Do I need new transmission shift pins?

[christospap]

The effort to shift n my 1997 M3 sedan with 120K miles becomes increasingly harder as the transmission warms up. Finding the gears is easy, except 5th gear, which is often hard to find. The transmission currently has RedLine MTL, not ATF as the factory recommends. According to the PO, there is a UUC short shift kit in the car that was installed before 2006.

Does this sound like the shift pins? Or something else? I am planning to replace the shift pins when the clutch is done, but I have no idea when that would be, especially since I avoid putting many miles on the car these days.

If not the shift pins then what else?

Thanks!

Chris.

[Braymond141]

I would start with refreshing the shifter first. UUC does not make the best product and they are known to bind up and/or fall apart.

If you are using a fatboy clutch stop, get rid of it. Go back to the OEM stop. Clutch actuation is an issue with age and the fat clutch stops only add to limiting that movement.

[christospap]

I would start with refreshing the shifter first. UUC does not make the best product and they are known to bind up and/or fall apart.

If you are using a fatboy clutch stop, get rid of it. Go back to the OEM stop. Clutch actuation is an issue with age and the fat clutch stops only add to limiting that movement.

Thanks for your response!

I am not using a clutch stop so we can dispense with that possibility. As for rebuilding the shifter do you mean replace all the bushings and the cup? Does the transmission need to come out?

Chris.

[DaveydM3]

Thanks for your response!

I am not using a clutch stop so we can dispense with that possibility. As for rebuilding the shifter do you mean replace all the bushings and the cup? Does the transmission need to come out?

Chris.

Rebuilding shifter would be the cup, bushings, selector rod joint, new pins that connect it to the trans and chassis. You should be able to pull the shifter boot and rubber cover from inside the car and see how much play there is around the shifter ball/cup and bushings. You might have a bunch of slop in there. If its the shift pins/detents, your shifter will tend to lean to the right and not center itself. If the shifter is a UUC and more than 15 years old, it's probably a good place to start. Can also look at the shifter selector rod joint that connects the selector rod to the shift linkage on the transmission. There is a foam pad in there that wears out and causes slop. Not too hard to change and cheap. I've had good luck with Rogue and they can probably give you some diagnostic ideas (I have no affiliation with them other than a satisfied customer). There is quite a bit of stuff you can look at before pulling the transmission. Some good info here as well...https://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/tec...t_Bushings.htm