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Thread: Shifter Seems to Have Broken Off / Disconnected

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    274
    My Cars
    Jet Black 2003 M3 Coupe

    Shifter Seems to Have Broken Off / Disconnected

    I got a new clutch about a month or so ago in my 2003 M3 and the shifter feel was roughly similar to before but would have some times where it was harder to get in gear and had to wiggle it around a bit.

    I decided I would just change the fluid and it should do the trick, but before I could get to it, my shifter completely broke today and I couldn't get it in gear at all, its just flopping around. I let the clutch out and it still was able to keep run, so I'm assuming its stuck in neutral. I was lucky it was a residential area and was able to push it more or less off to the side of the road for now.

    Any ideas what most likely happened?

    Is it likely to be fixable without needing to have a shop drop the transmission and everything all over again? (Maybe through the top of the console?)


    Any help is GRRRREATLY appreciated!

    Thanks.

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  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Posts
    2,202
    My Cars
    S54/E36,18 Sierra Denali
    Get it home and in the air. Trans does not need to come down, but you'll have to work around the driveshaft / shield etc. it's not impossible. Pull the boot and get a photo of the linkage. You'll have a better idea of the issue and we can help more.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    West Point, Virginia
    Posts
    959
    My Cars
    2002, 320is, 328is, M3
    What did you find? My guess would be a pin was not secured when they put it back together.
    ME:"I want to make my car faster and lighter"
    THEM:" Get out and let someone else drive"

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    274
    My Cars
    Jet Black 2003 M3 Coupe
    I ended up buying a big jack and stands etc, and jacking the car up so I could slide underneath and sure enough the clip that holds the shifter on was missing allowing it all to disconnect...wether it popped off or was never put back on, who knows?

    I went to buy a new tiny clip at the dealer for some ungodly price and then I spent all night trying to blindly reach up through the exhaust and around the drive shaft to get the clip back on...finally got it.

    I changed my transmission fluid after that and the shifts are so smooth and easy now, its night and day.

    What a pain in the ass. I wish I could secure that clip better somehow so it doesn't happen again...

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Posts
    2,202
    My Cars
    S54/E36,18 Sierra Denali
    Nice find! What MT fluid did you go with?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Concord, CA
    Posts
    754
    My Cars
    1996 328i vert
    Quote Originally Posted by shane82388 View Post
    I ended up buying a big jack and stands etc, and jacking the car up so I could slide underneath and sure enough the clip that holds the shifter on was missing allowing it all to disconnect...wether it popped off or was never put back on, who knows?

    I went to buy a new tiny clip at the dealer for some ungodly price and then I spent all night trying to blindly reach up through the exhaust and around the drive shaft to get the clip back on...finally got it.

    I changed my transmission fluid after that and the shifts are so smooth and easy now, its night and day.

    What a pain in the ass. I wish I could secure that clip better somehow so it doesn't happen again...
    Ah the "bitch" clip, now you know why it's called that. Other than it being near impossible to fit large hands in there to get it I hate the fact that the tolerance on the thing is like right on the money. The security of it rests in the fact that it clips to the top of the transmission housing (slides over a fin). It's pretty secure there, I remember having to use a 1' flathead and mallet to get that thing undone!


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