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Old 05-28-2016, 02:53 PM   #15
spidertri
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Elizabeth City, NC
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With Schuh Syndikat over I was ready to get back into the M52 swap. The motor was as ready as it was going to get so I pulled the 318 in the garage and started disassembling the front end.

Given the limited space I have, my plan was to disconnect everything engine/transmission related while the car was in the garage. Once it was ready, I rolled the ti outside and put it on jack stands in the driveway. This provided space in the garage to maneuver engines, swap the transmission, and scatter parts and tools everywhere. With the chassis outside I could clean the engine bay and give my neighbors a reason to slow down and shake their heads as they drove by. Win-win.





One thing I have never found clear instructions for, or pictures of, is removing the vibration damper from the front driveshaft section. When re-using the 318 drive shaft the “torsional vibration absorber” (p/n 26111434254) will interfere with the 6 cyl shift linkage. With the front driveshaft section removed it is apparent that the damper on my car (Jan 1998 build) has studs sandwiching the damper to the driveshaft flange.

So we have 3 bolts and 3 studs connecting the driveshaft to guibo to transmission. The 6 cylinder cars simply have 6 bolts connecting those pieces. Had I bothered to investigate this before I made my many parts orders I would have bought 3 more bolts. I didn’t and decided to reuse the studs.

It was very easy to hammer the studs out of the driveshaft with a few sharp blows. [Pro-tip, put a nut on the stud so that you don’t damage the threads when hitting it with a hammer.] The damper fell right off, and weighs 3lbs. I put some washers in to simulate the thickness of the removed damper and hammered the studs back in. Good to go.



As far as disconnecting everything else in the engine bay I didn’t come across anything that gave me much trouble. Definitely relieve the fuel pressure before disconnecting the fuel lines. Don’t forget the wiring harness connectors going to the transmission and FPR and the cooling hoses going to the heater valve.

The only parts I removed from the M44 before hooking up the hoist were the airbox/boot up to the throttle body and the exhaust midpipe. The exhaust manifold and intake manifold were installed when I pulled the motor.

With the front end removed the motor and transmission came out pretty quickly. I didn’t have to mess around under the car with the bitch clip, transmission bolts, or the starter. All of that was easy to disassemble with everything out of the car.



I need to get better at posting updates, lol.
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98 328ti Morea Grun slicktop
11 128i space gray slicktop
13 JGC WK2 Deep Cherry

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