Just delivered:

 

Planning to order the adaptor plate and see what needs to be adjusted before going in the car. Thankfully I've got a spare engine to test everything.

 

Love the packing

Obviously the bungee cord is for decorative purposes there

 

Ordered a bunch of stuff:
1. All o-rings and seals
2. Oil pan with filter and new bolts

Old oil pan out, getting ready to remove the mechatronics unit. The tank above is oil pressure accumulator from what I read, to store presurized oil for cars with start/stop feature.

 

Finally the PCB has arrived, this will help bridge several connections inside the mechatronics unit.

Reference video of the mechatronics modification job:

Genuine Oil pan with integrated filter

Seals, bolts, input shaft seal etc.

 

Small range torque wrench for the detailed works. Inside the 8HP most torque settings for this job are between 5-12Nm.

Repair instructions for torque converter seal, oil sump, mechatronics removal:
https://www.argyrides.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Repair-Instructions-Mechatronic-HIS-sump.docx

 

Followed the TIS instructions to remove valvebody/TCM from the gearbox and now getting ready to solder the new PCB.

Although all bolts will be replaced, good to sort them

Dremeling the 4 plastic welded rivets to separate TCU unit

Exposed (almost)

Cutting time:

 

Marking with blue, the max cutting depth (1.4mm)

Here it is...

Using a knife to cut all connections

After cleanup - left that pcb in place as it's glued

Test fit of the new PCB, that will allow the aftermarket gearbox controller to... control this gearbox:

Next steps: Soldering / Epoxy-Sealing / Reinstall

 

Finished soldering the pcb

 

Santa (UPS) has also just delivered the TCU - Transmission Control Unit by TurboLamik

Chunky plug

Program selector, shifter and lcd connectors

 

Potting epoxy for the PCB board sealing

I'm also going to make a nice aluminum cover with CNC for added protection to go on top of that.

 

Domiworks CNC cove:

Cover needs a bit of trimming

All done and closed/sealed:

 

Resistance measurement (5-6Ω) average check

New mechatronics plug seal

8Nm valvebody to transmission

All new bolts, torqued to specs, and finally able to put the new oil pan and proceed

 

It's night and it's cold so I started working on the wiring loom install. First of all, the LCD screen and the program selector switch are installed in the below the HVAC.

Program selector is a bit recessed because that's how i like it

 

Wiring Weekend
TCU mounting position once clutch departs

Connected:
+12v straight from battery positive with 20A fuse
Ignition switched from below steering wheel (used as signal only)
Handbrake signal
Canbus signal from the twisted pair going to the instrument cluster
Reverse signal
Aux fan signal
Screen & Program selector
Tucked the wiring loom for the gearbox around the shifter area till the installation day

 

What was the aux fan signal used for?
Does it need to be connected?

 

Flexplate, from N57N (converted to 6-bolt pattern for my unique crank)

Adapter plate:

Some "trimming" needed

Comparing stock e46 bellhousing pattern with the adapter plate

The E46 starter teeth seem to mesh fine

Run out of grinding disks, so expect to finish in a day

 

Is there not an 8HP with the same bellhousing as the DCT or did you go for what was available?

 

The 8HP45, but it is not fully supported by the tuner. It will be supported I believe within 2022 but I preferred a proven solution now, which is the 8HP70. I'd rather modify it to physically fit and not to worry about tuning instead of the opposite. I am not doing the same mistake again - especially with tuning.

Also, George Hill (Hill Performance Bimmers), Austin TX is working on the above (8HP45/70 + Turbolamik TCU) if you're looking for a more localized support. Iniciar sesión en Facebook

 

Closer to completion. now a matter of mechanical install.

 

Testing time

 

Progress:
0 errors in TunerPro - thankfully no weird custom utilities for this.

Installation so far is straightforward. We reused the prototype DCT gearbox mount (that's why it's shaped oddly) and driveshaft. Shop chose to use genuine BMW gearbox bolts rather than the supplied allen bolts. Reason being, they require shorter sockets (see reaching top/starter bolts etc) and less likely to strip.

Oil cooling also sorted, using an HPR adaptor, AN10 fittings, 185F Improved Racing thermostat and a 25-Row Setrab Pro-line Series 9 Cooler

 

What driveshaft did you use?
I have an M54 5-speed getrag.

 

All bottom-end work complete. Started engine, filled with oil. Also secured the DCT joystick in place. Custom heatshield and exhaust wrap to help with heat as it's too close to the oil pan.

Now it's basically plug the TCU and drive. next year...

 

It's alive!

 

Some low load first run videos:

 

Given the last week of driving it, it seems that the only thing that can go wrong is pure hardware failure. I am so impressed that I'm actually considering buying another unit for backup. Same as I keep an extra ECU in the car with EWS off and up to date with the current tune. Yesterday we recoded with the help of @sda2 the ASC unit via ncsexpert to set it to automatic instead of manual. Afterwards we enabled the canbus output from the TCU unit which seems to successfully emulate an OEM TCU controller. No traction control issues, cruise control works, it appears as the car came like this from factory. Car is for weekends more as I have another car for daily commutes. However there are days that i use it daily regardless. Too fun to leave it only for 2 days a week