330i MSport 2002 - Clutch / Gearbox Issues?
Discussion
Went to look at the above last night, 70K miles. It's the 5th one I've looked at so far.
Immaculate inside and out, but 5 previous owners in 10 years, plus the current owner and previous owner had kept the car only 2 months before selling, which worried me a bit.
On starting the car after standing for a couple of hours (slightly warm), I blipped the throttle. There was a strange fluctuation in revs on returning to idle: dropped to 1000 or so, then momentarily went back up to 1500, then settled back to 1000. Idle speed when warm seemd normal (600/700?). On most newer cars there is a pause before returing to idle (emmisions control I think), but on this there was a slight increase again before settling. Didn't notice it on the others I've driven though.
The real issue for me was the gearlever felt rubbery and slightly sticky towards the right of the gate, but also notchy when engaging a gear. Setting off from rest needed more revs than I considered acceptable in order to get a smooth take-off: the engine would stutter if lower revs were used. [ETA Even with a lot of care changing gear, the person I took with me to look at the car noticed and asked if it was difficult to drive becasue it seemed totally different from a passenger point of view from the last one we tested.]
Something didn't quite add up about the car. I'm sure the mileage was genune based on the condition of the car, but it drove like a car of double that mileage.
Are the above issues common, and would the take-off issue be cured with a new clutch? How can the nothcy gearchange be fixed?
Cheers.
Immaculate inside and out, but 5 previous owners in 10 years, plus the current owner and previous owner had kept the car only 2 months before selling, which worried me a bit.
On starting the car after standing for a couple of hours (slightly warm), I blipped the throttle. There was a strange fluctuation in revs on returning to idle: dropped to 1000 or so, then momentarily went back up to 1500, then settled back to 1000. Idle speed when warm seemd normal (600/700?). On most newer cars there is a pause before returing to idle (emmisions control I think), but on this there was a slight increase again before settling. Didn't notice it on the others I've driven though.
The real issue for me was the gearlever felt rubbery and slightly sticky towards the right of the gate, but also notchy when engaging a gear. Setting off from rest needed more revs than I considered acceptable in order to get a smooth take-off: the engine would stutter if lower revs were used. [ETA Even with a lot of care changing gear, the person I took with me to look at the car noticed and asked if it was difficult to drive becasue it seemed totally different from a passenger point of view from the last one we tested.]
Something didn't quite add up about the car. I'm sure the mileage was genune based on the condition of the car, but it drove like a car of double that mileage.
Are the above issues common, and would the take-off issue be cured with a new clutch? How can the nothcy gearchange be fixed?
Cheers.
Edited by dr_gn on Monday 16th April 09:03
They do suffer from notchy gear boxes but this can be cured with a simple oil change. Plenty of info via google and reports of how much better they become.
They can also suffer from sticky cltuch sleeves. This can be cured easily and cheaply but requires the gear box out which then means its best to just replace the clutch altogether.
New clutch + labour is around 500 quid.
Cheers
They can also suffer from sticky cltuch sleeves. This can be cured easily and cheaply but requires the gear box out which then means its best to just replace the clutch altogether.
New clutch + labour is around 500 quid.
Cheers
SBN said:
They do suffer from notchy gear boxes but this can be cured with a simple oil change. Plenty of info via google and reports of how much better they become.
They can also suffer from sticky cltuch sleeves. This can be cured easily and cheaply but requires the gear box out which then means its best to just replace the clutch altogether.
New clutch + labour is around 500 quid.
Cheers
Thanks for the info.They can also suffer from sticky cltuch sleeves. This can be cured easily and cheaply but requires the gear box out which then means its best to just replace the clutch altogether.
New clutch + labour is around 500 quid.
Cheers
What is a clutch sleeve?
I drove one previously where the gear lever spring was faulty, but it was an easy cure once the box was out. Maybe this one would benefit from the box out to do the clutch and replace the lever springs at the same time?
IIRC there is also a clutch damper which someone suggested could be removed?
Cheers.
I have heard of the sprung gear levers that help you move up the gears and the tendancy they have to go wrong. And i believe you are correct that they are an easy repair.
The clutch sleeves i have been told by my local indy sometimes make it hard to actually let go of the previous gear and engage the next. This is mainly caused by the clutch sleeves seizing through lack of use. All they need is to be lubricated, but to get to them you need to remove the gear box which at that point you may as well replace the clutch and as many cheap parts as possible.
The clutch sleeves i have been told by my local indy sometimes make it hard to actually let go of the previous gear and engage the next. This is mainly caused by the clutch sleeves seizing through lack of use. All they need is to be lubricated, but to get to them you need to remove the gear box which at that point you may as well replace the clutch and as many cheap parts as possible.
SBN said:
I have heard of the sprung gear levers that help you move up the gears and the tendancy they have to go wrong. And i believe you are correct that they are an easy repair.
The clutch sleeves i have been told by my local indy sometimes make it hard to actually let go of the previous gear and engage the next. This is mainly caused by the clutch sleeves seizing through lack of use. All they need is to be lubricated, but to get to them you need to remove the gear box which at that point you may as well replace the clutch and as many cheap parts as possible.
Yeah I've been through the gear lever spring issue with the last one I drove.The clutch sleeves i have been told by my local indy sometimes make it hard to actually let go of the previous gear and engage the next. This is mainly caused by the clutch sleeves seizing through lack of use. All they need is to be lubricated, but to get to them you need to remove the gear box which at that point you may as well replace the clutch and as many cheap parts as possible.
What is a "Clutch Sleeve" though?
dr_gn said:
The real issue for me was the gearlever felt rubbery and slightly sticky towards the right of the gate
The rest sounds worrying but this is, I beleive normal. At least all the ones I've driven do this - including my 530i with the same gearbox. I actually had the transmission swapped by BMW under warranty and the new box did it as well, so I think its a case of 'They all do that Sir'.The setting off from rest issue is down to the CDV...quite normal and as BMW designed it for some reason...most people just remove it:
http://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/forum/f91/e46-clutch...
Sticky gear at right of the gate...I've had two E46 330ci manuals and they've both suffered from this with no ill affects. If you google it (or even search on here) there's plenty of people that say the same. It seems (from memory) that BMW might have replaced the gearboxes on some cars that had this problem but others have just left it as is with no problems.
http://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/forum/f91/e46-clutch...
Sticky gear at right of the gate...I've had two E46 330ci manuals and they've both suffered from this with no ill affects. If you google it (or even search on here) there's plenty of people that say the same. It seems (from memory) that BMW might have replaced the gearboxes on some cars that had this problem but others have just left it as is with no problems.
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