Getrag 245 refresh

[Booger32]

I bought  a Getrag 245 a couple of years ago to put in my 2002tii. I don't know the history (mileage) of it other than the guy I bought  it from said it shifted good. 
Anybody know of any shops in the Southeast  that would at least refreshen it (with new seals, synchros, etc)?

[danco_]

59 minutes ago, Booger32 said:

I bought  a Getrag 245 a couple of years ago to put in my 2002tii. I don't know the history (mileage) of it other than the guy I bought  it from said it shifted good. 
Anybody know of any shops in the Southeast  that would at least refreshen it (with new seals, synchros, etc)?

Metric Mechanic if you're willing to do it right. Otherwise I'd first try and run it as is. There are one or two bearings in the G245 that are NLA. If you open your trans and it doesn't need to be opened, you risk creating issues that didn't exist prior. 

 

 

GL

[kiva667]

Eight or nine years ago Metric Mechanic "refreshed" (i.e. rebuilt) my Getrag 232 and it shifts smooth as butter still. The cost was expensive but worth every penny, IMO. Nothing like pairing the original engine with the original transmission and differential for an original driving experience.

[Dudeland]

This is a long standing question for me ( as well as others on this board).  For a while the death knell for the 245 was the super specialized output shaft bearing.  It had been NLA for some time but  became available about a year ago.   Now the NLA bearings that are spoken of are on the layshaft.  I know nothing about transmissions, and in my long history of working on cars, if I had a problem I took it to a shop. 

 

MM is the only place that I know of that will willingly take a 245 to get rebuilt.  I am certain that he/she has found a close cousin to the layshaft bearings that with modification can be used. This is pure speculation on my part. 

 

For me living in Canada, and the type of car (I have a resto(ish) mod) the math doesn't make sense.  Last time I checked it would be 6K+ CDN to have mine rebuilt and sent back.   I am working towards a RX8 transmission swap,as even with the modifications I need to make, it would be less than 1/3 the price, and handle the power(read abuse) that I am going to throw at it.  

 

Please keep us informed of your progress. 

 

Regards

 

 

[Booger32]

There is a shop in N. Georgia that for the last 50+ years has worked on nothing but manual trannys. They are the best around here. I called them today and he said NO! I asked him if he could recommend somebody and he said NO! Then I began to worry a little, lol.

Thanks for the responses guys,

Steve

[paulyg]

There's a couple of videos from some guys in Ye Olde Englande rebuilding their 240. Watching those, it's pretty clear that these units were never intended to be rebuilt. Glad there are still folks, even few and far between, who are up to the task.

Edited May 24, 2022 by paulyg
Added positive note.

[TobyB]

don't fix something that isn't broken.

 

t

[Booger32]

I think I might go ahead and order my kit from Blunt, stick it in and see what happens!

[danco_]

1 hour ago, Booger32 said:

I think I might go ahead and order my kit from Blunt, stick it in and see what happens!

We hoped you'd come around. best course of action.

 

If you are keen, replacing the oil is never a bad move. I remember 6 or so years ago, I let Coupeking do a 5 speed swap on my 1600 and he used a mixture of two oils. 

I vaguely remember using a brand of oil called Swepco with good success. 

 

 

[tech71]

Seems like virtually every 245 being offered has been given the old “pressure washer” overhaul, hard to know if they were leaking fluid. or where. In light of this, I would replace input/output shaft seals before  sticking it in, in case you luck out with a serviceable box

Edited May 24, 2022 by tech71

[NickVyse]

I've been using Castrol Syntrans B 75W Fully Synthetic Car Gearbox Oil - supposedly formulated specifically for older BMW getrags and helps with cold shifting.

[Milo]

There are some transmission shops which work on them. I don't know which bearings are NLA. Given all this, it's a lot of work to go through the trouble of installing it and doing all the modifications to the driveshaft and linkage only to find out the freshly installed 245 5 speed needs to be rebuilt. This is why I scoff at the asking prices for these used transmissions with unknown number of miles and "As Is". People are asking near $2k for them. I used to get them from Pick A Part for $100 25-30 years ago. I still have a spare for one of my cars. And, I only removed them from cars which had lower odometer readings. I never removed one from a car with over 100K miles on the odometer.

 

I'm not as impressed with this transmission as some people. I think it works well with the short stroke 1.8L and the 3.90 diff. But, when you introduce the longer stroke 2.0L with a 3.90 diff, the shift points in lower gears are a bit too low. It feels better with the 3.64 diff, but then you have that 5th gear which is a bit too tall for the 3.64 diff. And then there is that clutch slave which is mounted high on the 245 and very difficult to service when installed into an 02. I have one in one of my cars, but I doubt I'll install one in my other car even though I have everything required for the install. I could go on, but I'd never pay more than $100 for a used one. If still available new from BMW for $4K, I'd take that route, funds permitting.

Edited May 24, 2022 by Milo

[Booger32]

I think at think at the  very least I’ll try to source the front and rear seals. 
And then there’s the question…I have one 5-speed with the 4 bolt output flange and another 5-speed with the 3 bolt flange. Which one do I use?

Each of them have their own driveshaft (out of the E21) that I’ll have Marietta Driveshaft shorten, weld up and balance.

Let’s say (if) both trannys were known to be good ,which one would you install?

 

[FunElan]

2 hours ago, Booger32 said:

I think at think at the  very least I’ll try to source the front and rear seals. 
And then there’s the question…I have one 5-speed with the 4 bolt output flange and another 5-speed with the 3 bolt flange. Which one do I use?

Each of them have their own driveshaft (out of the E21) that I’ll have Marietta Driveshaft shorten, weld up and balance.

Let’s say (if) both trannys were known to be good ,which one would you install?

 

 

 

Use the 3 bolt flange so you can use the 6 bolt giubo. It's supposedly a little stronger than the 8 bolt one from what I've gathered here. 

 

As far as fluid, I just changed mine 2 years ago with a 2:1 mixture of ATF and 85w/140 gear oil, per Jack Fahuna's recommendation. Got a little quieter, but I also hadn't changed the fluid prior to that since installing my 245. Some people recommend straight ATF depending on your climate. 

 

OP - change the fluid, in/out seals, slap it in. 

[DrinkMan]

This is a long shot. There is a shop in Gainesville, GA that does excellent work. However, they have such a backlog of work, they have limited what work they take on. They rebuilt my Alfa Romeo transmission and did a great job. Last time I was in there, they had about 5 Porsches lined up waiting and dozens of Mazda Miata transmissions waiting. A few BMW transmissions were also in the que but that was 3 years ago. I think they sell parts for the 240 series. Worth a call. The name is Walter Motorsports.

 

Here is a link:  Walter Motorsports