Engine

All E36 engines have the same gearbox bellhousing bolt pattern. This means you can bolt on any gearbox onto any engine without modification. The flywheel and clutch share the same spline and bolt-pattern (interchangeable) however the diameter and clamping force varies. The larger 240mm flywheels fits inside the Getrag gearbox with no issues.

318i M40B18/M43B18 - 215mm

318is M42B18/M44B19 - 215mm

320i M50B20 - 228mm

323i M52B25 - 228mm

325i M50B25 - 228mm

328i M52B28 - 240mm

M3 S50B30/S50B32 - 240mm

Gearbox

E36 316i/318i/318is/320i/325i came with the Getrag 220g 5 speed manual gearbox. Notorious for its weak syncros and gears, namely 2nd gear. The gearbox can last in the right conditions - the less rear tyre grip the longer the gearbox will last. Regardless, any motor capable of 300+NM and decent grip will break the Getrag.

E36 328i/M3 3.0 came with the ZF 320Z 5 speed manual gearbox. This is the go-to gearbox for anyone with a decently powerful engine. Capable of over 800NM. Its achilles heel is the 5th gear lean, where the shifter has no resistance leaning right from its neutral position. Good news is that this can be rectified with a 5th gear detent service that we provide.

E36 M3 3.2 Evo came with the Getrag 420G 6 speed manual gearbox. Different to the E46 M3 as its input spline is smaller in diameter albiet having the same number of teeth.

Clutch + Flywheel

All E36 5 speed clutches are interchangeable. 4 cylinder clutches will not last if abused behind a 2.5L+ 6 cylinder. Mix and matching pressure plates to different flywheels may result in weird clutch behaviour or simply wont bolt on. All flywheels have the same 8 bolt pattern and will fit on any E36 engine.

Cross Member

The manual gearbox cross member is different to the automatics. There are three types of cross members, one for each type of manual gearbox; Getrag 220g, ZF 320z and Getrag 420g. They are not interchangeable.

All manual gearboxes use the same gearbox mount - use E46 M3 gearbox mounts for all street cars.

Driveshaft

The driveshaft length is primarily based on the gearbox.

The driveshaft from a manual 318i (Getrag 220g behind a 4 cylinder) is slightly longer than that from a 320i/323i or 325i. This is because the 6 cylinder is longer than the 4 cyl, therefore needing a shorter driveshaft. The 4 cyl manual driveshaft can still fit behind the 6 cyl, just the center spline needs to be fully compressed to make the total length as short as possible. Any manual driveshaft from a Getrag box will not bolt onto a ZF, the length is incorrect and the ZF has a larger output flange (same size as the automatic gearbox).