[George Hill]

Looks good, but I might suggest you put a BMW pilot bearing in it. The aftermarket ones always seem to be slightly undersized in OD and thus they don't fit tightly and can come out. And in the case of the car pictured below it came out, seized to the input shaft and grenaded itself.

 

[George Hill]

Wonder what brand that bearing was in your photos, BMW normally use's F A G. or INA?

I've tried INA, F A G, the off brands that come in the Sachs and LuK kits, none fit correctly. I usually scrap them, maybe I'll start saving them to make a pile of shame, lol.

Also, you are using an M3 clutch switch. If you want the correct black one I'll send you one in exchange for your brown/orange one.

 

[George Hill]

I thought F A G was the OE pilot bearing? They are for some other E46 bearings. It is funny that the filter catches that, but happily allows many other profane words.

It may be (IDK off the top of my head), but the BMW bearing dust seals are blue, and none of the aftermarket ones that I have seen are blue. *This reminds me I need to order some, I will post pics when they come in.

 

[George Hill]

@Bali for giggles I just looked on FCP and while they list F A G as the OE, if you look closely on the BMW it says Koyo where the F A G doesn't.

BMW M3 Parts | FCP Euro

BMW M3 parts online. Buy OEM & Genuine parts with a Lifetime Warranty, Free Shipping and Unlimited 365 Day Returns.

www.fcpeuro.com

 

[George Hill]

Damn George, your good. ETK shows 2 part numbers for the M3 clutch switch so figured I could use it with the swap. Your right though, the car will start but cruse control wont function properly if you use the M3 switch- in a 325i.

I don't really see why this is the case, especially since the M3 master cylinder is identical part number to the 325i. I haven't had a chance to look at the wiring diagram differences but still- that wouldn't explain why the switch is different.

Yes, the signal to the EWS is the same for both cars, BUT the logic for the cruise control is different. I can't recall the operation directly but its something like the MS43/45 is looking for a ground signal and the MSS54 is looking for a power signal. And keep in mind the clutch switch is outputting two positions, 1. pushed all the way to the floor, for starting and 2. pushed slightly to disengage cruise.

Turns out, the autologic scan tool has a "conversion" built into it that allows you to code the entire car to manual transmission.. by the click of a single button. Literally took 4min to code the entire car.

The Autologic is really powerful but it just mimics the factory tools so pretty much anything you can do with ISTA-P can be done with the Autologic. We had one when I worked at the dealership and that was pretty much anyone's go-to for battery retrofit coding (lead acid to AGM or when changing Ah ratings), and CKM functions as it is so fast compared to ISTA-P. We also used it when we were adding/removing SDARS and TCUs from MOST Bus systems and I've even done SMG to Manual M3 conversions using it, really cool stuff. That's a good tool to have, play with it some and you'll find some other really nice and quick functions you can apply to these cars.

 

[George Hill]

I'm jealous that you've got such nice weather in CA that you can do this in the middle of December. I'm going to be doing the same black dash/carpet swap, and I've reluctantly admitted to myself that I'll need to wait until spring. This would not be a fun job to do when temps are in the teens.

The pictures you've posted will be helpful though. I've stripped a few cars down to remove the carpets, but never fully removed the HVAC box. I'm leaving the A/C lines connected on my car, so my plan is just to loosen it up and raise it up enough to slip in the new carpet from below.

I don't think that is going to work, the studs are so long you'll have to pull the box from the firewall and I don't think you'll have enough give with the lines.

I pull the heater boxes when changing carpets MOST of the time. BUT the BMW repair instructions actually say to cut around the box and leave it in place, with that said though I looked quickly through TIS and now can't find the instructions. lol

 

[George Hill]

I’m almost certain this only applies if your re-using the existing carpet not a full carpet replacement but your right, BMW does say to cut the carpet for removal. It’s a near impossible task to cut the new carpet identical to your old carpet - some places will overlap or gaps between the two cut pieces.. as I’m sure you know lol.

Either way I wanted to do things “the right way” because it’s my personal car .

For carpet replacement... BMW doesn't look at color changes as being a factory repair so the only real reason would be to replace it (you'd be pulling the heater case for a body harness replacement). But there is enough "give" in everything that it doesn't have to be exact and in some placed I'll stitch the pieces together with zip ties.

But I agree, for you and for me I would do it how you are as well, just wanted to let anyone else following along that sometimes what we call the "right" way isn't the way BMW says to do it.