OK, this has been happening the last few days. When the car is cold, as Im throwing into third, it grinds and doesnt go in. Yes, I have the clutch pressed in. Only seems to do it when cold and driving aggressively.

On a side not note thats maybe related. I get this burning smell after a few miles of driving. Someone once suggested it was a tranny seal leaking on the exhaust. So would this loss of tranny fluid cause the grinding? How easy is it to just top off the fluid? Thanks

Do you park where you would be able to see a puddle when you drive away?

Low tranny lube can cause grinding as well as other bad things. I don't think topping the lube is very hard, but have not actually done it on the E36. (Usually you need some kind of hand pump or suction pump though, cause there is not room to get the lube bottle next to the fill hole.)

I sort of doubt it is just low fluid though. Sounds to me like your "agressive driving while cold" is beginning to wear out the synchro... Best to check the fluid first and eliminate that possibility.

I had this problem on my first use of 3rd in the morning for a few days. I had swapped in Redline ATF a few days before, so I figured that was it. Dropped in a fresh batch of Mobil 1 ATF.

Same problem.

Hrm.

Took out my UUC clutch stop (it was already screwed in as far as it would go), and no problems. I would guess that I had it set slightly too high for a while, so wear and such gradually lowered the engagement point to where I'd chatter into third if it was cold out.

Again, that's just conjecture from an ill-informed man, but I can say that removing my clutch stop cleared it for me. (N.B.: Otherwise, it's a very nice product.)

I agree with gbeale and would check your fluid levels (hell, just swap it out with whatever flavor you want) as well, though.

I found a great walkthrough on changing the tranny fluid out there somewhere, but can't remember the URL and don't have time to type one out right now. :( I'm pretty sure that Ron Stygar has a writeup on unofficialbmw.com -- it's pretty easy, just a real pain to loosen those bolts at first! (Tip: Remember to open the FILL plug first!!!)

If you search these forums, there will almost certainly be a link to the walkthrough and more info than you could possibly want on which transmission fluid to use. :D (If you don't want to get in a holy war -- remember, there's always stock!)

Good luck ...

I hope it is not the 3rd gear syncro. That would be the worst case scenario.