6 speed swapped N52 Z4

[Nathan_e85]

HI, this is officially my first post to the forums but figured I should probably share this as I was unable to find a lot of information on the process of manual swapping my n52 Z4, I was able to pick information from e90 manual swap posts but nothing truly specific to n52 Z4's, This was quite a fun process for me and I absolutely love the outcome of it. I will include a full list of part numbers used down below for the manual swap as well.

to start, you will need to source a trans, which I had purchased a used one off eBay for my exact 2007 Bmw z4, next I was able to source a pedal set and driveshaft with low mileage on them, I also purchased a e46 short throw body mounted shifter, which I actually really enjoy over oem, although I had to weld up my own shifter linkage to accompany this, I bought the shifter cover insulation foam as well as a oem shift boot and frame to reduce sound coming from trans tunnel, as well as a oem plastic center piece for a manual. For the driveshaft I was able to source a 07 Z4 manual driveshaft (used on eBay) which bolted up perfectly, one thing I had a hard time with was the trans mounting bracket, not sure if I had just ran into unlucky buys off eBay with them not being the correct ones sent to me, but I was able to eventually get one off of a e46 wagon that bolted up correctly to my chassis (part #) included below. now with the rest of my purchases I was able to source off of fcpeuro, which included a oem clutch and pressure plate, with a jbracing alum lightweight flywheel, a new guibo, selector rod washers/clips, a new clutch fork pivot and pivot clip, manual trans housing bolt set, engine and trans mounts, clutch hydraulic hose and two other hydraulic hoses for master/slave, new slave and master cylinder as well as new drive shaft center support. and last but not least a clutch pedal stop.

This may sound like quite a few parts but most of them go pretty quick on install, I did not hook up a clutch switch or reverse lights yet, I was actually able to bypass the neutral safety by decoding park/neutral safety in the EWS by using NCSexpert to do so, this software can be easily downloaded online from bimmergeeks, I also purchased a pro K+Dcan cable from bimmergeeks that has worked wonderfully, One other coding option I had to perform was clearing code 205 from the FA, I was able to follow the coding used on this video as reference

as well as majority of the mechanical work seen in part 1 and part 2 of that video series, most of the torque specs I was able to just google and find out from other forums which made it very simple.

all in all, the manual swap went very well for me, if you have decent mechanical skills you can most likely complete this within a weekend if anyone has any questions about the process feel free to ask and I will do my best to respond! thanks for reading

Part Numbers:
Transmission: (gs6-17bg) 23007629519
Driveshaft: 26107546223
transmission mount bracket: 22316769911
flywheel (stock part#) : LUK-4150389100
JBracing flywheel (optional upgrade from stock, must email to inquire pricing): http://www.jbracing.com/flywheel-bmw7.php#z4models
Center console surround trim: 51167026221
Shift cover insulation foam: 25117510423
Shifter boot (ended up buying frame and boot off eBay): 25117523204
Guibo: MEY-3141523102HD
Clutch fork pivot pin: BMW-21511223328
Clutch fork pivot pin spring: BMW-21517570284
Manual trans bolt set: BMW-23000392607
BMW Clutch Kit: LUK-6233440000
Engine and trans mounts: KIT-22116779970KT1
Clutch Hydraulic Hose: BMW-35006857512
Clutch Master cylinder: FTE-KG190077412
Clutch Slave cylinder: FTE-KN2206233
BMW Pipe (clutch hoses): BMW-21526774230
BMW Pipe (another clutch hose): BMW-21526774278
Drive shaft center bearing: CRP-AVS0054R
Clutch pedal stop: BMW-35316750569
shift rod circlips(need 2) :VAI-V202533
selector rod washers(need 4) :BMW-25111220439

If I forgot anything please let me know and I can update it, also here is some teaser photos, Thanks!

[Our03z4]

Very cool and great job! What did the total cost run to do this?

[Nathan_e85]

Originally Posted by Our03z4

Very cool and great job! What did the total cost run to do this?

Total cost to do this was 4300$ including shipping to Hawaii, although I am sure that it would be much cheaper with access to local junkyards to find part cars!

[Dr. Minimus]

Great content. I have the same swap planned for an E86. Did you do any more coding other than setting PARK/NEUTRAL_EINGANG to nicht_aktiv in the EWS module and clearing code 205 from the FA? Thanks

[MAX86SI]

How is this build holding up? I am looking at doing this for my e86 and it says the stock manual transmission is the gs6 37bz, not the 17bg. Is the 17bg any better or worse? Thanks for posting this guide.