Difficulty downshifting from 5th into 4th

[Bring The Noise]

It seems whenever i'm in 5th and try to downshift into 4th, i always encouter some sort of resistance, like im shifting against a wall so i wiggle it into neutral and back into 4th. this never occurs when im downshift into any other gear, what is the probable cause for this problem?

[1996 328ti]

Do you have a lot of miles on the tranny?
In my case it was stuck return springs.
Had them replaced and I hope to get another 225,000 miles on my tranny and clutch.

[longboardm82]

haha good luck on 225000 miles on the same clutch, they only last about 100k

[thedudewalter]

was difficult to shift... but I haven't driven a stick in a while... i hate repeating myself, but's it's in the shop, so i haven't driven in three weeks... will report back to you.




It seems whenever i'm in 5th and try to downshift into 4th, i always encouter some sort of resistance, like im shifting against a wall so i wiggle it into neutral and back into 4th. this never occurs when im downshift into any other gear, what is the probable cause for this problem?

[1996 328ti]

haha good luck on 225000 miles on the same clutch, they only last about 100kI already have +225000 miles on the clutch. When my mechanic dropped the tranny to fix the return springs he looked at the clutch. Plenty of life left.

[JBURGS47]

haha good luck on 225000 miles on the same clutch, they only last about 100k

Untrue. Clutches can last very long depending on the driver, and how it was driven. If you shift smoothly, regardless how fast or spirited your driving is, your clutch will inherently last longer. If you often burn the clutch or are one of those drivers who insists on slamming into gear (I'm not saying you are, just in general) every time, the clutch will not last as long.

[Bring The Noise]

My car has very low kms, 123k