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Thread: Manual shifter lever not returning back to neutral

  1. #1
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    Question Manual shifter lever not returning back to neutral

    When the car is cold, if I push the shift lever to the right, it will stay there and not return back to neutral. Once the car warms up, it does return to neutral, but nowhere near as smoothly as when pushed to the left. It feels like I'm hitting a rough patch when venturing into the right of neutral.

    My mechanic is telling me this is a common problem, and it's a problem with the transmission itself. Lubing of the lever won't help.

    Changing tranny fluid didn't help.

    Does getting an SSK help at all with this? Any other easy fixes? Anyone else having this problem?

    Thanks.
    .

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by quattro PETE View Post
    When the car is cold, if I push the shift lever to the right, it will stay there and not return back to neutral. Once the car warms up, it does return to neutral, but nowhere near as smoothly as when pushed to the left. It feels like I'm hitting a rough patch when venturing into the right of neutral.

    My mechanic is telling me this is a common problem, and it's a problem with the transmission itself. Lubing of the lever won't help.

    Changing tranny fluid didn't help.

    Does getting an SSK help at all with this? Any other easy fixes? Anyone else having this problem?

    Thanks.
    If this is a problem it's my second display of noobism today.

    My car just warms up and the aforementioned disappears...

    Furthermore I can feel a click with the shifter in my hand after 5-10 minutes of driving, then it returns to neutral and operates normally.
    I just assumed it was a mechanism for a cold transmission (yours pulls towards 5th from 3rd, correct?), since I change my fluid on a 20-30k interval.
    Last edited by Earthman03; 07-15-2007 at 10:09 PM.
    5/98 BMW 528i/5 with Winter and Sport Packages, Oxfordgrün-Metallic/ Black/ Graphite Trim

  3. #3
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    Replace your trans fluid w/ Royal Purple Syncromax. ($10 per qt.X2)

    It can't hurt, and it just might help. It sure made mine shift a lot smoother and easier.
    chiefwej 2003 540i ///m-tech 6-speed Black Sapphire Metallic w/gray
    See: My REGISTRY PICTURES
    Mods:plate delete, debadged, 35% tint,euro console, Evans NPG (zero pressure cooling system), CDV delete, Rogue Octane SSK, RP Symcromax

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by chiefwej View Post
    Replace your trans fluid w/ Royal Purple Syncromax. ($10 per qt.X2)
    That's exactly what I replaced it with.
    .

  5. #5
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    it has to do with a detend inside your tranny. It is a big job, I plan to do this at the next clutch replacement.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Earthman03 View Post
    (yours pulls towards 5th from 3rd, correct?)
    It doesn't really pull. If I push the lever to the right (as if I wanted to put it in 5th, but without actually pushing up/forward to 5), then the lever stays there. It doesn't come back into the center. Same happens if I'm in 5th and I push down on the lever. It will stay in that position right under 5th, but not return back to center unless I give it a push to the left.

    Last edited by quattro PETE; 07-15-2007 at 11:34 PM.
    .

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by 16valex View Post
    it has to do with a detend inside your tranny. It is a big job, I plan to do this at the next clutch replacement.
    Could you explain more?

    Quote Originally Posted by quattro PETE View Post
    It doesn't really pull. If I push the lever to the right (as if I wanted to put it in 5th, but without actually pushing up/forward to 5), then the lever stays there. It doesn't come back into the center. Same happens if I'm in 5th and I push down on the lever. It will stay in that position right under 5th, but not return back to center unless I give it a push to the left.

    Hmmm, mine is something similar--it rests between 3rd, 4th, and 5th but to the right of the normal neutral position.

    Once I've driven on a cold start for 5-10 minutes it returns to normal position in neutral.

    If you try to downshift from 5th to 4th or 3rd does the stick want to move in the PINK direction when it should really move in the PURPLE direction? {This once again before the transmission seems to "warm up"}

    But the problems are in a similar area of the shift gate, so...

    5/98 BMW 528i/5 with Winter and Sport Packages, Oxfordgrün-Metallic/ Black/ Graphite Trim

  8. #8
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    Simplified.
    Last edited by Fiziks; 11-27-2008 at 03:51 AM.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fiziks View Post
    Simplified.
    I tried, but my lines aren't touching...

    I also picked nice colors to get everyone's attention. Yay manual transmission diagnosis
    5/98 BMW 528i/5 with Winter and Sport Packages, Oxfordgrün-Metallic/ Black/ Graphite Trim

  10. #10
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    seems like my shift lever, randomly, has a little bump, like the one to get into reverse, but less of a push, to get it over to the 5th/6th spot on the right, it kinda sticks a bit. i dont know if it's a problem, i'm going to look back at the service records and have a look at when the last tranny fluid change was done and possibly do so.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Earthman03 View Post
    Could you explain more?



    Hmmm, mine is something similar--it rests between 3rd, 4th, and 5th but to the right of the normal neutral position.

    Once I've driven on a cold start for 5-10 minutes it returns to normal position in neutral.

    If you try to downshift from 5th to 4th or 3rd does the stick want to move in the PINK direction when it should really move in the PURPLE direction? {This once again before the transmission seems to "warm up"}

    But the problems are in a similar area of the shift gate, so...

    You can go to RealOEM.com and look for item 28 in the manual tran to find out more. But below is the part numbers.
    28SET OF DETENT PINS123117525048$9.60See SI 230102(881)

    Cheers

  12. #12
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    Mine was doing that this morning. Warmed up and was ok. Really pissed me off tho. I guess ill just have to deal.
    ________________________________
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  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by 16valex View Post
    You can go to RealOEM.com and look for item 28 in the manual tran to find out more. But below is the part numbers.
    28SET OF DETENT PINS123117525048$9.60See SI 230102(881)

    Cheers
    I found said parts--so I need to crack open my transmission to replace these detent pins, which are responsible for my car's wandering stick? How do they work?

    Can anything happen if I do not make the repair? I've come to associate this finicky aspect of my transmission as another warming up procedure, and I never have any other transmission problems.

    Quote Originally Posted by NikosX View Post
    Mine was doing that this morning. Warmed up and was ok. Really pissed me off tho. I guess ill just have to deal.
    Bump, I'd be interested to see what others say, since I'm sure most here do tranny/diff. fluid changes.
    5/98 BMW 528i/5 with Winter and Sport Packages, Oxfordgrün-Metallic/ Black/ Graphite Trim

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Earthman03 View Post
    I found said parts--so I need to crack open my transmission to replace these detent pins, which are responsible for my car's wandering stick? How do they work?

    - Yes, detend pins are the culprit of your stick wondering off.

    Can anything happen if I do not make the repair? I've come to associate this finicky aspect of my transmission as another warming up procedure, and I never have any other transmission problems.

    - No, nothing other than missing the third gear occasionally from second, wait until winter you will be a bit of enoying.



    Bump, I'd be interested to see what others say, since I'm sure most here do tranny/diff. fluid changes.

    Cheers

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by 16valex View Post
    Cheers
    Can the detent pins relate to quattro PETE's problem?
    5/98 BMW 528i/5 with Winter and Sport Packages, Oxfordgrün-Metallic/ Black/ Graphite Trim

  16. #16
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    I'm bringing this back from the dead, because mine does this exact thing. Anyone else? Did you fix it? How?

  17. #17
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    I've got the same problem. According to the Roundel article (link below) this can be fixed with the tranny in the car. I'm not convinced there's enough clearance so I'm thinking about dropping the tranny soon to fix this.

    I'm too immature to play with hyperlinks, but with the following "links" you should be able to get all the info you need about this.

    My clutch was recently replaced by the previous owner. I pisses me off that this fix wasn't done then - I think it should be a normal procedure when these trannys are pulled.

    forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=682280&highlight=shift+linkage

    w w w.jshayden.com/BMW_e36_ZF_Transmission_Fix_5th_Gear_Gate.pdf

    w w w.jshayden.com/Roundel_Article_e36_Xmission_Fix.pdf

    forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48002&highlight=Tran%252A+spring+ clutch&page=42

    For the last link, scroll down and you'll find the same links I've included for the BMW and Roundel articles on this subject.

    Cheers,

    Keith

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by mjcari View Post
    I'm bringing this back from the dead, because mine does this exact thing. Anyone else? Did you fix it? How?
    It's a known detent pin issue. Basically, the pins were machined to fit too tightly and they can bind up when cold. As the tranny warms up, things loosen up and it feels better (but not great). The fix is a new detent pin and bushing set. Cheap parts, but the whole transmission needs to come out to get at where they are installed so big labor bucks. I (thankfully) had mine taken care of under warranty for free. The new pins/bushings are perfect and there is almost no resistance going into 5th now and the shifter just pops right back to neutral like it should.

  19. #19
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    Folks,

    90% of your detent problem will be gone if you replace your tranny fluid with Redline MT-90, ask me how I know

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by 16valex View Post
    Folks,

    90% of your detent problem will be gone if you replace your tranny fluid with Redline MT-90, ask me how I know
    Yeah, I did that. It made no difference at all.
    .

  21. #21
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    Would not expect it to make a difference as the detent pin is ABOVE the fluid line and not lubicated by the gear oil.

    I've had the problem for 2 years now (328i). When it's time for a clutch, I'll get it fixed.

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by quattro PETE View Post
    Yeah, I did that. It made no difference at all.
    Really! Damn man, sorry to hear that, I guess we all have different level of screwed up detent. Ever since I had the MT-90 in there my stiff wondering stick is almost completely gone

  23. #23
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    I currently have this issue and it only started after I installed my ssk. I'm going to go back to stock and and re-lubricate everything to see if I can get this issue to go away. I'm 99% sure that in my case its my ssk (i'm using an SSK intended for a e46 m3). This ssk issue stems from the fact that both shifters are bent differently.

    Could it possibly be that your shift lever is somehow bent?

  24. #24
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    FYI, the detent issue is well known to BMW dealers. It's even detailed in BMW TIS:



    It looks like there was actually some sort of a service action on this, but it ended in December of last year. However, I'm not sure if it was only for vehicles that were still under warranty/CPO. Anyway, it's gone now.

    Dealer charges about 3 hours of labor if you ask them to fix this.
    .

  25. #25
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    Yay, my car does this, too. It popped up the last couple mornings here in South FL with the temps in the 50s. Good thing I don't live up north as taking out the tranny isn't too appealing since the clutch seems fine.

    But maybe I just need an excuse to convert to a regular flywheel and E34 M5 3.8L clutch. The original E39 dual-mass flywheel & self-adjusting clutch just doesn't feel as nice and linear compared to my older BMWs.

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