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Thread: M3 Auto to Manual Swap Hard Time Finding a Driveshaft

  1. #1
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    M3 Auto to Manual Swap Hard Time Finding a Driveshaft

    Hello everyone,

    I have a 1997 BMW M3 Sedan that I just bought for a steal of a price at $1500. S52 runs super strong, interior is nice, AC blows cold, PS works fine. Now the two major problems, first is the rust which I will fix later by cutting and welding in new metal, and second the auto tranmission is dying.

    I have already found a ZF 5 speed manual trans out of a 1997 BMW 328is for $250. I am having trouble finding the rest of the parts. Flex disk, shift linkage, driveshaft, crossmember, clutch pedal, etc.

    I have read all the other threads, but its not easy finding a 328/M3 driveshaft. My first question is can I use the front half of a driveshaft from a 2003 Z4 which had a 3.0L engine and ZF 6 speed. Im assuming it wont work but it looks similar. Has the ZF 96mm front input flange, my concern is the length. Will any ZF driveshaft work or has to be from a E36 328 or M3?

    If I cannot find these parts or find something that works soon, I might have to buy my friends full getrag swap and put in my M3 :/ wanted ZF cause thats what was suppose to come in my M3 from factory.

    Will a E46 getrag swap work? It has the flex plate, shift linkage, and I already have a e36 getrag manual driveshaft from a e36 325i that I believe will work with it.

    Thanks
    Last edited by kickingclutches; 06-18-2019 at 05:05 PM.

  2. #2
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    You may not be patient enough or be searching very hard. You can buy a used 328i shaft on eBay for $150 or a rebuilt shaft from a variety of places for $350-500.

    Mixing and matching halves is a long shot because it seems to be the front half that changes. But I don’t know specifically about the Z3 shaft you are looking at.

    Here is a 328 shaft, which is the same as an M3 shaft, but the M3 does use a slightly thicker and heavier duty guibo.

    https://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/1997/bmw/328i/driveshaft_-ar-_axle/driveshaft.html

    The 325i Getrag is not as good a trans — 30% less torque capacity. And an E46 shaft might not fit an E36. I don’t know.
    Last edited by pbonsalb; 06-18-2019 at 05:52 PM.

  3. #3
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    I'm pretty sure the Z4 driveshaft front half will be too short. Pedal box can be from any e36 essentially. the cross brace is e36 zf specific. Full shift linkage can be had for around $100 and the flywheel and clutch kit is pretty universal for the e36s

  4. #4
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    When I replaced my shaft last year with a rebuilt one from http://www.driveshaftspecialist.com/ it ran me $383 plus an $80 core with free shipping both ways. So under $400 assuming you'll be sending a core back. And that gets you what is effectively a brand new and balanced shaft with a new CSB already on it. Unless you're on a really tight budget (in which case you have the wrong car), I don't think it makes a ton of sense to try and get a used/junked shaft for maybe $150 less.
    Last edited by TostitoBandito; 06-18-2019 at 10:52 PM.
    1999 M3/2/5 - Titanium Silver - Track/Weekend Toy


  5. #5
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    Plus at 20 years old, the ujoint or cv at the back end of the shaft won’t have much if any life. The $360 partsgeek one I linked claims to be a new shaft with no core so maybe there are reproductions now. To get a core return you may need to return the same model shaft, so if going that way you may lose the core charge.

  6. #6
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    it looks like the PartsGeek one is for an automatic and the manual shaft is $689

  7. #7
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    You are right. My error. But I did not do much searching. Maybe another place has new manual shafts for less than the price of a rebuilt plus core charge. If not the rebuilt plus core charge from a rebuilder line driveshaft specialists is an option.

  8. #8
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    Getrag shaft has a smaller pattern than the ZF if I remember correctly. I made this mistake on my swap.. I doubt the 6sp from the Z4 will work length wise. If you have PNs, I may be able to check the drawing and confirm length or bolt pattern.

  9. #9
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    Yes, Getrag 250 from E36 325i is the 78mm. ZF320 from the E36 328/M3 is the 96mm (as is the Getrag 420G from the E46M3 and probably some others).

    ZF GS6-53 is 105mm for the in-line turbo 6s and 110mm for the late V8 models. And there are probably others with these flanges using these size guibos.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by TostitoBandito View Post
    When I replaced my shaft last year with a rebuilt one from http://www.driveshaftspecialist.com/ it ran me $383 plus an $80 core with free shipping both ways. So under $400 assuming you'll be sending a core back. And that gets you what is effectively a brand new and balanced shaft with a new CSB already on it. Unless you're on a really tight budget (in which case you have the wrong car), I don't think it makes a ton of sense to try and get a used/junked shaft for maybe $150 less.
    This is the right place for a driveshaft.

    I looked for weeks when my rear u-joint went bad. They're about as cheap as you will ever find. I have almost 50k miles on mine, and it's been perfect.

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