Just Completed 325i auto - manual conversion

[MatBat 0]

Hi all,

I've just finished (this afternoon) converting my 325i to a 5spd manual.

This is my first BMW and I love it! with the 4.10 LSD and 5spd it's quite a performer too! The conversion wasn't the easiest to do but all went well in the end.

I'm now just scared of the next time it rains!

:bounce:

[topless 13]

Want some pics..... NOW!!!!

Welcome to the site

[Gus 5]

congrats

pics are good

welcome

[ED1RTY 2]

pics or ban

[MatBat 0]

hehe, will post pics when I can get them off my friends camera,

Cheers for the warm welcome!

it's amazing the difference in acceleration from the auto, I fitted the getrag 260 gearbox from a 323i, seems good so far.

Bleeding the clutch was difficult though!

[Surge 1]

Don't have a black (looks to be freshly resprayed) 325i do you? I've been meaning to pull the owner over and talk cars for a while now...

Congratulations on the swap, makes a world of difference.

[nz320i 0]

dude awesome!! and your in chch not many of us here.. i thought the getrag 265 was for a 325 so that means i can use my 260 for when i get a 325 engine my bad..

[bumpstop325 0]

Welldone. Having done it myself.

Was it straight forward? What tools did not you have before you started?

I know i have made sure i always have a spare car to get bits, sometimes.

Welcome to the site.

Please remove your shoes at the door, Thank you.

Edited April 11, 2006 by bumpstop325

[Guest Andrew]

Welcome to the site.

Jolly good show old boy.

[drifty325i 0]

nice that should go quite well. whats the standard diff ratio on a e36 325i?

good to see another from chch

[MatBat 0]

Don't have a black (looks to be freshly resprayed) 325i do you? I've been meaning to pull the owner over and talk cars for a while now...

Congratulations on the swap, makes a world of difference.

Yes I do have a black 325i I have a very noticable number plate (RF) if that's the one you've seen. Would be great to meet up with some more owners.

Yes the getrag 260 fits, one thing no-one told me was that the bolts in the automatic are shorter then the manual so you'll need to get the longer bolts from the doner (or buy new ones as I had to) some parts of the job are not much fun (removing starter motor is one of these) oh, and as a friend who helped with the conversion pointed out you don't need to swap the pedal box, you can just undo the big bolt and swap over the pedals as all the mountings are there for the clutch master cylinder.

I need to top up the gear oil tonight and then fun fun fun!

Also need to do my cambelt, though I might get that done at a garage.

[MatBat 0]

Was it straight forward? What tools did not you have before you started?

, Thank you.

Luckily I had all the tools I needed, and had the sense to look at the gearbox and see I needed to get some E-bit star type sockets before starting, halfway through (about 6:30pm without a car for transport to repco) I thought I needed a deep 13mm socket to discover they were 14mm nuts grrr, though it proved useful later.

[nz320i 0]

hah yeah ive done the conversion as well, mine took about a week though, got the guy at eurorec to help me with it. A meet sounds good, James? Other CHCH people??

[martinholmesuk 0]

Hello,

I'm the helper for this conversion. We sure did spend many many hours doing this but it's been well worth it!

Those are the pictures and I must say it was a better job then changing the gearbox on my volvo 480t back in the UK.

[martinholmesuk 0]

[topless 13]

Welcome Martinholmesuk Helper... so where's your e30??? Much more fun than a Volvo, eh??

I see a sumpguard, must be an ex South African car?? Useful things, those. (Graham needs one under his fuel, tank..!! )

Also see some nice lower control arm bushes.

Looks like leather Recaros inside??

Nice... :thumb:

[martinholmesuk 0]

Welcome Martinholmesuk Helper... so where's your e30??? Much more fun than a Volvo, eh??

Thanks I used to own a 1997 316i back in the UK, Very nice car just not enough power it would never go over 95MPH for some odd reason!

I'm much more a Volvo fan, That's a picture of mine below.

uprated turbo, special ecu re-done by one of our Volvo forum guys complete with brembo discs and ebc pads. No rust and 13 years old.

I'd like to ship it here from London

[Surge 1]

Whereabouts in CHCH are you?

[Guest Andrew]

green torque converter - badass hah

[MatBat 0]

Whereabouts in CHCH are you?

Hehe, she's well alarmed, and no you can't steal my shiny new gearbox.

I'm in Merivale. We should organise a mini-meet sometime.

Edited April 13, 2006 by MatBat

[nz320i 0]

oh mint, what are the bushings on those C arms? how much and did they make a difference? i need to do mine aye

[Surge 1]

Ah so not the one I see cruising around Westmorland...

Yeah we should - doing some mad soldering tommorow on my friends E30 (putting in a new wiring loom)

Haven't even had a chance yet to get onto my own car as it's been crashed into while parked outside my house leaving a large dent that thier insurance will fork out for..

But getting there slowly.

Ask Chris about my E30 collection + garage...

[petone 0]

good sh*t on the conversion.

nz320i- wouldn't even bother with OEM CABs. I'm running powerflex bushings and got no complaints. If you can get a few other people keen powerflex will give a decent discount. Me and 2 other cost some and cost around $90 a pair shipped. Pretty easy to install (need a press for OEM)

I might be able to make chch meet, but not for atleast 3 weeks.

[nz320i 0]

what about the nolothane ones repco sell? worth it? thing is i might wait till i do struts inserts and springs anyway

[MatBat 0]

My bushes are nolathane from BNT, not sure as to the difference really as my previous bushes were shot, a great improvement over shot bushes though.