Getrag 240...

[bimmahVA]

Im having a few problems with my 318.  For the past 4 months or so, as I accelerate from a stand still in 1st gear under normal throttle the car is abruptly thrown out of gear.  Theres a loud bang/thump from right underneath the shifter as the gear selector is thrown into neutral.  This seems to happen randomly, and has become more frequent lately.  Everything feels fine 95% of the time, but when its thrown out of first gear it sounds like a gunshot just went off.

I replaced the clutch about a month ago, and this problem did occur before the new clutch went in.  I know I need to replace my guibo, but Im not sure if the guibo is the culprit here?  I dont think its synchros related bc it shifts smooth and easily, and never grinds into any gears.  This problem does not happen in second gear starts either.The car has 179k on it.  

Has anyone experienced their 240 tranny goin out on them?  How bout guibos, besides visual shredding what are mechanical signs the guibo shot?

[Jimmy Lewis]

When my guibo was bad, I first noticed that when backing from a stop the drivetrain would clunk before moving. Later on I noticed that between shifts the car had a certain clunk usually at low speeds. I have no idea about the guibo having an effect on your gearbox staying in gear. But those are some of the easy ways to tell if your guibo is on the way out.

[individualist]

When I bought my car I had the same problem with the shifter popping out of first. The cure required a trans swap.

[bimmahVA]

ahh thats not what I wanna hear... but thanks for your input.

Has anyone else had to replace their tranny??  What were problems you saw as it aged?  I really havent heard many stories on these 240's going bad with the m42.

[gearheadE30]

Aren't the transmissions in the M42 cars the Getrag 260/5?

How many miles does the car have? Replacing the shift detent *may* help, although if that was the case, it would most likely pop out of all gears. It may be easier to go to a scrapyard and pick up a used tranny.

[Febi Guibo]

Aren't the transmissions in the M42 cars the Getrag 260/5?

How many miles does the car have? Replacing the shift detent *may* help, although if that was the case, it would most likely pop out of all gears. It may be easier to go to a scrapyard and pick up a used tranny.

Our tranny's are the getrag 240/5 ... the most common fault is an intermittent hard grinding going into 3rd gear... worn fork inside the unit... they are otherwise a decent tranny; the above issue can be obviated for a long time by simply double clutching into 3rd.

Anyway... check yer selector rod etc. Get under the car, have someone shift and make sure the rod is working straight, not bent etc. There is a rubber bushing holding the rod at the end that sometimes goes south, an easy fix.

The good news for everybody with transmission problems is that, unless you completely money shift the car (you will know immediately, lol) ...most issues can sorta go on and on for awhile with no catastrophic problems except leaking or awkward noises or shifts.

[Abrax]

I had a problem with my driveshaft middle rubber mounting. There was a strange noise while hardly flooring the car on the first gear - just had to change the rubber and everything is now good... But it is not the same problem as You describe...

You say that 1'st gear just flies away while accelerating... I'm sorry but it seems that Your transmission needs to have the inside parts replaced... For me it seems that the 1st gear teeth are worn down, so they cause throwing out of the first gear. I had the exact problem with my previous transmission but with the 3rd gear.

The parts were more expensive that second hand tranny itself, so I didn't repair it. Finally I've done M3 tranny swap - and this was the best mod ever done to my car. It feels exactly as weaker M3 now...

BUT -> The three aids I have:
- short term aid - keep the first gear on place by Your hand while accelerating /but not at all costs/ and try not to floor the car untill the tranny is beeing replaced/repaired... This will allow You to pass safely up to 3000km on this tranny keeping 1st gear running. It's long enough to find second hand tranny for the swap. Don't worry too much - the tranny throwing out gears needs to be replaced sooner or later for sure. BTW - nothing is going to happen except that You won't be able to use 1st at all in a short time. The rest of the gears will rather work normally even after 1st gear dies...

- long term aid - change the tranny as soon as possible...

- foolish aid - don't use the 1st gear at all...

[bimmahVA]

thanks fellas!

I have a new guibo and new bushings for the shifter that will go in next week or whenever I have some extra time.  

Febi:  I like the suggestion about making sure everythings inline from underneath the car. Its quite possible I skipped a step rushing to get the linkage back together after we did the clutch.

Abrax:  Ive already ventured in to the 2nd gear starts.  When it pops out of 1st theres nothing a firm grip on the shifter can do to hold it in gear. And youre right,  I will likely have to replace the tranny before to long.

On a better note, I drove it yesterday trying to show my roomate the problem and it never once poped out of gear, launch after launch.  So we'll see, a friends got a scrap 318 an hour north which I can likely source the tranny from.

[chris325ix]

247k here on the original clutch and tranny.. uhh, yeah.  needless to say the clutch is fried.  but honestly, these cars amaze me with how well built they are!

[gearheadE30]

247k!!?? That's gotta be some kinda record. You could probly sell that clutch to a museum if anything is left

[jetteman]

the syncro's gone in my opinion. there are two parts to the syncro the coned part which syncronizes the speed of the two gears (good on your car), and the teeth which actually engage the gear (bad on your car). i would get a new tranny but if you are going to do it then i would get a 260/5 and do the m20 flywheel swap while you are in there. anyways good luck with it.

[Abrax]

Better be carefull with theese 2nd gear starts... They can ruin Your clutch...

Good luck!!!