E30 Zone

Just getting use to my first E30 couple things aint quite right maybe someone could shed some light

Got a noisy diff checked oil level by unscrewing top plug on back casing lots of oil came out so conclude diff must be worn, read there are different diff casings what do i need to look out for when buying a replacement

When selecting gear 1st or rev have to try really hard could this just be worn linkage or could i be looking for a new box to go with the diff.

Any help greatly accepted

What E30 you got? Diffs come in medium and large casings I think (or medium and small, 2 sizes anyway). It's more important to get the right ratio than size as I think all cases fit all E30's.

Dunno about the box.

Sorry a 1990 320i

320i is a small case diff with a ratio of around 4.1 : ! (?). Exact ratio should be marked on a tag under one of the rear cover bolts. Slightly noisy diffs aren't unusual and are not usually a problem for many tens of thousands of miles, but of course, I don't know how noisy your diff is!
Do yo mean it's difficult to slide the gear into place, or it grates as you push it in?

Difficult to move the lever last inch or so, not a problem coming out and into second, lever does seem to be biased to left hand side and very close to surround when in gear

Is the gear stick very sloppy when changing gear??

lee

If it doesn't grate (and therefore not a clutch problem) there are two possibilities here.
One is what topspark is hinting towards: A very common badly worn bush in the linkage joint on the back of the gearbox, which, if extremely worn, allows the gear lever to catch on the console.
The other is usually worse in cold weather before the oil warms up. The standard cure for this is to change the gearbox oil for ATF, as used in BMW gearboxes from the E36 onwards.

Could be the start of a failing master cylinder - is it better when the car's warm?

Don't have any problems in or out of any other gear hot or cold just last inch of travel into top left corner feels as if gearstick can only just reach