Anzafin

Hi.

Is there any European members, who have put an OEM short shifter into their manual diesel E60?
The RealOEM lists part number 25117546373, and it's the same for petrol cars, I guess. However, RealOEM says it's from 03/2005. My car is 05/2004, and if I get a RealOEM list for that precise model, there is no short shifter listed. The "normal" shift lever is up to 03/2005.

So the question is, would the short shifter fit my 2004 car? I'd appreciate the help!

Thank you in advance!

ps. I already talked to couple of members across the pond about install, but since they don't have the diesels, I think they can't help about this...

edit: Damn, sometimes it (RealOEM) lists the short shifter for my car and sometimes doesn't. Anyways, would it fit?

edit2: Sorry folks! I noticed the petrol cars use the same parts! So is there any petrol OR diesel owner, who has installed a short shifter to his/her pre-03/2005 car?

Palmo

Can't help on the actual short shifter I'm afraid.

However, I can say this..... when I got my car, it came with the wrong gear shift knob installed from the factory - mine is an M-Sport and it came with an 'SE' gear shift knob. This was changed by my dealer after about 2 weeks of me owning the car from new (it took them 2 attempts to get the correct M-Sport shift knob in).

Anyway, upon the 'M-Sport' shift knob being installed (the shift knobs just pull off / push on) my gear changes felt considerably improved. In other words the M-Sport shift know is much shorter and 'sportier' and therefore provides the feel of a 'shorter shift' in itself. Quite how this compare to having the complete 'short shift linkage' fitted I don't know, but know that it did make a big difference. If you have a standard SE knob fitted, this may be worth considering as an initial upgrade - it will certainly be quicker, easier and I suspect cheaper!

Not the best of pictures but see the following for an idea of what I'm talking about.

My origianl 'SE' shift knob:


My retrofitted 'M-Sport' shift knob:

Anzafin

Thanks a lot Palmo! Looks good !

I was informed about this shorter knob, and member cleung recommended it to be installed at the same time.
But if the short shifter itself doesn't fit, I may go only for this knob. Btw, the short shifter is not any more expensive than the knob.

Palmo

Good luck - let us know how it turns out! How much is the short shift linkage then?

Anzafin

I just came back from the dealer. They couldn't tell if the short shifter fits my car, they had never installed one. So I ended up to order the MSport knob.
It looks good in your picture Palmo so thanks for the tip.

I can purchase the short shifter later if it appears that it fits. I can't recall the precise price but it was something 60? plus some fitting accessories 5-10?.
I'm sure someone here knows the answer.

cleung

Hey check and see if the normal shifter on your 530d is the same as the one on the 530i, because if the normal one is the same then I presume that the short one will fit because I have the short one on my 2004 530i.

Palmo

I personally think the M-Sport Knob provides a much better feel and look. With it being shorter, the gear lever doesn't seem to have to move as far. With the SE item originally installed on mine, first gear seemed a long way away - remember mine is right hand drive and so you probably get the same feeling with 5th gear (just the other way around)? The M-Sport Knob definitely improves on that.

The real bonus is that they are a doddle to fit. To remove, the old lever simply 'pulls off' (a bit of force is required). To refit, the new one simply 'pushes on' (again, a bit of force is required).

Here's another picture of mine (again not the best of quality but it's all I have got):

Palmo

How easy is the 'short shifter' to fit?

Anzafin

Good point! I will check that!

Palmo, according to member lospice1 it's not.
Here's a DIY.

545felix

I installed the post 03/2005 short shifter to my 10/2004 car and it fit fine. The diesels have a thick vibration damper on the shifter, (at least in the realoem pictures) so make sure you transfer that over to the new shifter.