[shamrock]

Hey guys. I have a question about my manual transmission. It's been years since my last manual transmission; 370z. When I am driving slowly in first gear and I need to come to a stop I push the clutch pedal in and the gear lever into neutral and let the car coast a few meters before braking. Upon doing this every so often I hear a clunking noise from the back under the car. The noises happens only when pressing in the clutch pedal. Perhaps the disengaging of the gear causes some thing to move due to the forces of inertia? The noise also happens sometimes when shifting up to second gear. Any ideas on what this could be?

[Nezil]

I think it's normal, it's the engine and drive train moving on their mounts. When the load changes in either direction (under acceleration or under engine breaking), or when just changing to no load (like clutch in), then it can clunk a bit.

[shamrock]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking too; however, I don't recall hearing this on previously owned manual cars. Such an expensive cars having groans and clunks?

[Nezil]

Originally Posted by shamrock

Yeah, that's what I was thinking too; however, I don't recall hearing this on previously owned manual cars. Such an expensive cars having groans and clunks?

I actually feel the same way, but I think it's the price we pay for solid subframe mounts etc.

I hope no-one looses respect when they hear me say this, but for me, at my point in life, I'm somewhere between an M240i and M2 driver. I have an M2, but I miss some of the refinements of the M240i. Like this clunking when changing gears.

I just watched Salomondrin's YouTube review of the Aston Martin Vantage... That is my dream car right now, but at 3 x the cost of an M2, I'm happy with what I have.

[boostm3]

I havent heard this yet.

[Mosely]

Mine does it. It's normal.

[shamrock]

We are talking about manual transmissions, right?!

[Nezil]

Right. It's in my signature.

[M Fifty]

Maybe the Differential...

[cookiesowns]

Normal. Think of it as something that is rewarding. You know this is a result of having a high performance rigid car with an actual diff and an aggressive dual plate clutch.

[boostm3]

Originally Posted by cookiesowns

Normal. Think of it as something that is rewarding. You know this is a result of having a high performance rigid car with an actual diff and an aggressive dual plate clutch.

Damn, Im taking mine back to the dealer to get the rear 'clunk' installed.

[Dabozo]

Originally Posted by boostm3

Damn, Im taking mine back to the dealer to get the rear 'clunk' installed.

Lol.
Ya I hear the same thing. Normal in my book.

[shamrock]

While the manly manual guys are in the thread I'll pop a question. When shifting gears all the gears are smooth except for third which 50 percent of the time feels a little "crunchy." It's only a feeling not something I hear.

[eeyang92]

I only get the clunk if I let the RPMs get too low (<1k) before fully disengaging the clutch. My theory is that the auto-acceleration feature kicks in at that range, preventing a smooth transition.

I've not had it happen when I fully clutch in before the RPMs drop too low.

[booya_45]

Originally Posted by eeyang92

I only get the clunk if I let the RPMs get too low (<1k) before fully disengaging the clutch. My theory is that the auto-acceleration feature kicks in at that range, preventing a smooth transition.

I've not had it happen when I fully clutch in before the RPMs drop too low.

I have the same issue and was told it was normal; historically normal for manual M cars.

[shamrock]

Who is telling you guys this is normal? BMW people who want to brush things off? Physics for retards; when two pieces of metal hit each there is a "clang." What is causing these clunking noises when the clutch is released? No way is it OK especially when some people have it and some don't.

[GoneIn4Secs]

Is this supposed to be a manual trans things?

I dont notice this, but i have dct, and sometimes when coming to a stop i do put into netural and coast to stop (like what op is saying i think)

[Jchoi]

I get this too on my LCI M2... I thought it was just me...

[AndrewC1989]

It happens so rarely and only in that one very specific scenario that it doesn't raise any cause for alarm from me. Pretty sure it happened in my last two MT bmw's as well. Feels normal.

[M Fifty]

Originally Posted by shamrock

While the manly manual guys are in the thread I'll pop a question. When shifting gears all the gears are smooth except for third which 50 percent of the time feels a little "crunchy." It's only a feeling not something I hear.

On delivery, the shift action on every one of the first 3 gears on mine managed to be not only rubbery, but also notchy.

It has got much, much better over the 6k miles to date. The key - like other manual BMWs of my experience - is to avoid forcing it into 1st. It will sulk if you do...