5 speed swap and guibo concerns. Need input from those who..

[eurotrash]

..have lived through the issues.

Do we have a definite culprit and a solution? I know that there was a rash of complaints about various issues regarding linkages hitting the guibo, etc.

Anyone care to share experiences and give me a heads up? I'm trying to make this happen for Vintage. I would like to finish up with time to spare to let it settle and reveal any problems.

I searched and didn't see many, if any, that posted fixes/advice.

Thanks in advance. I've been waiting for this swap for a looong time and a bunch of good people have made it possible.

[jgerock]

Jason-

Are you using the smaller diameter guibo that has (8) holes or the larger one with (6)?

[M3M3]

the issue is not really related to putting a 5spd in. it is an issue with the cheap guibos being too big and hitting the shifter rod. can happen on 4sp or 5spd. get a guibo from a dealer and you will be fine.

[eurotrash]

Guys, I have transmissions with both the three and the four bolt flange. I was planning to use the four bolt because the trans/DS are from a squaretail and I may get lucky..

Is the three bolt more desirable? Seems like I remember something about that..

I appreciate the help. I will be sure to get a good guibo.

Any other tips? I will be collecting all parts less the trans and DS over the next week.

Thanks all.. I really need to nail this on the first go round.

[KFunk]

I would go with the three bolt, for sure. I think they have fiber/rag content to strengthen them much more than the ones for the 4 bolt flanges. I'd really like to switch to a 5-speed just for the opportunity to use the 3-bolt flanges/guibos. Just got done swapping in another guibo for my 4 bolt flanges. This one had better last... its a genuine BMW and I took every step I could to loosen the engine and diff, and tie them together straight with no tension on the guibo.

[vinceinIL]

It is a bit tight putting the five speed in there, I was looking at a friend's car

on his lift yesterday.

The important thing is to have the driveshafts lined up straight when installed, and having the center bearing preloaded. Patience and good lighting help.

I used a 3 bolt flange when I did the 5-speed conversion for a couple of reasons; it is strong enough for all but really hard usage (and even then, how much torque are you going to be getting, anyway. The other reason is for performance; less rotating weight.

Keep us posted.....

vince

[rover1]

use the 6 hole quibo because they are much stronger. next make sure to set the driveshaft angle as streight as possible. thats the trick to long quibo life and long U-joint life

[TobyB]

Mine's 4 and has never been changed. I've got 8 years and 342

track days on it.

Jenn's is a 3 and after 10 years, was showing cosmetic cracking,

so I changed it. And realigned her trans a bit to the left to align things

a bit better.

It doesn't matter much. Cheap 4's do fail.

If you are aligned well, it's all good.

t

[KFunk]

I'm sure 8 bolt guibos will hold fine for years if they're of the best quality and everything is properly aligned. But.... I'd rather have some wiggle room, so I don't have to be incredibly anal about buying the most expensive guibo and lining every thing up extremely straight in every way. Because if you do get it just a bit wrong, then the thing completely rips apart so that there's barely anything left but a couple bolts. With buying them from AutohausAZ, building the special tool to line everything up right, and researching every step to do it perfectly right, I've still ripped apart about 1 per year. I managed to make one last over a year, but that's because I got tired of autocrossing so much.

Please, give me the insurance of having cloth to back up the rubber to keep it in some kinda formation. BMW changed over to building them that way for a reason. My buddy ran about 400 rwhp thru the same style 6 bolt guibo on his turbo E30 at autocross regularly, and don't think he ever really bothered to try and align his driveshaft, and never had any problems. The engine block ended up cracking before the guibo ever did...

[TobyB]

Well, there you go, then- 3- bolts are good.

t

[POP3Y3]

If you need it

Even though it was made from 4sp, I Wouldn't think there would be a big difference. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[ClayW]

1. Make sure that your transmission tail housing is at the right height. I believe the centerline-to-tunnel measurement should be around 80mm, but read up on Marshall's blog to make sure.

2. 8-hole vs. 6 hole doesn't matter if everything's lined up and you get a good, German guibo (Blunt, not Bavarian Autosport)

3. Make sure that you have a good, non-spongy trans mount. Leaky transmissions tend to soften these guys pretty quickly, which is why I went with a polyurethane mount. Anyway, the point is that deflection under load will wreak havoc on a guibo.

Good luck!