When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Stiff shifter - traced to transmission - now what?
Hello,
2005 Justa here. 5-speed manual.
The stick shifter has been really stiff for a long time. Finally got down to taking some things apart. Took the air box out and removed the shifter cables from the shifter linkage. The cables are easy and smooth as glass.
There are two cables and two mechanisms.
The cable & mechanism that move with side-to-side movement of the shift stick move easily - no problem.
The cable that moves with the forward-backward motion of the stick moves easily, no problem.
The problem is the linkage that the forward-backward cable connects to. Very stiff. This is connected to a cam that raises & lowers the other linkage. Very difficult to move both up and down.
I've oiled the exterior mechanisms - don't think it's that. I think it's whatever is inside the tranny that this mechanism moves. Impossible to lubricate that - the up-down mechanism has a bell on it that prevents anything from being applied from above.
I see that the tranny shifter mechanism is attached to a cover that looks like it will come off with three bolts. But - is this wise?
Also, there's a small cap on something behind the bell mechanism - it's loose, moves freely, but doesn't come off. What is this? Is this something that might help?
Thank you for any light someone might be able to shine on this.
EDIT: I should add - this occurs with the engine running or not, hot or cold (although improves only marginally once warmed up and driven), and the clutch was replaced about 20k ago, maybe less.
Last edited by Omicron Pie; Apr 30, 2015 at 09:08 AM.
After more research - that shifting mechanism on the transmission is called the Switching Unit. And, yes, it comes out by removing the three Torx 40 bolts. Took just a little moving around to get it to clear the engine mount.
With it out I was able to immediately tell - the pivot arm with the cam on it is almost seized. Very difficult to move. It's not the main plunger shaft - it's the the arm with the cam.
I've poured WD40 on it and moved it back and forth a bunch of times with a wrench - only minor improvement. It's like the axle is too tight in the hub it rotates in. Of course it's a permanent rivet-type axle, so I can't take it out to do anything to it.
Open to suggestions.
Thanks.
PS - sure hope this thing goes back in as easily!
Last edited by Omicron Pie; Apr 30, 2015 at 11:28 AM.
'Fraid it's none of those. It's at the other end - on the transmission. Under the air intake box, the transmission shifting mechanism that the shifter cables connect to on the transmission.
On the left of that unit, in this picture, you can see the nub where one of the cables connects to. This lever has a cam on it that moves the entire assembly un and down when you move the stick shift left and right. That lever is tight. I spent a couple hours alternating WD40 and oil and working it back and forth with a wrench. It's improved, but I'm pretty sure it's still going to be tight if I put it back on as-is. And a new one is $280 - for a tight rivet-axle.
Last edited by Omicron Pie; Apr 30, 2015 at 01:59 PM.
Spray underneath it on the plunger part and spray the pivot points. Also check the shifter cables again , if they pivot or the pivot end is rusted or coming apart.
^^^ Yes, that's exactly the part. I've got it out on the bench.
The cables are fine. They move finger-tip easy from the transmission end when they're disconnected from the Switching Unit - real easy to move the stick shift around from the transmission-end of the cables.
The plunger, I can tell, would move very easily.
The problem is the pivot point of that arm shown at the top of yor picture - the one with the cam on it to move the plunger up and down. It's so tight I can barely move it by hand - have to have a wrench on it to move it, even after a couple hours trying to lubricate and work it free. It's like the pivot's too big for its hole or something.
Your $230 is certainly better than the $280 I found. How do I say to this to someone who's helpful and in th ebusiness of selling parts?.....I was hoping to just un-stick the pivot - $230 for a wonky pivot - too maddening. If I'm replacing it anyway, I'm tempted to attempt a repair of the pivot.
Thanks, yea, I have soaked ( all pivots ) and light greased them in the past. Work for a short time till they seized again from weather in the engine bay. Worth a shot. Good luck.
@Omicron Pie -
Did the switching unit resolve your issue? I replaced my shift cables, thinking the stiffness was due to those. Unfortunately, the new cables did nothing to help the stiffness. I'm now thinking it could be the switching unit.
You mention it came out by removing the 3 torx bolts. Does it go back in pretty easy too? Did you end up replacing it, or just greasing/oil it?
Could be your clutch not fully disengaging.
Something might have become misaligned. My clutch replacement didn't quite last a year when the new clutch broke. Good thing it was covered under warranty. But the stiff shifting started about a month in and got progressively worse until the clutch finally broke. The problem is, in order to find out, you need to pull everything apart. That's a lot of time and labor.
Linkages rarely break. The moving parts are on pivots, so unless you really yank hard on anything and bend something, it's unlikely the switching unit.
When I bought my '05 I had the opposite problem - my shifter was very difficult to move side to side. I drilled out the rivet (known problem on these selectors) and replaced it with a steel sleeve and flanged nut/bolt, plus lots of loctite (and grease around/inside the sleeve). It was going to be a temporary fix, but it's held up great for about 5k miles... I check it every once and again to make sure all is well... and it's still working perfectly, almost a year later.
hiI just bought a cooper with a similar problem, gearstick would not centre, would move forward and backwards fine but was very stiff moving from side to side.
I looked through various forums and found that is was common for hollow pivot bolt on the gear selector to become stiff.
having disconnected the cables at the selectors they appeared to be free and the pivot on selective was very stiff and difficult to move by bandits the one that operates the up down movement in selector and is positioned on the left looking at selector from front of car.
the solution was to remove the selectors, it's actually a lot easier than it looks, after having removed air box and disconnected the cables ( did this by prising with a open spanner) you remove the three star bolts which hold selector unto top of gearbox(t40 size) Then it's just a matter of gently fumbling with selector til it's free.
The pivot which is stiff will be very apparent now , it used a hollow bolt with one end being large and the other small, You must grind off the lip on the small side ( for this I used a electric drill with a round grinding bit as I don't have a bench grinder) then I punched out the little bolt using the shank end of larger drill bit which was same diameter.
My hollow bolt wasn't all rustled as I had expected and a solution at this stage would be to take some emery paper and clean up bot and bush it fits into until both are free, apply some copper grease and put back together again , you now need to fit new bolt through the the hollow one to hold in place as you the end lip is now ground off.
I however managed to get a new bolt from eBay designs to replace the hollow bolt if you do a eBay search on bmw mini selector repair I think you should find.
anyhow hope this helps, it's really not that hard to do, took me about an hour taking my time, and makes such a difference to the car, it's also one of those things you want to do sooner rather than later as I suspect the cables or fittings will eventually break if you don't.
On my daughter's car, I started by replacing the shift cables. That did NOT resolve my issue. So, I ordered a new switching unit. It was 1000x easier to install than the shift cables and resolved my issue.
When you pulled your old one was there anyway to rebuild it or take it all apart lube it all up and put it back together ? Am 100% positive that’s my problem right now because I can push on that switch unit and it won’t do anything I really have to give it some pressure
When you pulled your old one was there anyway to rebuild it or take it all apart lube it all up and put it back together ? Am 100% positive that’s my problem right now because I can push on that switch unit and it won’t do anything I really have to give it some pressure
Unfortunately, I don't recall...since it's been almost 3yrs and we've sold her car since then. I do remember thinking the same thing though, that I should have pulled it out, lubed it and see if that helped. It was definitely stiff when I pulled it out.
It was a very quick repair, so I'd give it a try before buying a new one.
Mine was kinda sloppy too. I thought it might be the plastic bushings that snap onto the ball posts at the transmission. It's pretty easy to get at, just remove the airbox, & the linkage is right in front of you. When I got in there to inspect the plastic bushings, I noticed the ball posts (which are just pressed in) were sloppy loose in the linkage. So I popped the cables off, & welded the ball posts in place; just a couple of tacks with a MIG welder is all you need. That did the trick! Shifting was much tighter after the repair.
If you can weld, or you know someone with a welding shop, the whole repair should take less than 20 minutes. You can drive the car to the shop, ask real nice (with a case of their favorite libation in hand) remove the airbox yourself, & have them weld it. Once it's open, a competent welder can do the actual welding in under 1 minute. Button it back up, thank the shop profusely, & you're back on the road. I've included a picture with where to weld circled for clarity. Make sure you pop the cables off first, or else you run the risk of melting the plastic bushings. Weld both ball posts.
