Mad_Max

I'm pretty sure, after trying to fit a G240 box ex E30 320I into an E36 328I the only difference between the boxes was the bottom two bolt holes on the bell housing don't quite line up. I'm pretty sure you also have to do something with the thrust bearing, I can't remember but it might've been a specific year of 325I bearing. That's assuming he is using an M5X flywheel and clutch combo.

Forgot to mention too, if you're doing a manual conversion, track down a new diff. 3.15 or 2.93 gears will be what you want, unless you get the G240 box with proper overdrive. All other boxes have a 1:1 final drive gear so you'll be sitting around 3k rpm at 100kph with the original 3:46 diff ratio, which will knock a bit out of the economy.

I was heading to Christchurch for an end of year do for a client. The top one on my old 328I decided to suicide while I was going uphill at around 100k, large bang heard then you lose everything..... no power steering, no alternator but worst of all, no water pump. Really quick way to cook a motor and spend 4 1/2 hours stuck on the side of the road. And all because I got busy and thought I'd change it when I got back, something that would've taken 10 minutes with the right tools and a new pulley at home cost me plenty. So I now carry spares with me just in case lol.

Also check the tensioner pulleys because they have a tendency to explode.... ask me how I know this one.... Oh and the fan clutch can also give grief apparently.

I'm pretty sure there's a difference in overall length between the 4 and 6 cylinder driveshafts, so if you're putting it behind a 6 cylinder motor you'll need the 320I front half, if it's going behind a 4 cylinder you'll need one from a 318I. I'm hoping someone else on here who knows the E30's better can either confirm the above, or shoot me down in a ball of flames lol.

What car is it going into? I believe for an E30 you'll need a manual driveshaft ex E30, and from E36 it will need the manual driveshaft from an E36. Someone may correct me if I'm wrong.

Couldn't figure out why the brakes weren't right with a Compact I picked up not long ago.... Seriously though, to think someone was driving around with this, with a baby/young child in the car as well........ car was registered and warranted before it was impounded. Glad to say this is one less death trap on the road, it will not be driven ever again.

Just a hint for when you go to fit the new bushes, the mounting point on the control arm will be caked with many years of dirt and debris, I clean them down with fine sandpaper to get them nice and clean, and a lot smoother. This makes installation a lot easier. You could probably use a wire brush or something similar as well.

One of the members is looking for a Getrag box to suit an M20, his post can be found here, just made him aware of your post too so could work out for both of you.

Pretty much covered everything right there, the only other thing I can think of is the spigot bearing - there's two different sizes from memory. The difference is the diameter of the gearbox input shaft. There's a Getrag 260 for sale by a member in this post here and it's in Auckland, ex M20 - could be the way to go?

So it turns out that the bolt holding the cam angle sensor in position was loose. Tightened that up, checked everything, turned the key and it fired straight up, and has done every time since. So I suspect the cam angle sensor wasn't located correctly, causing the no start issue. Now I just have to get the damn thing to idle correctly, but that's another story.

Hi Andy, yes agree 100% it's very hard to diagnose with any main accuracy, seen many, many times where people give horribly wrong advice. I suspected crank angle sensor first off, swapped that with no improvement. Will be trying the cam angle sensor as well when I get a break - probably some time in the next few days. Will also clean the trigger wheel, see if that makes any difference. Have checked the intake boots as well as every other hose I can find to see if there's any holes, splits, tears etc. First thing i double checked was that everything to do with the ICV was reconnected properly, and it seems fine - the seal you mention seems to be nice and tight in the back of the manifold. I'm going to swap the AFM from the other M50B25 and see if that does anything. I replaced the oil cap as the original one had a shagged seal, so that's on tight, as is the dipstick. I haven't tried scanning it as I've never had any luck scanning OBDI cars, can never seem to be able to read the DME..... Might have to see if I can borrow a scanner that works.

It might pay to check the cv joints on the driveshaft, they may be making the clicking noise. Does the noise increase with engine revs or with the speed of the car? Just thinking that, if it is a constant noise that increases with road speed, it is more likely to be coming from the diff/output shafts. If you notice it changing relative to the engine speed/transmission output speed then it has to be trans or something forward of it.

Yeah fair call on that, managed to do the crank angle sensor without too much hassle so cam angle sensor shouldn't be too bad. Will give this a go and see what happens when I've got some spare time. Interesting, any thoughts or ideas what would cause the engine to flood? If it was a carb engine I can fully understand flooding being an issue and would be most likely culprit, but I've never seen a FI car flooding unless someone has messed with the fuel maps? Not knocking your suggestion at all, I'm wondering what would cause it.

Yeah that's exactly what I was thinking, cam sensor won't cause a no start issue, just bad running conditions. I'm going to try a new cam angle sensor and swap the fuel pump - the more I think about it, the more I suspect fuel pressure is a problem given the fact it will cough but not catch.

@Gabe79 is great to deal with, everything worked exactly as expected, and he went out of his way to get it done, I would have no worries dealing with him again.

One detail we are missing, I'm assuming it's an automatic Lol we've both made the same mistake - I've assumed it's an auto, and you've assumed manual....... one of us is right hahaha. Agree completely the guibo will not cause the whine. Does the whining noise sound anything like in this guy's video?

Yeah probably do have a spare one here. I was always led to believe the crank angle sensor was the fallback, i.e. cam sensor fails and it'll still run, just not well. At least that's what my other sedan did when the cam angle sensor failed - it ran, but you could hear the injectors going (in batch mode so all firing at the same time). Will try dig a cam angle sensor up and swap that over, see what happens - you may be right as this one will have a different setup (OBDI) than my other 328i (OBDII) so the cam sensor may have failed and it may be causing the problem. Failing that I think I may remove the alarm and restore the wiring, to eliminate that being a problem.

Severe clunk in 1st would make me think it's either low on fluid or there's something internally wrong with the trans. If the trans is stuffed, I've got the one I took out of my 328i that I'd sell for $50, freight be the only killer. Trans was good when removed, it was low on fluid but didn't clunk, no noises, no slipping gears. Just something to consider if the rest of it is a good car. Forgot to mention, from memory yes you can see the guibo without dropping exhaust and heat shields etc. It could possibly also be one of the tailshaft uni joints are failing.

I've got a 1995 E36 325i sedan with an M50B25TU. It was starting and running rough, wouldn't idle at all. If it stalled sometimes it would fire straight back up, however last time it stalled it didn't start until I'd walked away for ages. So I got to yesterday and pulled the ICV to clean it, see it that helps the idle issue. Also replaced a few rotten vac lines and hoses while I was there. It started and ran, idle was still erratic but definitely better. Turned it off and it fired first time. I went out (in another car) for about an hour, came home to grab the sedan and it wouldn't start, it would just cough like it wanted to start but wouldn't catch. I've swapped the crank angle sensor and double checked (visually) for any form of decent vacuum leaks, still no luck. I've got fuel at the rail, and I doubt it's a coil/plug issue as it has been running up until yesterday. Last night it would only crank over, this morning I tried and it coughed like it wanted to start but didn't catch. So i"m kind of stumped for ideas. There is an aftermarket alarm there that, while the doors lock and unlock fine, the horn on it sounds like it's dying from pneumonia or something. I'm fresh out of ideas and things to check/try. I have a stack of parts so swapping parts doesn't worry me. I'm thinking it could be a relay failing (intermittently stopping either the DME or ignition system from working) or maybe the aftermarket alarm has packed up completely, I really don't want to be going through the wiring to remove it. Anyone else got any ideas? Any other thoughts? This one has me stumped.

Would one from a 92 325i do the job? Or does it need to be a specific size?

Try this link: http://www.bmwstylewheels.com/ might take a bit to scroll through but may also let you know what they are.

Thanks Brent, will keep them in mind for future issues. I will get some and send them through as soon as possible, will probably be tomorrow. And I'll pm you to grab your details as well so we can get it up to you asap.

Not sure if it's an aftermarket key or not, that little black thing is definitely not inside his key. Cool, thanks heaps man, how much are you looking at for the key? I will put it to him, I can remove his EWS module and get it up to you easy.

Guy in town here has an E46 325i that won't start due to a missing transponder chip.... long story short, he was changing the batteries in the key in a Mitre 10 carpark and thought the chip was a wasted piece of plastic that had broken off, so it has gone missing. So the question becomes, does anyone know the easiest/most cost effective way of replacing the chip? Or who is the best to do it? Obviously it will need to be coded to the car before being sent out. If anyone can point me in the right direction, or if any forum members can do it, it would be greatly appreciated. TIA