Please help!-can't get into gear 89 535

[amindseye2020]

I have a 89 535i . It recently bit the dust I believe. You all know the "ooo sh**T that sounds expensive sound. I have been getting this grinding noise while depressing the clutch for a week or so. It felt like the clutch was engaging less and less untill finally when I depressed the clutch I couldn't get it into gear. Unfortunately I couldn't move as I was in the middle of the intersection so I force it into gear and it popped it in. The result was something to the effect of loose metal sound in the tranny or clutch area. Not sure what I did but it sounds expensive. I limped into a fix it place I trusted and they felt so bad they didn't charge me for the inspection....(which consisted of ...we don't know untill we drop the tranny...and look at the clutch)

Any advice on what happened? Another clue is this...I have had to replace the center bearing 2 times within a year. I had put the driveshaft in a vice to hold it while I removed the center bearing off the shaft spline. I think I squashed it a little and the shaft is off balance a little bit. I also busted off one of the studs of the six that the differential bolts into.

I don't think the clutch has ever been replaced.

Regards
Cody
amindseye2020@yahoo.com

[Warren N.CA]

This is the first thing to check. When you can't get it into gear, it likely means the clutch is simply not being engaged fully when the peddle is depressed. This is not expensive stuff. But, jamming it into gear, causing something to break does sound expensive. Might have broken something inside the tranny. If car car won't go into gear, it's best(and cheaper! to call the tow truck.

I have a 89 535i . It recently bit the dust I believe. You all know the "ooo sh**T that sounds expensive sound. I have been getting this grinding noise while depressing the clutch for a week or so. It felt like the clutch was engaging less and less untill finally when I depressed the clutch I couldn't get it into gear. Unfortunately I couldn't move as I was in the middle of the intersection so I force it into gear and it popped it in. The result was something to the effect of loose metal sound in the tranny or clutch area. Not sure what I did but it sounds expensive. I limped into a fix it place I trusted and they felt so bad they didn't charge me for the inspection....(which consisted of ...we don't know untill we drop the tranny...and look at the clutch)

Any advice on what happened? Another clue is this...I have had to replace the center bearing 2 times within a year. I had put the driveshaft in a vice to hold it while I removed the center bearing off the shaft spline. I think I squashed it a little and the shaft is off balance a little bit. I also busted off one of the studs of the six that the differential bolts into.

I don't think the clutch has ever been replaced.

Regards
Cody
amindseye2020@yahoo.com

[pmlmotorsports]

bye bye throwout bearing, hello expensive repair............and btw, NEVER wait til something breaks..the 2 week grinding "noise" was your warning sign

[Karl]

Grinding noise when the clutch is depressed = throwout bearing wearing out
Hard to put it into gear = throwout bearing or clutch hydraulics (the clutch is not disengaging completely)
So the car is overdue for a clutch job. That's routine maintenance--not trivial but a regular thing.

However, snatching it into gear with the clutch engaged--assuming you were stopped at the time--will really beat up the synchros. Now you need to look into the transmission. That's not routine maintenance.

Here's a helpful trick I learned from driving old cars with cable clutches. Occasionally the cable breaks and you limp home without a clutch. At a stop, turn the engine off and engage first. Then use the starter to crank the engine and start the car rolling--yeah it will lurch as the engine catches and you drive off, but it won't damage the transmission. Once the car is moving, you can shift easily without a clutch by matching revs.