E39 540 gearbox failing. Bin it or repair it?
Discussion
Bit of a quandary here. E39 540. 1999. Not great cosmetically, bit scratchy and denty. Been solid though, my daily driver and tow car for motorbikes and cars. Owned for 3 years. 151,000 miles. was 117k when i got it and its been fine; no horrible suprises.
So on Saturday the gearbox started taking 3 seconds to select reverse. On sunday it took 5 seconds and made rumbly, clonky sounds for the first 10 foot or so of reversing. If its worsening that fast then its bad.
Took to local automatic gearbox specialist today. No fault codes; so gearbox centre say its mechanical. Bugger, I say, and the guy agrees. Couple of hundred to open it up and have a look. Worst case, and they say to expect this if I am being realistic, is £1980 + vat. Thats complete overhaul, including parts and fitting. So, £2300 and its done and car is happy.
Just had large service and some bushes and other bits and bobs @ £650 three weeks ago (you have to laugh). It has a Quaife LSD which i had fitted, which was £1500-odd altogether (650 plus vat plus fitting). Reverse alarms were £300. Removable towbar @ £300. So if I bin it and get another I've got to swap that lot over and write off the servicing.
Auto-Trader says a nice facelift one with sub-100k mileage is £5-6000. Then i have to get the stuff above swapped over, weigh the old one in, and take days off work doing so. I am self-employed and this is definitely something to factor in.
I am having a hard time not just getting the 'box fixed. £2300 for that, or £5-6000 plus realistically another grand or so getting it to where mine is, plus several days off work (and the logistics, insurance and 2nd driver issues, of getting both cars to Birds for the LSD swapover and other places for the towbar and reverse alarms. What say you, BMW forum types?
cheers
Andy
p.s. I have thought of other cars but the LSD and the fact that the car is great and does everything I need means getting another one really is something I would do.
So on Saturday the gearbox started taking 3 seconds to select reverse. On sunday it took 5 seconds and made rumbly, clonky sounds for the first 10 foot or so of reversing. If its worsening that fast then its bad.
Took to local automatic gearbox specialist today. No fault codes; so gearbox centre say its mechanical. Bugger, I say, and the guy agrees. Couple of hundred to open it up and have a look. Worst case, and they say to expect this if I am being realistic, is £1980 + vat. Thats complete overhaul, including parts and fitting. So, £2300 and its done and car is happy.
Just had large service and some bushes and other bits and bobs @ £650 three weeks ago (you have to laugh). It has a Quaife LSD which i had fitted, which was £1500-odd altogether (650 plus vat plus fitting). Reverse alarms were £300. Removable towbar @ £300. So if I bin it and get another I've got to swap that lot over and write off the servicing.
Auto-Trader says a nice facelift one with sub-100k mileage is £5-6000. Then i have to get the stuff above swapped over, weigh the old one in, and take days off work doing so. I am self-employed and this is definitely something to factor in.
I am having a hard time not just getting the 'box fixed. £2300 for that, or £5-6000 plus realistically another grand or so getting it to where mine is, plus several days off work (and the logistics, insurance and 2nd driver issues, of getting both cars to Birds for the LSD swapover and other places for the towbar and reverse alarms. What say you, BMW forum types?
cheers
Andy
p.s. I have thought of other cars but the LSD and the fact that the car is great and does everything I need means getting another one really is something I would do.
I think it's a case of better the devil you know... Who is to say the 'box in the replacement car won't go pop in a few months time. The 'sealed for life' auto boxes in the E39 are not bomb proof and there are stories of them going well before 100k.
I had the same quandry with my 530 touring. I got the box reconditioned, it cost £1300 all in, so not cheap, but it comes with a years warranty, so there is at least some peace of mind that goes along with it.
When you take into account all the rest of the stuff you have done to your car, I think you have answered your own question especially when you would just be buying a slightly newer version of exactly what you have...
I had the same quandry with my 530 touring. I got the box reconditioned, it cost £1300 all in, so not cheap, but it comes with a years warranty, so there is at least some peace of mind that goes along with it.
When you take into account all the rest of the stuff you have done to your car, I think you have answered your own question especially when you would just be buying a slightly newer version of exactly what you have...
MoonMonkey said:
Thanks for the link. May well go with these guys. Recon box & torque converter, fitted, 24 month warranty for £700 less than the people who looked at it today (and who only gave 12 month warranty).Hi there,
Circa 150K is the average life expectancy of these gearboxes! mine lasted until 172K miles!
I did alot of researching around in 2007 when it happened to me, and eventually took it here
http://www.automaticman.co.uk/
who charged me a very reasonable £1250+VAT - all BMW parts used, 3 day turnaround and 12K/1 year warranty. I've now done around 33K trouble free miles and I'm happy.
Somewhere on the south coast I believe does the rebuild for around £1150-1175+VAT with the same parts and guarantee as the above and was mentioned on the 5 series forum I'm on alot. I forget the posting itself and thus the name of the place - but the member who used the service and mentioned it seemed happy.
Cheers, Dennis!
Circa 150K is the average life expectancy of these gearboxes! mine lasted until 172K miles!
I did alot of researching around in 2007 when it happened to me, and eventually took it here
http://www.automaticman.co.uk/
who charged me a very reasonable £1250+VAT - all BMW parts used, 3 day turnaround and 12K/1 year warranty. I've now done around 33K trouble free miles and I'm happy.
Somewhere on the south coast I believe does the rebuild for around £1150-1175+VAT with the same parts and guarantee as the above and was mentioned on the 5 series forum I'm on alot. I forget the posting itself and thus the name of the place - but the member who used the service and mentioned it seemed happy.
Cheers, Dennis!
The E34 540 box )ZF 5HP30 is known to do this when a small plastic check valve ball pops through the plate its supposed to seal. ZF do a replacement kit. It's potentially diyable, can be fixed without removing the box (valvebody drops out from underneath after removing the pan)
Suggest you find out exactly what box is fitted, then call a ZF specialist. Might be simplere than it looks - here's hoping.
Suggest you find out exactly what box is fitted, then call a ZF specialist. Might be simplere than it looks - here's hoping.
Huff said:
The E34 540 box )ZF 5HP30 is known to do this when a small plastic check valve ball pops through the plate its supposed to seal. ZF do a replacement kit. It's potentially diyable, can be fixed without removing the box (valvebody drops out from underneath after removing the pan)
Suggest you find out exactly what box is fitted, then call a ZF specialist. Might be simplere than it looks - here's hoping.
different box......its the 5HP24 in the E39. I am now a BMW gearbox specialist Suggest you find out exactly what box is fitted, then call a ZF specialist. Might be simplere than it looks - here's hoping.
same box in big jags, X5s, etc etc
if i were you, i'd probably keep the car and get the gearbox rebuilt. dare i ask how much a new one is from BMW? if it's only 500 or so more, and you're planning on keeping it till it dies, at least you know it's good for another fair few years.
has the oil ever been changed? the "sealed for life" 'boxes last a hell of a lot longer if they have their oil changed once in a while.
has the oil ever been changed? the "sealed for life" 'boxes last a hell of a lot longer if they have their oil changed once in a while.
E21_Ross said:
if i were you, i'd probably keep the car and get the gearbox rebuilt. dare i ask how much a new one is from BMW? if it's only 500 or so more, and you're planning on keeping it till it dies, at least you know it's good for another fair few years.
has the oil ever been changed? the "sealed for life" 'boxes last a hell of a lot longer if they have their oil changed once in a while.
new box from ZF is about £2500-3000 plus fitting.has the oil ever been changed? the "sealed for life" 'boxes last a hell of a lot longer if they have their oil changed once in a while.
i have changed the oil in it twice during my ownership; once when i got it and once when i added an oil cooler to it when i started towing big weights (1800kg)
papercup said:
E21_Ross said:
if i were you, i'd probably keep the car and get the gearbox rebuilt. dare i ask how much a new one is from BMW? if it's only 500 or so more, and you're planning on keeping it till it dies, at least you know it's good for another fair few years.
has the oil ever been changed? the "sealed for life" 'boxes last a hell of a lot longer if they have their oil changed once in a while.
new box from ZF is about £2500-3000 plus fitting.has the oil ever been changed? the "sealed for life" 'boxes last a hell of a lot longer if they have their oil changed once in a while.
i have changed the oil in it twice during my ownership; once when i got it and once when i added an oil cooler to it when i started towing big weights (1800kg)
your choice though of course. but, you shouldn't bin the car
E21_Ross said:
papercup said:
E21_Ross said:
if i were you, i'd probably keep the car and get the gearbox rebuilt. dare i ask how much a new one is from BMW? if it's only 500 or so more, and you're planning on keeping it till it dies, at least you know it's good for another fair few years.
has the oil ever been changed? the "sealed for life" 'boxes last a hell of a lot longer if they have their oil changed once in a while.
new box from ZF is about £2500-3000 plus fitting.has the oil ever been changed? the "sealed for life" 'boxes last a hell of a lot longer if they have their oil changed once in a while.
i have changed the oil in it twice during my ownership; once when i got it and once when i added an oil cooler to it when i started towing big weights (1800kg)
your choice though of course. but, you shouldn't bin the car
i will be getting the recon box and 24 month warranty for £1300 + vat (fitted).......
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