What tranny will work

[brianwolf3]

Im going to be replacing my tranny in my 89 520i. It is a 5speed. Im wondering which cars I can take one from and will fit without mods. Thanks.

[Kalevera]

Should be any Getrag G260/5 with an M20 bellhousing, if your car has an M20, which I think it should. I have no idea on the output side of things. Obviously you don't want an iX G260, and I assume that any E34 M20 transmission will work -- early 525 or early 520. Various E30 and E28 cars used this transmission as well, but I don't know about the output differences.

You could also replace the input shaft bearing and front layshaft bearing, not that hard to do and likely the source of your noise. Used transmissions are cheap as dirt in europe, so why aggravate things. And the new parts may end up being more expensive than a used trans.