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I plan to take sometime in Sep/Oct to do engine & trans swap on my 07 R56. The car has auto trans, N12 engine has 2 bent valves. Bought a part car with N12 only 50k miles & a manual trans. I have searched everywhere online & visited couple of dealerships, can't find anyone did AT to MT swap. I want to list things that have to be swapped, if anyone had experience or did research, please help me prepare for the swap.
- Coolant pipes (maybe 2 or 3)
- Wiring (for clutch sensor, transmission reverse light sensor)
- you may keep the ECU otherwise you would have to swap the whole set ECU/CAS/keyfob and then you will get mileage anti-tampering indication dot next to the new mileage
- NCS Expert and NCSDummy to code the new configuration
- ISTAD to walk you though errors and way to fix issues (MUST HAVE.....Check my 08 clubman N18 engine swap project )
- https://newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/ To trace out wiring and make sure everything lines up
- Coolant pipes (maybe 2 or 3)
- Wiring (for clutch sensor, transmission reverse light sensor)
- you may keep the ECU otherwise you would have to swap the whole set ECU/CAS/keyfob and then you will get mileage anti-tampering indication dot next to the new mileage
- NCS Expert and NCSDummy to code the new configuration
- ISTAD to walk you though errors and way to fix issues (MUST HAVE.....Check my 08 clubman N18 engine swap project )
- https://newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/ To trace out wiring and make sure everything lines up
Thanks man, I knew you will put comments on this one. You were the only one commented my last thread regarding bent valves. I left mini behind couple months and worked on other cars, waiting for cool weather to work on it outside.
I checked your build project, nice job! I also got the nose from Hypermotoparts for my GP build. I guess we are not too far from each other. I live in central jersey.
Can you please help me understand a little bit more on your comments?
- I can swap the entire ECU/CAS/keyfob/tachometer. if the whole electronic system is swapped, why will it give me anti-tampering indication?
- what new configuration is required NCS codding?
- sorry, what is ISTAD?
Yeah brother im in philly right across the bond lol...
as you might know, the vin (and some also store mileage) is stored on every module in the car. So when you swap the "set" the instrument cluster and speedometer with read different and that will trigger the anti-tampering dot. The car will still start with new "set" but the mileage wont match or adjust.
If you also swap the instrument cluster/speedometer/Junction box/footwell module, then that dot wont show but the new mileage will be from the donor car.
Now, if you just swap the "set", you need ncs to tell the instrument cluster and the junction box that your running a manual tranny vs an automatic one.
ISTAD is an acronym for integrated service technical application diagnostics. Very powerful tool.
Yeah brother im in philly right across the bond lol...
I can replace the whole set as long as they are all the same between the cars to avoid NCS, not interested in coding at all ... where did you learn all these things?
Yeah you could swap all of them and see what doesnt chime....i learned solo in the house and a bit i mean alot of trail and error...i paid $$$$ for mistakes i did too but now I'm comfortable working on it hence the n18 swap project
Yeah you could swap all of them and see what doesnt chime....i learned solo in the house and a bit i mean alot of trail and error...i paid $$$$ for mistakes i did too but now I'm comfortable working on it hence the n18 swap project
Spent 3 hrs this morning to check & remove the parts for the swap.
- Engine & Transmission: A lot easier than I thought. Engine harness has two main connections to the other harness. 1 is connected to the positive terminal from the starter, 2 is connected to the harness that goes through the firewall on the driver side. So no need to removal majority of the connectors in the engine. Haven't checked shift cable, but should be easy to remove. Question: There are 2 lines go underneath the firewall, one is fuel line, what is the other one next to it?
- Pedal set: Removed clutch and brake pedal set, very straightforward. Removed entire dash to allow a lot of extra room. The brake master cylinder and reservoir are the same for AT or MT. The clutch master cylinder & lines that go through the firewall are needed for the swap.
- Wiring harness: This is what I found the most difficulty. There are 3 main wiring harnesses in the engine bay.
1. Passenger side through firewall - connects to passenger lights, horn, ambient temp etc.
2. Engine harness
3. Driver side through firewall - connects to driver side lights, windshield fluid reservoir, ECU (1 of the 3 connectors), fuse box, power steering, ac, etc.
There are several places I found are different between the two cars, which make me think I have to swap the entire wiring harness.
1. Both fuse boxes in the engine bay or passenger side footwell.
2. The donor car has fog lights
3. Clutch master cylinder (MT) & Automatic transmission control unit (AT)
you might have to splice the wiring related to plug 1 of the DME (this goes to inside the car and fuse box). Check/compare wiring and splice the difference.
you might have to splice the wiring related to plug 1 of the DME (this goes to inside the car and fuse box). Check/compare wiring and splice the difference.
I guess I can disconnect the quick-release fastener on the gas ventilation line?
Will spend some time this week to check the wiring.
I am stuck... everything is already to remove or already removed except wiring. I checked Bentley manual, there are many electrical changes after car manufactured from/to12/2008. The part car is 03/2009, my car is 2007. My guess the only way is to buy & swap an entire wiring harness from a manual car produced prior 12/2008. Any thought?
Before you go nuts, go back to both wirings and see what changed. I know the 07 has the steering electric lock mechenism.
Separate the wires coming out of the driver firewall. I think there will be 4 groups:
1- ECU
2- ABS
3-transmission
4- Lighting.
I think you need to focus on 1 & 3 for now.
Look at the wiring on new.tis for that plug (ECU to inside the car) for both cars and see what the functions are for each pin. Then compare the two and make the change.
Got an idea after watching E46 AT to MT swap on Youtube. I went back to Bentley book and found all the pins that connect to clutch master cylinder & reserve light switch reads shifter position. Total 6 wires connect to #3 ECU cable, CAS & footwell module.
I am thinking through all the possible elements for the swap prior to taking actions. I have identify all the wiring diagram for clutch & reserve light switch, so one problem is solved. Another question came up last night, I plan to not to swap footwell module, DME or CAS. But CAS controls car start, one of the checks to start the car is AT has to be on P position, MT doesn’t require that cable to detect gear position. I assume CAS was programmed to recognize only AT for my car, so I doubt that CAS will allow the car start after the swap. The R56 & R55 have different CAS due to the electrical update by Mini for cars produced after 12/2008. So I am concern about the CAS swap.
Can CAS be programmed to recognize MT? I would also compare the CAS connectors on 2 cars and see if possible to rewire.
I know CAS pair with the key, should DME or footwell module has to be swapped with CAS?
for testing purposes, you could swap the DME/CAS/Fob to get the car started for now and read any codes it pops. Should you keep the originals on the car, you need NCS expert to code the car for the MT set up.
you have to keep the whole set CAS and DME...and yes, you can code it for MT....best thing might be to copy the file from the MT CAS and then past it into the AT CAS. it can be done..that is the easiest part of the whole thing...lol
Update: clutch wiring to CAS & ground is complete. MT trans reserve light switch wiring to footwell module is complete. Clutch & brake assembly, clutch lines are installed.
CAS pin 41 connects to either gear position for AT or clutch position for MT, no other pin connects to transmission wiring. I hope the engine can start w/o coding.
Is it the 1st r56 has clutch pedal & Auto gear? lol Wiring
oh brother where to start...In short, I might developed a short somewhere in my wiring after I used a used (known to be good) fuel rail pressure sensor. Any ECU I put reads 61v for battery voltage. I have ordered few ones and they all read the same faults! even thought i have a missing crankshaft pos sensor, the car still starts!!!! check the post for more details....but it is killing me man...getting very close...
programming is the easiest thing. let me know when you get to that point and i'll help you out.
08-22-2018, 07:23 PM
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. You were the only one commented my last thread regarding bent valves. I left mini behind couple months and worked on other cars, waiting for cool weather to work on it outside. 
