Air cleaner/shift platform mount

[Honolulu]

Gents: for the second time the mount holding the rear of the 5-speed shifter platform has gone south. This makes it hard to shift, particularly into second and fourth, without strongly pulling upward on the shifter. As a result, the wife drove about in first and third the other day and it was not good, except that now she won't drive the car until it's fixed. She almost never drives it anyway, but I need to get this done.

I've used an air cleaner mount scrounged from an E12, it's a thread-spool sized bit of rubber with 6 mm studs at each end. Maybe partly because the last two were from an E12 and thus decades old, they broke while driving and I'm wondering what other more reliable means there might be.

Got to say I haven't been under in a while, no need to, but this matter requires it.

New mounts are widely available as P/N 64 24 8 042 132 for around $20 (ridiculous) but going down to $1.20 (now that's more like it).

Open to alternate suggestions... anyone?

 

[oldcoupe]

Shift platform mount

I used a small muffler mount from the local muffler place - probably the smallest they had. It was a rubber block with a threaded stud at each end, quite strong and, most important, very cheap.

I've never had a problem with the stick hitting the console when using reverse or fifth, and I wonder if holding the platform quite firmly and well up against the tunnel has helped.

While on that subject, a local shop took out the bushes in the linkages and pressed in solid nylon rod and then drilled it to give a very tight fit, so there's no looseness in the shift.

 

[Honolulu]

Thanks

A muffler mount sounds like just the ticket, particularly on the strong bit. The mount holds the back of the shifter platform (no great force) but whatever vertical forces one puts on the shifter are also borne by it, these vary with the driver.

Turns out there is another mount used in other Bimmers in which the mount is not hourglass shaped, but simply cylindrical. It may be slightly shorter as well. Its part number in case anyone finds this post later is 13 71 1 259 818, about $5 at the FLAP who I expect will discount it a bit for me when it comes in next week.

 

[wkohler]

I just put a 265/6 in my '75 530i and to hold the rear of the console, we used a coil cover mount from an M50 motor (11 12 1 730 356). RealOEM lists them at $15.63. Most of the discount dealers seem to have them for around $14. It's about twice the price of the part that is used on the E12s, E23s, E24s and E28s, but it's more robust and has about the same height to it. It's worth buying a new one as the old ones scavenged from cars don't do terribly well with the heat in my experience. Of course, I do live in Phoenix. I've used the airbox mount (13 71 1 259 818 ) before but it's a little bit shorter, which pulls the console up closer to the top of the tunnel, which can be a problem if you have a nice piece of the factory foam. Still works well though. Absolutely buy those new. I used a used one once and it broke the first time I put the car in reverse.

 

[Honolulu]

Sure enough, the rubber portion of the airbox mount (13 71 1 259 818) is 1/2" thick, too short to allow the shifter platform to come up to the stud since I have a fairly robust bit of foam between the platform and tunnel. I substituted a simple 6x30 bolt in there with a nylock nut and washer, pro tem. It pulls the shifter platform snugly against the foam and maybe that's all it really needs.

I should have taken wkohler's advice to use the M50 motor (11 12 1 730 356) but too late. That part is widely available, OEM, on the aftermarket for $2 to $4 (eeuropean, fcp, Pelican, rmeuropean), but $17 from dealers.

cars... (sigh)