Shifting

[dwforum]

My 5spd 325i seems to take a lot more effort to shift into second than the other gears. It's not terrible, but it makes shifts a bit slower. I'm probably going to put in the BMW aluminum shift knob, but what else could I do to make the shift a bit easier? Thanks

[Rob]

how many miles on the transmission?

[dwforum]

About 110k on the transmission

[BahnE30]

sounds like you second gear sincro is on it's way out
260 getrags are known for this
change the fluid to Redline MTL will help it some
just take it easy going into second :)

[KenC]

Are you running the tranny with no fluid? It seems strange that the synchros would be going bad at 110k. When's the last time you changed the fluid? I'd definitely throw some Redline MTL in there.

[rs4pro3]

My 88 325is tranny has the same problem it is so bad sometimes it will grind second gear when shifting. But my tranny does have 300k-ish miles on it. I stuck Redline in it a year ago and it helped but it's returning again.

[dwforum]

thanks, i'll try the redline MTL this weekend. It isn't extremely hard to shift into second or anything, and it certainly doesn't grind, it just offers more resistance than shifting into other gears. i just got the car a few weeks ago, so i am not sure when the fluid was changed last.

[randomtask37]

thanks, i'll try the redline MTL this weekend. It isn't extremely hard to shift into second or anything, and it certainly doesn't grind, it just offers more resistance than shifting into other gears. i just got the car a few weeks ago, so i am not sure when the fluid was changed last.

my car had symilar symptoms. with my car it was almost like it would come and go.

it was defintally worse under cold temperatures though.

edit: i had 170k

[Jonathan M3]

Its just your 2nd gear synchro going, your car was most likely abused from the previous owner. Throw some MTL in it and just rev-match your gears when shifting so you don't put as much stress on the synchros.

[dwforum]

Sorry if this is a simple question, but is the synchro something I could have replaced down the road, or would the whole transmssion need to be replaced? Thanks

[hamann318is]

I'd try the trans fluid first, then just stick with double clutching. I do it, and it's soo much smoother and better for the car.

My friend has a older accord, and his 2nd synchro went, and he had the trans replaced. I'd assume that or a rebuild are your only options.

[e30Matt]

Sorry if this is a simple question, but is the synchro something I could have replaced down the road, or would the whole transmssion need to be replaced? Thanks

You can have a transmission rebuilt, but it's MUCH cheaper to just replace it with another lower-mileage unit.