Slammed me e30 in for MOT yesterday, ever since i drove it away the gear stick felt looser, bit softer to change gears if u like, then today while waiting in a queue of traffic, i attempted to do a 3 point turn and the gear stick went limp, and couldnt get it in a reverse for a start then nothing, eventually after wiggling and shunting the stick managed to get a gear, turned out to be 3rd, so i managed to get the hell out of there and tazzed it home in 3rd all the way. Anyone had any similar experiences? Is the gear box mullered or could it be like a ball joint type thing thats popped out? i had a similar problem on a 205 gti i had few years back, turned out to be a ball joint popping out every so often. Havent had a chance to take a squint at this yet, just getting some early thoughts off all you good, good e30 people.
Thanks in advance
Gearbox riddle
Moderator: martauto
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ad318i
- E30 Zone Squatter
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- Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2005 11:00 pm
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i had a similar problem a few years ago but my car was stuck in reverse!!!!!
in the end i had to chuck a new gearbox in the car... been perfect ever since
in the end i had to chuck a new gearbox in the car... been perfect ever since
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ricco1980
- E30 Zone Newbie
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Really? How much did your new gearbox cost? did u get it from a scrappy?
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rickk
- E30 Zone Newbie
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Could just be the plastic balljoint of the linkage. Bit of a bitch to replace with the driveshaft in place but costs almost nothing. These are common to wear out.
If you're unlucky it could be something in the gearbox.
Especially the ZF gearboxes are prone to a failure where some silly notch in the mechanism breaks off. This is usually preceeded (for months, years) by reverse moving so far away from neutral that you have to break the console to engage it.
No other economic fix for that than to replace the box with one from the scrappers. Look out for a Getrag in that case, these are much more robust (but shift slightly slower and usually rattle in idle)
- Rick
If you're unlucky it could be something in the gearbox.
Especially the ZF gearboxes are prone to a failure where some silly notch in the mechanism breaks off. This is usually preceeded (for months, years) by reverse moving so far away from neutral that you have to break the console to engage it.
No other economic fix for that than to replace the box with one from the scrappers. Look out for a Getrag in that case, these are much more robust (but shift slightly slower and usually rattle in idle)
- Rick
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ricco1980
- E30 Zone Newbie
- Posts: 25
- Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2005 11:00 pm
Thanks Rik, interesting thoughts there. I had a fiddle with the gear stick today, and it is totally loose. I could hear a rattling against the exhaust, so i put me hand under and felt a rod or something thats just basicly snapped, like when metal strains and breaks, felt like a twist on the end..i havnet got a decent jack here so can't have a proper butchers, but will find out in the end