The 5 speed trans in my 83 320iS is cabbage. The bearings on the input shaft went South. I've read that the 83's had a different trans than other years. Will only a trans from another 83 fit or do I have other options. Any sources for used or rebuilt trans would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Aloha,
Mike H

I am pretty sure that a tranny from a 81-82 would swap into your 83 with no problems and on the plus side some people think that the 5 speed OD trannys are stronger than the 83 trannys. hope this is right and helps.

Yeah the trans in the '83 is the smaller 240 and is only shared with the early (84-85) 318 but the E30 trans does not have a mechanical speedo drive .

The earlier (80-82) 245 will only work if you also use the early driveshaft and shift plate with selector rod .

The earlier (80-82) 245 will only work if you also use the early driveshaft and shift plate with selector rod .

Found this out the hard way when I tried to order a new driveshaft for mine once upon a time. My car is registered as an 83, but was made in 9/82, and thusly used the 245 tranny. Driveshaft was too long. Thankfully the guys just swaped me the right one.