Transmission hard to put into "Drive"

[trevorf]

Hello - this just happened today- it's now very difficult to get the transmission into Drive. It goes to Reverse and Neutral just fine but beyond that is difficult. At first I couldn't get it to go, but I jimmied a little to the left and it finally did. It then goes into Manual mode (how I always drive it) easily, and shifts normally while there. After an hour driving same thing- difficult to slide into Drive.

Any ideas what that could be? thanks--

[supra94tt]

Coin stuck by the shifter assy. or something binding on shifter cable?

[trevorf]

There's really no room for anything to get stuck on the surface, as the cover is intact and no hole. I can slide the shifter down with pressure to the left and it seems to go into Drive. When I slide it down I can feel a little resistance on the right side...not sure what that would be. Not sure how to check the shifter cable...

[supra94tt]

So pull the cover and check already, lol .

[trevorf]

I'll pop the cover tomorrow. Is that thing all one piece? Does it pop off? (don't want to break it!!)

"Do you really owe income tax?"
NO!

[m3studio]

Not something to take lightly. That could be the neutral safety switch that can run a few bucks plus labor. One job ran me $ 587.00 for a bad switch fyi

[trevorf]

Same symptoms as mine?

[m3studio]

Yes sir. Your gear shift lever basically pushed on a cable to the Neutral Safety Switch. So if for some reason that cable is bent or the switch is bad itself.. its a problem. Good thing is that the swap should not be hard, being that its on the outside of the transmission held by a few bolts. But the part might be expensive, than again it could be cheap. But thats what I'm telling you, its simple yet could be expensive.

[trevorf]

OK I popped the shift knob and cover. What I found is that the very end of the cable hits the black plastic piece on the right side before sliding into the slot to go into Drive. (sorry for my juvenile terms- not sure what these pieces are called!). Then upon further inspection I can see that there's a white plastic bushing that is supposed to slide down with the whole mechanism, that guides it into the black plastic slot when in Drive -- looks like it's missing. So the very end of the cable has some slight play/movement and doesn't get guided directly into the resting slot when put into Drive, unless it's pushed slightly to the left.
There's a black plastic knob on the right side of the mechanism that pushes to the left when switching to manual shift mode, and that also has a white plastic bushing on it. It looks like that's the missing bushing, though not sure if that one is also supposed to be there. ??
I'm searching for my camera to take a pic...

[trevorf]

You can see the white bushing on the black knob, and it sits flush with the shift cable when put into Manual shift mode, but when taken out that bushing goes with the black knob. It looks like it's actually supposed to sit inside the shift cable disk. Is that correct?

[trevorf]

Anyone? I'd like to know where that white bushing is supposed to be. Maybe it's as easy as a superglue rigging (to the shift cable ring). Anyone want to pull their knob and cover off and check???!!!

[supra94tt]

Just checked mine but it looks different(540).

[m3studio]

I dont think its right. Look at how its scrapping on the side where it should be in that mount. Well something is definitely off; lemme see if I can search something up but yea looks out of place

[trevorf]

Any of my 530i Automatic comrades want to pull the cover and see where that white bushing is supposed to sit????!!! This is bugging me!!

[Aristeros]

Same exact symptoms as you. However, its come and gone and only on occasion it happens to me now. But in the winter I would get it just about every time I went from park to drive.

[trevorf]

I'm just trying to figure out where (how) that white bushing is supposed to sit. None of the diagrams I've found drill down that tight, so I can't tell.

[rf900rkw]

I'm just trying to figure out where (how) that white bushing is supposed to sit. None of the diagrams I've found drill down that tight, so I can't tell.

2002 540It with steptronic. This pretty much shows where it is, and what it does. When you move the shifter to the manual gate, it disengages the cable and pick up the switch. The black "peg" picks up the cable and locks it in D. Your white bushing is out of the cable bobbin.



Park




Neutral




Drive




Slapstick

[trevorf]

Thanks a lot for the pics!! So now can I rig that thing back into the "cable bobbin"?

[rf900rkw]

Errr, that little white plastic thingie is sold only as part of the shifter assembly, $470.

I hope you understand that further experimentation is in your hands. But yeah, it sure as hell ain't doing any good where it currently sits.

[trevorf]

Pardon me, as I just had to wipe myself off....!! $470? It appears I have some rigging experimentation in my near future.!

[trevorf]

I applied some Gorilla super glue to the bushing and set it on the black peg, then shifted to Manual mode so it would stick to the shift cable ring properly. I let it sit for about a minute, then shifted back into Park and let it sit for about an hour. Then I went to try it out, shifting back and forth several times. It looks/feels like that did the trick. How long that will hold? No idea! But for now it slides smoothly into Drive. So I'll chalk that up to a "win", for now!

thanks for the help everyone!!

[trevorf]

Just an update for posterity sake: the Gorilla glue lasted about 4 days, so I upgraded to epoxy, and it's held for about 8 weeks. So no need to purchase the $500 shift assembly.
(knocking on wood!)