Transmissions from Metric Mechanic?

[Bnardog]

It doesn't make sense.

If you have to take out gears to replace one synchronizer, you may as well replace all of them. And bearings too.

It really depends on the condition of everything else. I believe digger makes a good point where if my core is not bad enough where it does not need everything to be replaced, then I will be spending more.

You also make a good point. While its already open, might as well have everything else replaced to prevent issues down the road.

I'll be contacting BMW this weekend to get a quote on a rebuilt trans. Going to compare prices with BMW, Metric Mechanic, Walter Motorsports, and having mine rebuilt with purchased parts. Will update this thread with what I come up with.

[digger]

if you rebuild an engine but cant reuse the crank, rods, pistons, cam, rockers, valves its gonna get spendy.
to rebuild and change only rings, bearings, gaskets, seal and bolts etc its a different cost

[ForcedFirebird]

Last I spoke with Drivegear about a box was when he told me they weren't doing them anymore since the cost of parts was making it difficult to do them for a reasonable cost (they were about $2400 at the time), in fact he was the one who told me the synchros jumped from ~$80 to $170 in a season.

[TobyB]

Soooo.
Yeah. Hi Guize. Welcome to owning an old car. This thread smells just like a bunch on the 2002 boards 15 years ago....

To throw a huge turd into the punch bowl, the BMW rebuilds a couple of years ago were good for 2 laps. Then the synchro baulk rings broke.
Into, like, many pieces. (the 'baulk ring' is the brass- colored toothed clutch that brings the shaft up to speed when you shift)

Our guess was that they started using their own 3rd party 'quality suppliers' that had been peddling shit to the 2002 community
for decades. Those parts also leaked into the shops of many reputable rebuilders, who promptly lost their SHORTS on the
labor they had to eat when the same thing happened to the boxes they'd rebuilt properly with crap 'BMW' parts.

Haven't heard recently about the quality of the 'baulk rings' but everyone around here is a bit gunshy right now about it.
Or was before we covidded out.

So yeah, like we used to do with the Porsche- style 232's, just double- clutch and call it good. Because the solution
runs a chance of being far more painful than the problem.

t
BMW"s manual gearbox problem is that they last too long. They need no work whatsoever for 30 years,
the aftermarket never even bothers making parts for them, and used boxes are almost free.

THEN they finally start failing, but by that point, the designs are gone, the factory never really cared
in the first place, but because there was no demand, there was no initial 'supply' chain built.
Now we're stuck with unobtanium parts.
You can still get Mitsubishi transmission parts for a contemporary Montero all day long,
because the damned things chewed themselves up as you drove off the dealer lot.
So there's been constant demand from day 1, and economies of scale
means that it doesn't cost much to keep pooping them out.

[moatilliatta]

On the Flip side the ZF320 Box we used in E46M3 endurance racecar was best sourced from BMW. These lasted longer than all the re builders..

[digger]

Soooo.
Yeah. Hi Guize. Welcome to owning an old car. This thread smells just like a bunch on the 2002 boards 15 years ago....

To throw a huge turd into the punch bowl, the BMW rebuilds a couple of years ago were good for 2 laps. Then the synchro baulk rings broke.
Into, like, many pieces. (the 'baulk ring' is the brass- colored toothed clutch that brings the shaft up to speed when you shift)

Our guess was that they started using their own 3rd party 'quality suppliers' that had been peddling shit to the 2002 community
for decades. Those parts also leaked into the shops of many reputable rebuilders, who promptly lost their SHORTS on the
labor they had to eat when the same thing happened to the boxes they'd rebuilt properly with crap 'BMW' parts.

Haven't heard recently about the quality of the 'baulk rings' but everyone around here is a bit gunshy right now about it.
Or was before we covidded out.

So yeah, like we used to do with the Porsche- style 232's, just double- clutch and call it good. Because the solution
runs a chance of being far more painful than the problem.

t
BMW"s manual gearbox problem is that they last too long. They need no work whatsoever for 30 years,
the aftermarket never even bothers making parts for them, and used boxes are almost free.

THEN they finally start failing, but by that point, the designs are gone, the factory never really cared
in the first place, but because there was no demand, there was no initial 'supply' chain built.
Now we're stuck with unobtanium parts.
You can still get Mitsubishi transmission parts for a contemporary Montero all day long,
because the damned things chewed themselves up as you drove off the dealer lot.
So there's been constant demand from day 1, and economies of scale
means that it doesn't cost much to keep pooping them out.

maybe a MM box with reengineered syncros (whatever that means) is a better thing than an OE refurbished and cheaper. if their CR OD box was ~$3k id probably get one save all the uncertainty

[Stanley Rockafella]

[nando]

I'll concur with Digger that MM, generally, does good work - although you'll pay for it. TBH, $3000 doesn't seem that bad if it's basically a new gearbox.

I got a custom Drivegear box years ago now for my ix, it was around $2000 at the time. It's still in the crate waiting for me to finish my engine. Meanwhile, my current G260 has 320,000 miles and still works just fine.

Worrying about "Getrag rattle" is silly though. It's just the way the transmission is - without re-engineering it or using a really heavy flywheel, you're not making it go away, and it doesn't hurt anything anyway. Brand new, rebuilt, MM or not, it's going to "rattle" eventually, if not on day-1.

[MR 325]

I'm a bit late to the party, my apologies.

Just wanted to let you all know that BimmerHeads offers transmission and differential rebuilding in-house.

Feel free to reach out via email or phone for more information.

Pricing for transmission rebuilds is 100% dependent on the condition of your core. Of course there's a standard list of parts that are always changed but it's not possible to set a single price for all 260 rebuilds. Differentials can vary as well depending on gearing, clutch upgrades, aftermarket LSD units, etc.

[Bnardog]

This was from BMW of Encinitas, with a healthy (20+%) discount. Of course this does not include labor. They wouldn’t work on a car as old as an E30 anyway, so you would either be on your own or find a shop to do the work.

Update: Finally found the time to call BMW of Encinitas for a quote. They quoted me at $4200 for the rebuilt with a $200 core refund. Warranty will be for 2 years. Ghrays, how did you get the 20% discount? haha

[Bnardog]

Here's an update on my transmission rebuild journey for anyone in the future reading this thread:

I went with the shop Bimmerheads in Santa Clarita, CA for my transmission rebuild. After reading reviews online and speaking to other BMW owners in my community about them, they do hold a very good reputation for their work and thus decided to proceed with them for the rebuild.

During diagnostics of opening up my trans, they were able to identify exactly which parts were needed to be replaced. They were able to answer any questions I had about the invoice and even helped resolve possible issues that could have caused the damage to the transmission which I very much appreciate. The rebuild process with them was very smooth. I was constantly updated with status of the rebuild as time went by. I personally requested extra work to be done: new shift lever, timing belt work, etc. and Bimmerheads were more than happy to take care of those as well with no additional delay.

The result: My E30 shifted beautifully all the way home with no issues at all (3 hour drive). My shift knob has very little to no play and I'm excited for what's next for my E30. Very well done job.

Based on my experience, I do recommend going with them for a transmission rebuild and/or other work. This is not a paid review. This is my honest experience.

bnardog

[iso_hi]

What’s the current price for used G260’s? I got lucky and bought one a couple weeks ago for $250. On eBay they are going for $1000 now. I’m probably gonna find one more to keep for the future.