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Noticeable thuds when moving lever into gear

4K views 17 replies 14 participants last post by  ZHPinthe103 
#1 ·
I've never driven another e46 with my transmission so I don't know if this is normal or not. There is a thud when I move my 2003 6-speed into gear. It is a very solid and full sound that doesn't sound ugly or bad, just different. I seem to notice it most going 1-2 (but 1-2 is my most frequent change). The change feels fine, it just makes this thud.

I've only had the car for a few months so I'm getting used to the sounds. My old 5-speed e36 didn't make this noise. For all I know it could be perfectly normal.

The car has 70k miles, and had inspection II done a few thousand miles ago. Any insight?
 
#3 ·
1. nice car, welcome to the forums. is it a ZHP?
2. probably transmission bushings. my car used to do that too, then i had to drop the tranny for some work and then when i put it back on the sound went away, or its less noticable.

its probably normal though if its not LOUD
 
#4 ·
Could be worn differential bushings too. Not a sound to worry about in terms of causing damage but if it bothers you you could try to get the differential bushings and transmission mount bushings replaced and see if that solves it.
 
#5 ·
i wouldnt worry about it my E39 and my E46 have done it for as long as i have had them.
its only when I put it into first gear. if i hold the cluth in for a little longer and the put it in gear it doesnt do it.
dont know if its bad or not but i drive both these cars hard and nothing has happened yet.
 
#6 ·
My 325i does this as well and I don't like it. Whether the car is moving or not, if clutch is in, and I put in 1st about 80% of the time the car has a quick jolt, not huge, but it doesn't seem good. I get it in 1st and 2nd only. It's almost as if the clutch were not completely disengaged but I know it is (I've had car in the air with clutch in and the wheels don't turn). Even if the syncros were worn there shouldn't be any jolt if the clutch is depressed unless moving it into gear is somehow pushing something that's connected to the transmission output. I just don't see how bad shifter bushings would cause the whole car to do that since I am certainly not pushing hard enough on the shifter such that it shakes the whole car once.
 
#14 ·
I've got the same thing and I've chalked it up to the clutch not totally disengaging, drive line slack being taken up or gear lash in the differential. Mine will do it at a complete stop with my foot on the brakes when I go from neutral to first, and of course all the other gears ad well. I'm sure I need bushings and everything else back there as well.
Green.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Bimmer App
 
#17 ·
I get a slight clunk - you might call it a thud - going 1-2 - sometimes louder than others. I don't think it is mount related, I think it is something internal. I'm not concerned about it yet - if it gets worse then I might get concerned. Like you I have not driven the same car/transmission before. I suspect it is normal. Perhaps not desirable, but normal. I suppose I should go test drive another bmw manual to see if it does the same thing. To me it feels/sounds like a little backlash in the shifter mechanism.
 
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