Average cost for SMG to manual conversion

[Fiolo]

What’s the average cost for getting an smg to manual conversion done ? Been calling a few shops and getting very different pricing. Trying to reuse/modify the bell housing since it has low miles.

[ATB88]

I would think low $3k, depending on shifter, whether or not you fit a new clutch and/or flywheel, and a few other choices like whether or not you install a gear position sensor (which is wholly unnecessary with the right coding). At least that's what prices were when I was asking around a couple of years ago.

I ended up deciding to do it myself. Because I was renting a lift for $30/hr it ended up costing about the same as paying to have it done professionally in the end. But I did learn a tremendous amount and have peace of mind in knowing exactly how every part was done.

[Arith2]

Should be about $1k in parts and between $450-600 for bellhousing machining. Hours vary between shops. One quoted me $7k, who had performed them successfully for a turn key service. Another was $1.5k in labor that hadn't done it before. You can achieve this under $2k if you're keen on deals and don't replace the clutch. I'm at about $700 in parts and I only need a clutch switch, gear position sensor, and a machined bellhousing. The shifter parts were all on sale and I bought the BMW performance shifter for $180 from the dealer. It's slightly more weighted than stock and has alcantara on it. It was the cheapest of them all ironically. I also got lucky and found a $50 pedal set a guy was just trying to clear out. Sometimes patience is key. My conversion is 3 years in the making...

[liam821]

Lang Racing has the bellhousing modifications for a tad over $500 - https://store.langracing.com/e46-bel...al-conversion/ The rest is pretty straight forward.

[S3diment]

I've gotten quotes anywhere from $3500 to $4k, includes things like the bmw shifter, weighted knob, clutch, rear main seal, engine/trans mounts, csb, flex joint etc. Flywheel extra.

[Fiolo]

That’s good to see some pricing because I was getting some quotes for 7k and higher which seemed crazy

[Steve]

I did a new clutch, engine mounts and other things while in there and I ended up spending just under $2k on everything. I did the labor and coding myself which likely saved a lot.

[Heckblende]

I was quoted $3400 by a shop up here in WA. This would include all brand new oem parts, labor, coding, etc. Essentially, out the door for $3400.

[r4dr]

I was quoted $3400 by a shop up here in WA. This would include all brand new oem parts, labor, coding, etc. Essentially, out the door for $3400.

Which shop? I'm up here in Seattle as well and a conversion is in my future when the SMG inevitably dies. Feel free to PM me if you would prefer.

[Fiolo]

I was quoted $3400 by a shop up here in WA. This would include all brand new oem parts, labor, coding, etc. Essentially, out the door for $3400.

That sounds like a pretty good price. That’s in the ball park of what I had in mind.

[Heckblende]

Which shop? I'm up here in Seattle as well and a conversion is in my future when the SMG inevitably dies. Feel free to PM me if you would prefer.

AMS Autogroup in Tacoma. Great to see another member from the Seattle area on here.

[Rich022]

I have a pretty good array of tools etc, and consider myself a better than avg. home garage mechanic-- I did the transmission swap over several weekends this month (stayed with SMG, which i enjoy--but had the dreaded 4th gear synchro grind).
I still had to buy quite a number of tools for this job/long extensions / second tranny jack/ engine bar.. This was a very tedious and time consuming job. (getting the frozen tranny bolts out alone was 3-4 hours). If you can get a turnkey job for $3,400 I'd say go for it all day long. And 'while you're there', replace engine mounts, clutch/flywheell/ driveshaft guibo and possibly your steering guibo too. let us know how it comes out!

[Rich022]

and make sure it's your bell housing that is going to be worked on. I've read somewhere that there can be some misalignments or something with donor bell housings??

[George Hill]

There are a couple of factors but it's $44-5000 at my shop depending on shifter and whether we replace the clutch. All new parts are used, bell housing is converted in house and coding is done to like BMW did (we also use the gear position sensor). There are (73) parts used in the way we do the conversion.

[COVID-19]

Got quoted $4.7 here in the Bay Area w/ new clutch by a very reputable shop. Another shop quoted me $3.3k no clutch.