no more "pop" into 5th gear...

[iananderson02]

my 95 318ti manual no longer "pops" when shifting from 4th to 5th. The "pop" which I am refering is similar to the "pop" when putting the car into reverse, although the "pop" into 5th is less severe than the "pop" into reverse. The shifter now feels sloppy when shifting into 5th... I figure it could be general linkage play (time for a short shift kit) or something wrong with the tranny. Anyone have a similar problem witha a soloution or advice...

Thanks
Ian

[iananderson02]

I just spoke with jim of metric mechanic (infamous old-school BMW tuners) and he clearly explained the problem (in length). Above the slave cylinder there are two rubber plugs in the side of a ti's (and other E36's) transmission. Under these plugs are two spring loaded pistons. These pistons control the side to side shifter movement (one for 5th one for reverse). Because the trans housing is aluminum and the pistone is steel corrosion the system is very prone to corrosion. In my particular car the PO never used fifth gear. The first time 5th was used in a long time the piston's bore had become corroded, and by putting the car into fifth the piston was moved in its bore. However, the piston was not able to return to its original position because of the corrosion. Hence no more spring-like pop...

So what is the soloution? Remove the rubber plug, extract the clip (i assume), remove the spring and piston and clean/sand gently everything. Reassemble and use fifth regularly to help keep the piston sliding smoothly!

Just a small side note, much controversy surrounds metric mechanic (in th eold school 2002 community), many think their methods are just crazy, however i disagree, something that seems so easy to overlook such as these pistons are 100% thought out and taken care of in every metric transmission. Jim informed me that they had a special hone created specifically for enlarging the piston's bore (by about .001-.002"), just to help alleviate this type of problem. Sounds to me like metric mechanic has their stuff together!...


-Ian