BMW 1999 E36 M3 – How To Change Transmission “Detent Pin” Bushings

[m3f_BLCKSTRM]

The picture shows smaller but are the 1st gear cover lid (in blue color) and lock ring the same part numbers and sizes as on 5th and reverse?

Yes.



I just did this yesterday, and don't even have the transmission back in the car. But yes, the three caps are all the same. You actually buy three "kits" and wind up with one extra bushing left over.



I couldn't get ahold of anyone with the drifts, but I think I got it done properly anyways. Would have been a lot easier with the drifts.



And wanted to thank the OP for the writeup, and the links to the other sources, all of which helped with their slightly different perspectives.



Here's hoping this (and the rest of the clutch job) go back together properly and leave me with a better-than-new shifter!

[m3f_nholmes]

Huge, huge, HUGE shout out to the poster for starting this. Thank god this was available! The other things I've read glossed over a few details, which I'm glad you covered! I'm going to get your diagram machined here locally for the detent bushings, so thanks for that!


Damn. I really wish I would have read the ENTIRE first post two days ago when I started on 5th and Reverse.


I had to mangle the pin for 5th just to get it out and I can't find the seam on the bushing.


Well, I just went to go rent a blind bushing removal tool so this better fix all of my problems.


I'm also disappointed to just now learn that the actual detent pin isn't included in the Thayer kit I purchased for the pins. WTF?


Yet another $65 added to the list.

[m3f_nholmes]

Having an old high school buddy with a machine shop is handy!



Two hour turnaround lol

[m3f_NolliM3]

Subscribed...will be doing this soon...thanks for the awesome write up.

[m3f_nholmes]

So I finally got all of my bushings out and pins, just waiting on my replacement stuff for the shift selector to arrive.



The top three were super easy, but 5th and reverse on my transmission (1998 w/ 183,000 miles) were basically fused in the bushings.



I first started with trying to use a screw to get 5th out, but that only got the screw buried deep in there. Getting a new pair of needle nose long enough to reach it was a surprise expense. Bonus: Now I have another tool.



I then tried using 3/8 drop anchors, which worked to get the 5th pin out, but wasn't going to work on the bushing.



Thanks to this thread renting the blind bushing puller is major key.



One pro tip: When expanding the puller to remove the bushing, I found that it's really easy to over do it and then drag the tool along the inside of the steel sleeve, scoring it in the process. This, of course, now left metal shavings inside the transmission. I got as many out as I could with Q-tips, but I'm sure some will be floating around inside the transmission. Looks like a fill and drain will be in order after the car is buttoned back up and driven for a couple miles.





Some pictures of the "fun" for those interested:



































You get creative when you start to get pissed off. Here I tried to use 3/8 drop anchors to get out the 5th gear pin. It worked, but was a pain in the ass:











Blind bushing pulled used to great success:





























Tools sacrificed to the automotive gods during this project:







My messy ass work area as I fought with these pins for three days now:

[m3f_JitteryJoe]

Definitely a PITA job. Fear of scoring the sidewalls is the reason I did not use a blind hole puller when I did mine. Great you got it done. It really does make a big difference.

[m3f_nholmes]

Definitely a PITA job. Fear of scoring the sidewalls is the reason I did not use a blind hole puller when I did mine. Great you got it done. It really does make a big difference.

Thanks.



I'm curious to see what problems this will cause. Someone mentioned leaking, but the plastic cap is hammered in and then held by friction and a c-clip.

[m3f_nholmes]

Just to follow-up my shift selector pin parts came in and I got them installed.

[m3f_getitnow2]

Well I haven't been on this forum in many years. I wasn't even aware that people had posted replies. Thanks for the kind words. I am glad to see that my one and only post helped a few people out. I was so thankful for the information I found on this forum, that it inspired me to write a "How To" to share my experience and give back to the community.



One more thing I would consider if you pull your transmission, take a look at the Starter. It is a PITA to get out, but its a bit easier while the transmission is out. I had the 5th gear lean, and then my starter was acting up, so that was the final straw for me to pull the transmission and fix the shifter lean, as well as the 3 little pins on the top of the transmission, the clutch, etc.



Someone asked if its necessary to change the 3rd pin bushings (what I called the "Detent Pin") which is the 3rd hole to the right of the 5th and Reverse pins.



I figured while I had the transmission out of the car, I was going to change all the bushings, as well as the clutch, throw out bearing, shifter bushing, etc.



I also had a problem with my transmission wanting to pop out of gear. So when I had the transmission apart and was studying how the shifter mechanism works. From what I could tell, the 3rd Pin rolls along the Selector Shaft and falls into positive "Detents" when the shifter is in neutral and also when the shifter is in each gear. So, I am fairly certain the 3rd pin is what fixed my issue with the transmission wanting to pop out of gear easily. Now it has a really positive feel when it's in gear, plus it snaps into neutral too.



So for the few extra dollars, I would change the 3rd "Detent" pin bushings while you have the transmission out already. I only changed the bushings, caps and c clips, and kept my original springs and pins, as I felt mine were in good shape and not worn in any way. So you will see those parts are marked as optional in my original post.

Hope that helps answer some questions.





Thanks again to everyone on this forum for the help and support they provide.

[m3f_STRKD325]

Just read through this, great write up and tips from everyone.

I had a question though, did anyone else have a problem putting the pins (5th and reverse) back in?

I bought all the OEM tools, lubed the bushings and detents but the detents get stick going on.

They go in 1/4 of the way and the rest has to be pushed in with a lot of force. And when I put the trans in 5th (trans still out of the car) it barely pushes the pin and still leans towards 5th (I can visually see it at the shift selector).

Anyone run into this problem?


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[m3f_Jrrrrrrr]

Just read through this, great write up and tips from everyone.

I had a question though, did anyone else have a problem putting the pins (5th and reverse) back in?

I bought all the OEM tools, lubed the bushings and detents but the detents get stick going on.

They go in 1/4 of the way and the rest has to be pushed in with a lot of force. And when I put the trans in 5th (trans still out of the car) it barely pushes the pin and still leans towards 5th (I can visually see it at the shift selector).

Anyone run into this problem?





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Even though I didn't end up replacing the bushings for the 5th or reverse detents, I did replace the detents, and I still had to get the cover for these detents back on. It took a lot of force to compress each spring in order to get each cover down far enough that a circlip would fit in each groove. This is definitely one where you will really want a helper - there is no way I would have done it on my own.



As for your 5th gear lean remaining, are you sure you didn't mix up the detents or bushings for 5th gear and reverse? Both the bushings and detents look VERY similar but have subtle dimensional differences. The detent should slide freely in the bushing/bore upon reinstall.



If the force you needed to apply is more like forcing a detent through a bushing that is too small, rather than the force needed to compress a spring, I'd say you mixed some parts up. For what its worth, the 5th-gear lean disappeared once I did this fix, I think 1-4 were less notchy, and reverse was dramatically easier to get into - all those problems remain cured for me to this day.

[m3f_STRKD325]

Even though I didn't end up replacing the bushings for the 5th or reverse detents, I did replace the detents, and I still had to get the cover for these detents back on. It took a lot of force to compress each spring in order to get each cover down far enough that a circlip would fit in each groove. This is definitely one where you will really want a helper - there is no way I would have done it on my own.


As for your 5th gear lean remaining, are you sure you didn't mix up the detents or bushings for 5th gear and reverse? Both the bushings and detents look VERY similar but have subtle dimensional differences. The detent should slide freely in the bushing/bore upon reinstall.


If the force you needed to apply is more like forcing a detent through a bushing that is too small, rather than the force needed to compress a spring, I'd say you mixed some parts up. For what its worth, the 5th-gear lean disappeared once I did this fix, I think 1-4 were less notchy, and reverse was dramatically easier to get into - all those problems remain cured for me to this day.

Thanks for the quick reply!

I'm 100% sure I didn't mix them up because the only one I took out was the 5th gear.

Also, I wasn't referring to it with the spring, just the detent by itself.

As per all the youtube videos I saw it should slide right in on it's own without requiring me to force it, I had to tap it in with a punch.

I'm also 100% sure I put the pin in the right way, slant faces upward (exactly how it was when it came out and how all the videos say it should go).

I ended up removing it and shaving down the bushing for the pin to slide in all the way SORT OF freely, which is why I think it still leans as it did feel notchy and get stuck a bit.


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