e34 Touring
-
first thing done on the 5 speed front: LSD
Matt (jawa) was nice enough to scour a yard in his part of the state and by running vins over the phone, we were able to determine that one of the m50 e34s had an LSD, so he grabbed it for me. its a fairly hard to find 3.23LSD. generally, m60b30 manuals are paired with 3.07s, so this should give a nice little bump in acceleration.
I got all the seals replaced (both output seals on each side, cover gasket, and speed sensor o-ring.) I skipped the input shaft seal because it requires preload measuring, although some say you can just score the nut and return it to the exact position, I don't want to risk it for the moment so I left it be. if it leaks I'll pop it back off and do it. Brian powdercoated the cover for me, I picked blue for shits and gigs. It will be receiving Redline 75w90 right before install.

-
thanks!
more parts ready for install: mtech II steering wheel + resistor to keep srs light off. i got the plug from the parts car's junk steering wheel and soldered in the 3.3ohm resistor.

-
summer wheels/tires on. they need a refinish, but I'll do that next year. tires are dunlop sport maxx rt, and grip like hell.

also, i have removed all the parts from the parts car, and now all i have to is reseal the trans and order the rest of the parts for the 5 speed swap.
-
So the 5 speed swap is scheduled, between next week thursday and sunday (23rd-26th) I will attempt to get the whole job done. Anyone who wants to come watch me do some transmission wrestling, let me know. i will have beer.
Also, if someone has a nice 3-ton jack, and would be willing to lend it for those days, I'd love to borrow it. I bought a 1.5 ton from harbor freight and its a damn puss. It lifted the stripped parts car fine, but when I used it on the touring the other day, it felt like it would break under the weight.
-
I bought the low profile 3(?) ton Jack and it's awesome. Had a coupon and got it for like $85. That place is on sale 100% of the time haha. In for progress as well
-
hopefully something pops up for sale between now and then. i got the 1.5 on sale for like $45 so its not a big loss.
-
You're back in bayview now, right (I live in bayview now too)? I also have the 1.5 ton jack (i think) from harbor freight and it worked fine lifting a corner at a time of my mom's saab 9-7x suv when I did the brakes. Maybe going at it with both our jacks will teach it who's boss!
-
You're back in bayview now, right (I live in bayview now too)? I also have the 1.5 ton jack (i think) from harbor freight and it worked fine lifting a corner at a time of my mom's saab 9-7x suv when I did the brakes. Maybe going at it with both our jacks will teach it who's boss!
looks like the 3 tonner is on sale now, but thanks. also might be hard to get two lifts at once on one corner. (never done that before) its more of a safety thing as I have to lift the car as high as possible when putting it up on the cribs (slightly precarious). youll see what I mean if you stop over, yeah I'm in Bay View
-
last night I did step one of the swap: sprayed everything down with PB blaster days in advance. while i was in there, I hacked off my muffler (which is being changed anyway with all this work). all I have to say is I know why Chris giggled like a child when he revved the e34 540 for the first time: the exhaust is so mellow and bubbly and sex things. a little to much volume for everyday, but man does it sound nice.
-
its a beautiful day for a 5-speed swap!
started working this morning:

When you have a touring, you get a free work bench:

Exhaust removed to manifolds.

Diff coming down:

Every single diff to half-shaft bolt was stubborn, and needed multiple cycles of heating, impacting, breaker bar. I didn't strip a single one though, so it was worth the extra hour or so of effort.

-
parking lot is not terrible except the whole cleaning up EVERYTHING each night, and not being able to walk away without cleaning up.
3.15 open coming out (auto's 5th gear is like 0.85:1 or something)
3.23 LSD going in (manual's 5th gear is 1:1)
so between losing the auto and shortening the gearing, a good bump in acceleration hopefully.
-
What automotive build thread would be complete without "the bird"!!!
touring is looking good!
Style 42s? Yes?
thanks!
so true. i love taking stuff apart, until it doesnt want to come apart!
yup style 42 from an e39 (17x8 et20)
-
well just finished working. got all of the tear-down done except undoing the bellhousing bolts and dropping the trans.
exhaust out
diff out
heatshields out
driveshaft out
guibo out
sway bar out
trans fluid drained
trans cooler lines out
trans shift cable out
flywheel disconnected from torque converter
engine cover and coolant reservoir tank out (gives access to top bellhousing bolts)
and auto trans shifter out. good riddance!

-
thanks!
so true. i love taking stuff apart, until it doesnt want to come apart!
yup style 42 from an e39 (17x8 et20)
If you're looking for a set of 16s for winter let me know. Rims and tires (x-ice I think) e39 fitment as well......don't drive my e39 touring much if at all in the winter
Keep up the good work!
-
Everytime I see the touring. I like it more and more.
I can't count how many times I've sworn/flipped off inanimate objects while doing my swap.
It's a part of the process really
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register Login
