6 Speed Transmission Tough to Shift

[SMP05]

Hey all,

New here, just recently purchased a 98 540i 6 Speed.

Now, when I bought it the car was tough to go into gears. It does not pop out of gear, slip or grind. I thought that this was just because it had a heavier clutch and flywheel being a 6 speed Getrag (I came from an 04 WRX).

I test drove another 6 speed 540 the other day, just to see if my transmission was stiffer than normal, and it was.

Would this just need a transmission flush or am I looking at a bigger problem?

Thanks

[jdjg]

trying to change your tranny oil, put a Redline MTL or Royal Purple....

cheers

[rf900rkw]

Does it shift smoother with the engine off? If so, look to your clutch. Draggy disc, bad pilot bearing, something in there.

[jnyost]

If it's just tough to get in gear you need to replace your fluid.

Amsoil MTF (http://www.amsoil.com/redirect.cgi?zo=1574399&page=storefront/mtf)

[kingsly]

I was just about to post this same question. Particularly 1st, 2nd, and 3rd are difficult to get into, but get much easier when she's warmed up.

As soon as my friend's Buick fail gets off my ramps I'll be doing a fluid service...

[Vipsa]

I've driven two '98 540s and they both suffered from the extremely heavy shifter. My friend bought one of them so I changed his trans fluid with Royal Purple Synchromax and that helped a bit. Still no where near as easy and smooth as my 5sp 528, but a lot better than before.

[E39bmw]

Mine is extremly hard to get into 2nd and 3rd when it is cold. The reason is bc i have a modified short shifter thats 1 inch lower now and also bc of the CAlifornia redline mix. Once the trans is wormed up, its gets better but not nearly as smooth as my friend's 6sped in his 330ci.

OP, how many miles on the car?

[f355spider]

It is worth looking at the linkage and making sure all the parts are in good shape. I have not looked at an E39 shifter, but on previous cars, sometimes it just requires replacing all the bushings and lubricating everything properly with a good quality grease. Amazing the amount of play there is with worn bushings...tightens things right up, and much smoother.

[edjack]

SMP05,

Does the clutch grab close to the floor? If you push the clutch in as far as it will go, is shifting easier? If so, the master or slave cylinder may be worn out.

[Cyrix2k]

Mine is extremly hard to get into 2nd and 3rd when it is cold. The reason is bc i have a modified short shifter thats 1 inch lower now and also bc of the CAlifornia redline mix. Once the trans is wormed up, its gets better but not nearly as smooth as my friend's 6sped in his 330ci.

OP, how many miles on the car?
FWIW, I just drove a 330i/5 which would have the zf in it (same at the 528i & 530i) and it had a stiffer feeling shifter than my car. It kind of surprised me because the getrag 250 is a really light shifting transmission (used in the e36 325i & e39 525i).


It is worth looking at the linkage and making sure all the parts are in good shape. I have not looked at an E39 shifter, but on previous cars, sometimes it just requires replacing all the bushings and lubricating everything properly with a good quality grease. Amazing the amount of play there is with worn bushings...tightens things right up, and much smoother.
Definitely. My shift bushings are *shot*, but they're a huge pain to replace. It's on my list. That said, the actual action to push into/out of gear shouldn't rely on the linkage being in great shape.

[Cyrix2k]

SMP05,

Does the clutch grab close to the floor? If you push the clutch in as far as it will go, is shifting easier? If so, the master or slave cylinder may be worn out.
It *should* grab off the floor... Mine has maybe an 1" of free play before it starts to engage. Generally a worn out slave or master cylinder results in either the pedaling dropping to the floor with no pressure or the clutch slowly starts to engage by itself while leaving the clutch pushed in for an extended period of time (such as sitting at a light while in gear). An example of what is not normal would be the 330i I test drove yesterday - it was engaging at the very, very top of the pedal, near flush to the brake pedal.

[SMP05]

Update:

Changed to RP Syncromax and it helped a bit, defiantely tougher than other cars I have drove and even still compared to another 540 I drove.

Car has 200,000kms on it

I might look into replacing the bushings on the shifter, I have also heard mention of a bearing when people put a new short shifter in and I'm not sure if they are referring to just the bushings or not?

[jnyost]

The "bearing" they are referring to is the bearing cup. It's the plastic round cup that the shifter ball snaps into.

[Vipsa]

Update:

Changed to RP Syncromax and it helped a bit, defiantely tougher than other cars I have drove and even still compared to another 540 I drove.

Car has 200,000kms on it

I might look into replacing the bushings on the shifter, I have also heard mention of a bearing when people put a new short shifter in and I'm not sure if they are referring to just the bushings or not?

You know what else helps tremendously? A weighted shift knob. The RK5 knob I have for sale in my sig is almost 2lbs heavy and makes shifting a lot effortless.

[landcruisermike]

The first thing you should do is bleed it. One bubble in there and it can cause the clutch to drag and shifting will be much more difficult.

[boca rat]

I had the same problem, switched to RP and no difference....at first. 20k later and things are still improving I think,

[SMP05]

The "bearing" they are referring to is the bearing cup. It's the plastic round cup that the shifter ball snaps into.

Would these have any effect on the actual hard shifting or would it just have a sloppy feel to the shifter if it was bad?

[frnkwhte]

So RP Syncromax or Amsoil.. Whats the preference between the two for the 6-speed