Sloppy Shifter

[Ian F]

Or just content to whine about how a 20 year old luxury/sport car doesn't feel as tight as a comparable female of our species? ;)

Currently, I'm whining... at least until I spring for a UUC or AKG shifter. My point is (and always has been in this thread), is it is a shitty 20+ year old design and if you are used to shifter in more modern cars then just bringing it back to OE spec may not be satisfactory. It's not for me.

[kaiser16]

I wanted to buy the same bushing kit on pelicanparts.com but it doesn't say what comes with it, did it help you any bit?

[mkcman17]

Currently, I'm whining... at least until I spring for a UUC or AKG shifter. My point is (and always has been in this thread), is it is a shitty 20+ year old design and if you are used to shifter in more modern cars then just bringing it back to OE spec may not be satisfactory. It's not for me.

i did a FULL shifter rebuild; new lever, cup, t-joint and foam, carrier, front bushing, and new clips and washers....barely better than before. totally disappointed i spent the time and money on it.

[redhatpat]

I did a FULL shifter rebuild on my 325i (everything except for #1, 6, 11) and the difference was night and day, fully worth it. I took the time to lower the exhaust and drive shaft so I could replace #14 and the shift selector seal.

I kept the original shifter and it's very nice when it's working as designed. You have to keep in mind these were designed as luxury sport cars, and as such have some tolerance built in with rubber bushings to minimize the vibration sent through the shifter.

[mkcman17]

I drove a car with a basic short shifter refresh and his felt like new compared to mine. His car had far more miles and a less complete job for far better results.

[trackjunkie21]

BMA autoparts has the whole shifter rebuild kit.

http://www.bmaparts.com/item.wws?cookieID=&trackingID=&sku=SHORTSHIFTKIT&mfr=BMA&qty=1&storepk=500142&drillid=6&clientid=bmaparts&

[mkcman17]

BMA autoparts has the whole shifter rebuild kit.
http://www.bmaparts.com/item.wws?coo...ntid=bmaparts&

I bought that kit, and it's not even close to 'complete'

edit: it's not even a great deal. on rmeuro, z3 shift levers are 66.02, and the cup bushing is $4.22, bearing sleeve $6.98, and $0.68 for each of the two clips. instead, buy ALL the shifter bushings a la carte, and pick the lever of your choice. BMA is missing the shift rod joint and rear carrier.