[jayypry]

Recently, I purchased a 5 speed 325i knowing full well that I’d have to drop the transmission due to the previous owners mechanic doing some extremely shoddy work. A lot of things are missing and since this is my first ever experience with a BMW, and doing this intense typa work, I knew I was bound to make a few mistakes. After finally wrapping everything up yesterday, I took it for a quick test drive around my neighborhood and I noticed that the clutch wouldn’t engage at all. The first that came to mind was the slave cylinder since I figured I could’ve tightened it more. I looked up the torque spec and as I was torquing it, the stud snapped. I was wondering what I could do to remedy this, if anything at all.

Secondly, the intake manifold was missing half of the hardware when I got to it, most of the connectors were unplugged, and I honestly have no clue what’s going on with the vacuum lines. I got all of the hardware and I did a little research to see where most of the connectors go but I really have no clue if everything is in the right place. If anyone knows of a diagram that has all of that information it would be a great help. Sorry for the long read, but I figured context would be sorta important here 😅

 

[kaboom28]

You can consider watching videos of repairs being done and note where/how the connectors and vacuum lines are located. There are numerous videos on YouTube. You can try these two YouTube channels to start.

50sKid

I'm a self taught how to do it all kind of guy. The sort of guy who should have been born in the 1950s, because I love to fix cars and build my own furniture...

www.youtube.com

https://www.youtube.com/c/ShopLifeTV/videos

You can also post pictures in this forum and usually someone will be able to help you.

Good luck.

 

[MrMCar]

Insofar as the slave cyl stud:
I think you have two choices;
Drop the transmission out, bang out the stud and bang a new one in.

If you're very clever/crafty? Remove the slave. Tap the stud out (hopefully with a nut, even if one thread) and with a magnet keep it from falling in.
Get a 8mm bolt of appropriate length with an oversized washer held on with some dum-dum. CAREFULLY back-feed it into the empty hole and affix some tape around the threads to prevent it from falling in.
CAREFULLY feed the slave over and tighten.

#19 below.

RealOEM.com - Online BMW Parts Catalog

BMW parts 3' E46 325i Clutch control

www.realoem.com

 

[RayLivingston]

The electrical connectors, and harness lengths, are all different. I don't think it's possible to connect them wrong. If you try, you'll either find one or more are not long enough to reach, or you'll be left with one or more harness ends with nothing they CAN connect to. If you can get them all connected, they must be connected correctly.

 

[jayypry]

Insofar as the slave cyl stud:
I think you have two choices;
Drop the transmission out, bang out the stud and bang a new one in.

If you're very clever/crafty? Remove the slave. Tap the stud out (hopefully with a nut, even if one thread) and with a magnet keep it from falling in.
Get a 8mm bolt of appropriate length with an oversized washer held on with some dum-dum. CAREFULLY back-feed it into the empty hole and affix some tape around the threads to prevent it from falling in.
CAREFULLY feed the slave over and tighten.

#19 below.

RealOEM.com - Online BMW Parts Catalog

BMW parts 3' E46 325i Clutch control

www.realoem.com

This was exactly the information I was looking for. I am not tryna undo days of work just for a stud so I’ll definitely give your latter recommendation a shot!! Thank you so much

 

[jayypry]

The electrical connectors, and harness lengths, are all different. I don't think it's possible to connect them wrong. If you try, you'll either find one or more are not long enough to reach, or you'll be left with one or more harness ends with nothing they CAN connect to. If you can get them all connected, they must be connected correctly.

This is definitely confidence inspiring, thanks for your input!

 

[MrMCar]

This was exactly the information I was looking for. I am not tryna undo days of work just for a stud so I’ll definitely give your latter recommendation a shot!! Thank you so much

Some magnets, a lot of patience and steady hands (skip the extra cup of coffee) should be doable.
Some luck will be needed also.

Keep in mind that if the part drops inside, you'll be pulling the trans out anyway. So don't beat yourself up too much if...this happens.