Help.. popping out of 4th gear at clutch release

[bmwsmurf]

Hi guys,

Anybody know what would case the transmission to pop out of 4th gear? Selecting 4th gear is fine.. it's when you let the clutch out then it pops out of gear immediately. If the shifter is pressed hard and clutch released slower then 30-40% chance it doesn't pop.

Is this a messed up shift fork inside the transmission, or is the shifter mechanism or bushings which are alot cheaper to replace?

The previous owner said that this started happening after he changed the tranny fluid. I don't see how tranny fluid could make that huge of a difference, even if he used something that was too light by accident.

Thanks for any help.

[jlevie]

It could be worn shifter bushings, but that would tend to cause problems in other gears. With it only happening in fourth I'd tend to suspect the transmission.

What fluid did the PO put in the transmission?

[bmwsmurf]

No idea unfortunately.
Also.. it seems to pop out less while cold.. gets worse after car warms up..

[jlevie]

If you don't know what fluid is in the transmission I'd drain it and fill it with the right stuff. Redline MTL is a good choice..

[ZeroCool]

I'm having the exact same problem, except in 3rd gear.

It's gotten progressively worse, before it would only pop out sometimes, then you could just hold the shifter while releasing the clutch and it would stay, now you can't even hold it in, it will just pop out and grind.

I changed the fluid and it still does it in 3rd gear, however all the other gears are much smoother now!

When its cold I can get into 3rd for the first couple shifts, once it heats up though I can't get into it at all and have to skip 3rd, which is hard in traffic sometimes.

Is there an easy way to fix this, or should I just get a new transmission?

[jlevie]

The first thing I'd try would be to replace all of the shifter bushings. If that doesn't help, start looking for a replacement transmission.