Issues with 2nd Gear

[motion732]

Vehicle: 08 e92 m3, 6MT, 67k miles, purchased with 64k miles.

I had my first HPDE day at NJMP Thunderbolt yesterday. Had an absolute blast and would highly recommend to anyone.

The track was mostly 3rd and 4th at the pace we were driving but on a double apex (turn 9) i'd attempted a rev match to 2nd and when pulling into gear it absolutely wouldn't go in. i thought i'd just missed the shift, went back to 3rd and slowly pulled out of the turn.

after my 2h drive home, i was in my neighborhood at slow speeds and the same thing happened again on a downshift to 2nd. it felt like there was a wall in the gearbox that my shifter was hitting. instant worry. i drove around further and found that when pulling into gear with force or quickness, it was very notchy (more than normal) and sometimes wouldn't go in at all. clutch pedal is pressed to the floor. conversely, when i guided into gear gently, generally no problem. also no problem with any other gears. i also noticed when pulling the shifter a shade more to the left it didn't like that. when the car is off, there's no problem getting into gear at speed or direction.

anyone have any thoughts? i was thinking a fluid flush? maybe missing the gate slightly? What's odd is this is a new issue. I also wonder if it somehow has to do with the car being driven hard all day then a 2h drive home after that.

Thanks

edit: absolutely no grinding

[that_grey_m3]

Originally Posted by motion732

Vehicle: 08 e92 m3, 6MT, 67k miles, purchased with 64k miles.

I had my first HPDE day at NJMP Thunderbolt yesterday. Had an absolute blast and would highly recommend to anyone.

The track was mostly 3rd and 4th at the pace we were driving but on a double apex (turn 9) i'd attempted a rev match to 2nd and when pulling into gear it absolutely wouldn't go in. i thought i'd just missed the shift, went back to 3rd and slowly pulled out of the turn.

after my 2h drive home, i was in my neighborhood at slow speeds and the same thing happened again on a downshift to 2nd. it felt like there was a wall in the gearbox that my shifter was hitting. instant worry. i drove around further and found that when pulling into gear with force or quickness, it was very notchy (more than normal) and sometimes wouldn't go in at all. clutch pedal is pressed to the floor. conversely, when i guided into gear gently, generally no problem. also no problem with any other gears. i also noticed when pulling the shifter a shade more to the left it didn't like that. when the car is off, there's no problem getting into gear at speed or direction.

anyone have any thoughts? i was thinking a fluid flush? maybe missing the gate slightly? What's odd is this is a new issue. I also wonder if it somehow has to do with the car being driven hard all day then a 2h drive home after that.

Thanks

edit: absolutely no grinding

I used to have the same problem with second gear, both upshifting and downshifting. Going from first to second gear full throttle never grinded, but if I applied partial throttle and attempted to shift at higher RPMs it would not go in numerous times.

I did a transmission fluid flush/change, and replaced all my shifter bushings with a shifter rebuild kit. I know have delrin oval bushings in my car and the shifting is much tighter and solid feeling. Also I have not had any trouble getting into 2nd gear after doing these two things. I even tried several times in a row to go from first to second with partial throttle application and shift past 5000 rpm and it had no problem, really smooth.

Not sure if this is the solution to your problem, but its worth considering. Also I heard replacing motor mounts can help if you are having trouble getting in gear or increased vibration. Good luck.

[motion732]

Thank you! I've seen the shifter rebuild kit come up a bunch in searches. I think I'm going to go with your advice. Thanks!