*** The New Unofficial: Automatic ---> 6 speed (ZHP Tranny) swap!!! - LOTS OF PICS

First off, I would like thank Neil1138, ivegotissues666, and xmltok. Without their DIY’s and information from posts I probably wouldn’t have decided to do this. My intention with this DIY thread is not to dwell on what has already been covered but to share my experience, reinforce things I found necessary, point out differences in my conversion, and above all explain the wiring piece well.

Second, if you are fairly skilled mechanically, can assemble Legos, and have a desire to solve complex puzzles, you will probably do well at this. While you don’t have to be an OCD perfectionist, it might help.
Before you get started there are several things you must do, no matter whether want to or not. If you plan on doing this yourself you must research realOEM.com and find out mechanically where all these pieces are and why you need them. As model years progressed, some parts on the cars also changed slightly so the parts required may be slightly different from one build to another. Know your own vehicle well prior to starting.

Overall once I got started this took be 4 days. I did all the work myself, with a few emails between knowledgeable members.

DISCLAIMER
The obligatory disclaimer – Sadly, in our lawsuit happy world I am forced to do this so you may skip past this but it still applies.

I am not responsible for any thing you do to your car, and cannot be held liable for any damage you may do by reading this article and applying it to your car.

If you take this task on you are presumed to have a fair level of mechanical or auto electrical skill and if not don’t do it. I shall not in any way be held responsible for any damage resulting from fault or failure to follow the suggested steps proposed. It is your responsibility to research this project thoroughly and validate the DIY. There may be technical inaccuracies within this subject matter. I am in no way liable for this. Do you own research to make certain that the information is accurate. In some cases the change from one month to another will result in a difference in your car from this DIY and may cause an inaccuracy.

All information posted in this write-up is provided "as is" without any warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to fitness for a particular use. Any user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and use of this information.
/DISCLAIMER

My vehicle is a MY2002/01 (January) coupe. Because I’m using the non-M 6-speed used in MY2003/03 to MY2006/05 coupes I chose to lookup parts on realOEM.com from a MY2005/05 coupe (arbitrary) to reference what was required.

There are four major components that will be the bulk of the cost. You must know going into this conversion that the ZF GS6-37 series of 6-speed transmissions are not inexpensive of themselves and the remaining components are also more expensive than their 5-speed counterparts.

Do your homework and determine what type of flywheel and clutch you want, stock vs. performance. There are always tradeoffs between the two, read up and learn why you would choose one over the other. Source the transmission, and all of the major parts; plan on putting some evenings into this part of the project. I found Excel to be very handy at cataloging everything I determined to be necessary, tracking what was ordered, and received. This is no small task.

While not necessary, something I have found to be useful in many cases is to order one additional bolt, nut, washer. This type of component is fairly inexpensive (compared to time) and if you drop one and can’t find it, beats ordering another or an additional trip to the dealer. It’s your build, you be the judge.

Tools you will need:
4 Jack-stands (desired), a pair of Jack-stands and a pair of ramps (works)
A floor jack – you’re already spending good money on the tranny – buy a good low profile jack
Oil drain pan
Oil Containers – Arizona Ice Tea 1 gallon containers work well – plastic gallon milk carton for funnel
8 rolls of blue paper shop towels (indispensable)
3/8” socket set, metric: 9mm-18mm (note – no missing sizes – some sets are missing 11mm & 16mm)
3/8” deep well socket set, metric: 10mm-19mm (note – 19mm for reverse switch)
Open end wrenches, metric: 7mm-18mm
Torx bolt sockets, metric: E10, E12, E14, E16 (note – these are the reverse of Torx drivers)
Allen sockets, metric: 5mm, 6mm, and 8mm
Torx drivers, metric: T-15, T-20, T-25
3/8” socket handle
3/8” universal joint
3/8” torque wrench
3/8” extensions (20”, 12”, 8”, 4” will all be useful)
A cutoff saw – Dremel or ¼” grinder with cutoff blade
Wire strippers
Wire crimpers
Soldering Iron & rosin core solder
Assorted pliers, vice grips, etc.
Assorted screwdrivers
Rubber hammer
2 lb sledge hammer (gentle persuader)

Tools you may wish you had:
Compressor
Air hammer (I found this to be nearly required)
3/8” pneumatic Socket Driver (this is a tremendous time saver)
3/8” crows foot socket set, metric: 10mm-18mm (handy for some hard to reach places)
1/2” socket set, 9mm to 24mm
1/2” socket handle
1/2” breaker bar (this is extremely useful for the bolts on the CV joint at the diff for removal)
1/2” torque wrench

About this conversion:
Vehicle: 2002, 330Ci - build date 2002/01

From:
Automatic Transmission: ZF 5HP-19

To:
Flywheel: JB Racing Lightweight Flywheel
Clutch: UUC Performance Organic
Shifter: BMW Performance Shifter & BMW ZHP shift knob
Manual Transmission: ZF GS6-37BZ




The ZF GS6-37BZ is the transmission installed in E46 330's and E60 525's and 530's using the M54 based motor.

• E46 330Ci Convertible: 2003/03-2006/08
• E46 330Ci Coupe: 2003/03-2006/05
• E46 330i Sedan: 2003/03-2005/01
• E60 525i Sedan: 2002/03-2005/02
• E60 530i Sedan: 2002/01-2005/02

What this all cost: $3,560 (not including re-coding the ECU)
Transmission: $1,700 shipped, used (19,000 miles) - Pam's Auto
Driveline: $180 shipped, used (19,000 miles) - forum member
Clutch: $590 shipped, new, UUC Performance Organic sprung hub
Flywheel: $400 shipped, used, JB Racing lightweight flywheel
Shifter: $150 shipped, used, BMW Performance shifter
Misc: $540 shipped,Brake pedal, ZHP weighted shift knob, shift boot, clutch pedal, clutch hydraulics, fluids, nuts, bolts


Excel Spreadsheet with all the parts by catagory, part numbers, quantity, MSRP, and Tischer's price (as of 3/2010).

BEFORE YOU START
Find yourself a nice dry place to do the work I used my garage but some will do this outside. Regardless I would recommend a good supply of cardboard. You are going to spill oil, ATF, and brake fluid - you can't avoid it.



The first thing I did was to climb under the car and become familiar with what you are going to do. This is a pretty big job so scope it out the night before you start. Take some PB Blaster and spray your exhaust flange nuts down and leave them overnight.

NEXT DAY - BEGIN

REMOVE THE DRIVERS SEAT!
I know that ivegotissues666 and neil1138 did this differently. Jared removed the seat and Neil wished he'd just done it anyway. The 15 minutes it takes to remove the seat will give you back at least a half hour in ease of installation, not to mention sanity. Honestly I can't see doing it any other way. I didn't take pictures but it's super-easy. Slide the seat back to reveal the front rail nuts, remove the caps, remove the nuts. DISCONNECT THE BATTERY - Negative terminal (so you don't set off the SRS light when you take the connector apart under the seat). Remove the rear rail nuts. Tilt the seat back and disconnect the electrical connector. Remove the seat. WOW - what an opportunity to clean!!!


^ Remove the exhaust flange nuts (15mm) but don't separate the joint. Next support the exhaust, and by the way, this mofo is heavy! Move to the rear of the car. . If your car has the exhaust silencer, remove the rubber hose. Next remove the two supports at the rear of the car that hold the muffler assembly up. Now, drop the exhaust and find someplace out of the way to put it.


^ Remember to disconnect that useless vacuum hose (golf-T mod). Mine was burnt by the exhaust.


^ Exhaust down.

Next - Remove all of the heat shielding under the car - you don't need to remove the stuff up by the engine bay. No pictures... easy to do.

Originally Posted by TitaniumCranium

The obligatory disclaimer – Sadly, in our lawsuit happy world I am forced to do this so you may skip past this but it still applies.

Is this actually true? Someone can be held liable for posting words on the internet?

Originally Posted by ///Norway

Everything is silent. No starter, no starter relay, nothing... The TCU is still in place

Originally Posted by Nervous

Well... Then something is wrong with wiring. My 2001 330ci engaged the starter right after I wired the clutch module (however, I used the 4 wire contactless module, not the 3-wire switch...)

///Norway - please give me the production date or your car, RHD or LHD, and I'll do a little research.

The four wire module that Nervous mentions has a wire that goes to the EWS module. Without that wire the car won't start on MS43 ECU's, but I suspect your wiring and ECU may be different.

When I put mine together I started the car and drove it without doing any programming so I'm fairly certain that isn't your issue.

Once you recode the cluster and reprogram the ECU you will have to realign the EWS module against the ECU's new programming. For now just leave the TCU plugged in. This way the anti-lock brakes will continue to work correctly.

Originally Posted by TR4G-

Is this actually true? Someone can be held liable for posting words on the internet?

Probably depends on which party has the more expensive lawyer.

neat and clean, great diy!!!!!!!!

My next project...now if you can just include the programming/coding instructions

OP, before you pulled the auto harness from the tranny, did you put it in neutral and leave it in neutral?

Great write up!

No I didn't. I'm not sure it that would make any difference. I've read nearly every wiring diagram and don't see where that would help. That said, this is a 5hp19 conversion and it is different than a GM conversion. About the only way you could "short cut" the wiring would be to pull the mechanical/electrical steptronic shifting mechanism from the side of the tranny and move, or leave it in neutral. It's far easier just to wire it correctly.

And the programming is next. When I get that done I'll leave a detailed write-up of that too.

Originally Posted by genuity

My next project...now if you can just include the programming/coding instructions

OP, before you pulled the auto harness from the tranny, did you put it in neutral and leave it in neutral?

Nice big balls job. I am curious:

1. How high was the car measured from ground to jacking pad ?
2. Other cars have a spring that withdraws the throw out bearing from the clutch 'finger' spring when the clutch pedal is released. The 3 series doesn't have that mechanism. Is it obvious what causes the BMW TOB to disengage from the clutch once the pedal is released ?

Originally Posted by GoingNuts

Nice big balls job.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by GoingNuts

I am curious:
1. How high was the car measured from ground to jacking pad ?

That would be 45cm or 17.5 inches

Originally Posted by GoingNuts

2. Other cars have a spring that withdraws the throw out bearing from the clutch 'finger' spring when the clutch pedal is released. The 3 series doesn't have that mechanism. Is it obvious what causes the BMW TOB to disengage from the clutch once the pedal is released ?

There is a weird little spring behind the fork that pulls it back but your right, there isn't anything that pulls the TOB back. I think it just gets pushed barely out of the way by the "fingers" of the pressure plate once you release the clutch. I don't honestly know though. I thought about it but the thought of getting done in a timely manner overtook my curiosity.

Originally Posted by TitaniumCranium

I thought about it but the thought of getting done in a timely manner overtook my curiosity.

Yes, I understand. But one day you might be curious about it too. As the TOB becomes well used, it might begin to stick to the 'hollow shaft' it is riding on. As there's nothing to withdraw the TOB, it will stay loosely in contact with the clutch. When this happens the finger spring will strike TOB's front plate causing a chirp or squeal that will sound terrible but not really too terrible mechanically. I am afflicted with this annoyance and hence asking. Your trasnmission will be good for many miles before it will run into things like this.

I have had my 5 speed, now have an automatic and am satisfied. I will only take a 6 speed when I purchase an M3 but then I might want to try the SMG. I found this to be most informative and read every single step and enjoyed the read. I can see this came from the heart of a TRUE FANATIC! WELL DONE AND A GREAT WRITE UP TITANIUM CRANIUM!!

Nice and detail write up . Thanks

Thanks for the props guys - you too Neil