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      05-23-2019, 04:24 PM   #1
Franzino
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Exclamation HELP => Issue with clutch/gearbox of manual MY17 M2 (is this normal)?

So my M2 (manual / MY2017) had developed an issue in the summer of 2018 with the clutch (when engaging first gear). The issue is the following; when driving 10 - 15min in heavy traffic with lots of up and down shifting.

The car does the following; when coming to a stand still and selecting first gear again, this goes more difficult then before. And when the gearbox slides into first gear, at the same time you hear a muffled "knocking" sound coming from the rear of the car (where the diff is). Ofcourse with the clutch pedal fully pushed in when selecting first gear.

It feels like the effect when the clutch is not fully 100% pushed in and you still want to select first gear. Or when you are selecting first gear on certain motorbikes and hear, but also feel the bike get a really small movement when first gear is pushed in from neutral.

I told about this issue to my dealer and did a testdrive with the head mechanic to show him what happens. He could feel/hear the same as I did. They have no other manual M2 as reference...but in the end decided this was not normal behaviour for my car (it was not there before). I received a brand new clutch and when replacing the clutch they also discovered a small leak on the shaft drive...so they replaced this also (both under warranty).

I have the car from new and the issue came when getting above 22.000 miles (car has now nearly 37.000miles). They also told me; when they removed my original clutch that there was zero strange clutch wear for this kind of mileage...so that it was not an issue of me not correctly driving with a manual gearbox. I drive manual sportcars all my life, so I would not expect anything other then this.

So now I have a brand new clutch and today I did a long test drive in heavy traffic...and yes the issue is exactly the same as before. What now? Does anyone else with a manual M2 have experienced something of the same or understand what my car does?

Thanks...
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      05-23-2019, 05:21 PM   #2
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40k miles on my 6MT 2017 and no such issue.
Could be problem with the transmission, or perhaps linkage or bushings in the gear shifter?

I'm no mechanic but seems like a stretch to think there's an issue with the diff.
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      05-23-2019, 06:30 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ddk632 View Post
40k miles on my 6MT 2017 and no such issue.
Could be problem with the transmission, or perhaps linkage or bushings in the gear shifter?

I'm no mechanic but seems like a stretch to think there's an issue with the diff.
Was thinking the same.... I hate it that I have to complain again, after the car was two weeks with them and they really did their best to help me.
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      05-23-2019, 06:43 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Franzino View Post
Was thinking the same.... I hate it that I have to complain again, after the car was two weeks with them and they really did their best to help me.
They another dealer, problem solved

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      05-23-2019, 08:28 PM   #5
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Did they replace the throwout bearing and change the fluid while they were in there?
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      05-24-2019, 12:37 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pray for Mojo View Post
Did they replace the throwout bearing and change the fluid while they were in there?
No idea... 🤷🏻*♂️
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      05-24-2019, 02:14 AM   #7
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It sounds like the clutch isn't disengaging properly and is dragging.
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      05-24-2019, 02:33 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M Fifty View Post
It sounds like the clutch isn't disengaging properly and is dragging.
But it is only the case after intensive use in traffic...
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      05-24-2019, 04:09 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pray for Mojo View Post
Did they replace the throwout bearing and change the fluid while they were in there?
Throwout bearing was replaced with clutch...fluid change can not have this impact or cure this.
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      05-24-2019, 09:38 AM   #10
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Fluid change from OEM to another brand made my first gear difficult to use, but that was only when cold.
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      01-05-2023, 07:20 AM   #11
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My M3 used to do this and my M2 does it too. Both cars had more then 50k miles when I purchased them. I took my M3 to bmw service and had a ride in it with the master tech. He told me it was completely normal. It might be a BMW thing bc I hadn't experienced this with any other cars. Maybe the syncros are not working properly idk. Also I feel like it's more pronounced when you go from a higher gear to neutral and then to first as opposed to downshifting to 2 or 1 before coming to a stop. If you downshift to 1, after you engage 1 again this issue isn't there. Makes me think its syncros.
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      01-05-2023, 11:28 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pray for Mojo View Post
Fluid change from OEM to another brand made my first gear difficult to use, but that was only when cold.
Redline Oil smoothed up my 4-3 shift under lateral load on track. Not saying this is a fluid issue just sharing my experience fwiw.
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      01-21-2023, 06:58 AM   #13
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My 17 M2 does the same when engaging 1st gear from a stop sometimes, I'm going to change my gearbox and differential fluid and see if that helps.

I think it's something to do with a rear differential or driveshaft bushing though.
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      01-24-2023, 06:36 PM   #14
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I'm having the exactly issue two months ago. no idea how to fix it. It usually starts when car is fully warmed up, stop and go in traffic.
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      02-13-2023, 11:23 PM   #15
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Ah the infamous "M clunk" made popular by the E46 M3. This isn't so much a problem as an annoyance but there is a way to make it happen less often. When you know you're going to shift into first from a standstill, push the clutch in for at least two seconds prior to going for first gear. This allows both sides of the transmission to equalize prior to being forced together.

The noise you're hearing is the rapid deceleration of the half of the transmission connected to the engine (which is still spinning at idle) when paired up with the half that isn't (the half connected to the driveshaft). This causes the entire drivetrain of the car to wind up while the excess energy is dissipated. You started noticing this because the parts in the diff and trans now have some lash ( or a little bit of "play" if you will) which is making a little bit of noise when it winds up.

The moral of the story, if possible, wait at least two-three seconds with the clutch in before engaging first. This will be easier on the entire drivetrain as you're not using the 1st gear syncro to equalize both halves of the transmission. The car is made to handle it but it puts avoidable wear on your drivetrain and you're car is telling you it doesn't really like it.

As a side note, if you ever drive a car that has a non-syncromesh transmission you'd have to do that or first would just grind until it equalized.
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      02-24-2023, 08:39 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by D.Yooras View Post
Ah the infamous "M clunk" made popular by the E46 M3. This isn't so much a problem as an annoyance but there is a way to make it happen less often. When you know you're going to shift into first from a standstill, push the clutch in for at least two seconds prior to going for first gear. This allows both sides of the transmission to equalize prior to being forced together.

The noise you're hearing is the rapid deceleration of the half of the transmission connected to the engine (which is still spinning at idle) when paired up with the half that isn't (the half connected to the driveshaft). This causes the entire drivetrain of the car to wind up while the excess energy is dissipated. You started noticing this because the parts in the diff and trans now have some lash ( or a little bit of "play" if you will) which is making a little bit of noise when it winds up.

The moral of the story, if possible, wait at least two-three seconds with the clutch in before engaging first. This will be easier on the entire drivetrain as you're not using the 1st gear syncro to equalize both halves of the transmission. The car is made to handle it but it puts avoidable wear on your drivetrain and you're car is telling you it doesn't really like it.

As a side note, if you ever drive a car that has a non-syncromesh transmission you'd have to do that or first would just grind until it equalized.
I tend to get it more shifting into reverse- similar solution I imagine?
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      02-28-2023, 11:16 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dasnub View Post
I tend to get it more shifting into reverse- similar solution I imagine?
Reverse and 1st are very similar in ratio, so yes, same reason. Best way to minimize wear when shifting into reverse is to clutch-in and wait about 3-5 seconds before shifting into reverse or you can use the 1st gear syncro to match shaft speeds by clutch-in, shift to first then shift to reverse which is what I do on all my MTs. This allows the 1st gear syncro to match shaft speeds then reverse only has to slide into place without a speed difference so it just has to line up gears.

90's Honda transmissions had no syncromesh on reverse so you had to shift 1st, then reverse otherwise you'd get a buzzing hand massage on your way into reverse. The modern BMW transmissions have syncromesh on reverse so you don't have to worry about that but I still do 1st then reverse to avoid putting any wear on the reverse syncro if I don't have to.
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