Transmissions from Metric Mechanic?

[Bnardog]

Car: 1987 325is E30 w/ G260 trans
Issue: Third gear synchro is failing
Question: Does anyone have any experience with buying transmissions from Metric Mechanic? Looks promising with their "re-engineered" transmissions. Was wondering if anyone has done any business with them before or can recommend a place to buy rebuilt transmission.

Thanks,
bnardog

[hillbarry]

Petes gear shop in Hayward Calif. can handle it. Pete has done 3 of the same trans for me over the years. Honest and knowledgeable,and reasonable

[Stanley Rockafella]

IIRC, it's all about the quality of the cores they receive. If they get a crappy one, you may end up with something with the "Getrag rattle" despite paying a premium for a rebuild job.

[digger]

the general engineering capability of metric mechanic stuff is usually pretty good in terms of quality of materials, machining operations and overall assembly processes care / attention. I'm sure their trans are a great thing. Extremely spendy though damn $3000+core for a rebuild.

[moatilliatta]

You can get units from Condor or Walter Motorsports. This is who Drivegear forwards people to now.

[Bnardog]

IIRC, it's all about the quality of the cores they receive. If they get a crappy one, you may end up with something with the "Getrag rattle" despite paying a premium for a rebuild job.

Hm, thats interesting. Wasn't expecting a lottery on the rebuilt transmissions they sell. Good insight to know, thank you!

[Bnardog]

the general engineering capability of metric mechanic stuff is usually pretty good in terms of quality of materials, machining operations and overall assembly processes care / attention. I'm sure their trans are a great thing. Extremely spendy though damn $3000+core for a rebuild.

Yeah rebuilt trans are pretty pricey right now. But I feel like I have no choice here. I can find another on OfferUp or FB Marketplace but its sort of a gamble on the integrity of it.

[Bnardog]

Petes gear shop in Hayward Calif. can handle it. Pete has done 3 of the same trans for me over the years. Honest and knowledgeable,and reasonable

Will look into them. Did they require you to bring in or ship your trans? I'm in CA, but I'm down south in San Diego.

[Bnardog]

You can get units from Condor or Walter Motorsports. This is who Drivegear forwards people to now.

Good find, didn't know Condor sells G260s. Must have a good rep if they're being recommended like what you said. But if you don't mind me asking, who's Drivegear? Apologies for asking, sort of new to the game.

[varg]

From my understanding of what causes it, rattle is going to be completely unavoidable in the long term unless someone out there is using aftermarket/custom parts with tighter tolerances and longer wear life. A waste of time to worry about it.

[ForcedFirebird]

$3k is about spot on with proper replacement of parts - synchros and shafts aren't getting any cheaper output shaft and 3 synchro set alone will run you $1200, and that's if you can even find the third one, been back-ordered for a minute .

Condor resells the boxes, they don't rebuild AFAIK. I'm sure I can do them, and even have a stockpile of g260's, just not enough hours in the day to take on more tasks at work.

[moatilliatta]

Drivegear used to rebuild gearbox's, A lot of spec E30 guys used them. Now they just run a few E30 race cars that they rent out seats in.

Condor just sell's the box's, I assume Walter Motorsports just rebuilds them.

[digger]

$3k is about spot on with proper replacement of parts - synchros and shafts aren't getting any cheaper output shaft and 3 synchro set alone will run you $1200, and that's if you can even find the third one, been back-ordered for a minute .

Condor resells the boxes, they don't rebuild AFAIK. I'm sure I can do them, and even have a stockpile of g260's, just not enough hours in the day to take on more tasks at work.

I'm sure a bad one would cost that, but if your core is not bad enough that it requires the works then you're paying more than you need. Therefore it might be more efficient to pull yours out and send if off to someone that can do the work and price on case by case basis and wait assuming its not your DD

[ForcedFirebird]

Drivegear used to rebuild gearbox's, A lot of spec E30 guys used them. Now they just run a few E30 race cars that they rent out seats in.

Condor just sell's the box's, I assume Walter Motorsports just rebuilds them.

Yup. I have installed several DG boxes. I did spec for a few years, but enjoy the endurance racing more - plus we get to tinker with the cars without worrying about the tech shed. :)

[ForcedFirebird]

I'm sure a bad one would cost that, but if your core is not bad enough that it requires the works then you're paying more than you need. Therefore it might be more efficient to pull yours out and send if off to someone that can do the work and price on case by case basis and wait assuming its not your DD

I agree, was just using examples to justify the cost. It's an all day job for a tech, too. Even in my little "budget friendly" shop, that's $1k in labor, $600 for the synchros, and you are already half way to the retail price.