Getrag 240 Rebuild

[c0rbin9]

Not a single thread or any info on the internet about where to get a Getrag 240 rebuilt? Seriously? Some of us want to preserve our cars rather than just throw parts from other cars in. I find it odd that there is no info on this. Is Metric Mechanic at an outrageous $4000 the only option? There don't even seem to be any rebuild parts available that I can see, so I'm not optimistic about parts availability.

/rantover

[e30davie]

You probably wont find much info on it because not many people want to drop that kind of cash on an old gearbox, and the people that do bother don't bother posting on the internet.

I'm in Aus so i wont know specifics of America parts availability, but i recently went through assessing the idea of getting my getrag 260 rebuilt as 3rd and 4th started to play up.

I rang around 10 gearbox shops to get quotations within about 100km radius of my house. Alot of shops woudlnt touch them as apparently the casings are quite difficult to get appart and they crack easy (something to do with the input bearing being uber hard to remove). Parts were all available, however on the more expensive end of OEM gearbox parts (after all they used the getrag 260 platform well into the 2000's in various cars). most shops said parts were available through getrag themself, no need to go through bmw.

The ones i could get a quotation out of were talking a minimum of $3500AUD assuming it all went to plan. There is just so much labor involved, and its tedius labor with specific tools. I paid like $200 for a second hand box and it turned out to be a good one. I could buy another ~16 second hand gearboxes at that price and still be in front of the $3500 required for a rebuild.

I too am all about doing things right first time, but when it comes to gearboxes i just cant stomach the price to get them rebuilt.

[roguetoaster]

Most of the critical parts are still available through BMW, so in theory any good transmission specialist should be able to take care of a rebuild. However, considering the availability of the G240s, both early and late, as well as the adaptability of the G250 I don't really understand the point of spending on that task just to keep a fairly common car original.

But if you have the cash, and it's important to you I suppose there's no good reason not to have yours rebuilt if it's needed. Although I must also point out that G240s are not known to fail frequently, and I have absolutely ragged on the original one in my car for a solid 7 years without a single hiccup while running straight ATF.

[c0rbin9]

Fair points, thanks. I see the economics argument of it, but I'd prefer to keep the original transmission and engine if possible.

To roguetoasters point of it not being necessary, you might be right. My current box seems to function fine though being my first M/T car I dint have much to compare it to. Thanks for the help as always. If nothing else, it is comforting to know the parts are still available. Would be a shame if one of Bavaria's finest's main components was not serviceable.

[dude8383]

I have a G240 on the shelf I'd sell cheap if you wanted a unit to rebuild :up:

[Zeemz]

I ended up having to replace my G260 for a shot 3rd gear syncro. It would grind every time I shifted above 3-4K. Some rebuilds ran $3500-$4000 and some where only around $1750. Why the big difference? I was told that the ones on the cheaper side are more "inspect and refresh" and are not truly full rebuilds.

If I could have found a decent used one with around 100K miles I would have rolled the dice on that. When I tried to find one everyone who replied to my search were trying to sell me units with over 200K or one pulled from a parts car that they had no idea about running condition.

Some people will think I am crazy, but I ended up buying a NOS unit directly from BMW for $3100. It was a little more than the "refreshed units" and it was cheaper that the full rebuilds. Also it also came with a two year warranty.

However for what I spent on a new unit you can roll the dice on quite a few used units.

I sent you a PM with a few more specifics.

Edited: I originally thought it was a re-manufactured unit, but it was actually NOS

[djjerme]

Some people will think I am crazy, but I ended up buying a remanufactured unit directly from BMW for $3100. It was a little more than the "refreshed units" and it was cheaper that the full rebuilds. Also if was remanufactured by BMW and came with a two year warranty.

In the grand scheme of things, to get a BMW reman from BMW for that price is not stupif expensive. If you can get another 100K out of it, money well spent..