Harsh Shifting

[turbo55]

I recently replaced my shifter bushings with the delrin Garagistic set, as well as home-made nylon inserts for the bushing that was in the shifter rod with the ball in the center and the rod joint (unlabelled part and #13 here: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=25_0074).
I also (stupidly to do this at the same time) replaced the flex clutch line.

Before my shifter was super sloppy (car has about 240k miles on it, TMU), now it's nice and precise but can feel really harsh, almost like grinding, going into 2nd or 3rd, mostly 3rd. If I shift slower then it's fine.

I've read people's shifters feel notchy after doing the bushings, but before I didn't feel any notchiness at all. Could it really have been there all along? I've suspected air in the line and manually bled, vacuum bled, and reverse bled. I've also had the slave cylinder out and manually pushed the rod in multiple times, so I'm pretty sure air has got to be out of the question at this point. Per the Bentley book, I've measured travel and got 21 mm (this is before I even reverse bled), which is within spec. Could the clutch slave cylinder be shot with all of the screwing around with it? It's not leaking, but when pushing the rod in by hand the first quarter inch or so doesn't have any resistance. The slave cylinder has URO1 (or something like that) stamped on the side, which I'm delusionally hoping doesn't mean it's the brand URO which is generally garbage. Actually, while writing this I just checked the paperwork from the PO and found that the slave was replaced in 2006 at a non-BMW garage - the slave cylinder on the receipt is priced to be $68.25, which sure as hell isn't a genuine BMW one, so I guess URO1 does mean URO. Should I just replace it? Also, when the push rod is out, it is pretty loose as in it wants to fall/lean whichever way you tilt the slave cylinder.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

[turbo55]

Been driving the car these past couple of days and I think the clutch is fine. I've found that I just need to adjust my shifting a little bit. Instead of jamming the gearshift directly into a gear in the spot that I think it is, I push it in a little more gently to allow it to work it's way in. I think that before when the shifter was super sloppy the slop allowed the gearshift to work it's way in, but now that there is no slow I have to do that with my hand.

[AndrewBird]

It shouldn't grind regardless. I'd bet you have air in the clutch line since you replaced it. It can be difficult to bleed. I'd recommend using this technique:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdf--suwqw0

[jeffnhiscars]

the 3rd gear synchro is usually the first to go so if it's demanding a slower shift to avoid grinding that would be my guess. fresh fluid perhaps a bit heavier might help

[turbo55]

Thanks for the input. That reverse bleeding video, that's basically what I did except connected a tube between the front left brake caliper bleeder to the clutch bleeder and had my wife pump the brake pedal while I watched for any bubbles in case some came out of the brakes (there were none).

Yeah I'm wondering if it could be the 3rd synchro, the car's got around 240k miles on it. About the oil, how heavy would you go? I got Redline 75w-80 in there now, only about 2 years and less than 10k miles old.

[c0rbin9]

I've got nothing to add other than the fact that my car has 200k miles+ as well and I have the same issue. No grinding, just doesn't feel that smooth going into 3rd.

[turbo55]

I've got nothing to add other than the fact that my car has 200k miles+ as well and I have the same issue. No grinding, just doesn't feel that smooth going into 3rd.

Do you have new shifter bushings?



Also, regarding that video, I think I'll give the oil can reverse bleeding method a try, one thing that I saw in the video is the guy in the video had to touch the clutch master piston a little bit to get the bubbles to go - I didn't do that when I reverse bled earlier.

[Zeemz]

the 3rd gear synchro is usually the first to go so if it's demanding a slower shift to avoid grinding that would be my guess. fresh fluid perhaps a bit heavier might help

I agree with Jeff. If its acting normal under tame driving, but you can't run through the gears without grinding in one or more, than what ever gears are grinding their synchros are shot. Fresh fluid might help for a little while, but it won't be a permanent fix. Only permanent fix is rebuilding or replacing transmission.

When my 3rd gear synchro crapped the bed, it would be fine driving around normal, but if I opened it up and tried to shift quickly above 3500-4000RMP it would grind every time. I could shift above 4k if I paused for a second while shifting but that is no fun and annoying...and embarrassing when it does grind.

[turbo55]

Thanks for the input!

So tonight I tried the reverse bleeding with the oil can method like the video and wasn't able to push any fluid up, not sure why. I also realized that I probably never reverse bled it before either, so there is still hope that I just got air in the system. I guess I'll start a new thread asking how to reverse bleed since I'm pumping with the oil can but nothing is going up (I tried it with the clutch pedal up all the way as well as an inch down).

[turbo55]

Reverse bled it by using a 60 mL syringe from Walmart (the auto section), shifts better now, although still a little harsh.