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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Technical Forums > DIY Guides > Short Sifter Installation (Leaver only)



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      03-20-2007, 07:13 PM   #1
e90pilot
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Short Sifter Installation (Leaver only)

Edit: updated for new details.

First DIY, let me know what you think. Which I had take more pictures Oh well.

First, I’d just like to state that I am not responsible for any damage to you or your car as a result of this DIY.

Materials

New shift leaver (I used the leaver off a BMW M coupe s54 model).
Pliers
Flat screw drivers for prying
Grease
Brake parts cleaner

Before you begin, make sure you know what you are getting into. I’ll tell you the results of what I used. The shift effort goes way up and the action becomes notchy. Also, you are significantly reducing shifting time which means the synchros will have to take the up the speed difference faster. In short, if you shift hard a lot, you will notice faster gearbox wear. Lastly, if you shift really fast, particularly from first to second, you will start grinding gears. You could not move the old shifter fast enough to notice this. If you’re willing to make these trades to get shorter shifts, it’s worth it. I’m more than happy with the results.

NEW: I just installed Rouge's SSK with the WSR. The shifter now centers properly because the new selector rod repositions the leaver and the through is slightly longer because the shifter sits higher. The action is smooth and extreamly precise. The installation is not much more complicated than just installing a leaver.

Installation:

First you need to remove the shift boot and knob. The boot just clips into the isle-stand. Press inward around the edges to pop it loose. Next shift the car into second gear and pull up on knob to remove it (If you’ve never removed it, it will take a lot of force to get it off). The picture shows the leaver with the boot and knob removed.



Next you have to get under the car. I used a rather large hydraulic lift so I could walk under the car but this is not necessary. You can use jack stands. You’ll also want to work from driver’s right. Fortunately you do not have to remove any body work. There’s an access hole where you’ll see the shift leaver attached to selector rod. The picture below shows the rod detached from the leaver. The selector rod is sitting just above the large black cylinder. The flat metal piece holds the shifter ball and cup in place. You can see the bottom of the shift leaver just above the end of the selector rod.



To detach it, you need to remove the c-clip by sliding it straight back. You can use a flat head screw driver to pry the ends loose. Before you slide out the leaver and rod, look at the position of the washers. Then simply pull the selector rod out of the shift leaver. Save any washers and save the c-clip. Here's what the c-clip looks like.

NEW: the c-clip on the other side of the rod can also be easily removed the same way. The working space is a little tighter but it's doable. If you're just on jacks this might be really challenging.



Lower the car off the jacks; you’ll be working inside again. The shift leaver should be completely loose now. You need to remove the other boot now. I used and short, stubby, flat screwdriver to pry it loose. Then slide it up the leaver to completely remove it.



Now you should be looking at the plastic cup and ball. The sifter will only come out with the cup. To get it out you need to twist it CCW or CW until it moves up. I used a pair of pliers to twist and pull. Bear in mind, it doesn’t unscrew, you are just lining the tabs up with the track that allows you to remove the cup. The cup is made of plastic so be careful not to damage it. Once you get the cup and shift leaver out, remove the cup from the leaver and clean it with a rag.

NEW: The second time I removed it, it was a lot more stubborn. Just keep trying. If you have a replacement cup than you can break the one in there.





This picture shows both shift leavers. The one with the kink in it is the stock one. Notice how the bottom is longer and the top is shorter; this is what shortens the throw. There is a fairly large difference between these two which explains drastic difference in shifting. The other thing to notice is that kink in the stock one. That just repositions the shifter in the cabin. The new one with no kink sits further forward, to the right and lower. To adjust this you need to modify the selector rod and/or shift leaver, something I did not want to do just yet.

It’s a good idea to grease the shaft and ball of the shift leaver so you can more easily replace the lower shift boot and reduce the wear on the cup and ball. Place the new leaver in the cup and replace the cup back in the car. Also replace the lower boot.

Put the car back up on the jack stands/lift and connect the shift leaver to the selector rod. (You may want to clean the pin the goes into the shift leaver.) Place the c-clip back on the selector rod.

NEW: refer to the instructions that came with your SSK (if you got one) to see which end goes where and which washers go where. Also once you're done reattaching everything make sure nothings comes into contact with the drive shaft.

Lower the car and replace the upper boot and knob. Make sure you secure the knob on tightly. Drive the car around OUTSIDE OF TRAFFIC first so can get used to the new feel and make sure everything is working properly.

Here's the result: 3rd, N, 4th.



As you can see much shorter that stock. However, the leaver does not center properly anymore. I'll post another DIY when I fix this problem.

Hope you guys find this useful. This took my friend and me about 1 hr to install. It's pretty straight forward.


-Marcelo
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Last edited by e90pilot; 11-05-2007 at 03:37 PM.. Reason: updated directions
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      03-20-2007, 07:17 PM   #2
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Great DIY, but I will probably wait for Rogue's Octane SSK, if and when they ever get around to putting one out for the E92.

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      03-20-2007, 08:52 PM   #3
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hows the feel of it? just curious..
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      03-20-2007, 09:10 PM   #4
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Nice write up. I did the same with the B&M short shifter. I know the feeling of the B&M is great!
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      03-20-2007, 10:17 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cm3rc View Post
hows the feel of it? just curious..
Feels great! IMO. It's definately notchier, and much heavier. Shifts to second when it's cold are especially stiff. When you first try it, your gonna go "OMG what have I done?!" But then you get used to it. My only complant is the fact that it doesn't center right. Also BTW, you can pick that shifter up at any BMW parts dealer for about $80. Apparently it's common for a lot of other BMWs including e30 M3's and pretty much anything with a Getrag 226 gearbox that doesn't already have it.

If you want to reduce the notchiness, there are only a few things you can do short of a new gearbox. Different gear oil or lighter clutch.


--Marcelo
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      03-21-2007, 08:57 AM   #6
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nice work. Part # on the leaver?
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      03-25-2007, 08:45 PM   #7
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you also dont have to get the m coupes z4 shifter..the z4 3.0 isnt as short and will not be as notchy..the 2.5 is a little shorter than that. i did this mod to my old e30 but was unsure that it would work on this car..thanks for finding out for us. i payed 45 for my z4 shifter
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      03-25-2007, 08:53 PM   #8
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here is some compadible shifters





i might try the z3 1.9 because it looks like the bend will help with the placement of the shifter.
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      03-31-2007, 12:03 PM   #9
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nice write up, ordered the part and its going to be here tuesday so im gunna install it short after that. one question does it feel like a real short shift kit or is it a little sloppy being that it sits more to the right and more forward then ssk
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      04-05-2007, 03:53 PM   #10
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Very nice write-up. This will be very useful if/when they make some SSK's for the E92.
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      10-27-2007, 10:04 PM   #11
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I took a peak at this today. I do not have access to a shop lift. This is definitely a pita to do if you do not have a shop lift. Crawling under the car does not give you enough room to work and you cannot extend you hand.

If you do not have a lift, you will have to take out the heat shield completely to give you as much room to work as possible. Damn, i need a shop lift.
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      10-28-2007, 03:41 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by txusa03 View Post
I took a peak at this today. I do not have access to a shop lift. This is definitely a pita to do if you do not have a shop lift. Crawling under the car does not give you enough room to work and you cannot extend you hand.

If you do not have a lift, you will have to take out the heat shield completely to give you as much room to work as possible. Damn, i need a shop lift.
You can try to jack the car up with a nice floor jack which you can rent, then get the car up on some jackstands which you can rent also. The lift is nice but not required.


--Marcelo
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      10-30-2007, 12:38 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by e90pilot View Post
You can try to jack the car up with a nice floor jack which you can rent, then get the car up on some jackstands which you can rent also. The lift is nice but not required.


--Marcelo
Marcelo, is it hard to remove the C-clip using a needle nose plyer? I did not see it in your instruction but what did you use to remove the C-clip?
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      10-31-2007, 12:59 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by txusa03 View Post
Marcelo, is it hard to remove the C-clip using a needle nose plyer? I did not see it in your instruction but what did you use to remove the C-clip?
AKA the "Bitch Clip". If they have moved it to an easier location then great, if they havent, then that part alone can take up to 20 minutes to remove. Ive done several SS replacements on e36/e46's and this one part is annoyingly stubborn. Honestly, its the reason I wont be attempting a shortshifter on the e90.

On my e36, I had a custom bent lever made for me. I bet if you take yours out and get it into a vice, you could bend yours so that it is tilted back towards you to make centering a bit better.
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      11-02-2007, 12:59 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by txusa03 View Post
Marcelo, is it hard to remove the C-clip using a needle nose plyer? I did not see it in your instruction but what did you use to remove the C-clip?
I got it out with my hands (well actually my friend did it). There are actually 2 c-clips. One connects the shifter to the selector rod. The other connects the selector rod to the gearbox. The one that's connects the rod to the leaver is easily accessed through without removing any parts. I remember him pulling just pulling it out backward (towards the rear of the car).

It's funny, some things on the e90 are really easy to get to, but somethings like the AC compressor are a pain to work on. My car had a bad AC right off the lot. It took them a month to find the problem, then another week to get it fixed. Good thing I wasn't working on it .

This Sunday I'm gonna install a new shifter and selector rod. (I'm kinda getting tired of this one.) Maybe I can get some more pix and details.


--Marcelo
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      11-02-2007, 03:13 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by e90pilot View Post
I got it out with my hands (well actually my friend did it). There are actually 2 c-clips. One connects the shifter to the selector rod. The other connects the selector rod to the gearbox. The one that's connects the rod to the leaver is easily accessed through without removing any parts. I remember him pulling just pulling it out backward (towards the rear of the car).

It's funny, some things on the e90 are really easy to get to, but somethings like the AC compressor are a pain to work on. My car had a bad AC right off the lot. It took them a month to find the problem, then another week to get it fixed. Good thing I wasn't working on it .

This Sunday I'm gonna install a new shifter and selector rod. (I'm kinda getting tired of this one.) Maybe I can get some more pix and details.


--Marcelo
So with this DIY, you only need to pull out 1 C-clip (shifter/selector rod) and the other stay in place since you are not doing anything with the selector rod/gearbox. Just want to make sure. When I was peaking at it, I only saw but 1 C-clip (the other one might have been exposed for me to see).

GL with another shifter and do share your input on the new shifter.
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      11-05-2007, 03:40 PM   #17
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Updated original post with new details! I installed the Rogue SSK with leaver and WSR. Remember always first!


-Marcelo
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      11-10-2007, 02:39 PM   #18
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I like to add one thing to this that might assist other looking to do this as well. The plastic cup do indeed only come out with the shifter. To get it out, you should turn the plastic cup CW. It is very difficult to turn it CW. By turning it CW, you are slowly pushing the cup out of the notch in the housing. It is a very tight fit and you can certainly damage the plastic cup.
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      02-17-2011, 06:13 PM   #19
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my kit from bmw comes with the new arm that holds the shifter and the bearing cup did you replace yours
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      02-17-2011, 06:32 PM   #20
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No, the rogue kit and BME Performance kit for the 328 does not come with it. The 330 and 335 have a new carrier. If you look at the price, the 330 and 335 kits are more expensive.
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      04-14-2011, 10:00 PM   #21
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I installed the short shift lever a few weeks ago along with the BMW E90/91/92/93 3 Series 'M' Perforated Leather Shift Knob w/ Boot. I originally installed just the shift knob (stock lever) and it did bring the height of the knob down by maybe 1/2" from stock and it felt nice shifting but not the best. I installed the short shift lever and it really brought the height down even further. But i do have to say that it feels better shifting with the short shifter. When shifting before the SS was installed I felt like I had to make an effort to shift fast in order to rev match, but with the SS installed I find it it just happens with my normal shift throw. I don't know if I was lazy in shifting before but it feels better now. Next step is to get the carrier so the shifter sits centre.

BTW I was able to remove and install without going under the car. I did everything from the inside of the car. Removing the clip wasn't that bad, it was harder putting it on. I had a pair of bent needle nose pliers which made it easier. Just shift it into revers so the pin and clip are visible to the right side of centre. I will admit that I dropped the clip a couple of time and even lost one (don't know where it went) but it can be done.

URLs are to the products I have installed and pictures are of the shifter in different gears

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...catalogid=4462

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...catalogid=4462

Attachment 504198
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      04-18-2011, 01:54 AM   #22
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Hoping someone can help.

I got my hands on a B&M short shifter but it was from a e46.

Tried putting it in on the weekend and noticed that the shift leaver was longer than the original which I/m guessing was what caused the gear changes to be notchy???
What's the Rouge's SSK with the WSR?? a new shifter or an attachment to 'raise' the shift leaver so it's back to the original spot?

Thanks in advance
Steve
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