Well Guys I took the vert out for the shake down drive after all the winter projects, and LOVE the new rear end (viscous locking type from an ix) and the first- level short shift shift kit from bavarian, But that has a Nasty rattle when traveling through neutral and in 4th gear, others wise my tranny feels better then new. Any thoughts on rattle, shift Knob?, Also does anyone have the BMW remote control key fob for the central locks, do you think it would be worth it to find a unit and add it(if they even offered it??) in 1990. now how about some sun Tx Cbinspok
hmm, seems a bummer that your gear-lever is being noisy, after upgrading him. I'd def'nit'ly complain about it to the installer (assuming it wasn't yourself). Is the lever 'buzzing' in your hand as you shift, or do you just hear a new noise? I'm asking, 'cos Dan the mechanic just recently mentioned that my shifter seemed loose to him, & recco'd that I get into a short-shift kit. Other than the noise, are you happy w/ the new shift-motion? Is it tracking thru its 'gates' ok? Did it take much time to re-learn your arm-motion, or did it fall into place right away? Heh - an intimate relationship w/ one's gear-lever is v. important! I recall several experiences right before turn 11 at Nelsons Ledges, where I'd want to make a double-clutch down from 5th to 3rd under *very heavy* braking - about once every 25 times thru, I'd be unable to find 3rd gear on the downshift & have to bumble off (ignominiously) into the infield! I'm also avid to here more about your final-drive - did you just lift a diff from an iX & drop it into your car? Does it have the same gear-ratio as your original? How would you characterize the handling-change from your original 'limited-slip' diff to your new 'viscous' action? It sounds really interesting to me. One of the more sophisto changes I made to my e3 was a custom final drive, it's got 3.54:1 gears from a 5-series in place of the stock 2.73:1 ratio. At the Nelsons track, this meant I'd drive around in 3rd-4th-5th instead of in 2nd-3rd-4th, w/ the motor spinning about 300-500rpm higher at each turn's exit, giving better acceleration from my e-motor's power-band. This was especially neccessary when running in company w/ M3lightweights! Hope you get some sun soon, & can get some 'top-down' driving under your belt.
I rebuild my shift mechanism last month using stock replacement parts. Pelican Parts sells a rebuild package which puts all the needed bushings, washers and doodads in one plastic bag. See technical article http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/E36-Shift_Bushings/E36-Shift_Bushings.htm. 323593: Knowing now how the shift mechanism works, I can't imagine how it could be the culprit of your rattle. I guess the shift knob is possible; should just pull straight up to get it off. jmalter: I discovered that rebuilding the stock shifter really improved the "crispness" of the mechanism. Shifting precision has really improved (more correctly: has been restored"). Short-shift is a personal choice (I don't like) but with E30s, apparently you can just swap in an e36 M3 shift lever to shorten throw by 33% (per Dempsey (http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/E36-Short_Shift/E36-Short_Shift.htm)). If you DIY, this is a cheap way to shorten throw (although combined with the bushing rebuild kit, its starting to add up).
Hi all I took the vert on a 300 mile romp yesterday and earned my sunburn, found some excellent roads and had some real seat time in my 325i, the nasty rattle has mitigated a bit, so am glad of that. I spent some time with our club's high speed driving school coordinator, and he checked out the problem and concluded that who ever owned the car for its first ten years (I am third owner) that fellow leaned on the gear shift lever while driving, wearing the rod and fork inside the tranny, So it wasn't my poor mechanical skill nor the bavarian AS kit, also he noted the BAD wear spot dead center of the steering wheel denoting poor driving habits, I am hoping the new shift parts will continue mating and with luck maybe it will quiet more over time. The knob is still in question - but I can not get it to release (normally) so that I can have a better look at it, and do a "no knob test"drive. The new rear end is heaven, over the non-locking diff that come with these cars, I got the car for cheap as the final drive was obviously bad. But the xi unit is very smooth, and impossible to get it to mis-behave. a good junk yard find for 400 bucks & bolted right in. So seat time is nice and the top down was even sweeter, Very welcome after a Long winter here in Spokane. cbinspok
