[Alpac]

Yesterday I broke one of the linkages of the gear shifter. I finished the last 10 miles with only second gear. Back home I took the shifter cover out, took the shifter and the first shifter link off. I then went to Lowe's and bought a bold with a head close enough to the size of the linkage round head. I rounded the bold head with a file, cut the bolt at the right dimension and put everything back, greased it and Voila! Everything works perfectly. I tested it down-town for an hour and no problem at all. It cost me $2 for the bolt, the gas to go to Lowe's (5miles) and 1:20mn including the 40mns going to Lowe's and back. Here are the pic of the broken part, the bolt and the fix.

 

[MountianMama]

I am impressed, good job.

 

[Palerider]

Good job and thanx for the tip....................head of the class for the day..............

 

[Roamrider]

That idea's a keeper.

JD

 

[zippy_gg]

How did you secure the bolt? were you able to re-use the small clip?
You would improve longevity by greasing the new bolt head and adding a piece of felt to keep the grease in and the dirt out, just as the stock setup was (before breaking).
JM2VW

 

[Alpac]

How did you secure the bolt? were you able to re-use the small clip?
You would improve longevity by greasing the new bolt head and adding a piece of felt to keep the grease in and the dirt out, just as the stock setup was (before breaking).
JM2VW

Yes I was able to reuse the clip. I managed to make the bolt head pretty close in size and shape as the head of the ball joint so as the clip could still work perfectly. There was no felt or any grease retainer on the part that broke.

 

[jzeiler]

Yes I was able to reuse the clip. I managed to make the bolt head pretty close in size and shape as the head of the ball joint so as the clip could still work perfectly. There was no felt or any grease retainer on the part that broke.

No felt was why it broke. These will last forever (almost anyway) if they are properly maintained. The grease escaped and water got in and loosened the ball stud. The loose ball stud snapped. If they are tight you can stomp on them and they won't break. It is on my 12K schedule to check and re-lube as well as replace any broken felt seals.

I would get a replacement ball stud as soon as possible to minimize damage to the ball cup.
07119901736 BALL PIN0.02 3 $3.29


And the felt seal.
23417650149 BUSH 3 $1.20

 

[Alpac]

No felt was why it broke. These will last forever (almost anyway) if they are properly maintained. The grease escaped and water got in and loosened the ball stud. The loose ball stud snapped. If they are tight you can stomp on them and they won't break. It is on my 12K schedule to check and re-lube as well as replace any broken felt seals.

I would get a replacement ball stud as soon as possible to minimize damage to the ball cup.
07119901736 BALL PIN0.02 3 $3.29


And the felt seal.
23417650149 BUSH 3 $1.20

Thanks. So probably this already broke and was replaced and the felt was not installed I guess. It has been like that since I bought the bike 3 1/2 years and 30k miles ago

 

[jzeiler]

Actually the felt will deteriorate over time and just fall off. I have replaced 5 of them over the course of 7 years and 70K miles. After installing the new ones it is a real challange to get the ball seated enough to get the lock pin in. But it really preserves the lube.

 

[Alpac]

A year and a half and over 10,000 miles later my repair shift linkage still holds. I make sure it is kept greased properly but that is it.

 

[K100Dennis]

Cut new donuts from 1/4" thick engineers felt using wad punches. Cut a few spares as the originals are ( I think) some type of sponge material which degrades and falls apart over time. Soak some oil into the felts and they'll keep the crud out for years. Pack each ball joint with grease and there'll be no friction to cause the ball studs to come loose, as John Z correctly stated.

 

[deputy5211]

JZ -- Is the p/n you provided for the felts per each, or for a set of three? I am going to get a couple sets, and need to know if I need to of the item or 6.

TIA

 

[boxer259]

Want to see how to much my dealer charged charged me to change that part after riding all the way their in second gear.

 

[johnbaker15]

JZ -- Is the p/n you provided for the felts per each, or for a set of three? I am going to get a couple sets, and need to know if I need to of the item or 6.

TIA

Tony,
The pads (PLASTIC BUSH) are sold as Qty 1, looks like the cost is now $1.24 ea now. The parts list on Max Bmw lists a qty of 3 in total, but you need 4 to replace them all, it appears they don't count the one closest to the transmission. I replaced mine last year and needed 4.

HTH

 

[RonHolly]

Want to see how to much my dealer charged charged me to change that part after riding all the way their in second gear.

YES! Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[jzeiler]

Tony,
The pads (PLASTIC BUSH) are sold as Qty 1, looks like the cost is now $1.24 ea now. The parts list on Max Bmw lists a qty of 3 in total, but you need 4 to replace them all, it appears they don't count the one closest to the transmission. I replaced mine last year and needed 4.

HTH

John is correct. I thought the 4th on was on the transmission diagram as it goes on the ball stud, but it is not there. 4 are needed. Hey a $0.04 increase over two years is not too bad.