engaging 1st gear - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

jefrem · 13th November 2002, 22:08

hello all,

i recently (3 days ago) acquired an e28 M5. while many little things need attending-to, in general its in fine stock shape. anyways, one of the little things is an occasional difficulty engaging 1st gear. some preliminary research indicates that what i was about to do (change the tranny fluid with Red Line MTL) is perhaps not advisable on the Getrag 280, as it perhaps prefers mineral-based ATF.

opinions?

it doesn't seem like a pilot bearing issue, as 1st is the only gear affected. my guess is some less than gentle downshifting by the previous owner.

thanks,
-jefrem

Mfiver · 21st November 2002, 02:24

This sounds more like an impending clutch slave cylinder or master cylinder fault. My own M5 exhibits this - gradually getting worse - and the M535i I had before did the same. In the case of the M535, a new slave cylinder solved the problem.

Try rapidly pumping the clutch pedal a few times and if it then slips into gear easily, that's where you need to start looking!

I would suggest that if you stick with the stock transmission oil, you shouldn't have any problems.

jefrem · 6th December 2002, 18:47

definitely not a master/slave cylinder problem. the more i drive with it, the more i'm convinced its either a pilot bearing or a pressure plate problem.

we'll know soon enough, as i'll be replacing all this when i do the ltwt flywheel.

thanks for your reply.

regards,
-jefrem