Hi gents :-)and please help :-(

BAWS

New member
Hi guys,

I'm new to the forum so please forgive me and guide me if I have accidentally posted this incorrectly.

I could really use some advice on a problem I'm having with my car at the moment.

I've currently got an e36 323i and have previously had a 325i and a 328i both E36's and an E46 330d aswell so I'm no stranger to BMW's and most of their "quirks"

I had the clutch changed on the 323 a week or 2 ago and then removed the CDV, a few days later I was driving along and heard a loud noise fromn the gearbox, so pulled overheard and car wouldnt engage 1still or 2nd gear. 3rd, 4th and 5th as well as reverse are all perfect.
It's not something Iv experienced before and I'm lost as to where to begin with fixing this or even confirming exactly what's wrong. Also I haven't been able to finding much info on the web regarding the issue which makes things worse....

I was planning on bleeding the clutch again this weekend as a start but would really appreciate any input.

Thanks guys....
 

Crash_Nemesis

///Member
Welcome Baws. I am sorry to hear of your troubles. It's strange that the gearbox would seem to break just from a CDV delete. Did you install the correct clutch/flywheel/pressure plate when you did the clutch change two weeks ago? The problem obviously comes from there. Too much of a coincidence to just be the right time for the gearbox to die. But from the sounds of it, its seems to be Syncros. You could take the gearbox to a place in JHB called Gearbox exchange. They replaced two e46 Getrag gearboxes for me in 2011 when I had a supercharged 323i. Blew the 3rd gear syncro twice and ripped the teeth off 2nd gear. They sorted me out good.

I would also suggest speaking to a member named Gizmo. He know's pretty much everything there is to know about e36's. I hope he can help you out more than I could.

Sorry again.
 

Solo Man

Well-known member
Start by removing the slave cylinder without disconnecting the rubber brake fluid pipe and try and feel/see if the fork is still in its correct position. Refit the slave cylinder carefully and make very sure that the pin is engaging the fork in the correct location. Will try this before i take the box in for removal as these gearboxes are very tough.
 

netercol

New member
could be the selector fork inside the box too.. i have broken a 1/2 selector fork on a bmw box before..
 

BAWS

New member
Morning gents,

Thanks very much for all the feedback, much appreciated.
I'll definitely start with checking the fork first then. Can anyone perhaps give me a little more detailed info on how to do this correctly?

@ crash, I didn't change the clutch myself I hadn't it done by a much hey, not confident enough to attempt a job like that yet even though I think I'm pretty competently mechanically.
Worse case scenario, if I have to replace the gearbox, what kinda costs would I be looking at?

Thanks Alot guys.
 
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