e36 m3 tranny on a ti?

[LiquidRewind]

Is this possible? if so what would be all the parts needed?

[d235353]

from what I have read it fits but its not really a good idea because the little 4 cyl 1.8 is too small to run it

[cooljess76]

Originally Posted by d235353

from what I have read it fits but its not really a good idea because the little 4 cyl 1.8 is too small to run it

Whaaa? The tranny doesn't take away horsepower or anything of the sort. Any e36 tranny will bolt right up to any e36 engine. 318's and 325's came with Getrag trannys while 328's and M3's came with ZF trannys. The ZF tranny is about an inch and a half longer than the getrag. You may or may not need to run a shorter driveshaft. If your M3 tranny has an M3 flex disc(guibo) you can just use the front section of an M3 driveshaft mated with the rear section of the ti's shaft. You may also be able to adjust your stock shaft by loosening the adjustment collar and collapsing it stightly. If your tranny doesn't come with a flex disc, you might be able to install a 325 or 318 flex disc on it and just use your stock driveshaft. Your stock clutch, flywheel and slave cylinder and shifter linkage should also work just fine.

[RAiMA]

I'm running the ZF in mine.

[cooljess76]

I'll also add that an e36 M3 ZF tranny is hardly an upgrade. Yeah it might be slightly bigger and beefier, the shift points are practically the same and it weighs a little more than the Getrag. My old Getrag shifted smooth as silk. The Getrag can easily handle a 6cyl swap. I've heard of people blowing ZF transmissions, but that's usually on cars pushing well over 500hp on the dragstrip. You can only abuse a tranny so much before something will fail. A Getrag is more than suffice for a stock M42, M44, M50, S50, M52, or S52.

[LiquidRewind]

thanks cooljess
do you know where I would go about finding a getrag tranny? Maybe rebuilt or maybe one for parts used. My syncros on my current tranny is done.

[cooljess76]

Here's a few listed in the FS section:
http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthrea...t=transmission
http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthrea...t=transmission
http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthrea...t=transmission
http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthrea...t=transmission
http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthrea...t=transmission
http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthrea...t=transmission

And this is my old transmission, it was in excellent condition when I sold it:
http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthrea...t=transmission

Otherwise you can always try the junkyards. Most of them will offer some sort of warranty. Bavarian Auto Recycling is up in NorCal, they usually have a bunch of them laying around.

[d235353]

Originally Posted by cooljess76

Whaaa? The tranny doesn't take away horsepower or anything of the sort. Any e36 tranny will bolt right up to any e36 engine. 318's and 325's came with Getrag trannys while 328's and M3's came with ZF trannys. The ZF tranny is about an inch and a half longer than the getrag. You may or may not need to run a shorter driveshaft. If your M3 tranny has an M3 flex disc(guibo) you can just use the front section of an M3 driveshaft mated with the rear section of the ti's shaft. You may also be able to adjust your stock shaft by loosening the adjustment collar and collapsing it stightly. If your tranny doesn't come with a flex disc, you might be able to install a 325 or 318 flex disc on it and just use your stock driveshaft. Your stock clutch, flywheel and slave cylinder and shifter linkage should also work just fine.

.. glad to to hear what ever i read was wrong .. more M3 goodies we can have the better

[chrisbec]

Getrag > ZF

To add a little to what to jess is saying the ZF also has what could be described as design shortcomings in a couple areas. The ZF's develop shift problems after time that are related to the catch pins. They actually released a Technical Service Bulletin SIB 23 03 02 covers the shift pin replacement.

Some of the ZF's also experience input shaft bearing failure too. Friends of mine that have e36 M3's with the ZF ZF S5-31 with more than 100K on them have had both of these issues.

But, if you are into reving the engine to redline and dumping the clutch and slamming the gears between shifts you will break either of these transmissions. If that is your thing I recomend a TH400 . These transmissions are just not designed for that kind of driving, but they can handle spirited driving all day long and they are lightweight. I have had a Getrag in my car, I beat on it a little here and there, but I don't slap it around and it has held up really good. It has a ton of miles on it, and it still shifts precisely and makes almost no noise when it is engaged in neutral. I serviced it at 90K miles and used Redline D4 ATF. That made a noticeable improvement in shifting and it has held up great. I don't think I would never go to a ZF even with an S50/S52 swap. I have been working convincing my buddy that has a '98 M3 who has gone through 2 ZF's to switch to a Getrag, but he won't he is too much of a purist...