Hi,
This is in the FAQ. Or you can see it at the E30 homepage: www.unofficialbmw.com/e30.html.

Basically the bushings wear out in the shifter mechanism. After 150k miles or so, the knuckle that goes on the selector shaft on the tranny gets really worn. That knuckle piece is made of brass, cheap to buy, $10 at dealer, and very hard to replace. Because it is above the guibo. I would do this and the guibo ($40) at the same time so you don't have to pull it apart twice. As I did on my '84 318i at 200k miles.

Some of the other parts wear as well, but this little guy made the most difference. Also, don't buy a new boot until you replace this part, again, guess how I know.

One other note, BMW redesigned the shift linkage in '87. And the newer E30's don't have as much of a problem with this wear and tear as the '84-'86 ones do.

Dale
'95 M3 18k
'95 Disco 30k
'89 325i 128k (shifter starting to get loose) '86 325es 110k (replacing the bushing was on my list when we traded it in) '84 318i 228k (replaced entire shifting mech over time, great shifting!)

> I recently picked-up an '84 318i in very good shape. I fixed most of the
> small problems it had, but one problem I could use some advice on is the
> shifter. In order to get it into reverse you have to force it so far to
> the left that the boot gets trashed. Is this an adjustment? Or maybe
> there is a worn bushing somewhere? Anyways, I'd appreciate any advice.
>
> Thanks, Jim
>

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                       |            Dale Beuning           |
                       |       email: dale_at_unofficialbmw.com     |
                       | web: http://www.unofficialbmw.com |
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