ZF S6-53 swap

[Lee_Enfield]

The tranny in m 2002 M3 is has periodically shown issues. ive replaced the shift linkage with little change. One symptom is sometimes it will feel like it went into gear but will not be, with you having to put it in neutral, clutch out, then in and into gear to fix. gears 1-3 are also pretty rough to shift into. Not surprising as those are the most common gears. The car itself was less then mint so likely the tranny has seen a few hard shifts over it's life. I figure a swap woild make the car nicer to drive and open the door for power mods if I choose that way. Also a new tranny is likely more servicible then the original.

A while ago I came across members saying a swap to a ZF s6-53 out of a e90 335 can be a fairly straight forward swap. I have come across a tranny from a 2008 335 for what I think is a decent price but before I commit is like to make sure it's within my skill range.

So far I am aware I will require:

-Adapter hose for the clutch (sold by Hill performance)
-adapter to mount the starter. (Also sold by Hill)
-Slotting two of the top mounting holes on the transmission to line up. (Other holes bolts up straight)
-Modifying the 335 shifter.
-Modifying the driveshaft. (Shorten or lengthen?)

My questions are

-what type of modifications are needed for the shifter.
-And what would be needed for the transmission mounts? Will the original crossember and mounts be modified?

Am I missing anything else?

Thanks.

[Slideways]

I think Ronald at Autosolutions can make a shift kit for this swap, so that should take care of the shifter assembly.

Rest of the info should be here: https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/m...d-thread/page4

[Lee_Enfield]

What would be a good price for a S653 with 150000 km (about 95000 miles)

Seller says shifts fine when last driven. Transmission is out of car. so have to take buyer word.

[terra]

-what type of modifications are needed for the shifter.
-And what would be needed for the transmission mounts? Will the original crossember and mounts be modified?

I believe 330d parts would be the answer for both of these questions

[Lee_Enfield]

I believe 330d parts would be the answer for both of these questions

Interesting. That solves a few issues for sure.

since the e46 330d was not sold in North America, what's a good euro source that would ship?

Another thing I was wondering, is the bolt pattern on the output the same or will I need to have a correct one installed on the driveshaft when I have it modified.

[terra]

Interesting. That solves a few issues for sure.

since the e46 330d was not sold in North America, what's a good euro source that would ship?

Another thing I was wondering, is the bolt pattern on the output the same or will I need to have a correct one installed on the driveshaft when I have it modified.

So as far as as the transmission mounts, it actually looks like the 330d shares it's parts with the smaller ZF box found in the 330i 6-speed. That shouldn't be too hard to get in the US.

22316760532 + 22316760531

Alternatively I believe the E89 Z4 transmission tunnel crossmember (22316783304) would work with the E90's transmission without having to change the ears that are bolted to the transmission.

The 330d shift linkage does seem to be unique. If you can't get them from a US dealer, I guess I'd try schmiedmann or just hunt ebay and such https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=25_0354

Output shaft has a larger bolt circle from what I recall. So you'd probably have to modify the driveshaft unless there's a drop in replacement that would match the original dimensions (I'm not aware of one off hand)

[Lee_Enfield]

Would the output flange off a 330d work?

I picked up the gearbox. Seems in good shape. No clutch however. Would I need a clutch off the 225 or the m3 clutch?

[George Hill]

If you are going to use my starter adapter then you want to use an 8 bolt N54 clutch and flywheel. I would just use a stock replacement as there are some flywheels that do not work with the S54 block without modification.

[terra]

Would the output flange off a 330d work?

I don't think so, I think that's a larger diameter than the M3 output flange as well. If you can track down the front "half" of a 330d driveshaft and that bolts onto the M3 driveshaft, that might work without needing custom fabrication. Otherwise I think there were some offset guibos out there.

This thread claims the 420g output flange bolts onto the 53BZ, but I can't personally confirm that - https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...s6-53bz-Flange

[George Hill]

IIRC even though the E46 shares the GS6-53 with the E9x they are the same internally but not externally and I think the E46 is shorter.

I didn'y take great notes, but I'm 99% sure I used the GS6-37 trans bracket and slotted the crossmember bolt holes.

I then modified the E9x shift carrier to center the shifter. I can't recall what the lever and selector rod are from I'd have to dig them out.

[Lee_Enfield]

I wonder if doing the f80 carbon driveshaft mod would be worth it if I'm doing custom driveshaft work anyways?

How did these mods work out?

[George Hill]

How did these mods work out?

What do you mean?

[Lee_Enfield]

What do you mean?

As In, was it a pain to do with minimal gain? Was it a simple mod with good results? Basically would it be a recommended mod to do? Would it make sense to do with this project since I would need custom driveshaft work regardless? Or is it an un needed headache?

[ethan]

As In, was it a pain to do with minimal gain? Was it a simple mod with good results? Basically would it be a recommended mod to do? Would it make sense to do with this project since I would need custom driveshaft work regardless? Or is it an un needed headache?

Still unclear. See:

https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/main-forum/e46-2001-2006/245421-f8x-m3-m4-cf-drive-shaft-mod/page28

[George Hill]

I do not think the juice is worth the squeeze for a stock(ish) S54 which is why I never fully developed the swap.

The prototype I had was fine and worked well, but it is heavy and requires a bunch of extra stuff to run it when pretty much an off the shelf GS6-37 works just fine.