Stuck in 2nd Gear!

[Zapjackson]

Ok, so im pullin out into the street and i bring it up to 5k where i usually shift in 1st, and then shift to second, then i hear this loud pop. Im like oh great! So then im gonna pull over and see what was the deal but then i realize that i cant get my car out of 2nd gear. No matter how hard i try. I can still drive the car, it just wont shift out of 2nd. I tried to wiggle a push the shifter as much as i can, but it wont budge no matter how much force i give it. Any common problems like this, and maybe a solution?

Basically: My car is stuck in 2nd gear, and i need help.

[Itsa328]

shift fork bent? Linkage failed? Or *gulp* worse... Looks like a ride on the rollback to the shop. None of this sounds fixable from above.

[choffa]

To add a few parts to the list: slave cylinder, pivot ball/fork.

If it is the slave cylinder, you can likely repair without dropping transmission, as long as fork hasn't become disengaged from the throwout bearing & pivot ball.

Keep your fingers crossed.

[Zapjackson]

Well it ended up being my actual 2nd gear. It broke or something according to my mech. Good thing my dad knew someone with a extra low mileage tranny. It ended up costing me about $1000 to replace including labor and new clutch. Id say thats pretty decent. Oh and the new clutch is amazing, but im gonna baby it for a few miles, cuz i dont want anything more to break.

[Camoflash]

dude this just happened to me today and im hoping its not as serious as yours! Fingers crossed

[pavlica]

Oh and the new clutch is amazing, but im gonna baby it for a few miles, cuz i dont want anything more to break.

this brings up a good question that i have.....what is the breaking period for a cluth on an e36. (my only experienc is a mustang)

[zeit00]

Wow.. These Getrags are all dieing at the same time.. Mine died two weeks ago, And I know of another 3 people that it died as well..

Same problem. 2nd gear just goes bye bye.

Edit: wait you have a ZF.. wow that sucks.. Sorry to hear about that.

[jaguax]

What is the typical mileage on these cars that have 2nd gear explosions?

Man... I read about people approaching 300k, and then I read about people with exploding transmissions. It scares me, especially since the transmission on my previous Maxima died out of the blue while at a red light that just turned green. Accelerate a bit then BOOM, tranny fluid everywhere and completely motionless. Of course, that was an automatic tranny, the same one from a Nissan Stanza, which happens to be a weak little 4 cylinder. So pretty much, a tranny designed for a 4 cylinder on a 6 cylinder car. Way to go Nissan.

Seriously though, I wish transmissions lasted the life of the engine.