Is there a way to shim the shifter rod?

[Cyrano]

Hey, I have an z3 1.9 shifter on a 88 325, when shift from first to second there is a chattering sound... is there a way to shim this so that it does not make the sound?

[BillBrasky]

Do you mean between shifts or when it is engaged in first or second? Do you have all of the correct yellow plastic washers on the shift linkage?

[Cyrano]

It happens when shifting from 1st to 2nd, and if when in second i pull the shifter towards me, it just makes a chattering sound. But when im driving there is no sound.

[bimma360]

It happens when shifting from 1st to 2nd, and if when in second i pull the shifter towards me, it just makes a chattering sound. But when im driving there is no sound.

I know with my z4 2.5 shifter, the selector rod would hit the harmonic balancer from 1st to 2nd as well. At the time i just took the selector rod out and ground it down. Later, when I had my dinan motor put in, I just had the harmonic balancer removed.

Just jack up the car, shift it into 2nd and get under there and have a peek.

Dave

[ChaseN]

Do you mean between shifts or when it is engaged in first or second? Do you have all of the correct yellow plastic washers on the shift linkage?

The newer BMW shifters no longer require the yellow washers. Just FYI.

[DRTSRFR]

The easiest way to eliminate the chatter is to bend a small "kink" in the rod.

There's a "how to" here somewhere...

[SpecRaceM5]

I know with my z4 2.5 shifter, the selector rod would hit the harmonic balancer from 1st to 2nd as well. At the time i just took the selector rod out and ground it down. Later, when I had my dinan motor put in, I just had the harmonic balancer removed.

Just jack up the car, shift it into 2nd and get under there and have a peek.

Dave

Beat me to it. It is almost certainly the shift selector rod hitting the harmonic balancer. You can do one of three things.

1. Grind down the harmonic balancer to clearance the selector rod. (I wouldn't recommend this as it is a PITA and you risk adding a bit of unbalance to your drive shaft.)

2. Grind down the selector rod to clearance the harmonic balancer. (I probably wouldn't go this route either since I believe the selector shaft is hollow and the amount you would need to remove might weaken it too much.)

3. Remove the harmonic balancer off the drive shaft. (This is my choice as it will probably end up being the same amount or less work, and the balancer is not critical.)

[bimma360]

Beat me to it. It is almost certainly the shift selector rod hitting the harmonic balancer. You can do one of three things.

1. Grind down the harmonic balancer to clearance the selector rod. (I wouldn't recommend this as it is a PITA and you risk adding a bit of unbalance to your drive shaft.)

2. Grind down the selector rod to clearance the harmonic balancer. (I probably wouldn't go this route either since I believe the selector shaft is hollow and the amount you would need to remove might weaken it too much.)

3. Remove the harmonic balancer off the drive shaft. (This is my choice as it will probably end up being the same amount or less work, and the balancer is not critical.)

Yeah I cant really speak whether the selector rod is hollow or not. But I ground a good bit off of mine back when I did it, and I put at least 5k on that rod without any problems. Here is the kicker, after I replaced the engine and trans I dont know what rod was left in my car... the one from the donor car or my old ground one. For all I know, I'm still using the old ground down one (15K miles later).

BUT, it was a bit of a pain in the ass to grind down. Took about 2 hours as i kept going back under the car to install it and test it, and then take it back off again and grind it some more, and then put it back on and so on.

IF it is easier to remove the harmonic balancer, then yeah i would go that route too. Like I said i dont have mine in my car anymore, and no issues here.

Dave

[Cyrano]

Beat me to it. It is almost certainly the shift selector rod hitting the harmonic balancer. You can do one of three things.

1. Grind down the harmonic balancer to clearance the selector rod. (I wouldn't recommend this as it is a PITA and you risk adding a bit of unbalance to your drive shaft.)

2. Grind down the selector rod to clearance the harmonic balancer. (I probably wouldn't go this route either since I believe the selector shaft is hollow and the amount you would need to remove might weaken it too much.)

3. Remove the harmonic balancer off the drive shaft. (This is my choice as it will probably end up being the same amount or less work, and the balancer is not critical.)

I found some article how to bend the rod. This would work without removing the balancer and without grinding... Yes?

[bimma360]

I found some article how to bend the rod. This would work without removing the balancer and without grinding... Yes?

I believe so... I mean if it worked for that person it should work for you. BUT if you dont do it right... then what? The only reason i didnt go the bending route was b/c some of the methods required welding, blow torch, and/ or a vise. Non of which I had.

Overall, this isnt that big of an issue... so no matter which way you go will solve your problem. If you screw up, it will just be a bit of a headache b/c you'll have to fix it.

[Cyrano]

I found this on how to bend the rod. It seems pretty simple, I just need to get the car up, that's the difficult part :)

How to Bend Selector Rod

[Adrian_Visser]

Don't grind your selector rod! Bending it is easy with a vise and 3 sockets. I chose to remove my harmonic balancer since I dropped in an s52 and it compounds the space problem. The bent selector rod also helps center the shifter in the shift boot area btw.

[IronmanE30]

I chose to grind the harmonic balancer and I don't recommend that method. I had no vibration but it took me hours to grind a little then test, then grind a little more, then test... It still grinds a little so I have to go back one more time. Mine sounds worse than your because I got grinding in other gears I believe that is due to my car being a vert with a lower pan. I would recommend either taking off the harmonic balancer or bending the rod but have tried neither. Good luck and let us know how it works out.

Cheers,

Jim

[Cyrano]

I had the vibration dampener removed, ended up cutting in two places and just taking it off. Easier than bending the rod and did not have to remove the pipes. Now its perfect.