Shift carrier mis-alignment

[golde30]

soo you didnt bent the selector rod yet? you definately have to bend it to make it work. looks like you may have to twist the carrier a lil too...

[etxxz]

...beat me to it. ^^ he is right.

[BigD]

Hey guys, thanks for the responses.

To answer some questions on what it is I'm running:

260 transmission, E30 carrier, IE urethane tranny bushings

Looking at the picture BigD posted, I don't think flipping over the carrier or using an E36 carrier would help the situation.

I've still got to bend the selector rod the 10 degrees so I can get it into 5th, I'm just not liking the amount of preload on the carrier.

That's not an E30 carrier man, it's an E36. The E30 does not have any bends in it, it's straight, and the rear pin is centered with the hole, while the E36 is offset, making the shifter sit a bit to the right on the E30. So you have a double whammy - the offset created by the Getrag angle and also the E36 carrier. But like I said you may be able to use it to your advantage by flipping the carrier upside down. This will offset the shifter to the left, and might bring it pretty darn close to being centered. But it might not work since the carrier has a downward bend at the front, so flipping it over might make the linkage rub on the carrier... just try it.

As far as preload... you're on your own there - this is why I used all M3 components up to the diff, no guessing involved as it was designed to work together.

[Mike B.]

That sure looks like an E36 carrier to me. If you are using an E30 transmission, use the E30 carrier.

[dougsic]

FWIW I didn't bend my selector rod - no need to as there wasn't a clearance problem. I just needed to get the two ends a little out of parallel.

I cut mine and discovered that a standard bolt threaded right into the hollow rod. I've mentioned this to others and they did the same thing so I think that might be a common solution.

Thread the bolt in there, then screw the other half onto the bolt. The beauty of this is you can tweak the rod a little, install it and if it needs more or less angle, it's easy to do.

In my case, I over estimated the 10 degrees - twice. In each case, I just tightened the two halves a little and put it back in.

The final result is the ends are just barely tweaked and I have no problems shifting into any gears.

When done, I welded the rod solid but I think red locktite would have worked just the same.

[golde30]

FWIW I didn't bend my selector rod - no need to as there wasn't a clearance problem. I just needed to get the two ends a little out of parallel.

I cut mine and discovered that a standard bolt threaded right into the hollow rod. I've mentioned this to others and they did the same thing so I think that might be a common solution.

Thread the bolt in there, then screw the other half onto the bolt. The beauty of this is you can tweak the rod a little, install it and if it needs more or less angle, it's easy to do.

In my case, I over estimated the 10 degrees - twice. In each case, I just tightened the two halves a little and put it back in.
this is a very interesting solution. im going to try this out on a spare selector rod.
The final result is the ends are just barely tweaked and I have no problems shifting into any gears.

When done, I welded the rod solid but I think red locktite would have worked just the same.

this is a very interesting solution. i think imma try this out on a spare selector rod...

[Beej '86 325es]

FWIW I didn't bend my selector rod - no need to as there wasn't a clearance problem. I just needed to get the two ends a little out of parallel.

I cut mine and discovered that a standard bolt threaded right into the hollow rod. I've mentioned this to others and they did the same thing so I think that might be a common solution.

Thread the bolt in there, then screw the other half onto the bolt. The beauty of this is you can tweak the rod a little, install it and if it needs more or less angle, it's easy to do.

In my case, I over estimated the 10 degrees - twice. In each case, I just tightened the two halves a little and put it back in.

The final result is the ends are just barely tweaked and I have no problems shifting into any gears.

When done, I welded the rod solid but I think red locktite would have worked just the same.

very interesting. If you could find a turnbuckle/connecting rod, that would be very easy. I'll have to check into this at work and see if I can find something. Any idea how big of a bolt you used?

[Teaguer]

Its also super easy to apply heat via a torch and just twist the selector rod as needed .
Same can be done to the aluminum carrier .


And to the OP , yes I also thought that was an E36 carrier from the first pics you posted .
But even so it srill looks like your engine is a bit askew causing the carrier to be even more off .

[Charlie]

Just pull a "dropped325i" and break out the sawzall.

-Charlie

[Mike B.]

But even so it srill looks like your engine is a bit askew causing the carrier to be even more off .

I thought the same thing.

Your driveshaft should be centered in the tunnel. Have you installed the driveshaft to see how it looks?

[Beej '86 325es]

I thought the same thing.

Your driveshaft should be centered in the tunnel. Have you installed the driveshaft to see how it looks?

I've held it in place up there. It's hard to tell from under the car, but it looks like it might be ever so slightly off. What I did do though, is take a straight edge to the crank pulley and measure if it was square with the front frame under the radiator. It looks slightly off.

I'm really at a loss on how to straighten it out. Lifting and dropping the engine repeatedly left it at the same spot. Any recommendations?

[Charlie]

Shim the motor mounts?

-Charlie

[Mike B.]

Did you slot the mounting holes on the chassis? This may help with alignment and it also helps relieve some stress on the mounts.

[Beej '86 325es]

I've extended the slots, but the motor mounts are pushed up against the body. Did you guys grind any off the motor mount at all?

[Teaguer]

Frame damage FTL .

Car is a total loss now mang .