Auto gearbox about to die??

[Jez49]

My E39 530 Sport has covered 130K and has developed a new noise in the last few weeks.

When its warm I get a slight squeel almost like a slipping belt as I accelerate gently, seems to happen between 1500 and 2000rpm in first and second gear at a certian torque.

Im pretty sure its not any of the ancillary belts, they are in good nick and the tensioners and water pump have been replaced.

Could it be the bands in the gearbox starting to give up?

Anyone had their box replaced / reconned? How much did it cost? Im handy with spanners but dont have the time to be without the car for any length of time so would prob have to get a specialist to do the job if the car is worth spending the money on.

All thoughts appreciated.

Thanks

Jez

[BlueProp]

Jez49 said:

My E39 530 Sport has covered 130K and has developed a new noise in the last few weeks.

When its warm I get a slight squeel almost like a slipping belt as I accelerate gently, seems to happen between 1500 and 2000rpm in first and second gear at a certian torque.

Im pretty sure its not any of the ancillary belts, they are in good nick and the tensioners and water pump have been replaced.

Could it be the bands in the gearbox starting to give up?

Anyone had their box replaced / reconned? How much did it cost? Im handy with spanners but dont have the time to be without the car for any length of time so would prob have to get a specialist to do the job if the car is worth spending the money on.

All thoughts appreciated.

Thanks

Jez

Never used these, but they have been recommended previously:

http://www.automatictransmissions-uk.com/

http://www.drivertransmissions.co.uk/index.html

[bga]

The symptoms sound very similar to ones I have had recently. The car is going into a specialist next week to have the box refurbished.

[The_Doc]

£1700 for a reconditioned auto box for an E46 at my local independent.

Main dealer quoted me £4000 for a new one.

[Jez49]

bga said:

The symptoms sound very similar to ones I have had recently. The car is going into a specialist next week to have the box refurbished.

Thanks for the reply, mind me asking how much you've been quoted?

Did your car give up in the end or did the noise get worse but the car kept going etc?

Thanks

Jez

[bga]

No problem, its going to be around £2100 all in (includes VAT). I'm away from home at the moment so don't have the exact figure unfortunately.

The box has been slipping at 20-30 mph and at 50 mph for a few weeks. Last week there was a big jolt from the rear end and the box went into limp home mode. I killed the ignition and started again at which point the fault cleared and I was able to get home. I do lots of miles in the car so while it's not left me stranded I want to get it sorted ASAP.

[bga]

A bit of an update for anyone interested.

I dropped my E39 540 Touring into the gearbox specialist on Monday ( www.agc.uk.com/ ) where they removed, dismantled, refurbed and rebuilt the the box and torque converter.

I picked the car up this afternoon and it's back to it's best again so I am pleased. 800 miles in the last few days in my wife's Golf is not as relaxing as in the 5 Series.

All in all it was £2300 (includes VAT) which is not an inconsiderable sum but worth it to me.

Edited by bga on Friday 19th November 16:22

[DennisCooper]

Hiya

For more comparisons sakes, I had my E39 gearbox rebuilt at 172,000 miles by the guys at Automaticman in Acton West London. They charged me £1250 + VAT, so a total of around £1475, done using all BMW parts and a full guarantee etc. Totally happy with their work and that price was mid 2007 so may have gone up a bit now. Still, comes in almost a grand cheaper than the poster above me just paid!

http://automaticman.co.uk/

Cheers, Dennis!

[LordGrover]

Arse. Apologies for hijack but is this likely to be serious?



The manual says; 'this indicates a transmission system malfunction' and advises taking to garage ASAP. Coincidentally it's going in on Monday to replace front lower arm bushes so I'll get Stuart to have a butchers then.

[bga]

DennisCooper said:

Hiya

For more comparisons sakes, I had my E39 gearbox rebuilt at 172,000 miles by the guys at Automaticman in Acton West London. They charged me £1250 + VAT, so a total of around £1475, done using all BMW parts and a full guarantee etc. Totally happy with their work and that price was mid 2007 so may have gone up a bit now. Still, comes in almost a grand cheaper than the poster above me just paid!

http://automaticman.co.uk/

Cheers, Dennis!

Assuming it's like-for-like then that's a good saving. For what it's worth the loss of income incurred using somewhere further afield makes the difference a lot less.