Auto - Manual 325i

[gotKRAUT]

Hey Guys...found the 325i i was looking for...Bronzit 4 door with under 150k miles...one problem....AUTOMATIC!!!.....whats involved in an auto to manual conversion? just curious im sure i cant use the manual tranny out of my e cause gearing is diff.....orr iss it?! is it just the rear diff thats different between e and i ? hmm but ya and info would be greatly appreciated...this thing is cherry!! whoop...haha i will post pics soon if i get it...ohh and another negative...cloth seats haha

[gB dAvId X]

how much money is it???? i know someone selling a red 4 door auto for $3k... perfect condition

[gotKRAUT]

this one is Bronzit Beige Metallic so its worth the extra $200 :P ....$3200 haha...the main reason i decided to buy the car other than the fact that it is MINT is cause the dealer KNOWS BMW's...he said "yada yada...wha wha...And here is the Bronzit Beige Metallic Beauty you were looking for...heres the keys...drive her hard but respect her" i was like the car dealer of my dreams : haha

[LivinFast67]

i heard it's 5K to put a new one in. and a lot of hastle. if u look hard enough ull find a 5 speed, and u can negotiate cheaper cuz the majority of lazy americans dont want them. i got a great deal on my '93 325is, 5 speed today.

[gotKRAUT]

well i have a transmission and pedals and the whole nine yards...its just a matter of labor...LoL 5 grand?!?!?! i called my shop and they said labor was $800 haha oh well i will drive it Auto for a while then worry about the swap

[e30devo]

the gearing is in the differential. so changing the transmission wouldnt change that. it shouldnt be that hard to do. just time consuming, youll want to replace everything you can (bushings, grommets, whatevers) so that you wont have to worry about it in the future. all the fittings and mounts should be there. uh yeah. hope im helping.

[gotKRAUT]

Ya i plan on it haha :P it always sucks to have to do things twice...thanks for the update though

[xsperf]

how is the gearing in the differential. it is easy to do the part when u drop the automatic transmission, the gear selector drops with it, and then u can just add a manual transmission with the clutch. However, the tough part is the clutch pedal itself, and the master cylnder and all.. and how u have to take fluid from the brake resevouir.. so have someone else do it.. lol


gearing is in the transmissiono /gearbox, NOT in the differential... i mean there is gearing there, but for automatic and manual they are the same, and if they arent the same both transmissions will still fit

[Bighead318i]

www.seambmw.com has a tech article concerning a auto to 5 speed swap. Goodluck

[gotKRAUT]

ya well screw that BMW anyway...the tranny seased up today...i test drove it a second time and it was chirping gears lol...i couldnt get the goddamn thing to REV over 3k i was like ?!?!?!?! and then when we were pulling in to finalize the paperwork...motor died and rear tires locked up...tranny is dead...i feel bad for the salesman cause he was wicked cool but i guess one of the new moron mechanics uckfayed something up really bad there.. 12 potential cars down...howmany to go!? goddamn...WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO FIND A DECENT GODDAMN E30!!?!?!?!?!?!

[XtremeDream]

I belive the problem you are facing is not looking at the cars correctly. You are okay with swaping an auto to manual but I am sure you would not be okay to see a side fender rusted or the bumper all fd up. These parts are not expensive, you can get them from a lot of folks cheap and if you really like your car you are going to change them anyhow or even maybe paint them. I am changin my fenders to the M3 ones and mine are in mint condition and I will be selling them soon if my brother doesn't decide to use them. My seats are perfect condition too, leather, taned, and I am getting rid of them too sine I am puting in racing seats (dark read interior ).

If you don't like crazy looking body kits and stuff consider autovogue AV3 kit which is very classy and very cool.

I am replacing a lot of parts on my car, first of is the engine, hence I did not car if the car was mint condition as long as the chasis was cool and the car wasn't hit. If you are having plans for the engine and tranny than don't worry about them being good right of the bet.

You can buy a 325is for less than $2000, not mint condition, I just got lucky, and put in about 2-3k and you will have a better car than the ones selling for about that.

[BMW Lover]

look into seam bmw...http://www.seambmw.com they have the article on the site

[catalyst.]

Originally posted by BMDubya84@Aug 19 2004, 05:54 PM
WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO FIND A DECENT GODDAMN E30!!?!?!?!?!?!

i know EXACTLY how you feel right now. lol.

total looked at so far: 4

im sure that will increase......

[Halon]

I think that also with auto to manual you may need to get the Manual Tranny ECU. I know in alot of japanese cars you have to change it out because of some sensor issues or something... but I'd also recomend swaping out the differentail as well seing as how its geared for an automatic tranny... I'm sure you could hook your MT up to it, but it would drive odd. I think auto trannys generally have higher rear end gears? is that right? blah.

[Bighead318i]

There isnt a transmission ecu but you do have some flywheel sensors to look at but when i did this swap it all worked out fine. Keep the diff for the automatic it is a 4:10 which in my experience offers some really nice acceleration. Just my thoughts

Owe and you also need to replace the front section (i think it was the front) of the driveshaft out of a manual so its the correct distance or just get the maual driveshaft.