E46 M3 - Manual Gear Stick Lifting Up

Tetsujin

Tetsujin

Tetsujin

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That London, née Brighton
Hi! I just picked my car up (late 2005 M3 cabrio, Euro, manual, 80k miles, had it 7 years) from my usual car wash place and the gear stick, in neutral, looked odd - it was sitting maybe just under half an inch higher than usual. Pressing straight down on it, it readily slotted back in to its usual position, but can also be pulled vertically up to its "popped out" state with moderate force. Selecting gears seems to be fine, although when nudging it out of first, it now has a tendency to "pop up" to its raised state, unless I apply a little downward pressure too (which I don't, usually). Going in to third also feels strange (I've not had chance to try a higher gear yet) and it seems to raise up whilst going in.

Does anyone have any idea if this is a major concern? Could it be that this shift mechanism has always had the tendency to lift upwards like this, but I've just never applied force in the right way before? Or is it more likely something that would take physical misuse to break (thus giving me cause to pursue the car was place for cost of fixing)?

I can't get under the car but I'm not afraid to take stuff apart, so I've tried to get in from the top - I can get as far as a rubber housing around the ball joint of the stick, but can't get that out. Doing some delicate prising with a screwdriver though it looks like the ball joint might be just lifting out of its plastic home, as in this photo (not mine, just found on the web):

http://25tolife.net/images/gear stick bit.jpg

Assuming my diagnosis is right, would this thing breaking be a wear and tear thing, and it's just coincidence that it went when the car wash people had it - or would it take excessive force to bugger it up? Any light you can shed would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading :)
 
The gear knob on my e46 325i did this, cured it by applying a bit of tape to the metal part if the lever and a blob of no more nails inside the knob itself.

Waited about 5 minutes and then pulled it off and put it back on, it now sits tightly but will still come off with a good tug - as it should -but it no longer moves during normal use as such.

I'm sure the correct method is a nice new knob off eBay or the like, but, I'm a tight arse! :D
 
Scania said:
The gear knob on my e46 325i did this, cured it by applying a bit of tape to the metal part if the lever and a blob of no more nails inside the knob itself.

Waited about 5 minutes and then pulled it off and put it back on, it now sits tightly but will still come off with a good tug - as it should -but it no longer moves during normal use as such.

I'm sure the correct method is a nice new knob off eBay or the like, but, I'm a tight arse! :D
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply! Sadly it's the entire stick, seemingly including even the ball joint at the base, that's moving up, not just the knob on the top!
 
Tetsujin said:
Thanks for the reply! Sadly it's the entire stick, seemingly including even the ball joint at the base, that's moving up, not just the knob on the top!
Click to expand...

Sorry, I skim read your post. :o

Looks like a linkage issue, I'd get it looked at before you find yourself stuck with one, two or no gears at all if & perhaps when it fails completely.

As for wear & tear, it's a balljoint and a moveable part so I would think it could be classed as wear & tear...

Maybe the wash guy was a bit heavy handed / ham fisted with it? That said, a gear linkage should withstand some heavy use....

I have had a play about with my e46 this afternoon and holding the lever - not the knob - there is no vertical movement whatsoever,no matter how hard I pull it.

Yours sounds broken, odd though, yours has done less miles than mine, (I'm near 100k on my 2000 model) and I know my cars previous owner kept it for years doing local stop - start journeys, I'd expect mine to feel more worn than it does tbh.
 
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No worries!

Scania said:
As for wear & tear, it's a balljoint and a moveable part so I would think it could be classed as wear & tear...
Click to expand...

Yeah, as far as proving the car wash is at fault, I think I'm out of luck on this. Oh well! Thanks for the extra info, I'm definitely trying not to drive anywhere until I can get it looked at, and phoning my mechanic first thing Monday for his advice. Fingers crossed it's only this ball joint and not too pricey - double fingers crossed the car wash'll be honourable and meet me 50/50 on said cost... we'll see.

Thanks again!
 
Hi,

I have a the exact same issue on my e46 M3. The whole gear stick is rising out of the gate then it becomes very hard to select a gear.

Did you get your issue solved?
 
mcbrun12 said:
Hi,

I have a the exact same issue on my e46 M3. The whole gear stick is rising out of the gate then it becomes very hard to select a gear.

Did you get your issue solved?
Click to expand...

I did - it did turn out to be the little plastic seating that holds the ball joint down near the base of the gear stick. It was totally mashed up. The part itself wasn't hugely expensive and the labour charge wasn't huge either.

You can drive with it in this condition if you're very careful with the directional force you exert on the stick but I'd advise getting it fixed asap as the non-standard angles of motion down there are likely to cause all sorts of more expensive issues over time.
 
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