MyE28.com

I'm looking for some feedback regarding your experiences with the Getrag 260. I've just recently reinstalled a stock BMW Getrag which is a transmission I haven't had much experience with. I'm specifically concerned with synchronizer durability under occasionally hard shifting. I know they have a reputation for poor durability but I'd like to know what they're really good for.

My experience has been that 2nd and 4th gear synchros don't like hard/fast shifting with big power. I killed the 2nd gear synchro in a 260 last year. This year 3rd gear is noisy but the synchros seem fine.

Had problems with those two gears in my Metric Mechanic tranny. Funny thing is that I'm pretty sure I got a stock rebuild from them with moly lined synchros. If that is the case I'm hoping I'll get about as much out of this new trans as I did from the last one. I didn't spare it any abuse since I thought it was an upgraded unit. If I can get a couple years out of a good tranny I guess thats acceptable.

I ate the synchros in 2nd,3rd and 4th in my MM 260. It lasted a little over one season. I should add that it was not a fresh rebuild and came from a donor IS I got a few years ago. I replaced it with a bone stock 260 and had no issues.

Now if I hadn't gotten the tranny's mixed up and taken the good one to the recycling yard ..........

turbodan wrote:Had problems with those two gears in my Metric Mechanic tranny. Funny thing is that I'm pretty sure I got a stock rebuild from them with moly lined synchros. If that is the case I'm hoping I'll get about as much out of this new trans as I did from the last one. I didn't spare it any abuse since I thought it was an upgraded unit. If I can get a couple years out of a good tranny I guess thats acceptable.

I count on changing the clutch every other oil change and the tranny every fourth oil change as part of my maintenance schedule.

You certainly have no mercy on clutches. I'm still running the segmented kevlar I got from you about three years ago.

turbodan wrote:Had problems with those two gears in my Metric Mechanic tranny. Funny thing is that I'm pretty sure I got a stock rebuild from them with moly lined synchros. If that is the case I'm hoping I'll get about as much out of this new trans as I did from the last one. I didn't spare it any abuse since I thought it was an upgraded unit. If I can get a couple years out of a good tranny I guess thats acceptable.

Dan, this ought to tell you something about MM . . . .

I've had 4 trannys and all of them grinded when shifting into 2nd too fast.

Solution: Get a longer diff so you don't have to feverishly
shift/grind through them all.

Ken H. wrote:Dan, this ought to tell you something about MM . . . .

Lesson learned, $2k+ down the hole. Of all the advertised upgrades I paid for when I purchased the "Ultimate Transmission", I recieved none of them. Their trans came with stock aluminum shift forks, stock synchros and standard roller layshaft bearings. Not that it matters, but the tranny still rattled in neutral too. 100% bullshit.

I should get some pics up. This could double as the definitive "Fuck Jim Rowe" thread.

Rowe told me there was no way thier synchros would ever shit the bed. My ass.

4 out of the 5 in the trans they sent me looked like they had been in there for 20 years. Only one looked shiny and new, cant remember which though. Absolute bullshit in any case. I'm guessing they reused synchros that looked good enough and replaced with OEM as needed. I don't want to press apart the gear stack, but I may be able to get one off with a hammer and chisel to test my hypothesis.

I don't know of many people that have kept their Metric Mechanic cars. They all seem to get sold and at a fraction of the receipts for whatever components they have.

I know of MM265s that won't go into any gear.

http://www.drive-gear.com/?page_id=35

I'm waiting to hear back from these guys. From what I've read they do a getrag rebuild for about $800. Thats not so bad.

I wonder if they can do a 280.

I love this:

DriveGear wrote:DriveGear has been rebuilding gearboxes for the last couple of years.

The guy at Drivegear says they're a stock rebuild with all BMW parts. Not a bad deal for the price. I've been trying to get used to double clutching, which solves the problem of the high-RPM 1-2 shift, but it sure is a pain in the ass. It'll never be as quick enough to keep it under boost either, which is critical with the big turbo on an M20.

getrag 260/6 very durable..did launches with anti lag in mckeys 26x10w15 slicks..and still alive with no problem .dogleg tranny is the weakest of them all

If I start frying the ones I have laying around, ill just swap in a whole different tranny. I"m not that impressed with getrag, they seem to build a decent tranny, but the cost is stupid. t-5's can be had and rebuilt for dirt cheap, the are also very easy to work on. I've rebuilt them and t-56, which also seems to be good. If I got serious i'd swap in a whole different one.

turbodan wrote:I've been trying to get used to double clutching, which solves the problem of the high-RPM 1-2 shift, but it sure is a pain in the ass.

Rev matching will serve you better. Quicker, more consistent shifts than double clutching, WAY easier on the synchros in general. Still slower than slamming the 1-2 shift, but longevity does have a price.

I rev match when I can but on a fast upshift you have to double clutch. The input shaft will freewheel until you step off the clutch, and I'm fairly certain that it doesn't drop RPM as quickly as the engine.

I'm getting ready to send a trans off to drivegear. I'll have them do one for the daily driver first since that car is down. If I like it I may send the turbo car tranny later on. It shifts fine for now except for the 1-2 shift at redline. I can live with it.

turbodan wrote:The guy at Drivegear says they're a stock rebuild with all BMW parts. Not a bad deal for the price. I've been trying to get used to double clutching, which solves the problem of the high-RPM 1-2 shift, but it sure is a pain in the ass. It'll never be as quick enough to keep it under boost either, which is critical with the big turbo on an M20.

double clutching on a upshift ?
It´s not 1905.

You need to time your movements to the system. Are you trying to shift to fast but the release of the clutch messes things up?

Thing is these boxes where never EVER meant to shift quickly.
You´d be best off with a flastshift strategy where you can control the time the engine is cut so that you can hit the speeds dead on when you pull back on the clutch.

I don't know what to tell you. The synchro for second gear has trouble keeping up when I'm trying to shift at 6800 RPM. Its asking a lot when that requires a 2000+ RPM drop at the input shaft in an instant.

Of course its not necessary but if I want to have boost when I hit second gear I need to engage the gear very quickly. When in good condition these gearboxes are capable of very quick, consistent shifts. Thats the problem. Hard to find a fresh, used tranny.

I never did get around to sending one off to drivegear. Haven't been paid in about a month since I started a new job. Hopefully soon I can get one done. The second gear synchro seems to be improving in the mean time though. I suppose it could have been glazed or contaminated or something.

[quote="turbodan"]http://www.drive-gear.com/?page_id=35

Do you think there's any chance that the reason this URL still works after 5 years is because they know it's referenced here (in a thread that thrashes MM)?