[e90yyc]

No, really: how hard can it possibly be? 2007 328xi

I'm kinnnnd of toying with the idea of doing it, in order to install some key components from a Zip Kit into the pump area, which of course can only be accessed by actually removing the unit from the car... .

I don't mind dedicating a weekend to this job, but I'm not interesting in spending that weekend struggling and cursing, and eventually having the car towed to get the job completed elsewhere. A friend of mine owns a transmission shop and said that book rate for the job is about 10 hours (remove, reinstall). This alone makes me skeptical.

I've taken a look through the NewTIS procedure and most of it looks doable, but there are some key points that do concern me (critical alignments, shit that can be easily broken). There is a long list of special tools, though many of them don't seem all that special (e-torx socket, hydraulic lift/support, etc...). There are a few that I'm unsure about though.

I would be doing this job with my car elevated on cribbing blocks that I built. They give about 21-22" of space measured from bottom of side skirts to ground. Decent, but a far cry from a hoist. Obviously I'd need to rent a support for the transmission.

Just looking for some input. If anyone has actually done this, even better....

Thx

[CTinline-six]

I've dropped a few transmissions, none of them from a BMW though. One was an Allison from a Duramax truck.

A good transmission jack is worth it's weight in gold. The hardest part is aligning everything when you try to bolt it back up. Another set of hands will be very helpful during that stage.

[e90yyc]

Thanks for the input!

That's my concern: alignment of things, primarily the driveshaft and anything else that apparently requires special tools.

It doesn't seem horrible, but I know from experience that there WILL be "that thing" during the job that makes my life miserable.

[jt335i]

If you have no experience whatsoever working on a transmission, especially a BMW, then I’m sure you will have a ton of struggles and hurdles, and tons of bitching, to deal with in doing such a job yourself that an, otherwise, experienced mechanic can do in 10 hours. Because of that, it will most likely take you more than a weekend. But if you want to do it, it’s your car. Do whatever makes you happy. Just make sure you have done good research on the procedure and that you have the necessary support to double check that you have all the right tools/equipment and that things have been done properly (i.e. removal, reinstall). With the support, they can assist you in case things go wrong or that something doesn’t seem right.

Good luck if you decide to do it.

[tlow98]

Well, I mean, how much have you worked on cars? Have you ever done exhaust work? Do you live in The salt belt?

If your answers are; tune-ups, no and yes then just push the whole idea out of your mind.

If your answers are; swapped engines, yes and no then given enough online research prep and the right tools one weekend MIGHT work.

In my experience unless you’ve done something damn ear exactly like this, then getting it done in one weekend is a stretch.

The fact that you’re iffy on some of the TIS points and you don’t have all the tools necessary makes me think this could really suck - please don’t take offense just going on what I’m seein g

[e90yyc]

I appreciate the input. And no offense taken! I am looking for honest answers, not a circle jerk.

I'm comfortable and capable with vehicles, but I've never done an engine swap. Don't fully follow the part on exhaust work though. Are you saying I should expect to struggle with dropping the exhaust?

I live in a city where the roads are salted about 8 months out of the year, so I fully expect many of the fasteners will be sodium-welded into place.

Sooo, by that metric, it's sounding like a pass. I'd love to observe someone doing this work, so perhaps I'll pay an expert to do it and watch just for fun.

I'm good with pushing my comfort zone provided I have the correct tools and instructions, but certainly I recognize my limitations when it comes to stuff like this. My initial inclination was that I'd be biting off more than I could chew. And based on the responses I've gotten so far, it's sounding like that's the case.

Thanks all!

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by e90yyc

I appreciate the input. And no offense taken! I am looking for honest answers, not a circle jerk.

I'm comfortable and capable with vehicles, but I've never done an engine swap. Don't fully follow the part on exhaust work though. Are you saying I should expect to struggle with dropping the exhaust?

I live in a city where the roads are salted about 8 months out of the year, so I fully expect many of the fasteners will be sodium-welded into place.

Sooo, by that metric, it's sounding like a pass. I'd love to observe someone doing this work, so perhaps I'll pay an expert to do it and watch just for fun.

I'm good with pushing my comfort zone provided I have the correct tools and instructions, but certainly I recognize my limitations when it comes to stuff like this. My initial inclination was that I'd be biting off more than I could chew. And based on the responses I've gotten so far, it's sounding like that's the case.

Thanks all!

I ask the exhaust question, bc as seemingly simple a system it is (hollow tubes bolted together) they’re a monumental pain in the ass If youre not set up with a torch, nut cracker and all the hardwear to put it back together. This will be your first task and it’s a dirty, crappy job. Get out the sawzall, but don’t screw it up otherwise it’ll never seal correctly and you’ll be buying new exhaust parts and doing it over, again, on some other weekend.

Some guys like this stuff and armed and ready. If you aren’t or haven’t then be ready for a battle :-)

And yeah, I’d equate and engine to nearly the level of difficulty as an auto trans swap. It’s fluids, and exhaust and critical connections and all the stuff.

Sounds like you’re pretty level headed - so that’s good!

[floydarogers]

I've done transmissions, auto and manual, and it's not something that I would recommend doing; observe first, then do.

1) 22" is not very much. It may not even be adequate to get the bellhousing out from under the car. Definitely not enough if it's on a tranny jack.

2) Alignment is crucial - and it's not the driveshaft/etc, it's the tranny input shaft into the crankshaft/flywheel splines.

3) An auto with the center differential is a heavy b@stard.

4) Two driveshafts doubles the fun.

Don't know what these bits are that you're thinking of adding, but remember that a new tranny (if it gets blown) is a $3500 part. Think twice.

[e90yyc]

Thank you for the additional input.

At this point I've decided that I'll certainly not proceed with doing this myself. I'd love to "follow along" and have someone do it for me & watch/help, but for now the idea is being shelved.

The parts in question are a new PR valve and a new boost valve, both of which are located in the damn pump area. I'm sure my PR valve is just toast, especially considering the wear on some of the valves in the valve body.

Given the difficulty of this job (removal & reinstall of trans), I question whether it's even worth installing these parts when a low mileage 6L45R can be had for somewhere around $1000 CAD.

I think at this point I'm just going to have to live with the shitty shift quality, though I feel like it ruins what is otherwise a very nice driving experience for such a high mileage car.

[adam_c]

Considered going to uwrench and using their lifts and tools?

The owner, at least last time I was there quite a few years ago, is a master mechanic

[e90yyc]

It’s a good suggestion but it’ll end up being a two-day affair, and at roughly $170/day, it’ll be somewhat pricey for a DIY job. Though still substantially less than paying someone. I can just see me running into too much trouble and basically needing someone else to finish the job.

I’ve used them before though so I’d certainly keep that in mind!

Thanks!

[Cruiser124]

It's not difficult at all. Did it on a 335 using cribbing blocks. Took maybe 8 hours. Half the battle was just getting it up that high and back down. With a lift it's a 6 hour job.

21-22" is exactly where I had it, and there was plenty of room to work comfortably.

As far as tools go, nothing to special. Etorx, 50mm wrench for driveshaft, and you'll need about 3 ft of extensions to reach the bell housing bolts.

[Pladi]

E90yyc where in canada do you live ?

[Efthreeoh]

I'll chime in. I have a full autoshop at home. Lift, air tools, under-car trans jack, the whole bit. Been wrenching on cars for 40+ years. I have a manual trans in my E90, but the procedure is mostly the same (sans trans cooling lines). It takes quite a bit of work. Exhaust comes out, heat shields, driveshaft, trans support, disconnect the shifter, then situate a transmission jack to pull it out.

You need 3 feet of extension bars to get to the upper bellhousing bolts and you need to jack up the front of the engine to get the two top ones. It's going to take you more than 10 hours on jackstands. Plus, depending on how old the car is, you'll probably snap off the header studs for the rear exhaust; maybe not if you use an air impact gun. Replacing the studs is really a pain in the ass.

And if you don't want to cuss, then don't attempt it. I wrote a DIY to do the clutch on the E90, you can review what it takes to pull the trans in a home shop environment (well with a shit load of specialized tools gathered over the 30+ years of wrenching on BMWs - among other car brands). A $120 Craftsman tool kit is not going to help you here...

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Cruiser124

It's not difficult at all. Did it on a 335 using cribbing blocks. Took maybe 8 hours. Half the battle was just getting it up that high and back down. With a lift it's a 6 hour job.

21-22" is exactly where I had it, and there was plenty of room to work comfortably.

As far as tools go, nothing to special. Etorx, 50mm wrench for driveshaft, and you'll need about 3 ft of extensions to reach the bell housing bolts.

Nice tool box dude. What brand? Looks like a Craftsman Pro series?

[e90yyc]

Originally Posted by Cruiser124

It's not difficult at all. Did it on a 335 using cribbing blocks. Took maybe 8 hours. Half the battle was just getting it up that high and back down. With a lift it's a 6 hour job.

21-22" is exactly where I had it, and there was plenty of room to work comfortably.

As far as tools go, nothing to special. Etorx, 50mm wrench for driveshaft, and you'll need about 3 ft of extensions to reach the bell housing bolts.

I know the design is basic and universal, but I'm pretty sure we built the exact same cribbing blocks. Myturbodiesel.com DIY?

Those are exactly what I would be using to do this job. Same blocks; same height.

Hmm! I really appreciate the counterpoint. How would you rate your skill level? I don't mean to insult you as you're obviously very capable, but I'm looking to do a little self-appraisal relative to you.

I'm suspecting the xDrive factor for mine will add some time and complexity, though I would hope not more than an extra hour or maybe two.

Did you use a plain old transmission jack?

I'm really not too surprised that you found the working space more than adequate. I pulled the valve body on my transmission last weekend and did a bit of an overhaul on it, and found the space to be quite nice.

Once I've got it dropped, I would need to separate the pump housing so that I can install the parts I need in that area. So I need to look into that too. Like with mounting of the transmission itself, alignment of the pump is also critical, so I need to ensure I have the correct tools.

Before moving forward with this, I'd probably start by trying to break exhaust bolts free and depending on my success with the preliminary stuff, I'd go from there. Did you have a helper?

Regardless, I'd budget a whole weekend and will make sure I have an expert with pre-arranged bailout terms ready to call in order to save my ass if need be.

[e90yyc]

Originally Posted by Pladi

E90yyc where in canada do you live ?

I'm in Calgary

[Cruiser124]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Nice tool box dude. What brand? Looks like a Craftsman Pro series?

Thanks! It's a Husky box. Has served me well for a couple years, but it's nearing capacity 😬

[Cruiser124]

Originally Posted by e90yyc

I know the design is basic and universal, but I'm pretty sure we built the exact same cribbing blocks. Myturbodiesel.com DIY?

Those are exactly what I would be using to do this job. Same blocks; same height.

Hmm! I really appreciate the counterpoint. How would you rate your skill level? I don't mean to insult you as you're obviously very capable, but I'm looking to do a little self-appraisal relative to you.

I'm suspecting the xDrive factor for mine will add some time and complexity, though I would hope not more than an extra hour or maybe two.

Did you use a plain old transmission jack?

I'm really not too surprised that you found the working space more than adequate. I pulled the valve body on my transmission last weekend and did a bit of an overhaul on it, and found the space to be quite nice.

Once I've got it dropped, I would need to separate the pump housing so that I can install the parts I need in that area. So I need to look into that too. Like with mounting of the transmission itself, alignment of the pump is also critical, so I need to ensure I have the correct tools.

Before moving forward with this, I'd probably start by trying to break exhaust bolts free and depending on my success with the preliminary stuff, I'd go from there. Did you have a helper?

Regardless, I'd budget a whole weekend and will make sure I have an expert with pre-arranged bailout terms ready to call in order to save my ass if need be.

Yes I did find the idea from turbo diesel DIY. They've worked great the half dozen times I've used them. Just a little cumbersome to move around.

I've been working on European cars for about 7 years. Started with Audi's and vw, then expanded to bmw and Mercedes. My skill set is fairly well rounded. I've done quite a few engine swaps, rebuilds, timing jobs, and just about everything under the sun. When I did the transmission on the bmw that was my first time doing it on that specific car, but the concept is all the same, so if you are mechanically inclined and have all the tools at your disposal (which I have now acquired over the years) it makes doing jobs like this so much easier.

Also my car was an XI. Really doesn't make that much of a difference. 10 min to remove the front driveshaft. And of course you'll need to lower the subframe a little to have clearance for the transmission. Once the subframe is lowered I was able to slide it out no problem. I used a harbor freight low lift transmission jack. Maybe 80$ with 20% off coupon. As far as reinstallation goes it's actually easier with an automatic transmission. No need to line up input splines like on a manual. Just guide it in and the taper trans snout should find its way into the crank rather easily.

When It came time to remove the exhaust I snapped 3 out of the four studs. Spray them down well and hope they come off. For me I had to drill them out which took a little while, and burned up a couple cobalt bits. They're pressed in studs but I didn't think they were coming out. Maybe with a little heat they would, but I didn't try.

[e90yyc]

Extremely helpful.

Thank you so much. And thanks to everyone else who has offered their experiences and opinions. That's what makes this forum great!

The breadth of my experience is much narrower than yours, though I would consider myself very able and competent, and do have a nice collection of tools to work on these vehicles.

I'm going to hold off doing this for now, but will stay in information-gathering mode and try to keep learning.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Cruiser124

Thanks! It's a Husky box. Has served me well for a couple years, but it's nearing capacity 😬

Thanks I'll have to look at Husky. I need to expand my box. Giving my 14-year old box to my nephew. Sounds like you'll be the "old dude down the street with a shitload of tools" I'm one already

[Cruiser124]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Thanks I'll have to look at Husky. I need to expand my box. Giving my 14-year old box to my nephew.

I really like it. I want to say I paid 650$ from Home Depot. It has the outlets, usb, and soft close drawers which is a nice touch, and the slides still feel like new.