Clutch/Transmission going out?

[DrewSkii]

Hey guys; Would anyone happen know why when I pull hard from a stand still, my 2nd gear doesn't want to engage? It'll engage once in a while though. I don't think the new z4 3.0 ss is the issue since normal driving it goes in just fine, and I've had it installed for about 2 weeks now.
Pulling hard I can shift fine through all other gears and I can drop it into 2nd as well. Does this mean my clutch or tranny are possibly going out?

I have a 318i with a Getrag 240.

Thanks for any input ahead of time!

[jlevie]

Do you mean that it is hard to select 2nd gear? That could be a sign of a clutch that isn't fully disengaging or wear in the selector or syncro for 2nd gear.

[DrewSkii]

Yea, But only coming up from 1st gear from a hard pull, Because normal driving it still goes into gear just fine

[scottinAZ]

my bet is on the synchros. Hard pull to me means redlining it, therefore the synchro has to work harder to match shaft speeds. if its on the way out, it cannot do this as effectively, causing bad shifts.

Do any other gears exhibit issues when beating on it, or just second? if the issue is limited to one gear, the clutch is unlikely to be the culprit

[DrewSkii]

my bet is on the synchros. Hard pull to me means redlining it, therefore the synchro has to work harder to match shaft speeds. if its on the way out, it cannot do this as effectively, causing bad shifts.

Do any other gears exhibit issues when beating on it, or just second? if the issue is limited to one gear, the clutch is unlikely to be the culprit

Yea that would make sense, It seems to only be 2nd gear that has the issue, Not necessarily redlining but even around 6k rpms it'll still do it once in a while

[Axxe]

The synchros are supposed to correct "minor" differences in speed between the motor and transmission, but unfortunately a lot of people expect the synchro to do all the work. Use this as an opportunity to time your shifts better, as in, don't actually put the lever in gear until the tranny is ready for it, it'll take some practice but your tranny is already fucked so might as well learn a bit. Not a stab at you at all, just coming from the land of 13 speed non-synchronized gear boxes in heavy trucks where you have to match everything perfect. Goes a long way to saving your synchros when you match everything up just butter. Just because you can select second fast doesn't mean your engine has slowed down enough to match it. If you already match it pretty damn close and it's still fucked, just ignore the above, I'm just ranting because I had to help replace the tranny on my buddies car who considers himself a fast shifter, but the reality is it isn't how fast your move your hand or foot, it's how fast your motor slows down.

[DrewSkii]

The synchros are supposed to correct "minor" differences in speed between the motor and transmission, but unfortunately a lot of people expect the synchro to do all the work. Use this as an opportunity to time your shifts better, as in, don't actually put the lever in gear until the tranny is ready for it, it'll take some practice but your tranny is already fucked so might as well learn a bit. Not a stab at you at all, just coming from the land of 13 speed non-synchronized gear boxes in heavy trucks where you have to match everything perfect. Goes a long way to saving your synchros when you match everything up just butter. Just because you can select second fast doesn't mean your engine has slowed down enough to match it. If you already match it pretty damn close and it's still fucked, just ignore the above, I'm just ranting because I had to help replace the tranny on my buddies car who considers himself a fast shifter, but the reality is it isn't how fast your move your hand or foot, it's how fast your motor slows down.

Hmm, yea I guess that will take a lot of practice, I guess I'm one of those noobs that just shoves it into the next gear as quickly as possible. I don't take it as a stab at me, but more as useful criticism. Thank you, I will try this.

[E30Gus]

Could worn tranny mounts help cause this as well? If you're torquing the engine hard then the whole drive line will move more than a slower start and shifting into 2nd.
My recent addition of poly mounts made going into 2nd easier.

[DrewSkii]

I'm going to look into flushing the tranny fluid and probably changing the mounts as well, seeing as that's something that needs to be done anyways.

[Rezzato]

Go to pick your part on Dec.30 - Jan, 2nd for a half off sale to get yourself a Getrag 240 for cheap, or craigslist. I was at pick your part Sun Valley a few weeks ago and saw at least 5 manual 318s. I bought my Getrag 260 on craigslist for 100 bucks and it has worked fine for 7 months. It shouldn't take more than a day to swap transmissions. You wont be able to fix it any cheaper.

[MR 325]

I was at pick your part Sun Valley a few weeks ago and saw at least 5 manual 318s.

I absolutely don not believe this. At least, not late model 318 cars. The M10 318 trans does not work.

[DrewSkii]

I actually ended up just taking out my UUC Clutch stop and it's letting me shift into 2nd because of those few milliseconds of slower shifting from it being pushed a little further down.. interesting, but oh well..

[MR 325]

I actually ended up just taking out my UUC Clutch stop and it's letting me shift into 2nd because of those few milliseconds of slower shifting from it being pushed a little further down.. interesting, but oh well..

That means your clutch wasn't quite engaging all of the way.

I hate clutch stops.

[DrewSkii]

That means your clutch wasn't quite engaging all of the way.

I hate clutch stops.

It's still the synchos I found.. But removing the clutch stop did help lol.. Oh well, Time for a swap soon.

[Wanganstyle]

you could try a more robust transmission also (i.e. zf sg320), if you are planning on learning to shift on the car and like to drag race it.