View Full Version : e36 shifter rests under 5th gear problem
My car is starting to develop the misplaced shifter syndrome (where the shifter is under 5th gear at rest instead of between 3 and 4). It's not too bad yet, but it's getting steadily worse. Has anyone fixed this before? Is it something you can do in the garage?
Nope, sorry, ya can't do it without removing the tranny and taking it apart.
http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=48002&highlight=shift+problem
My car is starting to develop the misplaced shifter syndrome (where the shifter is under 5th gear at rest instead of between 3 and 4). It's not too bad yet, but it's getting steadily worse. Has anyone fixed this before? Is it something you can do in the garage?
Do you have CPO? Mine was replaced for the sticky 5th.
The HACK
11-17-2003, 11:27 PM
The fix is documented in Roundel about 3-4 months ago, you do need to remove the transmission and take out that small retention pin to fix it.
Oddly enough, my car (E46 323Ci) has developed that problem, but it doesn't come to rest in 5th...The resistance to go back to neutral between 3 and 4 is still there but much smaller, seems to me that the dowel is getting caught up when the tranny is COLD, but once warmed up the dowel comes back and catches the spring.
Doesn't bother me enough to want to fix it, but eventually if I'm swapping in a new clutch or whatever I may choose to fix it.
That would drive me absolutely nuts. I depend on that for shift placement. I'd have to get that fixed immediately.
The fix is documented in Roundel about 3-4 months ago, you do need to remove the transmission and take out that small retention pin to fix it.
Oddly enough, my car (E46 323Ci) has developed that problem, but it doesn't come to rest in 5th...The resistance to go back to neutral between 3 and 4 is still there but much smaller, seems to me that the dowel is getting caught up when the tranny is COLD, but once warmed up the dowel comes back and catches the spring.
Doesn't bother me enough to want to fix it, but eventually if I'm swapping in a new clutch or whatever I may choose to fix it.
That's how it starts. It only does when cold at first, and it gets progressively worse.
The HACK
11-18-2003, 11:39 AM
The fix is documented in Roundel about 3-4 months ago, you do need to remove the transmission and take out that small retention pin to fix it.
Oddly enough, my car (E46 323Ci) has developed that problem, but it doesn't come to rest in 5th...The resistance to go back to neutral between 3 and 4 is still there but much smaller, seems to me that the dowel is getting caught up when the tranny is COLD, but once warmed up the dowel comes back and catches the spring.
Doesn't bother me enough to want to fix it, but eventually if I'm swapping in a new clutch or whatever I may choose to fix it.
That's how it starts. It only does when cold at first, and it gets progressively worse.
It HAS been getting progressively worse. It used to be that once in a while it'll do that, but now every time the car's started, while cold it'll do that until the car warms up.
Again, it still comes to rest in between 3rd and 4th and goes away once warmed.
Zcasavant - I have CPO. In fact, I still have a couple of weeks of original warranty. I also have a short shifter and was hoping to avoid the argument. Guess I will have to try and see what happens. Does anybody know what happens if they claim they won't fix something b/c of a mod and you take the mod out and go back? :lol: Maybe I will put the stock shifter back in and then take it in. I *think* I could recreate the install - but THE HACK is so good at them now, his *help* (i.e. make sure you are at least in the general area while he mechanically did the installation) was quick and a bit overwhelming.
Hack, it gets worse. Sometimes, there isn't any resistance at all to get to the fifth spot. I am getting used to it, but when it first got pretty bad, I had to select the gear very carefully to get the one I wanted. I sort of think it's just different - if you didn't have the normal placement to start with, the shifter would be fine without it.
Zcasavant - I have CPO. In fact, I still have a couple of weeks of original warranty. I also have a short shifter and was hoping to avoid the argument. Guess I will have to try and see what happens. Does anybody know what happens if they claim they won't fix something b/c of a mod and you take the mod out and go back? :lol: Maybe I will put the stock shifter back in and then take it in. I *think* I could recreate the install - but THE HACK is so good at them now, his *help* (i.e. make sure you are at least in the general area while he mechanically did the installation) was quick and a bit overwhelming.
Hack, it gets worse. Sometimes, there isn't any resistance at all to get to the fifth spot. I am getting used to it, but when it first got pretty bad, I had to select the gear very carefully to get the one I wanted. I sort of think it's just different - if you didn't have the normal placement to start with, the shifter would be fine without it.
I think they'd whine about the short shifter. That said, this is a KNOWN issue with the e36 transmission. It happens eventually on ALL of them as far as I know. You should get a new tranny out of this.
well, that's ok. What better way to see if I really learned anything than to take the shifter out and put it back in later? I will do it before I take it in though. I will also let it get a little worse so it isn't quite so intermittent. I still have good days where is seems almost normal.
well, that's ok. What better way to see if I really learned anything than to take the shifter out and put it back in later? I will do it before I take it in though. I will also let it get a little worse so it isn't quite so intermittent. I still have good days where is seems almost normal.
This problem is so common, I doubt they will give you any trouble. I'm surprised you hadn't heard of the issue before.
Any reasonable BMW service department should honor the warranty on your transmission, regardless of the shifter. That said, I don't know how reasonable your local dealers are. :p The thing is that any decent tech should be able to tell that the shifter was modified at some point, even if the stock one is re-installed. That may be fine for some borderline dealers that wouldn't do the repair with an aftermarket shifter, but a truly anal-retentive/anti-mod dealer will use the evidence as grounds to refuse warranty coverage. :dunno:
well, that's ok. What better way to see if I really learned anything than to take the shifter out and put it back in later? I will do it before I take it in though. I will also let it get a little worse so it isn't quite so intermittent. I still have good days where is seems almost normal.
This problem is so common, I doubt they will give you any trouble. I'm surprised you hadn't heard of the issue before.
I have heard of it before. I just haven't explored fixing it before now b/c it wasn't a personal concern.
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