5Series.net - Forums - E61/E60 Manual Conversion

Hey everybody, long time lurker but finally got around to making an account and giving back to the forum community. Over the winter I finally committed to the gearbox swap from auto to manual on my 535xi wagon. During the process I took tons of photos and documented everything pretty well in order to come up with a rough guide on how to do this sort of project. It's obviously a pretty big job to take on but not unrealistic for pretty mechanically savvy folks. I'd like to get some input and I ideas/feedback on what questions people might have for a write up and what they think might be challenging or problematic. Or just general questions I could answer. I would like to have one big DIY written out so the information is all in one spot for easy access for potential prospects. All the information for this job is currently on the internet but scattered in so many different places that it's definitely a challenge to find it all.

Some of the basic things I want to cover are
-The order of operations for the swap
-Specialty tools needed
-Used parts vs new parts (where applicable)
-Pro tips on some of the harder parts of the job

I am really open to suggestions and questions people have. I'll keep checking this thread over the next month or two before I come out with a DIY guide. There is clearly some interest in this swap and I'm hoping this will inspire some people to take on this project!

Thanks,

Etienne
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/5series...870dd5e5aa.jpg

(Hopefully my photo worked, double wagon unicorn with the dual six speeds)