Painful Lesson (awd to rwd swap)

front where the cross member (non xi) bolts up. I would be shocked if bmw made different unibodies for the two cars. If the unibodies are different. I'm going to have to put this whole god damn car back together!!!! lol oh thats funny... kinda well I guess i will go drive out to my parts car and get the scoop on it. my xi unibody has plugs in the unibody but they won't come out I'm thinking about using a torch to see wtf is behind them and they aren't threaded in... I'll let ya guys know in the next few hours

torch...sounds like fun!

t appears the subframe will fit i just got back from the parts car. Took the subframe out everything looks good. I've decided to take PEI's advice and get my shop to put in the tranny. All that is left is a tow to the shop some uuc motor mounts.

There is a trick to getting in the tranny by yourself. Get the transmission on a floor jack and wrap a ratchet strap around it. Slowly jack it up with your foot and it'll go in. The 6 speed only weighs 25 lbs more than a 5 speed, so it's a special challenge to get it in.

I never had a problem getting my 5 speed back in. I got it in first stab both times. First time I pressed it up and stabbed it, but forgot to put the spacer plate on. Pulled it back down, put the plate back, stabbed again. Maybe I was just having a good night.

Originally Posted by mrshelley

There is a trick to getting in the tranny by yourself. Get the transmission on a floor jack and wrap a ratchet strap around it. Slowly jack it up with your foot and it'll go in. The 6 speed only weighs 25 lbs more than a 5 speed, so it's a special challenge to get it in.

To have the transmission delivered to my house would almost be what it is going to cost to have them put it in. Also they deliver free to my shop lol you guys are making me feel like a pussy!!!

small update car is being towed to the shop today. As most know with things like this it's always more time and more money.

BMW of NA refuses to play ball and reflash and/or make me a different ecu. It's coming down to legal bullsh!t. They're saying that every ecu has a vin info in it and if they change the software then the software won't match the vin. yadda yadda yadda. So I called a dealership on the west coast today and so far they are willing to do it they just need to make sure it's ok. Nothing else is going on atm with the swap

ESS would probably do it for you.

thats a damn good idea. .

small update the t case has no electrical connection... however the xi tranny does and i'm working out what that connection does. My car has been in the shop for 2 weeks now. It's involving a custom tranny mount. I'm sure i will have a permanent CEL. I will have DSC and ABS as the T case doesn't communicate with the ecu. Things are moving slow I'm hoping to have a better update next week!

ouch...

Parts update on what is needed to complete the swap:

Motor Mounts
Control Arms
Spindles (must remove dust shield to fit the rotors)
Struts,Springs,Sway Bar/Linkage (front)
Front Motor X Member
Tranny
Tranny Mounts
Some Shifter Linkage
Front Wheel Speed Sensors
Drive Shaft
Oil Pan
Oil Pan Gasket
Oil Pump (stake/loctite the nut)

That's it so far. May need an extension made for the steering rack. (not there yet) My car has been down for almost a month now I did all the tear down and collected the parts. I then took my car to a friends shop, it has been there since the 31st. This was more work than I ever intended it to be. Just getting all the parts was a pain. Most of the hardware is one time use also, so include that in your budget. School restarts today and I'm gonna be renting a car 2 days a week till this is completed. (1 ASE cert down 1 to go) Needless to say it's became very taxing on my wallet I was hopeful in the beginning. After 2 weeks I realized this wouldn't be smash and grab. (fast) At this point I'm agreeing with everyone that has said, sell it start over.

Ouch. Not fun, man.

Any updates?

Ill be delving into a RWD swap at the end of this month. BOTH of my diff bearings are leaking and one is frozen. For now Im going to keep the AWD front subframe and diff, and just swap the tranny and driveshaft.... Did you end up having to get a custom tranny mount made?

Originally Posted by GotVANOS?

Ill be delving into a RWD swap at the end of this month. BOTH of my diff bearings are leaking and one is frozen. For now Im going to keep the AWD front subframe and diff, and just swap the tranny and driveshaft.... Did you end up having to get a custom tranny mount made?

yes

How much did that cost?

Originally Posted by GotVANOS?

How much did that cost?

I budgeted 1k for it, had them do some other reinforcements.

You will also need to swap your input flange on your diff the xi's are different. You will need to use a 323 drive shaft the 330 shafts won't work. If you need any help drop me a line.