Mate you’re an absolute genius! I’m so impressed with your knowledge of the M3’s and E46’s in general. Love the way you operate, highly organised and meticulously focused. Love your channel 👍👍👍👍
I got this done to my E46 M3 over 3 years ago and I haven’t had a single problem since then. I took my car in to the dealer service center for an alignment and all the techs were gawking at the car, they even came out to talk to me when I picked it up. I was treated like an MVP that day.
Im doing this swap currently as well as rod bearings at the same time, i didn’t want to get the bellhousing machined so thankfully i was able to source an oem manual trans to directly swap in. Its so impressive how using a lift and having lots of experience makes all this work go so much quicker
What a coincidence lol Thats awesome that you were able to find a manual bellhousing, will make the conversion a bit easier! The lift is definitely the best tool in the garage!
@@ShopLifeTV I bought a whole manual trans and clutch assembly before I even got the car. I’m not sure if I want to swap bellhousings or if I should use the whole manual trans (it has 10k less miles, but I’ve heard smg internals tend to wear less). I definitely want to get a lift sometime in the future 🤞
At 16: 23 ! How many people You need to have to remove (or install) a Transmission? By the he way You should HAVE a Transmission Jack , hydraulic one !!! Screw jock it is NOT for removing Transmission?
Lol you must not watch my videos. I usually use a hydraulic trans jack, but my fiance and her brother were already there and helping so we decided to just man handle it out
@@ShopLifeTV - One "super mechanic " tried in the same way to work on Volvo transmission and transmission fell on concrete floor and crack the housing . To me : fir every job have to use right equipment and tools.
Hey man, I'm having a problem with my SMG trans on a 2004 m3. I've had shops tell me it was a broken detent spring. Was wondering if you had any experience with this and any tips for the DIY. I'm gonna tackle the job with a few friends. The shop I trust the most said it can be done by dropping the transmission cradle, and I believe they said something about removing or loosening the fan so that when everything pivots downward, it does get caught. Apparently, the trans will drop almost 6 inches which should give me enough room to reach the detent spring. Any info you have on this would help! Thanks
U r so lucky to have fiance that's cool with getting her hands dirty and helping with the video shoot. She's definitely a keeper... i just got my hands on a 97 E36 M3. I'll definitely be looking u up when I get back to the US. Q: Y not just get a manual swap in that doesn't require the bell housing mod u r doing for this conversion?
depending on the climate the e46 m3 actually utilizes the mechanical fan. Custom Electric fan conversion is an option, but makes more sense on track cars as opposed to a daily driver.
Hey been watching you for years now and still love Ya's! Lol. I'm liking the new format. Hello Selena! I have a swapped out 2002 330CI to 2006 M3 (Meaning the drive train and interior of the M3 into the 330CI of course) and so all of this is like home to me. I've never had to do the SMG to Manual swap though I've watched videos on the process. You of course do the best job of showing it in real (Almost lol) time. Keep on rockin in the free world (or what's left of it anyway).
I have a couple sets, and German is accumulating his own set now as well since he just bought his own project car. I don't really want him learning on someone else's car so for the time being we are just taking it slow lol
Nice work! This was the best thing I ever did to my M3. Its incredible to be able to lose the anxiety of going out of town and worrying about your car shifting or not.
I couldn't agree with you more. The SMG system was amazing when it first came out, but it just doesn't wear well and at this age even with low mileage it can be problematic.
i love SMG. even tho it failed on me once. i learnt how to fit a pump myself and recalibrate it. they'll be super rare one day with everyone converting lol
Love the channel especially the e46 m3 content. Did you find out where metal particles were coming from in the transmission? I have the same problem with my m3.
Awesome video as always my man! Thank you for the content! Question about removing the metal plate under the car at 6:55, are those bolts single use stretch bolts? Or can they be reused? Do you know the torque specs off hand?
why not use a reverse lockout type short shifter instead of sending the bell housing out for detent work? In the end, you get a much better shifter (Hint: RTD). based on what you say at 18:30 it's not just a savings in money, but labor and time messing with that bell housing.
RTD/CAE shifters are the quicker/cheaper way to do the conversion, but until they are able to utilize stock shifter knobs and stock look and feel I think most people will prefer the bellhousing machining.
If you’re replacing the drive shaft center carrier bearing, please include that in your vid series! It’s definitely on my to-do list, but it’s a little intimidating.
Both are great in their own regard and I hope to own both in the future. With the current market, the e92 m3 is the better deal and will definitely start going up in a value like the E46 m3 in the near future.
When you refill it with fluid, make sure you use Redline D4 ATF. Don't use that horrible BMW gear oil. That's why you have shavings in there. It's bad stuff. Great work man. You are doing a fine job. Kudos to your helpers too.
If you change Gear Position Sensor for a part worn one will it need coding or computer work? Hoping I can just plug and play and SMG gearbox will work fine
I agree that the SMG is a great system...when working properly. It is more common to have issues with the SMG system than not. Most people will also prefer the manual transmission as many m3 owners are interested in driving spiritedly and manually shifting gears.
