Old 325e shifter bracket in my 325i?!

[Earendil]

So, as I prepare to pull the transmission from my car, I'm looking up parts for everything else I might do at the same time. Refreshing the shifter is among them, and I looked up some old pictures I took when doing the drive shaft 3 years ago.

And I noticed something weird, something that I can not explain using realeom unless I look at the schematics for the older 325e cars. THAT is what I have, the plate shifter bracket/arm. So my question is, are these rather identical systems? It looks like the shifter lever is the same part number, but that is between the 325i and the old 325e. I have no idea what frankenstein system is in my car.

So, did any other BMWs have this plate arm that wouldn't be comparable with regular E30 gear?

And as I type this I'm wondering something more. Since this arm mounts to the transmission, what does this say about my transmission?
Could a previous owner have swapped in a transmission from an early 325e into my 325i? This had better not make my clutch repair any more complicated (or expensive).

Any comments appreciated. I'll even accept wild guesses!

[Earendil]

Son of a...
I have learned that the clutch for the 325e is different than the 325i (not surprised), and that there is a question of if it's a duel or single mass.

Now I guess I need to jack up the car and crawl under there to check out the sticker...in the rain. Now what I can't figure out is what transmission the 325e had. I know the 325i had a Getrag260, and I can see that RealOEM has a different part number for the e and i, but the part # is only off by one digit, and could be the difference in the mounting holes for the shifter arm.

Are there any E30 transmission experts around here?

[jlevie]

Your description doesn't tell me a whole lot. but I'm guessing that your car has the sheet metal shift console instead of the aluminum one. If the car (by VIN) is a 325i/is it should have the aluminum shift console, not the sheet metal one. The only reason it would have the older part is that a prior owner replaced the transmission with one from a 325e and transplanted in the older console. A 325e transmission wont have the ears that are required for the aluminum shift console. The only other difference would be a pair of holes in the bell housing that are used for the timing reference sensors on an ETA. An M20B25 engine doesn't use those, but other than the shift console and timing reference sensors the transmissions are identical.

It is possible that during the transmission swap the dual mass flywheel and ETA clutch were used. You'll have to pull the transmission to see what is under the bell housing. If that turns out ot be the case you'll want to swap in the 325i/is parts, including the flywheel.

[Earendil]

Your description doesn't tell me a whole lot. but I'm guessing that your car has the sheet metal shift console instead of the aluminum one. If the car (by VIN) is a 325i/is it should have the aluminum shift console, not the sheet metal one.

Sorry I wasn't more clear. Yes, the sheet metal part (#5 here) is what I have. And yes, the rest of the car is very much a 325i.

The only reason it would have the older part is that a prior owner replaced the transmission with one from a 325e and transplanted in the older console. A 325e transmission wont have the ears that are required for the aluminum shift console. The only other difference would be a pair of holes in the bell housing that are used for the timing reference sensors on an ETA. An M20B25 engine doesn't use those, but other than the shift console and timing reference sensors the transmissions are identical.

Well that is good to hear. I want to clarify how sure you are when you say "The only reason" it would be this way is if it had an 'e' transmission. There are no other bolt up transmissions that aren't identical? I'll see if it still has the getrag sticker on it to be sure. I replaced the drive shaft a few years back and didn't suspect anything was wrong.

It is possible that during the transmission swap the dual mass flywheel and ETA clutch were used. You'll have to pull the transmission to see what is under the bell housing. If that turns out ot be the case you'll want to swap in the 325i/is parts, including the flywheel.

Okay, so if I understand you correctly, I'll be ordering all the same parts I would for a regular 325i clutch job. The catch will be if I find the ETA flywheel in there, in which case I'll want to replace that with the correct one for a 325i. That'll be a nice $400 gotcha :(

Thank you so much for your help.