E28 shifting problems....

[535i_Drift]

Hi guys,

I haven't been around for a while now, but I need some help.

I have a 1986 BMW 535i 5 spd. A while ago I realized that shifting through the gears required a little more effort than before...actually feeling it kind of "pop" INTO gear with the added force I had to use. Anyhow...it came and went....then it got worse. Now it is at a point where I have to fight to put it into gear...sometime it just will not go at all...and then it kinda pops in like before with the added force necessary. It's easier to do while driving though. The odd thing is that when it's cold or sitting for a while it's like very easy to do as if there is nothing wrong. It's only when it's warm that it is hard to shift. I also noticed that the clutch feels different...like it's mostly operational when closest to the floor, sometimes there is a small quiet squeak I think only from the pedal. When running, and the clutch pedal all the way down the car does not move at all. and with it fully released I don't feel the clutch slipping. Someone said it was the release or throwback bearing, someone else said it was the syncromesh gears, and someone said all I need to do is bleed/fill the clutch hydraulic system. I'm a student on a really tight budget...I have no idea what to do...I love my car...can anyone help me out? Maybe tell me how to bleed the system myself if that's possible....I'm fairly handy. Oh and my battery won't hold a charge for more than two days of not driving the car.
I would really appreciate any help.
Thank you.

[632 Regal]

a lot of people say their problems went away with it. Id try that first then explore deeper. Did you notice a change in clutch behavior lately?

Might want to have the battery tested so you dont end up stranded somewhere, if it checks out good then you have a drain somewhere, could be a diode in the alternator or the regulator could be acting up.

[KESPO]

Exactly the symptoms you describe occured with my 88 E30 M3. After an over zealous demonstration for a friend of the M3's 1st gear burn out capabilites I began experiencing the same hard shifting and popping into gear. The factory clutch throw out bearing had a plastic housing/sleeve which some how via the hi rev's and friction melted the plastic causing the bearing to be partially seized onto the input shaft and not allowing the clutch to be fully disengaged. Unfortunately the only way at the bearing is to pull the tranny. and you might as well replace the clutch and pressure plate while your in there. Not sure if the 535 has a plastic unit or not, but I was able to use a 320i bearing that was all steel..