manual gear changing problems

Hi guys having a lot of problems from my 330ci basically since I've had it on the way home from picking it up, I went up to 4.5k/5k revs and it got stuck in gear, its happened about 4-5times now and it isn't a good feeling! Also the gear stick doesn't sit in the middle it sits to the right and gear changes arnt smooth.

Also when going from 2nd / 4th to 3rd / 5th its very difficult to get the correct gear, I mostly hit the wrong gears which is annoying


What the garage recommended was changing the gear linkage bushes.. It drove like a new car for 30mins, now its doing the same again

I went back to the garage and the head mechanic said that if it isn't fixed, then it will be something inside the transmission itself... now I am very worried that they are wrong and I will end up paying for a transmission rebuild only to find out its not the problem?

Also cause the gear stick/shifter is sitting off-centre it leads me to think its still related to gear linkage or something simple-ish !

I have made a little video before the linkages were done, since then there is less freeplay however its made no improvement but I hope you understand my accent



Any help would be so so so much appreciated, Thankyou!

i dont know a great deal about 330CI, but typical things you check before going into the gearbox include:
-gear linkage bushings and assembly (sounds like you have done that)
-clutch master and slave cylinders, rebleed the system
-clutch adjustment for pedal play/throw, make sure that its actually full disengaging and fully engaging the clutch.
-make sure the car actually has the correct shifter arm? sounds like it could also be some homebrand short shifter from a different car?

the type of issue (cannot select the correct gears?) does not sound like an internal gearbox problem at all. Many shops when they see a euro car just see $$$ and wanna do as much work as possible to milk u dry

Hi thanks for your help, the main problems are getting stuck in gears, and the gearstick isn't sitting in the middle, which means its very difficult to select the correct gear, and sometimes shifting isn't very smooth at all..

How would I check if the clutch is fully disengaging and engaging?

Im pretty sure everything is standard. the mechanic who did the bushes is quite knowledgeable when it comes to bmw's but I cant take his word when it comes to the problem being inside the transmission, he's adamant its not the gear linkage as he said all bushes are fine But I just have a feeling its not internal transmission problem..

Detent springs inside the transmission.

http://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-...mw-zfdetentkit

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1581658

Originally Posted by Johal E32

Detent springs inside the transmission.

http://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-...mw-zfdetentkit

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1581658

wow that does seem like a very possible option the only thing it that doesn't add up is that it gets stuck ingear?

yeh only just saw the video. Looks like the springs are completely stuffed.

Originally Posted by nuk1ear

yeh only just saw the video. Looks like the springs are completely stuffed.

what do you think could be causing it to stick in gear at high rpm? thanks

How old is the clutch? With my evo there are lots of issues with high RPM lockout

Originally Posted by nuk1ear

How old is the clutch? With my evo there are lots of issues with high RPM lockout

car is on 90k but no paperwork for a clutch at all, seems to be fine not slipping or anything at the moment, guess ill find out when the Detent springs get done, transmission box will be removed for that so I guess the garage will let me know if the clutch needs doing too

im hoping that getting stuck in gear issue will be fixed by new detent springs and some fresh gearbox oil