Stiff 2nd gear

[throttle]

Hi All,

I've got about 1300km on my 135i now and absolutely loving it.

Ever since I got it, I've always found it a little difficult shifting into 2nd gear (quickly). It feels very stiff, I can't just pull it to the side and throw it down, there seems to be something which makes it stuck and stay out of gear temporarily. A month into the break-in period, this stiffness is still there. I was just wondering is this happening for anyone else? Is it something worth taking back to the dealship for?

Thanks,
Allan

[Zuzu]

This topic has been discussed over and over on all forums..
Some cars are better than others..Mine was always quiet stiff but has loosened up over the Km's..(have travelled 11,500km's now ) I always found if I took 1st gear to about 4K RPM the stiffness was less and the gear change was smoother.

['fatboy']

All my lower gears (2nd, 3rd) feels pretty tight also but I'm only at 3,000k's so good to know they will loosen up over the km's.

Have noticed that the more rev's i pull before each shift, the smoother the shift...

[AussieRacer]

That sounds more like a syncro issue, than it being stiff as such. Particularly if there is resistance to it going in gear, that is the syncro fighting back at you - basically saying I've slowed down too much since you dipped the clutch and now you're trying to destroy your gearbox's teeth by a mis-match of speeds.

Hence you guys are reporting shifting at higher revs and slow shifting is less of an issue.

Without knowing the gear spread, sounds like their might be quite a gap between 1st and 2nd.

['fatboy']

Originally Posted by AussieRacer

That sounds more like a syncro issue, than it being stiff as such. Particularly if there is resistance to it going in gear, that is the syncro fighting back at you - basically saying I've slowed down too much since you dipped the clutch and now you're trying to destroy your gearbox's teeth by a mis-match of speeds.

Hence you guys are reporting shifting at higher revs and slow shifting is less of an issue.

Without knowing the gear spread, sounds like their might be quite a gap between 1st and 2nd.

I don't think it has anything to do with slow shifting (i think I shift 'normal speed'). I have the same stiffness when shifting into 1st from a standing start.

[AussieRacer]

Slow shifting wouldn't make selecting gears difficult. In fact quite the opposite. When you say from a standing start, it that with the clutch depressed for say 5+ secs? If the car has a worn syncro; a harder wearing syncro; or a poor syncro, when the gears have slowed down compared to the input shaft, you will feel resistance when selecting gears. Gears "slow" down when:
> clutch is depressed too long
> low revs result in low inertia
> their is a big spread between the prior gear and the selected gear (either by design or through skipping gears)

The gap between consecutive lower gears compared to higher gears is much greater, hence the resistance is felt in the lower gears. Older gearboxes didn't bother with syncros (which slowly match the speed of the gear being selected to the input shaft speed/rpm) on higher gears because the gap cause less selection problems.

[noelle]

I've got the same issue on my 135i (3,500 miles). Second gear is hard to engage quickly. Made easier if 1st is revved up to at least 4k rpm.

[oneill3]

Must be a problem between the steering wheel and the seat

[aus135i]

i find this problem more so when the engine is cold..(but i have the bmw SSK) thus making things better, but 2nd to 3rd can be hard at times...