openinverter forum

I got an ‘02 E46 convertible that had a blown head gasket for $1500. Otherwise in pretty good shape, so I pulled the drivetrain and got a transmission from an ‘09 GS450H for $400. I still need the inverter and wiring, because that was already cut out of the donor car by the time I got to it. I’m planning on using a battery pack from a BMW i3, Tesla Gen 2 charger and Chevy volt DCDC. I’m not sure what I’ll do for heat, A/C, brakes and power steering, but the last two will likely be ibooster and Prius steering.

I don’t have steady employment at this time, so I’m trying to do as much as possible on my own, and spending as little money as possible at the same time. I’m well comfortable with electrical wiring as well as working on vehicles. I have previously worked at an automotive repair shop, and specializes in electrical. My computer skills are above average, I can upload a program to a microcontroller, but I can’t write them. I’m an ok fabricator, but there’s plenty of equipment that I don’t have. For instance, I only have a stick welder, no lathe, mill, cnc router, plasma cutter. But let’s see what we can do...

Hi,

I'm embarking on a GS 450H project too so I'll be following with interest.

Keep us posted.


Cheers,

Andy.

I'll jump in to follow along too as I'm also building up a gs450h powered Mercedes Benz slk 1998 (had hole in sump when I bought it).

Good luck with it all.

Ok, so I scored an inverter with wiring, a drive shaft, oil pan (the one on my transmission was damaged), and transmission mount. All for $260 at the junkyard and I got the factory unobtanium connector.
Still need batteries (currently eyeing an i3 pack) and I’ll be ready for bench testing.

My Buddy gave me $160 for the old catalytic converters, so knock that off the total costs. I’m going to get something for the old transmission as well.

BUT, things got real now... I picked up a 22kwh pack from an i3 for $2700!!

Now, need to fabricate mounting for the transmission and batteries and start connecting wires. After a bench test, that is.

Mmmmmm lithium

I did some fabrication work today, but I forgot to take pics... I had to get a change of pace because I hit a snag trying to get the zombieverter up and running. I’m thinking it might be an issue with communication between the microcontroller and the WiFi chip. I still have to do some troubleshooting, but I’m not likely to get to it before the weekend.

In any case, made progress with the transmission mount. I got some square tubing cut, filled, and mounted on the car. I need to cut a little more of the Lexus mount where it meets the tubing space adapter deals, then weld it together. I’m still working on the front mount and spine shaft bracing, but then the transmission will be in. I’m waiting in the oil pump bearings on order and I have to measure the driveshafts and mark the cuts. I’m having a driveshaft place do the welding and balancing.

sigdigits wrote: ↑Tue Jan 24, 2023 10:12 pm 7BA1CBDD-0EA1-4F78-A6F3-CF01D1FB814D.jpegMmmmmm lithium

Sigdigits,
Great score on that battery pack. Where in SoCal are you? I've seen a stack of those batteries for sale in a L.A. warehouse advertised on ebay, and have been tempted to pick one up.

San Diego... might be the same ones

I FINALLY figured out my issue I was having getting my zombieverter programmed... you can read about the drama here, but I never figured out exactly the cause of the issue, so I’m not sure if it’s helpful for anyone else

viewtopic.php?p=53340#p53340

I’m one step closer, next I will get the ivt shunt going. I have been very lucky so far in getting some decent money saving deals and the shunt was one of them. I found a guy scrapping a build and I got 1 3/4 Chevy volt packs, a Tesla charger (unfortunately a supercharger so might not work), Chevy volt dc/dc converter, 1000A fuse, contractors and the shunt all for $500
The same guy later offered me a Tesla LDU (with apparently blown igbts, unverified) for $300 delivered
If I can keep up the good deals and doing everything myself, I’ll be able to do the conversion for around $6000. I think I’m about $5k into it now including the cost of the car, and I have almost everything

I'd love to know what RPMS you have achieved with the gs450h and at what voltages, thanks

Jacobsmess wrote: ↑Mon May 15, 2023 7:41 am I'd love to know what RPMS you have achieved with the gs450h and at what voltages, thanks

I’m not that far along, but check Damien’s posts and videos. I’ll be at around 400v and probably limit the rpm between 6-8000

I need to make an update, but I haven’t been able to do much between lack of motivation and getting stuck on another project... they always take longer than you can plan for. And if you plan for that, it will take even longer.

I’m close to getting the transmission mounted, but I have to weld on a couple pieces of flat bar to the cut-down rear mount. The original mount is made of two stamped steel pieces that sandwich together and I basically cut it off flush where the two meet. The BMW body isn’t flat on the passenger side, so I cut the flange off of the BMW transmission mount to use as a spacer.

There’s a file in the wiki for the transmission bell housing, but I’m not sure if I’ll mount to the original engine mount, or the subframe mount points by the lower control arms. Probably by the control arms to maximize battery space.

I pulled the electric power steering pump from a 2015 (might be 2013, can’t remember) Mazda 3. I’m going to see if I can get the CAN control working. It looks like its similar to the Volvo and Opel/Astra/Chevy ones but the messages are probably different.
I’m trying to get an electric a/c from an Audi etron because the lines are supposed to be the same as the stock BMW ones. If not I may use one from a Tesla.

I unfortunately have a Tesla Gen 2 “supercharger” that I confirmed does not work with the replacement logic boards. I’m sure it’s because one is primary and the other secondary, so they get different CAN messages. I’d like to think I’ll try figuring it out, but more likely I’ll get another charger.

I’m going to power wash the engine bay and try to get the transmission mounted this weekend

That's some good info about a/c - So I guess just the etron compressor and then the rest could stay the same? ( I'm thinking it might work for my e39 also )
For the power steering pump, the favoured option has been from an opel zafira. I realise you are in the states, but since its all GM, wonder if that unit is in use in some cars in USA too. But the Mazda 3 pump is probably good too!
Best of luck

Very likely that this pump was replaced in the car I pulled it from based on the sticker. The model number cross references a Mazda 5, but it looks like the majority of them are very similar, if not the same manufacturer. There are embossed branding from "Koyo" on the reservoir and the plastic connector block, engraved with Mitsubishi on the metal housing below the connectors that house the electronics.

It does seem to respond to 0x201 CAN message which seems to be used by a lot of manufacturers for RPM and Vehicle speed. I need to sort out which bits/values are actually required, but it did spit out some fluid during my SavvyCAN fuzzing of random bits

I found out that the oil pump for the GS450h transmission is shot when I took it apart to change the bearings. I guess it's better to find out this way rather than after mounting the transmission in the car.

I'm toying with the idea of eliminating this unit, and using the electric hydraulic power steering pump to do both. In theory, it has plenty of pressure, but the steering needs less assist at higher speeds while the transmission needs steady/more pressure. I'll just have to test it and see.

On a positive note, I was able to modify the Lexus transmission mount by cutting off the OEM mounting flanges where the 2 stamped steel parts meet and welding in some flat bar stock.

In the E46, the mount points are higher on the passenger side compared to the driver side and also has a step (not flat) on the passenger side as well. I solved this by cutting the piece off of the original E46 mount, and using it as a spacer.

I also had a friend with a cnc plasma cutter make me the mounting/locking plate for the bell housing, but I didn't get a picture. Gotta drill out the bolt holes to size, and weld in the spline, fabricate some mounts and then I should have the transmission mounted.

oops, double posted

Had a buddy cut out the .dxf file for the transmission adapter plate, and he only charged me $40!! I tossed him an extra $10 for some cutoff scraps for mounting brackets.
Welded on some bolts for location pins, and drilled out the bolt holes to size. Welded the spline to a piece of tubing, clamped everything in place on the transmission and tacked it in place. Then I removed the plate, welded the rest of the spline tube and it's fitting quite nice!

Buuuuuuut, I bolted up the rear transmission mount and realized I mad a mistake somehow in my measurements. The driveshaft is not centered in the tunnel (didn't get a pic), and is maybe around 1/4" shifted to the left. The holes in the transmission mount are already oblong front to back, but I need to shift side to side. I may have to hog them out to get it where I need, then fill the hole with weld. I'm not sure if that will be easier than cutting the plates off and welding on new ones. In order to fill the gaps without filling the hole, I'll need copper backing and a copper rod to keep the welds from sticking where they shouldn't

If I cut off the plates and make new ones, it will probably be best to make the plates with the holes first, bolt them in place, then lift the transmission into place and THEN tack weld the plates to the mount. That way I can make sure everything lines up before finishing the welds...

Not sure if I untherstand correctly but basically one mount is wrong right? One hole will needs to move inwards so can be re-used?
and one outwards.

Always difficult without pictures. I think you can mill/redrill the current mounts. If that results in an unacceptable quality at least you have the models. In the end what keeps de mount from moving is the clamping force of the bolt with washer.

EV_Builder wrote: ↑Sat Jul 08, 2023 9:43 pm Not sure if I untherstand correctly but basically one mount is wrong right? One hole will needs to move inwards so can be re-used?
and one outwards.

Always difficult without pictures. I think you can mill/redrill the current mounts. If that results in an unacceptable quality at least you have the models. In the end what keeps de mount from moving is the clamping force of the bolt with washer.

The whole mount is off-center. The holes align perfectly with the factory locations, but with the transmission mounted in place, the driveshaft is not centered. All holes need to be shifted sideways about 1/4", but the issue is that they're already elongated front to back.

Hope that makes sense, you can see the picture of the mount a few posts up

Square holes are ok as long as there's enough meat there. Large & thick washers on both sides of the hogged out hole will keep it in place, as long as the washers are thick enough to resist bending.