ILC's E46 wagon

[B C]

Lost it at Minions stuffies [emoji38]

You are taking care of a non-M E46 which is a refreshing change from the typical neglectarino

[i_love_cars]

Alright friends, the time has come to employ your assistance.

I listed my E46 for sale yesterday but I'm regretting that right now given that it's a rust-free sport wagon and I've already R&R'ed so much other stuff - all it really needs is a manual transmission to be 100% perfect as a year-round daily in Wisconsin.

So I think I'm gonna swap it and keep the car. I'm either gonna do it before winter, or first thing next Spring. I'm more inclined right now to just track down a decent transmission, harness and maybe pedal assembly. The rest is all off the shelf and can be bought at any time. 

I have watched all the ShopLife vids that detail this swap end-to-end on a RWD which isn't terribly different. It's actually easier on the AWD models because you can reuse the entire driveshaft for AWD. If I can source a transmission from another touring AWD (unlikely) it would preserve the current diff of 3.46. If I get any other AWD manual, it's a 3.23 - oh well. The biggest difference between RWD and AWD swap is just how many more bolts you need to remove to get all the AWD crap off.

By my estimation, the parts needed are as follows:

- manual 5sp trans and transfer case from a 325xi  (possibly 330xi? not sure if that fits yet but i've heard it does)
- new clutch/FW
- new guibo and probably center support bearing  
- shifter assembly (uuc dssr probably absolutely)
- pedal assembly
- clutch lines
- transmission wiring harness
- new engine mounts and transmission mounts
- new rear main seal 
- ZHP shift knob obviously

and I've got people to do the coding when it's all done.

So, if anyone has any beats on a 325xi manual transmission (and ideally a transfer case as well with mounting plate) - send it my way. 

I'm currently looking at potentially buying the following assembly but I haven't done enough market research yet to know if it's a good deal or not: http://www.ebay.com/itm/142465262971

[i_love_cars]

ok spent more time researching it last night and while the swap itself isn't that bad, in order to do everything right, I think parts are gonna cost more than I originally had hoped. Probably around $2500. Factoring in that my time is worth a lot, it does really seem like my best bet is to cross off the AWD idea for my daily and just get a RWD wagon with stick and m-sport and put snow tires on it for winter. 

One of my old tenants lives in Austin now and works for one of those supercar driving experience outfits. He is a wagon bigot like me and finds good shit all the time so I've sent him on a mission to find me a rust-free example (not hard down there obviously) and I'll just keep driving my current e46 in the meantime until it sells.

[suspenceful]

I ran across this if it's of any help or if you change your mind:

https://madison.craigslist.org/pts/d/03-bmw-330xi-manual/6274783392.html

[YoungCR]

suspenceful said:

I ran across this if it's of any help or if you change your mind:

https://madison.craigslist.org/pts/d/03-bmw-330xi-manual/6274783392.html

Come say hi when you grab this!

[i_love_cars]

suspenceful said:

I ran across this if it's of any help or if you change your mind:

https://madison.craigslist.org/pts/d/03-bmw-330xi-manual/6274783392.html

not gonna lie, i just texted the guy. That's a great price if everything is in working order, thanks

[i_love_cars]

ok fuck it we're doing this. The guy agreed to take 250 for the transmission which is at least $300 less than what ebay was gonna hit me for. Good job Spence. 

@YoungCR  i'm literally heading over to pick this up right after i make coffee and surf the web for a few more parts. So I'll likely be out that way by late morning maybe 10:30 or 11

[B C]

score!

[i_love_cars]

now i need a pedal assembly. Find me one of those plz k thx

The rest of the stuff like clutch, shifter hardware, etc. i'll just buy brand new

[i_love_cars]

[Jdesign]

YAssssssss!

[B C]

1. Nice clean transmission

2. What is the air line for?

3. Shame on BMV for still having the single shear shift rod design

[KaiserRolls]

Air lockers for rock crawling mode

[i_love_cars]

Snap said:

1. Nice clean transmission

2. What is the air line for?

3. Shame on BMV for still having the single shear shift rod design

pretty sure it's a vac line for the shift sensor but i haven't fully gone over everything yet

[YoungCR]

That was quick! Glad you scooped this up, I was out of town.

[i_love_cars]

I was up pretty late last night getting a spreadsheet together after going through parts diagrams. With a couple nice-to-haves like a ZHP shift knob, and assuming I get the $100 pedal assembly i'm talking to a guy on e46fanatics about, related maintenance such as new u-joint/motor mounts/trans mounts/input seal, etc., the total remaining parts list is $1340.41 at MSRP.  If I can source a used shifter assembly that knocks $150 off at least. Piecing together a full brand new shifter assembly is not cheap. 

My guess is with odds and ends, fluids, and the fact that I'm using this as an excuse to buy a transmission jack, I'll be in to this project for $2k. I think you could do this swap for $1000 or less no problem if you chose to cut some corners on refreshing mounts and such, or if you had a re-usable DMFW. 

Unfortunately in 1-2 weeks I'm starting a secondary contracting gig for 3 months so my billable hours per week are going to be about.....80 lol. I'm not sure when I'm going to have time to complete this before winter. If nothing else I'm going to continue acquiring the important used parts like a pedal set and just sit on it all for a bit if i have to. I'm not sure yet.

[i_love_cars]

ehr mah gawd

the timing on this couldn't be better  http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=1151113  

hopefully the guy messages me back. I said I'd take it all and have plenty of cash in hand ready to go

[m42b32]

Jeez, you are getting lucky on all these cheap parts showing up at the same time!

[i_love_cars]

m42b32 said:

Jeez, you are getting lucky on all these cheap parts showing up at the same time! 

i feel like it was meant to be. It's hard enough finding a manual wagon, but AWD too? and complete for partout? Crazy timing for sure. I'm just hoping he's got it all still and can put it on a pallet.

[Jdesign]

Lucky SOB. I feel like I have had the opposite luck the last 3 months lol.