+1
Evan has reached heroic status!

 

Thanks for the kind words, hopefully the build comes together as I plan.
Here are some pics.

Evan

PS: I didn't cut the skirts a shop did, I would never hack them up that much...

 

You legend Evan!
So it must be under my skirt if it's there as there flat over that section, so I need to cut it with a hole saw to find out.

 

Or just pop a few of the inner plastic rivets out and pull the skirt back to check.

 

Yeah thought about that afterwards.

 

...aaaaaaaaaand we're BACK! Chipping away at the wagon build...

COMPLETE
- 6AT-6MT electrical wiring
- hydraulic lines ran
- pedal assembly installed
- Manual M5 steering wheel installed

I will create a PDF or reorganize this information for the E6X guys who are inclined to do the 6MT swap themselves, there are subtle differences between the E6X and the E8X and E9X chassis.

Let's get to it,
Evan


Getting at the transfer case module and wiring which is located under the passenger carpet.


Let me at it!


To the left you can see where the transfer case harnesspasses through the transmission tunnel.


TC harness out


6AT harness bottom, 6MT E60 M5 harness top


The 6AT harness was comprised of the black connector in the middle and a single pin (gray wire) which ran to the white connector, interestingly the single grey wire did not have a mating pin in that white connector...


Close up of the M5 MT harness, it has a few extra connectors for oil temp and a couple position sensors, all I needed was the backup light switch (pen point)


The E6X Bentley manual does NOT cover the M5, it only has the N62, M54, and N54. Most of the manual evenly covers all but for whatever reason in the ECL and ELE (electrical) sections there is not N54 specific information. With the rest of the manual most of the N62 and N54 maintenance items are shared so I all the wiring diagrams I looked up were N62 specific and I had to confirm the translation to N54.

Most of it was correct but the N62 has an IVM (Integrated Voltage Regulation Module) in the DME box, the N54 does not. This was fine by me as instead of running the backup light switch to the DME box and then to the Light Module I was able to run the wiring directly from trans to LM. Here is the Bentley diagram showing BLS-IVM-LM for the N62.


I hacked up the M5 harness to create one applicable for my chassis.



I ended up ditching the T-tap and soldered the ground connections. The section with conduit is external in the trans tunnel and the shrink wrapped portion runs from the trans tunnel to the modules by the hood release and OBD port.


I ordered the "clutch switch" from BMW and this is how it arrived.


This is how it ended up (again the ground T-tap was ditched for a soldered connection).
Long Purple went to DME Box, A6000, #18
Short Purple went to CAS Module, #3
Blue went to CAS Module, #41
Brown to X13787 (see below)


Both clutch and backup light switches were grounded at X13787


Subtle differences between the pins. The one that went ot A6000 in the DME is your standard DME looking pin (think JB4). CAS and LM pins were extremely similar but slightly different as I found out the hard way, notably the CAS pin as a spine/guide where the LM pin does not.


Light and CAS Module Locations


Clutch switch wiring


Clutch switch ran to DME


Since I removed the 6AT harness and didn't need the full M5 harness I had to create a plug to keep my DME box safe from dirt and humidity so I continued to hack up the remains of the M5 harness and used a rubber plug I had lying around.




Punching out the hole for the hydraulic line


...as seen from the inside at the corner of the trans tunnel


Hydraulic hard line ran, you can see it poking up to the right of the dead pedal, electrical wiring ran, and carpet back in place. Ready for pedal assembly.


Working under the dash like this is one of the more challenging positions to work in, it is frustrating and awkward like doing DPs or a water pump.


By the way, the electric motor for the steering column needed to be removed when I originally pulled the pedal assembly, the motor is a REAL treat to get out and even worse going in. The throttle pedal needs to be removed as well because to get the clutch/brake pedal assembly in position and over the master cylinder you need to tilt the assembly counter-clockwise like this...


Pedals in, hydraulic lines and clutch switch connected.


Pedals in, dead pedal mounted, MT M5 wheel installed.

 

awesome, thanks for sharing!

 

More progress.

Partially prepped the 6MT for install, the rest will wait until the trans is in the wagon. M5 spec rear end is complete now that the proper hardware is installed, once that trans is in I can make the necessary measurements and have my M5 driveshaft custom lengthed for my unique configuration.

Rear End Specs
- M5 LSD (3.62) Heat sink trimmed
- M5 Axles
- M5 Hubs
- M5 Integral Links
- M5 Upper Guide Arms
- M5 Control Arms
- M5 Brakes + SS Lines
- Custom mFactory Solid Bushings (Rubber)


Evan

Some of the new oem parts for the projects:
Upper Left: Transmission
Upper Right: Drivetrain
Lower Left: Engine Rebuild
Lower Right: Misc


Replaced some of the MT seals, installed the slave cylinder and input shaft sleeve. Waiting for some appropriate lubrication to arrive before assembling more. I also have some fresh Redline MTF which will go in shortly. E60 M5 MT output flange needs to go on but I will wait to do that until the trans is in the car so I can utilize a more effective counterhold.





Shout out to Ivan at Strasse Sport for the shirt, it is getting a lot of use protecting me on my garage floor.


Finalized the rear end, everything is bolted and torqued to spec with new oem hardware.

 

Great work as usual Evan. That thing is going to be beast.

 

Looking forward to every update. Pretty impressive work! And doing it on jack stands in your garage, wow.