About Josh Fields Expertise I can answer questions related to the BMW e30. These are the cars produced from 1984-1991 (1992 for convertable) in the United states. I am more fluent with the six cylinder models, although few things changed for the 4 cylinder cars. I know most of the problematic areas of these cars, and have found ways to fix them.
Experience I have owned six different E30's over the last 10 years. I do all my own work, and know about ever nut and bolt on these cars.
Question hi i got a 1990 bmw 325i e30 i just had my engine rebuilt at 155000 miles. i plan on changing the trans from a automatic to a manual transmission 5 speed is it possible to do it if yes will the car run fine i heard if i did it my clutch would burn out every 4 or 5 months i would have to replace it is this true and also has this ever been done and succesful thanks PS. i got the performance chip the cold air intake, catback exhaust system, performance wires and plugs he adjusted my timing to make it faster would this effect the maual trans
Answer Charlie,
Yes this can (and has) been done. What you need is a donor car, not just the transmission. There are several things you will need to do this swap, and having a manual transmissioned car sitting there would be a great help. You will need the pedals, mastercylinder and slave cylinder, transmission, flywheel, clutch and pressure plate, throw-out bearing, pilot bearing, all the shift linkage, and I'm sure I'm forgetting something.
If you are burning out a clutch in 4-5 months you are not driving a manual transmission correctly. Either you leave your foot on the clutch pedal while driving, or you cant shift gears smoothly. Every car but one that I owned has been a manual. Manual transmissions last longer, and cost a fraction to repair and replace clutches. I have never used up a clutch in any of my vehicles. You should get several years out of a clutch, not months. Clutches aren't like brake pads, they dont need replacement as often. I've seen clutches last 200k miles and more.
I dont know how to adjust timing on these engines without an adjustable pulley. How did your mechanic advance the timing? These cars do not have a distributor that can be twisted to adjust timing, they are set from the factory. So how exactly did this person advance the timing?
Good luck,
Josh
