thud when shifter goes from 2nd to 3rd

[ghahat]

hi everyone

have a 2006 z4mR, with 17700Km, been on the road for 3 years at the end of this month.

i noticed recently that when the car is moving, and i press the clutch then move the shifter around i get thuds from the diff. bmw changed the diff mounts under warranty, and this made a huge difference, but i still get the following:

when the car is moving, and i have the car in 2nd, i fully press the clutch (can wait a few seconds also), then when i move the shifter quickly to 3rd, i get a thud from the diff (foot still fully depressing the clutch). seems like i hit a metal snag in the path of shifter (some kind of object that feels quite close to the shifter knob, just under my wrist) when moving quickly, and it moves out of the way in about a half a sec, then the motion completes without the thud. if i move the shifter quickly, and push through this thing (does not take too much effort, feels like a mild grind) then i get that thud sound from the diff.

it does not happen if i slow the shifter motion down a bit. the thud does not come on release from 2nd, only on entering 3rd

struggling to find out what this can be, my warranty expires Mar 27. i thought synchros or guibo, but bmw said they are fine. also car is fine once in gear, no pop outs or vibrations, in the drivetrain or the shifter.

could it be the shifter fork (just saw a recent post mentioning this but for another issue)?

i can move the shifter as fast as i want in other gears (some mild hint of this 1st to 2nd, and a little in 3rd to 4th) but i just get this in 2nd to 3rd

thanks for any help

[tekmoe]

I hear the thud when I shift very quickly. Feels perfect to me. The thud is also heard when shifting from 1st to 2nd. Sometimes from 3rd to 4th as well. There is a TSB out there somewhere that says that noise is normal. It's quite common actually. My previous car also did it. As long as you aren't hearing any grinding or having issues getting the shifter into each gear, I don't think I would worry about it.

I've learned the shifting on this car requires a special touch. I don't really grab the shifter anymore; I push it. Hard to explain but it works great. Oh and pound that clutch pedal as fast and hard as you can. This seems to make the shifts MUCH smoother, at least for me. Whenever I am lazy I realize the car fights back and is not nearly as fun to drive. You really have to drive it. I totally understand why some people would not want to own the M as a daily driver. Personally, I f'n love it!

[johanness]

Originally Posted by tekmoe

Whenever I am lazy I realize the car fights back and is not nearly as fun to drive. You really have to drive it.

Exactly this. There's no sluffing off. It's a pay-attention type ride which rewards u with buckets-o-fun.

OP, hope u sort it out b4 the warrantee is up. Go hit a different dealer and get 2nd opinion

[ghahat]

thanks for the reply guys

tekmoe, i know what you mean about pushing the shifter instead of grabbing it, i do the same, makes a big difference as its a slower motion overall than grabbing the shifter and moving it, you kind of let the centering spring move the shifter around.

i love the car too, i look for interaction with a car (had an s2k previously, and neither of these cars is a good "daily driver" but thats what i look for).

johanness, im in qatar and unfortunately there is no other dealer here, its a monopoly business

however based on the response from tekmoe, i understand all z4m's do this? let the shifter move a little slower, and no thud? or can you guys push it very fast and still get no thud at all?

[tekmoe]

Originally Posted by ghahat

however based on the response from tekmoe, i understand all z4m's do this? let the shifter move a little slower, and no thud? or can you guys push it very fast and still get no thud at all?

I always get the thud if I am shifting it like it's supposed to be shifted. If I am lazy, I don't hear any thud but it also shifts like crap and fights with me. It's like trying to jam a square peg into a round hole. Drive it like it's meant to be driven. I remember someone else saying this car was designed to be driven aggressively. It did not make sense at first but now that I've been driving it for a few months, it makes perfect sense.

Also, just for the record, when I have the top down, I hear no thud at all. Only when the top is up. I believe this is because the thud is actually a vibration from when you engage each gear. I've read the specifics before but unfortunately I am unable to reiterate what was written. I'll do some digging and see if I can find it again.

I really don't deem it as an issue. There are many people on many different forums who express the same concern. 9 times out of 10, the replies to those threads all say "It's normal." And like I said in my previous post, my previous car also did it, a Solstice GXP.