Gear lever spring problem

[Exige77]

I have a 330ci coupe 2002 spec that I have had since new. Done 112,000 now.

The spring that holds the gear lever between 3rd and 4th has gone so now hard to change down between 5th and 3rd in a hurry.

Is this a big job to repair ?

Also I live near Dorking in Surrey. Are there any independent BMW specialistsin the area you can recomend ?

Thanks in advance.

[RayArm]

Would love an idea on this one too!

I've got a 108,000 mile 2001 330ci Sport manual which does the same.

If I go into 5th gear before the engine is properly warm, 100% of the time the spring centering will disappear.

If I wait until the engine is properly warm before using 5th, then 50% of the time the spring centering will disappear.

I've shown the car to an independent, who said that it can't be fixed without opening up the gearbox and thus not worth it.

Best to get a new gearbox I was told....

Is there a better way to resolve this?

Thanks!

[sniff diesel]

Have you tried a gearbox oil change? Worth a try as it could hardly make it any worse, should only cost about £50-60 from a decent independant.

[phelix]

I had this problem on a 99 E46 328i and a change to Redline MTL made it go away.

[rm163603]

This is a known issue and there is a kit that BMW sells to rectify it.

Basically there is a plunger that sticks and causes the problem. The fix replaces the bore the plunger sits in.

It doesn't look particularly DIY mainly because it's hard to acess the bit of the box thats an issue.

Part numbers:

23117542746
23317502165
23311224935

The instructions are in the TIS. If anyone wants it I can email the relevant pages.

[RayArm]

I've found two of those parts but can't find 23117542746? I used realoem.com so not sure if that's correct.



I'd appreciate the instructions rm163603 if you could email them to me?

Many thanks in advance!

Edited by RayArm on Tuesday 16th December 12:39