Auto-Manual conv..again id say

John Burns has a good bit of info on it here:

http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/modify.html

Basically you want a similar vintage E28 535 for donor bits for 82-89 635 conversions. There are wrinkles involving sensor mounts on the bellhousing; some E34 bellhousings have nothing, others have blanks that can be drilled. 

The ecu will be fine, as long as you deal with the starter motor inhibit switch. I don't think there are different maps in different gears or anything fancy like that.

Some spares places will sell you a kit on  a pallet- I was quoted by fritz's bits for this a couple of years ago, but I guess it'll be pricey to send it round the world.

cheers

any gearbox that orignally bolted up to an M30 engine will physically fit- including E34, E32 ones- although there is the bellhousing sensor issue I described earlier. Forget getrags from other applications; they won't have the right bellhousing; unless you happen to have the right bellhousing then you are in for more pain than you can imagine trying to make it work.

E12 gearboxes are also OK, (just blank off the mechanical speedo drive).

I am told that the dogleg box has soft synchro rings which are prone to wear; the overdrive boxes are better in this respect, but are otherwise as strong as one another. Either way it is difficult to assess if a 'box is actually OK when it is out of the donor car.

Not sure about propshafts, but it would surprise me if they are the same....if shortened to fit, a rebalance is required (probably not a bad idea anyway).

The E28 535/E24 pedal box is the simplest fit, but be aware that on RHD cars there are two flavours; one with the master cylinder and servo on the right side ('87 on), and then there is the earlier one with the crappy torsion bar arrangement. If you trade types you will need to re-do the servo hydraulics at least, if not a load of other stuff as well.

hth

cheers

Thanks for the Great info again fellas,

Looks like i have discovered an E34 Manual box in a wreckers so i will see what else he has then, if you tell them straight up iyts a conversion they get a "fool alert" and the price jumps!

Got offered a box supposidly from an M535 but wasnt dogleg?? he wanted 2600 for it and 400 for tailshaft and 1k gfor the rest of the bits!

Also offered an 85 M6 engine without gearbox and loom for 4600..

After knowuing how cheap stuff is in Europe its hard swallow these prices.

Hopefully the E34 i heard of will bear some fruit, i think 1500 would be a fair price personally for a regular 5 speed and bits, the chances are it will have huge mileage anyway.

Brucey over the phone how can i ask about the sensor plate in the box and the pedal box type? or will i just know by the year of the donar car,

Many thanks Rory

5KXO, uh, Drew540, is quite right it sounds like shipping stuff half-way round the world might make sense after all, at those prices.... In which case it might be worth contacting Fritz's Bits as well (although FAB do have a good reputation for service).

BTW the getrag gearboxes with the detachable bell-housings are often more expensive simply because people can fit them to other cars relatively easily. Other bell-housings can often be made to fit onto different gearboxes more easily than different bell-housings match up to other engines. I think the getrags are a favourite upgrade for RWD Ford escorts and the like IIRC. 

I am told that getrag shift quality (although always on the heavy side) is very lubricant dependant. Also be aware that different transmissions require different lubricants, in part because of a sensitivity of certain copper alloy parts (not found in all boxes) to some extreme pressure additives (not found in all lubricants). Just be sure to get the right lube; the wrong lube may be responsible for premature wear experienced in some boxes, who knows?

I am told that rebuilding a getrag gearbox is very expensive because of the parts cost, and that is before the labour is thrown in... Parts availablility for the older gearboxes is now said to be limited, as well. I guess changing a noisy bearing probably makes some sense, but much more than that and it might not.

If you get under your car you will see where the sensors are on the auto box. Whichever box you end up with, you need similar mounting points for the sensors on the replacement gearbox. Without this the engine won't run. For a while on E34 and E32 cars these mountings were left in the bellhousing casting (even though they were not needed on these vehicles) as blanks. These blanks can be drilled to accept the older sensors. No-one knows if there is a specific date after which you definitely won't find these blanks fitted; it seems to have been a bit random. 

Another complication is that you also need a flywheel from a manual gearbox car, preferably that was originally fitted with the same sensors etc as your own car. This is because the sensors read the flywheel, and I don't think later flywheels have the right lumps and bumps on them for (say) a pre mid '87 car. If in doubt, compare with the lumps on your torque converter once it is out.

The E28 535/528 and E24 ('82 on) pedal boxes are the exact same thing as far as I know, but there are the two different types, pre and post '87 (E24). The changeover date might be slightly different for the E28 . The simplest swap is to get the one that matches your present brake set-up (i.e. with the torsion bar and LH servo, or without and a RH servo/reservior), but it might be possible to swap some bits about and make something that works OK.

hth

cheers