[ucsbwsr]

1 of the multiple orders of parts I am waiting on arrived, this one included primarily a bunch of goodies for the engine rebuild.

Timing chain, cogs, crank hub and bolt, turbo return lines, serpentine belt, oil pan hardware, various seals, and clutch switch wiring.

[MM Performance]

Where do you buy from?

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by MM Performance

Where do you buy from?

This was ECS but the best prices I have found on new oem BMW parts are from www.thebmwminipartstore.com You may on occassion find a single part cheaper elsewhere but as a whole they have the best prices.

Evan

[M335Xi]

Seriously considering buying a 535xi wagon as a daily to haul kids around and keep it stock. Ok maybe not 100% stock.

[N54Twin]

Originally Posted by ucsbwsr

Here is one of the "detail" mods I finally got around to installing. I purchased a rear door handle insert for my driver door which functionally is a key-hole delete. It worked out as I had hoped, there was no fitment issues and the actual locking cylinder didn't need to be removed, the cover simply sat on top of it.

CLEAN!

Evan



Before


After

Thanks for the idea.....


I wish u was my neighbor

[steamboat]

Just saw your wagon in roundel, nice!

[ucsbwsr]

...aaaaaaaaaand we're BACK! Chipping away at the wagon build...

COMPLETE
- 6AT-6MT electrical wiring
- hydraulic lines ran
- pedal assembly installed
- Manual M5 steering wheel installed

I will create a PDF or reorganize this information for the E6X guys who are inclined to do the 6MT swap themselves, there are subtle differences between the E6X and the E8X and E9X chassis.

Let's get to it,
Evan


Getting at the transfer case module and wiring which is located under the passenger carpet.


Let me at it!


To the left you can see where the transfer case harnesspasses through the transmission tunnel.


TC harness out


6AT harness bottom, 6MT E60 M5 harness top


The 6AT harness was comprised of the black connector in the middle and a single pin (gray wire) which ran to the white connector, interestingly the single grey wire did not have a mating pin in that white connector...


Close up of the M5 MT harness, it has a few extra connectors for oil temp and a couple position sensors, all I needed was the backup light switch (pen point)


The E6X Bentley manual does NOT cover the M5, it only has the N62, M54, and N54. Most of the manual evenly covers all but for whatever reason in the ECL and ELE (electrical) sections there is not N54 specific information. With the rest of the manual most of the N62 and N54 maintenance items are shared so I all the wiring diagrams I looked up were N62 specific and I had to confirm the translation to N54.

Most of it was correct but the N62 has an IVM (Integrated Voltage Regulation Module) in the DME box, the N54 does not. This was fine by me as instead of running the backup light switch to the DME box and then to the Light Module I was able to run the wiring directly from trans to LM. Here is the Bentley diagram showing BLS-IVM-LM for the N62.


I hacked up the M5 harness to create one applicable for my chassis.



I ended up ditching the T-tap and soldered the ground connections. The section with conduit is external in the trans tunnel and the shrink wrapped portion runs from the trans tunnel to the modules by the hood release and OBD port.


I ordered the "clutch switch" from BMW and this is how it arrived.


This is how it ended up (again the ground T-tap was ditched for a soldered connection).
Long Purple went to DME Box, A6000, #18
Short Purple went to CAS Module, #3
Blue went to CAS Module, #41
Brown to X13787 (see below)


Both clutch and backup light switches were grounded at X13787


Subtle differences between the pins. The one that went ot A6000 in the DME is your standard DME looking pin (think JB4). CAS and LM pins were extremely similar but slightly different as I found out the hard way, notably the CAS pin as a spine/guide where the LM pin does not.


Light and CAS Module Locations


Clutch switch wiring


Clutch switch ran to DME


Since I removed the 6AT harness and didn't need the full M5 harness I had to create a plug to keep my DME box safe from dirt and humidity so I continued to hack up the remains of the M5 harness and used a rubber plug I had lying around.




Punching out the hole for the hydraulic line


...as seen from the inside at the corner of the trans tunnel


Hydraulic hard line ran, you can see it poking up to the right of the dead pedal, electrical wiring ran, and carpet back in place. Ready for pedal assembly.


Working under the dash like this is one of the more challenging positions to work in, it is frustrating and awkward like doing DPs or a water pump.


By the way, the electric motor for the steering column needed to be removed when I originally pulled the pedal assembly, the motor is a REAL treat to get out and even worse going in. The throttle pedal needs to be removed as well because to get the clutch/brake pedal assembly in position and over the master cylinder you need to tilt the assembly counter-clockwise like this...


Pedals in, hydraulic lines and clutch switch connected.


Pedals in, dead pedal mounted, MT M5 wheel installed.

[bartbes]

[YoungBlood]

Looking good!

[T1M]

Jesus this is inspirational. So awesome.

[Dmacc]

Inspiring work!

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by bartbes

Originally Posted by YoungBlood

Looking good!

Originally Posted by T1M

Jesus this is inspirational. So awesome.

Originally Posted by Dmacc

Inspiring work!

Thank you.




More progress.

Partially prepped the 6MT for install, the rest will wait until the trans is in the wagon. M5 spec rear end is complete now that the proper hardware is installed, once that trans is in I can make the necessary measurements and have my M5 driveshaft custom lengthed for my unique configuration.

Rear End Specs
- M5 LSD (3.62) Heat sink trimmed
- M5 Axles
- M5 Hubs
- M5 Integral Links
- M5 Upper Guide Arms
- M5 Control Arms
- M5 Brakes + SS Lines
- Custom mFactory Solid Bushings (Rubber)

r:
Evan

Some of the new oem parts for the projects:
Upper Left: Transmission
Upper Right: Drivetrain
Lower Left: Engine Rebuild
Lower Right: Misc


Replaced some of the MT seals, installed the slave cylinder and input shaft sleeve. Waiting for some appropriate lubrication to arrive before assembling more. I also have some fresh Redline MTF which will go in shortly. E60 M5 MT output flange needs to go on but I will wait to do that until the trans is in the car so I can utilize a more effective counterhold.





Shout out to Ivan at Strasse Sport for the shirt, it is getting a lot of use protecting me on my garage floor. He is my recommendation for N54 related service/mods in the Southern California area.


Finalized the rear end, everything is bolted and torqued to spec with new oem hardware.

[Levanime]

Hi Evan,

You know i'm fan of the way you do your stuff.
I wish I was doing my work same accurate way.

Hope we will meet someday.

BR

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by Levanime

Hi Evan,

You know i'm fan of the way you do your stuff.
I wish I was doing my work same accurate way.

Hope we will meet someday.

BR

Levan,

Thank you, we will see how "accurate" my work is when it is time for the car to run and all the systems must work together....

We almost crossed paths in the Bay Area, I lived in Milpitas and moved down to Southern California right when you arrived in the San Jose area.

Thanks for leading the way with your manual swap, your thread has been very helpful.

----------------------------

MTF flush. The seller of the trans drained most of the fluid prior to shipping so there was only a small amount left, nonetheless I got it out and put nearly the full "dry fill" amount of 1.7qt.

Evan

So easy to get all the fluid out when you can tilt and swing the trans as you need.


Royal Purple was the fluid of choice, it seems to have a proven and positive track record amongst late-model MT BMW owners.


Old MTF in shade


Old MTF back-lit

[TrollToll]

That fluid is the best MT fluid I have found.

[TBN54]

I'm crying at how beautiful this thread is.

[Vincent_E90]

Great build, thanks for sharing!

See the car is registered in NV, do you live there? I'm living in Lake Tahoe and the BMW community is really small and been wanting to get a nice shoot out here with all the scenery.

Cheers!

[lhuynh336]

great work!

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by Vincent_E90

Great build, thanks for sharing!

See the car is registered in NV, do you live there? I'm living in Lake Tahoe and the BMW community is really small and been wanting to get a nice shoot out here with all the scenery.

Cheers!

My wagon is registered in NV as I previously had a property in Incline Village. I have since sold it but make periodic trips to Truckee to visit friends.

Evan

[Vincent_E90]

Originally Posted by ucsbwsr

My wagon is registered in NV as I previously had a property in Incline Village. I have since sold it but make periodic trips to Truckee to visit friends.

Evan

Small world! I'm over in Tahoe Vista/ Kings Beach. I'll be on the look out on the weekends for the E61 on 267 and 28

[ucsbwsr]

I am waiting for the last remaining parts and tools to arrive before diving into my engine rebuild (timing chain tensioner seal and a crank hub counter-hold), I hope to have the rebuild completed next week/weekend!

Evan


Wagon, engine, dog, and transmissions.


Now that the rear end is done, I was able to thuroughly clean and reinstall my M5 brakes.


I am storing some wheels for my buddy (with that ST 6466 E90) garage space is tight so they are stored in my wheel wells! Great looking design! They are from a small company that once was, Forged 1.


Boot and shift knob. These will likely be a temporary solution as I plan to fabricate a gated shifter.


New-to-me oil pan arrived (eBay special) gave it a good cleaning and here is with the others.


I finished cleaning the engine bay, engine wiring harness, and the complete underbody which was either covered in oil from the blown motor of simply dirty from the 105,000 miles of service. EVERYTHING is nice and clean, just the way I like it.



Which brings me to the hurdle I will have to clear for mounting my transmission. My transmission tunnel has a large bulge and unique mounting locations for the 6AT+TC this car previously had and it is radically different than what I need to make the RWD E6X transmission support bolt to the chassis.

This will require a creative solution. I am hoping I can make a hybrid trans support which will utilize my old TC support and those chassis mounts but also reach far enough forward to properly support the MT. The good thing is there isn't a whole lot of weight the support needs to hold, it is more rotational torque from the engine. I will cross this bridge once the engine is in and the trans is mounted but this will arguably be the most "CUSTOM" part of my build...


Ordered some Redline 75w-140 (GL-5 +FM) because it sounds like people have had success with it and for the LSD flush it cost only $48, not $200+ for the oem BMW fluid, yes it is $50+ per 500ml.


Easy flush


Although those large particles seem odd, the condition of the old oil seems pretty good, it looks like it had been flushed as least once during it's previous 70,000 mile life.

[Lambobimmer]

What do you estimate your final bill to be for your build?