New guy

[Albie325]

Question - is there zero demand for an old E30 automatic trans? Should I just scrap it at the metal recycler? Driveshaft?

I listed mine on the local craigslist and had ZERO bites. One guy who bought a couple other parts from me offered me 20 bucks and I balked. It's still sitting in my garage along with all the supporting parts and I finished my swap last year. Good luck is all I can say unfortunately, I was as surprised as you are.

[LateFan]

Oh, he said he saw an '87 red iC in Rockford IL on a detour off the freeway. The guy honked and waved. Pretty great.

[LateFan]

Question - is there zero demand for an old E30 automatic trans? Should I just scrap it at the metal recycler? Driveshaft?

[LateFan]

Spectacular place. Magical. No parking places at the summit visitors center at 7:30 AM....things are changing. They may go to all buses and no cars up there.

We cleaned the engine well and watched it, and after 1700 miles he says definitely head gasket height between 3 & 4. Running onto the new skid plate and blowing back onto new transmission, dammit! I think he said 1/4 qt every few hundred miles. The boys over in M20 are telling me to get a 731 head and do a fairly stock rebuild at 2.7L! But it could also last for years.

Another thing I did last minute -
It's bugged me that we don't have a belly pan underneath. The wheel wells are open to the belts underneath - splashes slop and kicks rocks up in there. Ours was typical, broken and not worth putting back on. Now the skid plate is in the center. So I cut the two wheelwell ends off of it and used whatever fasteners were still there, added some, put some small screws through the alignment tabs in the front valence. So now it's way stiffer, connected to the valance and fender liners, and keeps most of the crap out.

Haha, I'm not as scared about putting the Alfa back together now! I think I can handle it! That was a tough job.

[2mAn]

That Going to the Sun Highway at Glacier National Park is an amazing experience. Glad to see the car is swapped and going... That oil leak could be the Valvecover Gasket (easy) or the Headgasket (not so easy)

Now that all those 5speed swap parts are out, is it time to work on the Alfa?

[LateFan]

Car and party are now in Illinois with no issues other then a slight oil leak down the exhaust side of the block, but that was there before.

[LateFan]

As promised....close to the top of the Going to the Sun highway at 7:30 this morning. So far so good!

[LateFan]

Lots of process pics over on my transmission & driveline thread.

The Jim Levie Memorial bleeding technique was brilliant!


Our buck eighty five maple shift knob from a hobby/craft shop. Drill a straight hole, add some Danish oil, and use some tape to jamb it onto the lever. Having some buyers remorse now at ordering the cool 917 laminated knob.

[LateFan]

I’ll tell him to take some up there. Wish I was going, they’re hiking the Highline Trail - literally carved into a cliff.

Went to the muffler shop this morning to add a tab for the manual hanger bracket off the trans case. Some of the loudness I heard thru the floor yesterday (no interior, riding on the floor!) was the bailing wire to cross member I’m thinking. That mount is like a foot forward of the auto mount.

Do you ever hear any gear whine sound with the manual? I realize I haven’t gotten any sleep for days in the garage, so I’m worrying about every little sound. It’s stiffer going into gear standing still than say my Audi A4, but it shifts fine driving. You can ease out the clutch with no throttle and roll away.

[2mAn]

We expect some pics after all this, especially after going to Glacier Park.

[LateFan]

Damn, it runs!! Backed out of the garage, lifted it up, bled the cooling system. Drove around the neighborhood very slowly to see how it did - no noises, no weirdness, all normal it seems. So we took it up a close-by canyon for a 10 mile easy drive. Went through all the gears, downshifted, backed up.......I'm amazed.

We did timing belt while we had it apart, and added a red46 skid plate.

It feels like a completely different car. So sweet. I want my turn to drive it! We have to put the interior and console back together tonight. Then he's taking it to Glacier Park tomorrow (3 hours) for a shake-down cruise. Driving across the country Sunday.

[LateFan]

We put a gawdam manual transmission in this thing! Just the two of us, in over our heads. Unbelievable.

Reverse lights! It starts!! It runs!! R12345 all spin as normal!! Bleed the coolant and roll it out of the garage to see if it rolls on its own............... stand by...........

[LateFan]

I started a manual swap thread over in transmissions because I have a thousand little questions.....

https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/forum/e30-technical-forums/engine-drivetrain/transmission-driveline/9940350-manual-swap-questions

[LateFan]

Selector shaft seal, fresh out of the box...... a perfect oval, like it was made that way.

Box was fine, no damage. New one on the way.

[Albie325]

Nice, glad you found one! And interested to see how the driveshaft comes out