When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Posting this to help clear up the process for XDrive LCI owners and to assure anyone who has their doubts that you can do this on a pair of jack stands in your garage!
I performed a transmission swap on my 2010 E61 with xDrive and everything went better than expected for doing this on jack stands.
I started by making sure I jacked up the car to give me enough clearance to get out the automatic transmission from under the front end of the car.
After that you’ll remove the under body plastic trim panels. On the back left side of the car there’s a metal support bar that needs to be removed. Following with the exhaust system, heat shields, then the rear drive shaft and front drive shaft. Use a flat head object or flat chisel works good to separate the drive shaft from the rear differential.
I had to deal with the rusted exhaust studs, heat from a MAP gas torch didn’t quite work so I used a bolt extractor to get the rusted nut off then I ground off the stud with a metal grinder. After that I drilled out the holes again and bought a new exhaust gasket kit from ECS tuning ( https://www.ecstuning.com/b-vrsf-par...55/509010~vrf/ )
In this area there are 4 plugins you must disconnect:
⁃ Automatic transmission wiring harness (DONT CUT IT OUT YET!)
⁃ Transfer case plug in
⁃ Oil level sensor (bottom of engine)
⁃ O2 sensors (mounted on a bracket on the bottom of the transmission)
Don’t forget to remove the manual release cable for the automatic transmission. Once disconnected this gets pulled through from the inside of the car
With the 2 transmission oil cooling lines I drained the oil from the transmission then disconnected the lines and cut them off as close as I could get to the front of the car. I plan to eventually remove the cooling element which is under the radiator I believe.
With the automatic transmission wiring you can cut this but make sure you know which wires to “re-loop”. I believe the 2 important ones are the K-Can and ground since there are double wires for these. I couldn’t find much on this so to play it safe I just shortened the harness and stored the plug in connector from the automatic transmission inside of the DME housing. Or you can just tuck the harness away somewhere
For these next steps it will make your life easier to do them in this order if you’re using jack stands
Start by putting a jack under the transfer case and jacking it up until it touches the transfer case mount. Theres 3 bolts on each side of the mount.
Once that’s removed the transmission can be lowered to gain access to the top bell housing bolts. Without doing this I don’t think you can access top bell housing bolts
Here is the transmission lowered to get clearance
You will need plenty of extensions to get you there
Once you have the top bell housing bolts out then I would raise the transmission back up with the jack and bolt the transfer case mount back. This gives you access to remove the bottom half of the bell housing bolts safely.
Once all the bolts have been removed I’d highly recommend getting a pallet with blocks/plywood and a tow ratchet strap
From the engine bay, feed down the strap so it is wrapped around the transmission then hook each side of the strap the strut braces.
This helps immensely with safety and can help you remove the transmission with your hands and not have the weight be suddenly overbearing if you’re not ready for it once you pull the transmission from the engine.
Working back under the car, jack the transfer case mount up again and remove the bolts, then lower the back end of the transmission onto your pallet. If you need more height, just add some blocks with plywood.
With the back end of the transmission/transfercase resting on pallet, go to the bell housing and start the pull the transmission from the engine. Try not to use any metal pry tools that would mar or dent the mounting surface on the engine, wooden shims or stakes work well for this. It helped having a second ratchet strap that I used to hook on the transfer case from the back of the car which was hooked on the frame.**** really important tip, if the engine is buckling a different angle the transmission, go to the engine bay and notice how the engine rocks back and forth freely, you want to wedge something to keep the engine pushed at an angle as far as you can.
The nice part about the automatic transmission is the oil pan on the bottom is flat so it is easier to maneuver. This wasn’t the case with the manual transmission which added difficulty upon installation. The back left side of the transfer is the heavy area so it always wants to twist that way.
I’m sure if you have a RWD, this part would be easier. The transfer case adds a lot of weight to the transmission
Automatic transmission removed with transfer case still bolted on
It’s all downhill from here!
Pre-cut for the gear shifter
Next you want to route the clutch fluid lines. I first ran the hose through the firewall (on the brake booster side) you’ll be tapping into the break fluid reservoir.
Routing the hardline that goes from the master cylinder to the slave cylinder was the most difficult in this process. I managed to not have to remove the interior carpet and was able to peel it back enough to locate the hole that punches out to under the car. For the e60/61 it’s under the center trim of the car more, far right of the gas pedal.
I purchased a pedal assembly, then decided to just remove the clutch pedal instead of removing the whole pedal block…this got me into more trouble as the break pedal for automatic cars are way bigger. I ended measuring and cutting the current brake pedal so I didn’t have to break my back working upside down under the dash board to remove the old one and disconnect the brake booster too….
The result!
Now for the wiring…
There are 4 wires from the clutch control module that is built into the master cylinder
Pin out:
CLUTCH CONTROL MODULE (2)———(18) DME [MSD80)
CLUTCH CONTROL MODULE (4)———(42) CAS
CLUTCH CONTROL MODULE (3)———(3) CAS
CLUTCH CONTROL MODULE (1)——— (*)
*the ground for pin 1 was routed to the old ground that was removed from the gear selector
For the reverse signal you need to make a cable that runs from the reverse signal plug in located on the transmission to the light module located in the drivers side footwell.
*the ground for pin 1 was routed to the old ground that was removed from the gear selector
As for coding, you’ll want to remove the automatic transmission from the VO list. If I remember correctly mine was $205. I didn’t have to add any option for manual transmission.
Once you have $205 removed from the VO you want to code the following modules:
Write to ——> CAS
Write to——> LMA
Default code——> 6BMOT (DME)
Default code——> EHB3 (DSC)
Default code——> KOMBI [optional]
Don’t forget to clear car adaptations!! Specifically for the transmission. I ended up being risky and cleared adaptations for the whole car and it turned out just fine. This can be done in INPA
MSD80 -> F5 - Status -> F1 - Digital Values -> F5 - Vehicle Options or Equipment
Then clear any remaining faults.
Now you’re ready or reassembly:
Added clutch pivot pin with retaining clip and new fork.
Also note that there are 2 ways to install the throw out bearing. One for European spec and one for American spec.
If you don’t have a flywheel lock tool you can use the exhaust bracket mount and bolt it to the engine block and snake the peg through the flywheel teeth.
New support grommet installed on the transfer case mount
Here in this photo you can see I wrapped the strap around and used some of the old aluminum screws to keep the strap from slipping off
Most importantly here is a map to gather thoughts. I drew this up to keep track of part numbers, wiring, and the overall layout in my head. I really hope this helps anyone wanting to tackle this project!! Let’s keep these cars on the road!
E61 2010 xDrive Manual Transmission Swap
