Member
I know the information is out there, I just can't seem to find it. I am swapping an AUTO M50 into my 1985 325e. I am keeping my stock Getrag 260 transmission for the swap. I was told to use the starter, flywheel, and clutch from my stock Getrag 260. The starter from my 325e is different than that of a 325i. Do all m20 starters swap over fine? The flywheel on my 325e is also a dual-mass fly wheel. I was told I would have to machine my flywheel down because it will scrape the block.. can't do that though because it's a dual-mass flywheel. If you have the correct information or are running a similar swap, please let me know! Thanks
paper mechanic
Originally Posted by cole45acp
you have to change the flywheel and starter, and get a custom transmission cross member, plus add the pedal box, get a different oil pump and oil pan, and pile of other stuff. the transmission will be off kilter by about 15 degrees. some e transmissions won't work because the depth of the bellhousing is too large. make sure to check before committing.
you'll also need some custom wiring, or an aftermarket harness, and the dme needs swapped.
just google. this is covered at length in mountains of places.
Member
Haha hey 82eye. Every time I post on here it seems like you're the only one to ever answer. Nonetheless I appreciate your response. I already have a G260 swap brace from a buddies car (the garagistic one). I have all the oil pan components and 24v swap motor mount bushings as well. I am going to purchase one of those nice premade harness adapters as well if I have any money left after getting my cylinder head back from machining. I also have a red label ecu and harness from the car everything came out of. I've done some more research about it and decided to purchase a late 325i starter and single mass flywheel along with it. I have a brand new sachs clutch kit that's been laying around that will work with the swap. I have to do some measuring with my calipers and get the flywheel machined down so it clears properly as I know that could be an issue. Other than all of that, just waiting on some things in the mail. I've driven my eta for a little over a year and decided it was time to swap and get a little more out of the car. (I have other cars to drive fortunately so I can afford the downtime with the E30 lol). Just throwing it out there because I forgot to mention it... I have an E90 booster as well and have done much research about it. Lots of people are running the E90 booster with the M50 manifold and have no clearance issues so I'm excited for that.
paper mechanic
single mass flywheel probably won't need machining unless you lighten it. you might have to try a few different throw out bearings depending on what you go with. it gets tricky with an e trans. some don't work well as the depth of the bellhousing is too great. a normal i trans will definitely work though. you will need custom linkage as the trans will not bolt up flat, the trans will be tilted 15 degrees toward the passenger side.
Member
Interesting, is there a way of telling if the depth of my g260 is too much? Mabye you can tell by what color the sticker is on the trans? Let me know! Also about the custom linkage, does anybody make such a product altready available for purchase online?
paper mechanic
trans goes by model year. the change happened sometime in 86 or 85. any trans will work from the introduction of the i model forward. prior to the change the only model available in north america was an e. the cars were either unbadged, or badged 325 without an i or an e. 85 and 86 model years can be tricky as they shipped with both.
no one makes custom linkage anymore. there are other choices so the vendors don't bother. you might try garagistic. read through their swap info regardless.
find it here : E30 DOHC Swap Basics - M50, M52, M52 and S50 – Garagistic
Member
Okay, my 325e is a 07/85 so I might have a split year of the “i” transmission. Is there any way of knowing? I don’t have an “i” G260 to compare to so how would I know? I also can’t find any info about the eta g260 being different than the “i” transmission. The only different people are saying is the holes in the bell housing for the crank position sensors aren’t on the 325i G260’s… can’t find any info on that bellhousing depth thing. It also doesn’t mention it on the Garagistic swap info page.
paper mechanic
i see garagistic has the linkage you want for the swap. it's the early e trans that have the issue. you won't find much about it as most guys doing the swap are starting with an i car. most guys with the e trans don't know they have an issue until it's all back together.
you're going to be doing a dual to single mass flywheel swap at the same time you do the engine swap. the flywheel swap on the m20 by itself can be problematic on some e cars, i'd suggest you look at that to get a sense of where this is headed.
using an e36 trans would greatly reduce the pita factor in the swap. you'd have to deal with the driveshaft and flanges, but that wouldn't be overly hard.
edit : if you check your car in realoem you'll see there was a change in the trans at 04/86. i believe it's the earlier trans that may encounter the problem, anything from 04/86 forward should be good. it is also when the flange was changed, and may have been when the shifter plates changed. your car will have the old style shifter plate which will need to be updated to the newer style.
old style shifter plate :
newer style shifter plate :
Last edited by 82eye; 04-18-2023 at 11:10 AM.
Member
Okay, thanks for all the good info. My buddy has a zf320 he’s gonna let me pick up for cheap. He’s gonna let me take the starter, flywheel, shifter, and driveshaft all from that same e36 Z3. That‘ll be a better route to take than the g260. My eta already has an LSD so that should work nicely with the setup
paper mechanic
sweet. that'll work great.
Member
Just as I thought it would too
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