e36 gearbox popping out of 1st ?

[austaz]

occasionally in the past i had the gearbox pop out of first just as you let the clutch out. Got worse at njmp especially when using 1st at the top of the pit road coming back into the paddock. Went to go over the car tonight and it won't hold in 1st at all, pops out as soon as you release the clutch, either a clean pop or a grind. 2nd works fine etc. The car has had a 4th to 5th grind for a while untill it warms up thenis fine, not sure if it's related ...
So, gearbox mounts, shifter bent or pull the gearbox?

[jlwhorf]

Certainly sounds like you should pull the box.

[savage217]

Are you a member on bimmerforums.com? There is an answer to everything that could possibly happen on an e36. Check it out.

[austaz]

Yep I took a look on bimmerforums and there were a few answers along the lines of shifter bent/linkage lining up problems or a busted 1st gear/synchros.

I have a spare gearbox for it but in unknown condition so might throw that in and see how it works but testing 4th to 5th shifts at 4K rpm could result in the neighbours calling the police in our nice quiet street (non registered car).

[962porsche]

99% of the time if its poping out of gear under load its the synchro .

[StephanAlfa]

99% of the time if its poping out of gear under load its the synchro .

I would go with the least expensive method .. check the mounts first. Then go "downhill" form there...
Good luck!

[austaz]

checked the mounts and they were fine. Cant get at the shifter linkage without dropping the exhaust and rear of the box. I drained the fluid and no big chunks of metal, only a few speckles in there. So i'll refill it and see how it goes without 1st for a while since I only use if to get rolling.

[962porsche]

because the synchros are brass most of the time you will not see any thing in the oil when you drain it . what i found over the years is the 1st gear synchros will crap out from people not coming to a full stop before putting the car into 1st after backing up .