Firstfives.org

My output shaft bearing as started making quite a bit of noise, I can start to hear it at about 15mph and is loudest at about 60. I can still for the most part carry out a conversation without having to talk loudly, how long should it last? I know 265's are hard to find now. How hard would it be to pull the rear case section only to replace just that bearing? No others are making noise and it shifts beautifully still. Could it be done with a generic case puller? How big of a can of worms would I be getting into? Better to keep an eye on junkyards? I have a guy that goes around all the time and could let me know if something comes around.

I had a 4 speed input shaft bearing let go without any audible warning. On the freeway, cold, I was amazed and grateful it made it back to the barn. Low and slow, making noises, but it got there.

As I had a spare all I did was swap it in. I gave the wounded one to the traveling race mechanic who helped with the (heavy) swap. I could bump my head in retrospect. Look at the parts drawing. The input bearing is no big deal to replace,... if that's all it is.

Of course the funny business hinges on knowing that. Are there any metal pieces in the oil even after changing ? Other gears needing inspection ?

In answer to your other questions the simple one is to search and buy a rebuilt from a reputable dealer. Probably locally, they are heavy to ship. Have it installed. They are heavy, want a hoist, the proper tools, and help with the drive shaft and exhaust on two ends.

If worms in cans don't bother you, nothing will stop you from doing whatever you have to do. One step at a time. That's the trade, your money or your time.

I definitely have the ability to R/R the trans, And definitely don't have money for a rebuilt one haha. The oil didn't have much metal in it at all, new oil didn't really change the whine from the bearing.
One day it just went from only whining at 3k in 5th to whining all the time.

I definitely don't want a catastrophic failure like your experience.
I don't mind opening cans of worms because I'm a motorcycle mechanic for a living. That being said I have never opened up a car transmission so I'm not sure what would happen just tying to pull just one section of the case off.

I'm used to main shaft, counter shaft. Cars have like a split main shaft? And counter shaft is called lay shaft? I'm not really sure what I would be getting into. I know you have to have a press for some components of this transmission. If anybody knows how hard it would be to pop the rear case off and leave all the gears together that would be all I would want to do. Unless I find a questionable scrapyard trans to have as a back up for when it finally shreds itself

Hey, I can't help it. I lived in San Pedro, worked in El Segundo, moved to Long Beach,... 1977,...1980. Attended Grand Prix's, full press passes, '78,'81, '82,'83. Go anywhere to shoot, you should see the photos.

Old story previously posted, I saw a 528i on the San Diego Fwy. Nissans, Datsuns, Honda's were big being unloaded in the Long Beach harbor. Back at the office I asked what the nice four door sedan I saw was, with the white trunk badge, black circle. Ha, a BMW, $20,000. Oops, not an econo box.

But I never forgot the looks. I've had 4 E12's, 2 E24's, with 3 still in the shed.

You will do fine with your motorcycle mechanical skills. Lefty loosey, remove the first bolt. Righty tighty, eventually install the last. In between have fun on the adventure.

Hey I looked at the manuals post you made and opened up the one for the 633 and it has information for the 5 speed! 528 only shows the 262. It looks to me like the bearing goes in from the outside! And I think I have a puller that might be able to get the bearing out with the cases still together. If that's the case I wouldn't even have to pull the trans! That would be sweet
Edit: I see now it's only the inner race? In another section it tells you to put the inner race on the shaft first and the outer race and balls go in from the inside. But case splitting only shows pulling the race to the outside? Is that not actually the inner race of the bearing but more like a spacer? Or does it actually run directly on the balls and only a cage holds them? I'll probably be doing this in a month or so.

Questions for Mike W. or more learned members.

I am learning about replacing fuel filters to learn pumps that were working stop working. Installing the new one, getting it working discovered a pin hole leak in the gas tank.

The adventure we are on. Whether it's on the same river or up the creek I don't know.

This car has been an amazing adventure, I've gone through....
Head gasket and valve seats cut
New water pump
New brake master cylinder
B&G lowering springs and KYB shocks.
Rear diff mount through bolted to trunk with a rubber mat and large metal plate to spread the pressure
Replaced coolant reservoir
New fuel pressure regulator and lines all the way to the tank
E39 BBS style 5s
Rigged fuel pump bypassing combo relay(not so proud of that) with a fire extinguisher tucked in my back seat arm rest.
Frame straightening.
Rear subframe slotting for alignment.
Re soldering the instrument cluster contacts.
Its been my never ending project.. this doesn't even come close to covering everything ive done

Didn't know there was an issue there. Just installed a rear diff after the original one was ruined in an accident. What part of the body or frame is compromised and what is the repair?

It was pretty bad, I'm not sure why my images don't link?

So here is an email conversation with Jim Blanton starting at the bottom, so much great info!

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

On Tue, Sep 19, 2017 at 10:27 AM, Jim Blanton
<performancegearing> wrote:
Kyle

Sure if you think it will help others.

Ah, engaging 2nd sounds correct now,,, pushing the pin against the 5th/reverse rod so that it moves with the rear cover as it is separated from the center housing. Then, as it clears the end of the 1st/2nd rod, the pin drops away and the rear cover should be free.

Sounds doable,
Jim

On Tue, Sep 19, 2017 at 9:44 AM, kyle knudsen <triiodide> wrote:
Excellent yes the e30 m3 is much more detailed, do you mind if I post our conversation on a forum? I've used firstfives.org for lots of information in the past and i started a post about this, what you have told me could be very helpful to others as well.
On the diagram it looks like the shift rod more to the 12'o'clock position has a pin in it so I assume that is the rod which will come out with the rear cover. I had sourced a manual from a 633 which has information about the 265 and says to engage second gear before removal of the rear case

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

On Mon, Sep 18, 2017 at 12:29 PM, Jim Blanton
<performancegearing> wrote:
Kyle,

Good to hear you have a mechanical background, this will make sense to you.

This pin is in a bore between the two "outside" shift rods of the 3 corresponding to the tap-in plugs. The center shift rod (3rd/4th ) is not long enough to reach the rear cover, so this 8mm detent pin allows only one of these outside rods to leave neutral at one time. Which is redundant , since there are 5 - 8mm balls in the center housing that achieve this for all 3 shift rods.

To separate the rear cover, these two longer shift rods have to be moved in opposite directions, one being free, the other "locked" to its rear cover bore. Again, I always disassembled from the front first so that the center shift rod, its shift detent ball and both lockout balls could be removed first before moving the outside shift rods in opposite directions. I don't know if there is enough clearance to allow only one of the outside rods to pull with the rear cover enough to clear the end of the other, so I'll have to think about it.

You know about :
realoem.com
yes? Some decent line drawings/exploded views of the internals. Look at E30M3 , section 23 because the later drawings are more detailed.

Jim



On Mon, Sep 18, 2017 at 11:43 AM, kyle knudsen <triiodide> wrote:
Thank you so much for this fantastic information. I ordered a 30x72x19 sealed ball bearing. I am a motorcycle mechanic and quite comfortable with inserting bearings into cases, I have plenty of experience using case pullers and having an interference fit upon installation of crankshafts, temperature differential works wonders. Also have experience working with transmissions, just never one from a car.
This detent pin you are speaking of is it something that needs to be removed before the rear section of the case can be separated or is it internal that may come out upon separation? Thank you again for taking the time and interest into this I greatly appreciate it. I will probably be pulling the transmission in about a month.



On Sun, Sep 17, 2017 at 7:55 PM, Jim Blanton
<performancegearing> wrote:
Kyle

I'm impressed with your thoroughness and agree with your diagnosis. This rear bearing is a precision one (additional balls due to a split inner race) and the good news is this split race will make it easier to separate the rear cover from the center housing ( in addition to the separate inner race of the rear countershaft bearing too). I'm surprised to see the part number is not NLA by this time , but at $100 plus, I personally would be more inclined to buy the generic 30x72x19 single row ball bearing, but only the sealed style. When ZF introduced the 5sp in the early 90s, all the ball bearings were sealed and that has become the industry standard ( virtually last indefinitely). That said, it will be easier to reassemble with the split race bearing since the interference fit of a generic bearing will have to be overcome (however minor).

To be honest, I always removed the front flange/housing first , since I knew I was going to be completely disassembling anyway, so I've had to give this some thought to recall if it's doable without destroying something. No special tools/fixtures are needed since you will not have to remove 5th countergear.
Off hand, the only obstacle that is not apparent is an 8x20-25mm detent pin between the 5th/rev shift rod and 1st/2nd shift rod, just behind the three 19mm plugs at about 11 o'clock on the rear cover.

So as not to insult your expertise, I will wait to field your questions

Jim

On Sun, Sep 17, 2017 at 11:19 AM, kyle knudsen <triiodide> wrote:
Thanks Jim!
It's a 265 overdrive from a 1980 BMW 528I
The noise is directly related to speed and with the rear of the vehicle in the air I can hear it's coming directly from the output of the transmission using a screwdriver on my ear.
The gear oil was fairly clean, nothing more than I would expect under regular services
In neutral when I release the clutch, with the previous oil I noticed a little bit of a rattle at idle and a very feint whine when revved, after changing to Motul translube which Is actually a GL4 motorcycle transmission oil the slight rattle completely disappeared and I can almost not hear a whine at all in neutral when revving. This oil has only been in for a week now.
I can not really feel any vibration associated with the noise, when I bought the car it would only whine in 5th at about 3000 rpm and about 3 months ago it started to whine all the time anywhere faster than 15mph, in every gear.
When under the car I can push back and forth on the output shaft and feel a small amount of play associated with a click when pushing sideways with my thumbs.
Thanks for the reply

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

On Sat, Sep 16, 2017 at 10:22 AM, Jim Blanton
<performancegearing> wrote:
Kyle,

First, tell me which 265 you are working on - overdrive or close ratio?

Both are different enough that procedures vary significantly.

Also, please answer the following:

1) how was it determined that the output bearing is the source of the noise?

2) Any suspended debris in the gearlube and/or on the drain plug magnet?

3) Any significant noise difference when idling in neutral between a) clutch pedal depressed and b) clutch pedal released?

4) is this noise more directly related to speed or engine rpm?

5) is there any "feel" accompanying this noise , e.g., in the shifter knob?

Happy to help anyway I can,
Jim

On Fri, Sep 15, 2017 at 3:23 PM, kyle knudsen <triiodide> wrote:
Hello, I have a couple questions about a transmission and I'll make it quick not to waste any time. Jim Blanton is a name that comes up over and over online when searching about the Getrag 265 which leads me here. My issue is the output shaft bearing is beginning to make quite a bit of whining. If I were to pull the rear case section only and try to replace just this one bearing, are there any others I should get that are replaceable without any further disassembly? I've heard the rear section is not too difficult to remove and any information would be extremely helpful. Any pointers on what to watch for and take note of would be very helpful, as nobody except metric mechanic rebuilds these now I'm diving in myself. Still shifts great and very little neutral noise




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