Anyone put a Z3 1.9 short shifter in the iX?

[beamR X]

I am just about to put the tranny back it the iX after the clutch job....


I ordered me the 1.9 Z3 shifter (the rod below the ball is about 3/4 inch or so and it has me concerned.

It is long enough so when the bottom of the shifter rests on the t-case the bottom of the bracket that bolts up to the top of the transmission tunnel (part 4) does not even touch the grove in the tcase.

Does this mean that when I put the tranny/tcase but in the car the top of the tcase will jam into the bottom of the shifter?

... or does the rear bracket (#4, BTW mine looks a bit different than pictured here) just hangs off of the tunnel and there typically is some "spare" room between this part and the t-case? If so it should work, if not I don't think I can use this 1.9 shifter...

[nando]

if I push down hard on the lever while in neutral, I can feel it grazing the top of the transfer case. But no, it shouldn't jam. It's about as good as it gets for an ix.

[beamR X]

Got it. Just finished putting it all back in...
Nando you're right again. Thanx.
There is "JUST" enough room there. I get the suspicious feeling that it may be "grazing" the top of the case, but in all honesty, I am not really sure if it does or not...
Its so close that if it does get annoying I considered simply putting washers between the transfer case mount and the body. This would effectively drop the tcase by 1/16 or 1/8th of an inch (depending on a washer and rid of the annoyance...
But I'll drive it first to see if it's even an issue...

[nando]

you wouldn't ever notice it unless you push down on the lever in neutral like I said, but you'd have to do this on purpose and it takes a bit of force. Putting washers to lower the transmission would be a bad idea - it's going to change the angle of the rear driveshaft and put an extra strain on your flex disc and rear u-joints.

[beamR X]

Hmm, I hear ya about the angles, but do you think that 1/16th drop would really have all these adverse affects? I think that should be "contained" in the tolerances. I guess one could try it and remove the "spacers if they cause vibrations.

I will run the car without them first though. If it's like you said I will not even bother doing anything.

[beamR X]

Here is a Tcase married back to the tranny:






And the closeup of the z3 1.9 shifter interfering with the Tcase I was talking about earlier:



In this pic you can see how the bottom of the bracket sort of hangs above the groove in the Tcase. This made me worried about the interference once everything was back in the car. However, after putting it all back in I bolted the top of the bracket to the transmission tunnel and bolted the tcae mount to the car to secure the driveline in its final spot and it turned out the (longer) shifter still cleared... Go figure...

I guess the grove in the tcase just looks useful but it really isn't. It appears like it should engage the shifter bracket but even with the stock shifter the bolts would hold it up to the tranny tunnel allowing it to just hang there.

Oh well... A short scare for nothing I guess. Any one reading this in the future: Do not worry : it will fit.

[nando]

it may have been for an older style rear carrier. My transfer case is from a 7/87 and it doesn't even have that.

[Fidhle007]

Is that the regular IX shifter carrier? The extra height on that would eliminate the driveshaft rubbing issues I have in my S50 car. I suppose I should know this but I haven't spent much time under my IX...

[nando]

yes

beware it's meant to be used with the ix shifter console...

[Fidhle007]

Which is taller? I was planning on making my own shifter carrier that bolted on top like AKGs but this would certainly be cleaner, I'll have to do more research. PN 25 11 1 220 606?

[nando]

the ix console is raised up about 1/2". I think it should work fine. I have an extra from a 2 door sitting in the parts car. want it?

I'm not certain that it's absolutely required, but I can't see why BMW would have designed a center console specific to the ix if it wasn't needed.

[Crustashio]

Do you need to do anything special to drop that 1.9 shifter in? I'm going to undertake a summer project to replace all the bushings, and I'm looking to shorten the throw just a little in addition to tightening everything up.

[bimmer95]

I used a bent Z3 2.8L lever with a UUC ERK in my '88 325ix. The shift throw is reduced by 40% and, due to the ERK raising the pivot point, it clears perfectly.

[nando]

what's an ERK?

[bimmer95]

ERK = Effort Reduction Kit. It's basically a stepped stainless steel flange that attaches to the stock carrier and raises the pivot point, as seen here in their Evo3 SSK...