(second thread I have started in 24 hours; since the 2 issues are totally distinct I thought they'd need separate threads. Hoping not to cause excess clutter going forward... appreciate the understanding Gentlemen).
In the other thread I have spoken of my steering problems
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...is-it-the-rack
and here I would like to ask you all about the transmission issues please. This one will be shorter:
I have a 1984 3.20i with the M20B30, stroked to 2.8 liters.
The engine produces very lovely torque and pulls hard. I have no dyno figures, but can share one observation to give you an idea: In 1st gear on a flat surface, the car will move forward with no stutter or danger of stalling, by simply moving your foot off the clutch- no need to touch the gas. This is happening with idle revs of 800-850 or so by the way.
Maybe because the engine produces such higher torque than factory specs or maybe due to abuse over the years, the transmission is pretty nasty though. There is no popping off gears, but I have a good amount of whine. I would not say the whine is crazy but it is there. In addition the car will go into gear with some difficulty -again nothing super crazy yet, but I would call the shift quality pretty bad. There is no grinding noise of any kind; rather pushing the lever into the right position is hard as it feels like it is going through some good amount of resistance while being pushed into place.
Now this brings up the following interesting point of course: There is no grinding yet, but maybe that is because I am simply unable (and unwilling) to do a quick shift. Having to push like this, the car spends a good amount of time between gears. Maybe there would have been grinding if I was actually able to shift quickly.
I am told by everyone not to try and get the current transmission fixed and that buying a new one is an easier and likely cheaper solution. OK, prices for used units are reasonable. However, nobody is able to tell, just by looking at a used transmission what the shift quality will be like.
So 2 questions really;
How does one buy a used transmission with any kind of confidence? Is there any way to tell before installing the damn thing?
and is there any point at all in trying to get this transmission fixed?
Thanks to all
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