# E60 545 CDV Delete



## mrbelk (Dec 5, 2003)

I took redelivery of my ED 545 yesterday and have fallen in love with it all over again.

Getting the CDV replaced with DaveZ's modified one next Wednesday. I can't wait to feel how the clutch is supposed to feel like.

I took it over to a local DINAN shop who had done some work for my salesman and we got the car up on the rack, and let me say that the underbody of the new 5er's is pretty impressive. You know that Lexus LS commercial where they have the car inverted in the wind tunnel? It's like that, but even more complete. I'm going to try to be there when they actually do the work to get some shots of the underbody and I'll post them when I get them.

I got to get a good look at the active suspension bits and the cool floating rotors. I think this was the first E60 these guys have seen, and they appeared genuinely impressed by the engineering that went into the car. They all agreed that the E60 looks way better in the metal than in 2D; and they're all pretty much old-school bimmerphiles. They would have done the swap today, but the slave cylinder is behind a diffuser panel and beside one of the cats, so the car will have to sit for a couple hours before they can safely get to it.

The shift throws are a little long, so I will probably also get an SSK from UUC as soon as they have one for the E60. The clutch travel is also pretty long after the engagement zone, so a clutch stop of some form or another is also in order.

Loving my 545,

-MrB


----------



## Ågent99 (Jan 7, 2002)

Sounds good...we need pics! 

Chris


----------



## marinakorp (Oct 3, 2003)

the E39 (540) is similar to that... covered with panels, etc


----------



## mrbelk (Dec 5, 2003)

I never even saw the underbody of my 330, much less an E39. I'm not surprised at all, though. One thing's for sure, when they got the car up on the rack, it was damn hot under there. There were little air scoops and collectors all over the place to manage airflow into the undercarriage to cool the tranny and rear diff, etc.

-MrB


----------



## DZeckhausen (Mar 11, 2003)

marinakorp said:


> the E39 (540) is similar to that... covered with panels, etc


Actually, the E39 and the E60 are very different. The E39 has a belly pan that extends from the front bumper to the back of the motor and ends at the interface to the transmission. Removing the CDV is easy, since it's dangling right there in plain view. Installing a short shifter, even one with a new selector rod, does not require removing any panels at all. In contrast, the new E60 has panels that extend all the way to rear of the car and they must be removed to gain access to anything.









*2004 BMW 530i 6-Speed*


----------



## mrbelk (Dec 5, 2003)

The 545 undercarriage looks a bit different, since there are exhaust manifolds/headers/pipes/whatever coming off both sides of the block, but what you showed is essentially what I saw.

-MrB


----------

