Seeking 5-speed conversion information

[conkitchen]

...we're talkin' about a car that actually *runs* here, Dude!

D

Yeah some day perhaps it will run so I can destroy the flex disc for ya.

It's only been a year and a half since this all started; as you know, Dudet.

The tranny thing just went in last week.

[yeewiz]

Delia, the MM mount uses the existing mount points. I'm not sure what Bill Williams means by "The mount cantilevers off of only ONE mount" unless he means that one arm on the left side in his pic which is the only connector to the trans. I've got 1500 miles on my 5-speed and so far no guibo failures. No problems thus far except my mechanic, Fred at Wolfgangs in Walnut Creek, had to heat and re-bend the mount on the right side (looking forward) in order to move the exhaust pipe mounting to clear touching and buzzing at 3000 rpm. I'll dive underneath and report in again later.

[JohnN]

No problems, measure carefully to get your driveline straight

If I were to do another, I'd go with Dave's weld-in/bolt-in tabs again

Regards,

John N

[cj]

I built my brothers '75 with the brackets relocated. I put well over 100k on the car while doing sales call up and down California. I replaced it once due to the install of a new motor. Other than that, the guibo was in great condition.

The replacement is still in the car and will be replaced just because it's a few years old. My brother was DD'in the car until he bought a new WRX in '04. He's put well over 50k on the '02 commuting from UCSD to home in Sac on the holidays and summers.

Cris

[1453aalapapa]

wow. my first post here. years ago, i did the conversion, but i used the factory brackets. i cant remember any guibo problems, but in those days, there were ONLY the oem stuff available, so there was no chance of getting counterfeit stuff like today. also, i had a fuel tank from a tii turbo, and drove from houston to dallas every week. i could get about 650 miles off a full tank. i remember that at 3k rpm, in 4th, which was 1:1 on the 320i 5 spd, the speedo indicated 48 mph. dropping it into 5th, at 3k mph was 62. great conversion.

on a side note, at one time i was a bmw product manager for a very large company. one day, the goetze reps visited, and presented what appeared to be an oem guibo. at that time, goetze was one of the oem manufacturers. looking at the guibo, it appeared to be good. it had a shore hardness number, and what appeared to be trademarks ground off, a practice common in the old days. but they said it was counterfeit, and would not hold up. they also showed us a mercedes sway bar end link, complete with the mercedes star, and part number on it. but when compared to the actual part, which i couldnt bend or twist, the bogus one was very flimsy. however, if the genuine one was not there to compare, i dont think anyone would suspect

[rover1]

dude 5 speed conversion is not rocket science i dont understand why so many people F up guibos!!!!!!!!!

[1453aalapapa]

because some of the guibos installed are buttco. they are designed to APPEAR oem, but dont meet the standards of oem. this is a problem that is on the rise, because of the weak dollar, shrinking margins, and intense competition.

[jerry]

because some of the guibos installed are buttco. they are designed to APPEAR oem, but dont meet the standards of oem. this is a problem that is on the rise, because of the weak dollar, shrinking margins, and intense competition.

agreed.

i bought a guibo 'on sale' from azautohaus that arrived with a little paper 'made in india' sticker attached. the thing was rock hard with negligible compliance. if i ever use it, i'll make sure to inspect it regularly.

[Lars]

I used the U bracket from Rob T. Very easy install and strong. I did have guibo failure though. But not at the fault of the bracket. First my driveshaft was a tad short, so I had to move the diff forward a bit (only a few mm). Second, I had to put 2 washers on top of the bracket's rubber bushing to get the tranny aligned just right, not sure why since most of the others that I've seen with this U bracket don't have too. I think it is the way I have the engine and tranny sitting. Since doing that haven't had any issues.

[Harv]

Another MM mount picture. It's going in my car....... someday And yes, it bolts to the 4 speed body mounts.

John

[TobyB]

I've done 2 cars that we still own. Jenn's guibo started to crack cosmetically

after 10 years, and I'd left the original trans brackets and added a pair

off a parts car. I'd guess that guibo had maybe 30k on it-

it's a 6- holer, though.

My car was done about 6... naw, more like 8... years ago, and I bolted

some fabbed brackets behind the factory ones. Didn't want to weld on the

car, as I didn't really have time to take the carpetting and undercoat out.

That 8- holer is still in fine shape after, again, about 30k and maybe a couple dozen

track and instructing days...

fwiw.

t

[Lars]

Just wanted to clarify my earlier post.

I have the U bracket from Rob at 2002 Haus. I found out last night why I had to use the washers to get mine aligned correctly. When working on my car I had to cut out a lot of rust from the floor pan on both sides. When welding in the new sheet metal I had to hammer the tunnel a bit to get things fitting right and I believe I altered the level of the mounting brackets slightly.

[robspeed]

I also did the "Rail" method where you dont have to drill any more holes (in the unibody).

The question is begged because its not what method you use, but how carefully you align the transmission with the driveshaft afterwards.

After about eight years and probably 50,000-75,000 miles on my "rail" job, I was still running that original guibo (six bolter-- i upgraded) from the conversion.

Again, the key is to take the time to perfectly align the guibo in the gap between the transmission and the driveshaft. leave the bolts loose, and rotate, rotate, rotate. The gap between the flange/guibo/flange union should stay uniform vertically and horizontally. Really, there shouldnt be a gap, but i had a barely perceptible one that went away once it was all bolted up. The point is there mustnt be a gap at the top and not at the bottom, or one side, and not the other. As you rotate it, all you need to do is eyeball it. If you see any variation as you go roundie-roundie (heh), adjust it away. Double check it once you tighten the trans/shaft in place. then finally, tighten the guibo bolts last.

[BillWilliams]

Delia,

Bob's and especially Harv's uninstalled photo of the MM bracket shows what I was trying to say when I said the MM bracket cantilevers off of one side.

The big bolt and busing on the drivers side allows for some adjustment of the transmission. The arm that goes over to the passenger side four speed mount just bears weight. It is kind of an ingenous mount, I had to tweak mine as there was not enough adjustment in there for me to get mine driveline straight.

Rob's description on how to determine and get your drive line straight has worked for me.

[tjones02]

and then there's the Metric Mechanic bracket. a "U" in the vertical plane. picture attached

Yes, I had indeed forgotten about the MM bracket. I've had only one experience with one and at the time was not impressed (ended up doing the conversion the factory way on that car). But I am willing to try another one. Looking at their site the price for just the crossmember bracket is very reasonable. Their shift assembly and driveshafts look expensive.