Breaking Passenger Recline Gear Repeatedly

[loveverts]

I'm on my 5th recline gear for the passenger seat in my 1999 M3 Convertible.

I took the seat out to replace a gear that was broken but would move a little bit. When I took the cover off the gearbox the seat back jerked backwards. The video's I watched didn't mention trying to keep the seat back in the same position.

Anyway, I cleaned out the old grease and put in fresh. I confirmed that the gears moved freely when I moved the seat back before putting rod with the gear in. Every time for 5 times now the gear keeps breaking like something is jammed.

Each time I put the seat back in a different position before installing gear. I didn't mark where it was originally.

Does anyone have any idea what is happening? What am I doing wrong? It's getting expensive buying so many gears.

ANY help is much appreciated...I just don't know what to try next.

Thanks...

[loveverts]

I'm on my 5th recline gear for the passenger seat in my 1999 M3 Convertible.

I took the seat out to replace a gear that was broken but would move a little bit. When I took the cover off the gearbox the seat back jerked backwards. The video's I watched didn't mention trying to keep the seat back in the same position.

Anyway, I cleaned out the old grease and put in fresh. I confirmed that the gears moved freely when I moved the seat back before putting rod with the gear in. Every time for 5 times now the gear keeps breaking like something is jammed.

Each time I put the seat back in a different position before installing gear. I didn't mark where it was originally.

Does anyone have any idea what is happening? What am I doing wrong? It's getting expensive buying so many gears.

ANY help is much appreciated...I just don't know what to try next.

Thanks...

Additional info for this post. With the cover off the gearbox and the worm gear out I can move the seatback back and forth and observe the larger gear that meshes into the planetary gears rotate freely. I have taken this gear out and inserted the worm gear into place and that will spin freely.

Put the two gears together and it seems as though they are welded to the gearbox case. Absolutely no movement whatsoever when I try to move the seatback manually. I can't budge it. Take the worm gear out and it moves freely again.

I can't figure it out. Logic tells me that the drive gear with the worm gear nested in its cradle with the balls on either end that allow the worm gear to spin freely should all spin freely together when manually moving the seatback. There is no reason why they shouldn't. The cover and motor aren't installed.

I'm really struggling with this. Is there something simple that I'm not doing right?