Following this one closely! I just need a damn donor car and I will start swapping my steel blue 03. I don't want to mess with piecing all of the required parts together.

 

Paging @SpeedAddict502, I figured you want to get in on the Steel Blue S54 touring thread

 

Got the rear subframe bolted in during the week. Replaced the inner CV boots, lower control arms, RTABs, upper and lower control arm bushings, sway bar links and bushings, and brake lines. I'm trying a Bilstein B12 Pro Kit for the suspension as I want the wagon to look mostly stock, still ride well, but hopefully perform at the occasional track day. Anyone have any experience with this setup?

Also got the bellhousing back from machining and had the detents installed. Should be able to put the transmission back together this week and test fit the shift linkage.

Still waiting on a few parts and I can hopefully do a single weekend M54 -> S54 swap.

 

Haha i just saw this! @George Hill

 

That is a good looking wag!

 

The more photos on this the better! Seeing a swap like this done on jackstands gives me (false) hope. I want to swap, but no access to a lift. Only a garage for now.

 

Sounds good. I've got to get in the habit of documenting stuff better. The rear suspension came out easily with the car on jack stands. I lowered the whole diff / subframe / suspension assembly onto a jack and wheeled it out the back. Same with the gas tank.

The M3 pump and sending unit are different so I swapped the whole tank. Fuel lines and fuel filter / FPR are different on the M3 as well so those were swapped over. Everything was bolt in.

The rear subframe brace from the M3 did not have any mounting points on the touring so I didn't use it. Another thing I noticed was the automatic cars (at least my touring) has the shifter mount (41128246251) welded to the body already for a manual conversion. A lot of SMG conversion DIYs said you had to buy this and weld it in yourself but it was there from factory. I guess this isn't necessary with the automatic cars.

Honestly doing it on jack stands hasn't been all bad. Maybe I'm just used to it now though. Haha.

My plan for removing the engine on the jack stands was to remove the front suspension, rad support, etc and support the weight of the engine with the engine hoist and load leveler. Then unbolt the subframe and lower everything down, away from the frame rails, and out the front. I'll let you know how that goes in a few weeks. Still waiting for parts for the SMG conversion and don't have room to have two engines floating around the garage.

 

Got the engine out this morning and started routing the clutch line under the carpet but ran into a problem. The grommet that passes through the floor sits loosely in the hole and doesn't seal properly. I used the part number listed on RealOEM and a bunch of auto to manual DIYs (21526774274). Anyone else run into this? Am I doing something wrong? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

You are missing a part, #21:

RealOEM.com - Online BMW Parts Catalog

BMW parts 3' E46 325i Clutch control

www.realoem.com

 

Ah! Thanks! I'll get one on order.

I'll keep going with the pedal box and brake booster and just swear at myself later when I need to peel the carpet back to get the grommet in. Haha.