Suggested tranny for e9 4spd to 5spd upg

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dwa1971

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I know there are posts out there from Carl N. from La Jolla about this conversion. But after looking around having a hard time finding a decent and reasonably priced Getrag 265 from an early 80's e12. I have a line on a Getrag 260 from early 80's 5 series but wanted to see if anyone has used one before for this conversion and if so how they made out and if I can still use the directions from Carl's post or are there other extra steps. Thank you
 
Personally I believe I would use a Getrag 260 wide ratio if the integral bellhousing can be made to fit without beating on the tunnel... and a 25% 3.25 or 3.46 LSD sideloader...but that's just my preference.

Ran
 
The major difference with the 260 and 265 is the length difference, so you would not be able to just use someone else's measurements if they used a 265 to modify their driveshaft. The rest of the swap should be pretty straight, as long as it has the provision for the mechanical speedo drive.

You can also find 265s on MY 1985 E28s and E30 M3s.
 
dwa1971 said:
thx for the quick reply. What did those particular LSD's come out of?
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Correctly-sized side-loader diffs came in the early (E12 based) E24, E12, E3, and E9 vehicles. The smaller side-loader, used in the E1 and E21, is too small and will not work.

Pretty much any of the cars can have any diff at this point. The only way to be sure is to check the stamp on the side of the unit, which will tell you the ratio and if it is a LSD. There are usually a couple on ebay at any given time.
 
You don't have to use an 80-81 E12 5 speed gearbox. 80-81 E23 & E24 with a 5 speed are also suitable donor cars. 82 E28 528e 5 speeds also used a Getrag 265, you just have to change the bellhousing. Euro spec BMW's, M30 motors with a 5 speed from 80-82 are suitable donor's as well. 85 E23, E24, E28 cars in the US with a 5 speed (M30 motor) are also suitable donor's. BMW went back to the 265 in 85 for one year. You have to remove the speedo plug in the gearbox on 85 models and insert the speedo gears in the gearbox and you'll be good to go.

Bookmark this page to learn more
http://www.metricmechanic.com/catalog/getrag-identification-chart.php

G-Man
 
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dwa1971 said:
I have a line on a Getrag 260 from early 80's 5 series
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There are at least 2 variations of 260 overdrive 5 speeds: up to 1984 and 1986 on. BMW dropped the early versions because they apparently felt they could not hold up to the 3.3 engines.

The later 260s are plentiful enough I would hold out for one. Also, I would not expect to see much if any difference in price.

The big drawback (at least for me) is that none of the 260s have provision for a mechanical speedometer cable drive, so you will have to both install an electric speedometer and fabricate some sort of pickup for it.
 
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