As promised here is my DIY engine/transmission removal thread. Please excuse the duplicated marked screws/bolts. I marked all my pics of stuff I took off to get the engine and transmission pulled. As we got close the pics kinda went by the wayside, sorry. I will describe my procedure, then post pics...
Got the car in the garage and used this DIY video to remove the side skirts. Two things to note, you WILL break half the plastic clips pulling these off (no worries, they are replaceable) and the nuts in the back on the M3 are on the bottom of the car, not in the wheel well.
I then put the car on my 6 ton truck jack stands, 14 inch clearance at the lowest level
. As everyone is aware this requires some jack trickery due to the lack of clearance of the car. For me I jacked the front up slightly and then used the center jack point. For the back I used a 6x6x6 wood block on top of my floor jack on the rear sub-frame brace behind the rear differential.
To remove the bumper there are 4 torx on top, about 8 bolts on the bottom and you also have to remove the front wheel well liners. Then it slides right off. Headlights are next 2 torx for the inner supports and a 10mm underneath, there might be one I am forgetting. Remove the washer lines and pull them out, they do take some finagling to get out. Go around the center mount and unplug all electrical accessories, then start removing the bottom pieces. Once everything is clear of the center cross member there are 2 bolts on each side by the front fenders and 4 on each frame rail. Also remove the three torx securing the oil cooler, then remove the center cross member.
Next is the radiator\ac radiator, 2 radiator hoses, 2 power steering cooling hoses and the 2 a/c connections.
Next remove oil cooler hoses from the oil filter housing and remove the cooler and hoses. Remove the power steer reservoir and hoses. Remove the coolant expansion tank and disconnect the marked misc hoses.
On to the top back of the engine bay... remove the rubber trim crossing the entire rear of the engine bay. Remove both cabin filter housings, then the plastic cover underneath. Next remove the strut braces (4 bolts per). Open the wiring housing and remove the plugs that are going to the engine. It is not necessary to disconnect everything. I bundled them with some string and laid it on top of the engine. Remove the brake booster line, fuel line and a couple others. NOTE: there is a hose that runs from the back of the engine to the secondary water pump. You can either remove it off the bottom of the secondary water pump OR remove it from the back of the engine while pulling it, which is what I did, seemed easier. Now everything in the front and up top should be clear.
For the exhaust I used DRK1's clutch DIY for the exhaust and propeller shaft removal (obviosly didn't need to drop the transmission), which the exception of removing all the electrical plugs, you really only need to remove the O2 sensors plugs because the harness is coming out with the engine/transmission.
Once the exhaust, shift linkage and propeller shaft are all out of the way it's time to bring in the engine lift.
Once the engine is being supported by the lift it's time to move under the front. Remove bothe engine mount bolts, I did the bottom ones. Lower the front sway bay, 2 bolts each side. Remove the torx screw from the steering column holding it the the steering rack and the 2 nuts and bolts holding the steering rack to the sub frame. Place a jack under the sub frame and remove the 8 bolts, 4 per side. Slowly lower the sub frame until you have enough clearance for the oil pan. Now free the steering rack from the sub frame and work the drivers side engine mount over the top of the steering rack.
Viola!! You are now ready to pull the engine.....OH SH*T!!!! Engine won't come out, it is hung on something but VERY loose.... we looked for 20 minutes and finally found a ground strap going from the oil pan to the frame on the drivers side, about a foot long and VERY easy to miss. Don't forget that one or
will ensue....
Installation is the reverse of removal.
I will follow this up with new flywheel, clutch, transmission, wiring harness install on the donor motor. And of course, installation pics!!
Pics are below. Hope this helps anyone out who is toying with doing this job themselves. It wasn't bad, took me and a buddy of mine about 8 hours to pull the engine and transmission, so not too shabby. It was actually one of the easiest pulls I have done, definitely easier than the last 2 e46s I did.
Thanks to rcracin for his input and pics and to DRK1's clutch DIY!!
Chris
