2004 330d Automatic transmission
Discussion
I’ve seen a clean and tidy 2004 330d touring locally I fancy taking a look at, it’s on 116 k miles and has full service history.
What are the transmissions like on these for reliabilty?
I’m guessing it’s a sealed for life unit so will probably never had it’s fluid changed, something I’d look at doing if I bought it.
Thanks in advance.
What are the transmissions like on these for reliabilty?
I’m guessing it’s a sealed for life unit so will probably never had it’s fluid changed, something I’d look at doing if I bought it.
Thanks in advance.
4004 said:
A "2004 330d" can be either an E46 or an E91, can't it?
One has a GM/ZF 5 speed that is a bit strained by the M57, the other should have a 6HP ZF which would be more adequate
Earliest E9x I've seen are 2005 cars. 2004 would be the E4x series, depending on the age and mileage I would maybe get the gearbox serviced if there is no sign of it being done.One has a GM/ZF 5 speed that is a bit strained by the M57, the other should have a 6HP ZF which would be more adequate
Belle427 said:
I’ve seen a clean and tidy 2004 330d touring locally I fancy taking a look at, it’s on 116 k miles and has full service history.
What are the transmissions like on these for reliabilty?
I’m guessing it’s a sealed for life unit so will probably never had it’s fluid changed, something I’d look at doing if I bought it.
Thanks in advance.
Should be fine but as you said; get the autobox serviced ASAP, makes a world of differenceWhat are the transmissions like on these for reliabilty?
I’m guessing it’s a sealed for life unit so will probably never had it’s fluid changed, something I’d look at doing if I bought it.
Thanks in advance.
These use the General Motors gearbox. They're not bad - the only real thing of note were the two pressure solenoids on the valve body, one for the gearbox, the other for the torque converter. When the later fails, you'll feel a weird vibration like driving over a cattle grid and that's the converter destroying itself. If you do a gearbox service with a filter, it's not much more work to replace them.
I have a ’03 330d with the GM box -5L40E
5= speed
L= lock -up
40 = rating of gearbox in this case 400 Nm
E= electronically controlled
They are good gearboxes-most of the time.
Like all mechanical transmissions, they do like their oil changes, this “sealed for life” line is nonsense.
The problem with the box is the “40”, as the peak torque of the engine is 410 Nm….. Therefore, the gearbox is insufficiently rated from day 1.
As stated above, there is an issue with the solenoids, and these can be changed relatively easily. I’ve done mine once and the local specialist has done them once as well.
There is another issue with the torque converter. As above It can be felt like a driving over a cattle grid, on mine it was at 55-65 mph in 4th or 5th. It just gets worse until it fails, no oil changes will fix it. The new converters are about £200-270.
There is another issue with an internal sliding valve which wears out quickly. The fix is to take out the valve block, machine a larger diameter hole in it and install a larger diameter valve. This was determined to be an upgrade/uprate, I would consider it a fix. It is quite an expensive fix.
The sliding valve and the converter are well known for going and the heavier the car, the quicker they go. Mine went at 122K. they have the same boxes in Range Rovers of the same vintage, and they go at 60-90K.
The valve body CAN sort-of be done with the gearbox in the car, and the solenoids also. For the torque converter the gearbox must come out. Taking the gearbox out is a substantial job. I wouldn’t want to do it without a ramp, a transmission jack, and a mate. Maybe in my 20’s I would just crack on, mid 50’s maybe not.
To rebuild the gearbox properly, with new friction plates and steels, is a full strip down and would cost 4 figures with the converter and a solenoid or 2.
I had the internal sliding valve, converter and another iffy solenoid fixed on mine,. And the bill was just a touch over £2,200. The specialist told me he averages 60 of these gearboxes a year – over one a week.
The gearboxes are getting thin on the ground now, they used to be £150 on eBay, now its £300. Parts are very easily available, providing you don’t mind ordering stuff from the USA.
There are some rebuild videos on YouTube, but there’s a real technique to doing automatics, and a fair bit of specialist tooling required, especially for assembly.
5= speed
L= lock -up
40 = rating of gearbox in this case 400 Nm
E= electronically controlled
They are good gearboxes-most of the time.
Like all mechanical transmissions, they do like their oil changes, this “sealed for life” line is nonsense.
The problem with the box is the “40”, as the peak torque of the engine is 410 Nm….. Therefore, the gearbox is insufficiently rated from day 1.
As stated above, there is an issue with the solenoids, and these can be changed relatively easily. I’ve done mine once and the local specialist has done them once as well.
There is another issue with the torque converter. As above It can be felt like a driving over a cattle grid, on mine it was at 55-65 mph in 4th or 5th. It just gets worse until it fails, no oil changes will fix it. The new converters are about £200-270.
There is another issue with an internal sliding valve which wears out quickly. The fix is to take out the valve block, machine a larger diameter hole in it and install a larger diameter valve. This was determined to be an upgrade/uprate, I would consider it a fix. It is quite an expensive fix.
The sliding valve and the converter are well known for going and the heavier the car, the quicker they go. Mine went at 122K. they have the same boxes in Range Rovers of the same vintage, and they go at 60-90K.
The valve body CAN sort-of be done with the gearbox in the car, and the solenoids also. For the torque converter the gearbox must come out. Taking the gearbox out is a substantial job. I wouldn’t want to do it without a ramp, a transmission jack, and a mate. Maybe in my 20’s I would just crack on, mid 50’s maybe not.
To rebuild the gearbox properly, with new friction plates and steels, is a full strip down and would cost 4 figures with the converter and a solenoid or 2.
I had the internal sliding valve, converter and another iffy solenoid fixed on mine,. And the bill was just a touch over £2,200. The specialist told me he averages 60 of these gearboxes a year – over one a week.
The gearboxes are getting thin on the ground now, they used to be £150 on eBay, now its £300. Parts are very easily available, providing you don’t mind ordering stuff from the USA.
There are some rebuild videos on YouTube, but there’s a real technique to doing automatics, and a fair bit of specialist tooling required, especially for assembly.
E46's would be okay if folk treated them as the 20 year old bangers that they are and paid accordingly. However, they are now 'classics' and are now worth more than a decent E90 which is a much better car.
E46's - to me - are rusty old s
t where everything breaks and most jobs are a pain in the arse.
E46's - to me - are rusty old s
t where everything breaks and most jobs are a pain in the arse. Touring442 said:
E46's would be okay if folk treated them as the 20 year old bangers that they are and paid accordingly. However, they are now 'classics' and are now worth more than a decent E90 which is a much better car.
E46's - to me - are rusty old st where everything breaks and most jobs are a pain in the arse.
But the e9x look sE46's - to me - are rusty old s
t where everything breaks and most jobs are a pain in the arse. t in comparison 
The e46 is a driver's car, the e9x is just a car.
My experience of e46 auto gearboxes is that they are just plain unreliable, spent more money trying to get these repaired than I care to remember, the manual is the way to go. That said, a carefully driven auto that's been serviced might be OK, but bare in mind that BMW considered it as sealed for life, which is why so many have such a short life, they will never have been serviced.
Buy a manual e46 330d if you can find one.
My experience of e46 auto gearboxes is that they are just plain unreliable, spent more money trying to get these repaired than I care to remember, the manual is the way to go. That said, a carefully driven auto that's been serviced might be OK, but bare in mind that BMW considered it as sealed for life, which is why so many have such a short life, they will never have been serviced.
Buy a manual e46 330d if you can find one.
Gassing Station | BMW General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff