pin thru the support and pivot pin... How many did I confuse with all that?! So, I think we might need to update the support assembly if you have a 99 thru 9/01...

I also pulled the carpet back to look for that missing clutch pedal connector(s)... The only one I found was the one mentioned above... HOWEVER!!! It is a three pin connector with two wires in it... The other end of that connector does have three wires... I need some wire color codes for the existing clutch switches from a 3.0L manual... And possibly where the wires are coming from...

That is all I have for now... Still getting the parts together, but I hope to start this in the next couple of weeks on my 2004...

Cheers!!

[williamx5]

GOOD DAY ALL!!!

Well, I accidentally stumbled upon yet another amazing deal!! Maybe I should leave this one alone and let others have a chance to buy a project too... But this one is the color I have been looking for!! And the price is the cheapest I have found for an E53 yet... Needing motor work...

So, dilemma!! I already have three X5's... Do I really need another?! I've named them using the last digit of their year... I have "2", "4", and "6" currently... This new one would add "3" to the list... And I like the idea of converting the pre-face lift version due to the transmission associated with that motor is more readily available in the PIY's... Oh, did I mention it was the color I wanted... Right...

I blew up the fan on my 540i this morning... It took out the overflow tank... UGH!! May park that in the back for now... I think I have "4" transmission issues worked out... And I don't want to convert the non-sport model "6" I just recently got... So, that leaves my 4.6is ("2") and the one I'm looking at buying now ("3")... "2" is running great and is my daily driver... Taking it down to convert isn't logical... Additionally, I have the transmission for converting "3" (the vehicle I have to still buy)... I'd have to buy a newer version to convert "4" or "6"... So, buy a vehicle to convert, or a transmission... Ironically, both are about the same price...

What to do!?! Decisions decisions!!!!

EDIT::: Well, as it turns out, the 2003 I went to look at had damage behind the rear door on the rocker panel that left a gap between the body and door seal... I do motor and trans work... I don't want to mess with pulling a rocker panel out straight to close up a door gap...

Cheers!!

[itsbrokeagain]

I was doing some searching myself and on car-part I find 540 transmissions going for 4-600 bucks, and 545/550 trans for the N62s from 600-1000.

I started looking into a 4.6 or a 4.8, and 4.8s are not that much more expensive over a 4.6. I wonder if this conversion would be almost as straight-forward for the facelifted trucks..

[williamx5]

Originally Posted by itsbrokeagain

I was doing some searching myself and on car-part I find 540 transmissions going for 4-600 bucks, and 545/550 trans for the N62s from 600-1000.

I started looking into a 4.6 or a 4.8, and 4.8s are not that much more expensive over a 4.6. I wonder if this conversion would be almost as straight-forward for the facelifted trucks..

Good day!!

I am doing the conversion for both version of our E53's... The motor determines the trans... M62/TU gets the S6S-420G... While the N62 gets GS6-53BZ... Trans cross member mounting will be different too... After that, it is pretty much the same, depending on the distance from the output shaft to the rear diff... They might need different drive shaft modifications or fabrications... I haven't gotten that far yet...

Computer programming will be the same process, just using different data...

I should compile a couple spreadsheets with the relative data for each version...

Hope this helped answer your question...

Cheers!!

[itsbrokeagain]

Originally Posted by williamx5

Good day!!

I am doing the conversion for both version of our E53's... The motor determines the trans... M62/TU gets the S6S-420G... While the N62 gets GS6-53BZ... Trans cross member mounting will be different too... After that, it is pretty much the same, depending on the distance from the output shaft to the rear diff... They might need different drive shaft modifications or fabrications... I haven't gotten that far yet...

Computer programming will be the same process, just using different data...

I should compile a couple spreadsheets with the relative data for each version...

Hope this helped answer your question...

Cheers!!

The mechanical stuff doesn't bother me, itve turned a wrench for years. It's the coding/electronics that always mess me up. If the programming goes well and it's a turn-key scenario with no warning lights on permanently then I'm sold on the swap, even if it ends up being a measly 4.4.