Auto to manual swap which year tranny?

[jaydeep]

I am planing to do Auto to manual swap. My car is 88 325is now which year 5spd tranny could I use? I was thinking 88-91

[LJ851]

It don't matter, brah. You got the crank sensor on the front so you can use whatever you want.

[MR 325]

Any M20 trans will work. Ideally you want something that uses the later style shifter which is mid-86 +.

[jw 325ic]

Any M20 trans will work. Ideally you want something that uses the later style shifter which is mid-86 +.

any g260 will fit but this is not necessarily true. late etas you'll need the euro 323i throw out bearing as they use a twin mass flywheel. early eta transmissions need a shift arm adapter ($5 part from dealer) to work. obviously any 325i (iS) transmission will work on another 325i car.

see my official transmission thread in this subforum for more indepth info. it has part numbers and specific year/model information for whatever transmission you find.

here i even supplied the link:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=215361

[LJ851]

... early eta transmissions need a shift arm adapter ($5 part from dealer) to work.

Or just use the sheet metal shifter platform that comes with the trans like i did.

[jw 325ic]

Or just use the sheet metal shifter platform that comes with the trans like i did.

if you can get it free...then that's not bad. but for over $100 new...$5 doesn't sound bad. plus, if you have a short shift kit, you're not going to buy that thing.

[Wanganstyle]

if you can get it free...then that's not bad. but for over $100 new...$5 doesn't sound bad. plus, if you have a short shift kit, you're not going to buy that thing.

why not?


the shift housing uses the same plastic ball and silly stick lever, the earliest "short shift" kits were using e21 shift levers. Tell me what kind of shift tower a e21 uses........ :P

[LJ851]

^Tis true,I have a short shifter in my sheet metal tower, no prob there. BMW used sheet metal from the mid/late 60's til mid/late 80's.

[jw 325ic]

and there must have been a reason for the update. but i was talking about the kits where it replaces everything. if you've just spent quite a bit of money on one of those kits...it would make sense to just spend the $5 on the bracket.