Getrag in a 240 (Start to Finish)

Cameron said:

*Rough Draft*

This article will cover the basics of what parts are required to install a Getrag into your 240 model Volvo. While it will not cover every possible scenario, it should provide the basics of what’s required and what parts you’ll need. The example shown in this article is a BMW 265 installed into my 245 that was previously equipped with an M46 manual transmission.

So why would you want to install a Getrag? For my swap, and most others, it’s strength. The stock M46 does not have a good reputation of longevity at 250+ HP, while the Getrag has been shown to hold much more power reliably. Now let’s talk about the main points of interest and what parts you’ll need.

Getrag 262/265 with removable bellhousing [need guide of what came on what years in a BMW here]
Obviously, you’ll want to find the best condition transmission you can. Wrecking yards are always the best budget option. Rich Man option is to buy an “ultimate” 265 from Metric Mechanic - http://www.metricmechanic.com/. Once you have your transmission, remove the BMW bellhousing.

Modified M46 bellhousing
This conversion requires you use the Volvo bellhousing and attach it to the Getrag transmission. Technically any M46 bellhousing will work. That said, there are 2 different M46 bellhousings used on 240 models. I do not have the exact year break that these changed from Volvo, but they are easy to identify.

This picture shows the 2 different M46 bellhousings. The one on the left is the early one and the one on the right is the later one. Notice the difference in the casting where the input shaft goes through. The early one has a lot more material there that will get in the way of the full sweep required of the clutch fork. The later one has much more room and will work better in this application

You’ll also have to drill a [60mm? Double check size of hole and insert here] hole through the bellhousing where the input shaft from the BMW goes through. This is to allow enough room for the BMW input shaft and housing area to fit through.

If you are running LH2.4 you’ll also need to notch the top of the bellhousing to allow clearance for the crank speed sensor if your bellhousing does not already have this.

Adapter plate/centering ring/hardware
To attach the Volvo bellhousing to the Getrag transmission you’ll need an adapter plate. This converts the bolt pattern and also spaces the bellhousing out enough off the Getrag to put the input shaft at the correct depth into the crank/pilot bearing.

There are a few vendors making these plates. For my conversion I used the RSI (www.r-sport.org) kit. Their kit includes the adapter plate, centering ring to center the input shaft through the Volvo bellhousing and the correct pilot bearing.

Here’s their kit.

To attach the plate you’ll need the correct bolts. For the RSI kit I used M12 x 1.25 x 40mm [double check that size] bolts and locking washers.

Here’s how it will look attached to the trans:

With the bellhousing attached over it it’ll look like this:

Pilot bearing
If you get the RSI kit, this won’t concern you as they have sourced the correct SKF bearing for this application. Another option is to use the BMW pilot bearing and make a bushing to size up the outside diameter to fit into the Volvo crank ala 740ATL [find pic from 740ATL old build thread and insert here].

Clutch
There are several options here. Which clutch you need will first depend on if you’re using the flat or dished Volvo flywheel. Choose clutch accordingly. The Getrag uses a differently splined input shaft than the Volvo M46 input shaft. This means a Volvo splined clutch disc will not work in this application. You’ll be using the Volvo style pressure plate either way, but you’ll want a BMW style clutch disc. If using a flat Volvo flywheel you’ll need a 9” diameter disc and if using the dished Volvo flywheel you’ll need a 8.5” diameter disc.

For my application I called Spec Clutch (http://www.specclutch.com/) and had a custom disc made. Spec is able to use different inserts in the disc for differently splined transmissions. The clutch they made for me was a Volvo kit, with a Getrag splined insert in the disc.

Here’s the Spec kit:

Spec pressure plate on Volvo flywheel:

Spec custom disc on Volvo flywheel:

Crossmember/mount
The stock M46 transmission mount is at an angle and will not directly bolt on to the Getrag. You’ll need to modify your Volvo M46 crossmember and make a bracket to connect the mount off the back of the Getrag. In the name of simplicity I used a stock Volvo M46 mount. To fit it to the transmission I simply used a piece of angle iron and drilled two holes through it to match the pattern of the female threaded holes that are already present on the rear of the Getrag. Then I drilled one hole through the bottom side of the angle iron to allow the M46 mount stud to go through it.

Here’s how it looks put together:
[Insert picture here of angle iron mount + M46 rubber mount]

For the crossmember I cut out the angled center section in the center and welded on a steel plate to have a horizontal plane for the now vertical M46 mount. Then I just drilled a hole for the lower M46 mount stud to go through.

Here’s the modified crossmember:

Driveline/Guibo
The output flange of the Getrag 265 is different than the output flange of the M46 so your M46 driveline will no longer be a direct bolt on. It just so happens though that the M47 output flange is the same bolt pattern as the Getrag. That means that you can easily modify an M47 driveline off a 240 for your new Getrag. You can even use the stock Volvo M47 guibo (flexdisc) in this application if you choose.

There are a few options for guibos and the guibo off an M5 model BMW is said to be the strongest. Different guibos are different thicknesses so be sure to keep this in mind when measuring for driveline modification.

In my application I used the Volvo guibo and based my measurements off that. In my case, I had the front half of the M47 driveline lengthened by 1.5”. Remember, your results will vary so measure first and don’t forget to account for guibo thickness!

Shifter
There are a couple options here as well. You can use the shifter, shifter cage and selector from the Getrag if you wish but it’s not the best shifter in the world and you’ll have to drill a hole behind your shifter tunnel and fabricate a bushing mount.

The easier bolt on way to do it is to use a modified M46 shifter cage. This will allow you to use your M46 shifter. I got a kit from RSI that does just this.

Here’s the RSI kit:

Clutch fork/release bearing
Since the Getrag uses a different input shaft than the M46 you’ll need a different throw out bearing than the Volvo one. The easiest way to do this is to modify the Volvo clutch fork to allow the BMW throw out bearing to fit into it. [insert part number of BMW throw out bearing here]

Here’s a comparison of the BMW vs. Volvo throw out bearing:

The easiest route for the clutch fork is to modify an M47 one. The M46 and M47 clutch forks are different in a couple ways. The important distinction between the 2 of them in this application is the angle the arm of the fork comes off the “body” of it.

In this picture you can see the difference in the clutch fork arms between the M46 and M47 clutch forks. This is important because the M47 arm allows the clutch fork to back all the way off the pressure plate fingers and allows the clutch to fully engage. The back of the M46 clutch arm will hit the back of the clutch fork window on the bellhousing and will not work unless you modify your bellhousing.

The M47 fork is the much easier route.

You’ll just have to grind out the opening of the M47 fork a little to allow the BMW throw out bearing to fit into it.

If converting from automatic:
All of the items discussed in this article still apply with the addition of needing a few extra parts. You’ll also need the manual pedal assembly, clutch cable, shifter assembly and flywheel. If you want to run hydraulic clutch you’ll need those parts as well. Also of note is that you’ll need to remove the bushing piece in the back of the crank to fit a pilot bearing.

Costs (will vary of course):
Trans: $200.00 (in my case)
Clutch: $350.00
Adapter plate kit: $250.00
Driveline Modification/balancing: $200.00

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sbabbs said:

You can get the getrag adapter for redblock like in the pics here with centering ring and pilot bearing. They can make one if you want it. Getting a driveline adapted and the shifter bracket and rod you'll have to do yourself or driveline shop for the driveline. You can use the BMW shifter and rod and bracket in a 240 it works, but for 740 you gotta move the shifter location further back a bit. That is what I did. Or make a custom shift rod bracket like in the pics.

https://www.stsmachininginc.com/

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CAPT_BLOTTO said:

Sts makes them now? Iiiiinteresting.

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77volvo245 said:

I only make the adapters and centering rings. I can also modify the bellhousing as well. I really only make the parts if somone ask me. Not really worth making a large amount of parts when getrags swaps are not in huge demand.

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Willard said:

Glad to hear that the adapter can still be made.
I need to get the transmission installed sometime soon.

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