Installing BMW Z4M UUC Transmission Mounts

The OE transmission mounts are a little soft and allow the transmission to move slightly under braking and cornering forces which can cause the shifter to work inconsistently. Knowing what I know now, these would have been installed when I installed the short shifter instead of collecting dust in the garage for two years. Shifts are a lot more solid and consistent.

Standard Disclaimer: ANY USE OF THIS INFORMATION BY YOU IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. This guide is meant to be a supplement to the UUC Installation Instructions and not a replacement.

The transmission mounts and enforcer cups work together to allow movement but control it better than the OE bushings. More information can be found on UUC’s website: http://www.uucmotorwerks.com/html_product/tranny_mount/html_tranny/about.htm

Another helpful write-up is here: http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=411452

UUC Installation instructions below:

My Installation:

The transmission mount is located almost in the center of the car, but a little closer to the front. Since my car is pretty low to the ground I drove it up on ramps first and then jacked it up high enough using the central jack point to get jackstands under the front jack points. For safety, I placed the ramps under the tires in parallel with the jack stands (I don’t want to get crushed):

Sliding under the car and looking towards the front, you can see the transmission support above the exhaust:

A heat shield will need to be removed to access the passenger side bolts, three retainers can be removed using a 10mm socket wrench

Remove the wire loom from the clip on the transmission support:

Support the transmission with a jack, a block of wood can be used to cushion the jack. The jack was jacked up just enough to hold the transmission in place, I tried to place it as close to the support as possible without it getting in the way:

Using a 13mm open end wrench and ¼” 13mm socket wrench, I was able to remove the two bolts holding the rubber mounts to the support, and then the four bolts holding the support to the body. There is not a lot of room to work, especially on the passenger side, so be patient and persistent. After removing the support, the top mount nuts were removed and then the soft OE mounts were free:

You can see in the picture above where the mounts meet the support the index keys that allow the bushings to align one way, make sure that the recession in the new mounts is aligned with this before hand tightening the bolts- the mounts should be flat on the base. Comparison pics of OE vs new UUC mount (installed):

Per the Pelican write-up on E36 UUC transmission mount installation (http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/E36-Tranny_Mounts/E36-Tranny_Mounts.htm), I lightly lubed the enforcer cups with some Mobil1 multi purpose synthetic grease to eliminate friction and chafing. The enforcer cups I have are also notched for a key but this was not needed since they are installed on top of the transmission bushings, new enforcer cups no longer have this relief:

I found it impossible to maneuver the support assembly into place without jacking the transmission a little more, it slid in after I tried a few different angles and approaches. Loosening the mount lower nuts makes it a bit easier to line up the mounts top bolts with the transmission slots and position the enforcer cups so that they sit flat on the transmission- I had a helper lower the jack while I pushed the passenger side enforcer cup forward to clear. I used the UUC provided washers and Nyloc nuts on the bottom mount screws but elected to use the OE nut/washer on top- they start easier and are easier to tighten in the tight space available, the smaller flex-head Gearwrench worked GREAT for this:

Not that you will be able to get to all of the bolts with a torque wrench, but here are the BMW TIS references: