Torque convertor question

[Fred in Houston]

I have a slight tremble in my drive line which I suspected was from a drive shaft or differential mount prolem, but a mechanic told me he thought it was my torque convertor.
I bought this 94" 540ia for $1800 and it runs perfectly except for a slight tremble between 45-55 in the drive train.
The mechanic said it may be fixable just by changing fluids but thinks I may have to go deeper.
Other than a slight slippage the transmission is fine & you can't even feel the gear changes. The mechanic feels I will still get a lot of usage before it actually gives up on me.
IF I have a transmission problem should I repair it or just swap to a manual transmission? I like the auto in rush hour, but I prefer the handling of a manual.
Which solution is cheaper?
In the meantime I'm going to flush the transmission and put some Redline in there.
Thanks
Fred/Houston

[miroxz]

I have a slight tremble in my drive line which I suspected was from a drive shaft or differential mount prolem, but a mechanic told me he thought it was my torque convertor.
I bought this 94" 540ia for $1800 and it runs perfectly except for a slight tremble between 45-55 in the drive train.
The mechanic said it may be fixable just by changing fluids but thinks I may have to go deeper.
Other than a slight slippage the transmission is fine & you can't even feel the gear changes. The mechanic feels I will still get a lot of usage before it actually gives up on me.
IF I have a transmission problem should I repair it or just swap to a manual transmission? I like the auto in rush hour, but I prefer the handling of a manual.
Which solution is cheaper?
In the meantime I'm going to flush the transmission and put some Redline in there.
Thanks
Fred/Houston

tough situation...but last time i checked a reasonable shop should charge you $300-$400 for labor and the part costs $120(torque converter)....will elongate the life greatly..personally i prefer auto's..my2c.

[gtopaul]

I have a slight tremble in my drive line which I suspected was from a drive shaft or differential mount prolem, but a mechanic told me he thought it was my torque convertor.
I bought this 94" 540ia for $1800 and it runs perfectly except for a slight tremble between 45-55 in the drive train.
Fred/Houston

Exactly what do you feel that makes you think it's the drivetrain? Torque convertor problems are really pretty rare in this model. The 45-55 reference would make me think it's a front end problem which can sometimes feel like driveline and is much more common. You can also manually pull the shifter lever down into '3' and see if you get the same vibration at that speed. You've just basically stopped the transmission from going into lockup (torque convertor) until you put it back in 'D'. It could be the center bearing in the driveshaft but that usually can be felt upon strong acceleration from a standing start. What mileage is on the car?

Paul

[Fred in Houston]

Thanks for the replies, Paul, I think you may be right. I drove for a reasonable distance Friday night and I'm starting to disagree with the mechanic. He's not a BMW mechanic so I don't trust everything he says.
I am just begining to feel a little play up front and I don't really feel any slipping in the transmission.
If the torque convertor is the problem I can live with it if it is well under $1000 to repair.
I will get the car on a lift and change fluids and check the undercarriage.
Thank you
Fred/Houston

[fm.illuminatus]

I have a slight tremble in my drive line which I suspected was from a drive shaft or differential mount prolem, but a mechanic told me he thought it was my torque convertor.
I bought this 94" 540ia for $1800 and it runs perfectly except for a slight tremble between 45-55 in the drive train.
The mechanic said it may be fixable just by changing fluids but thinks I may have to go deeper.
Other than a slight slippage the transmission is fine & you can't even feel the gear changes. The mechanic feels I will still get a lot of usage before it actually gives up on me.
IF I have a transmission problem should I repair it or just swap to a manual transmission? I like the auto in rush hour, but I prefer the handling of a manual.
Which solution is cheaper?
In the meantime I'm going to flush the transmission and put some Redline in there.
Thanks
Fred/Houston

I'm sorry, but I'm still stuck on the fact that you got a '94 540i for $1800... how did you manage that?

[Fred in Houston]

fm.illuminatus
I was very fortunate with this purchase. They wanted $5000 and this 19yr old girl owned it & left it in front of her dads house in Houston for 1 year while she lived in Ca. with a brand new car.
I went to see the car and all the acoustical covers were missing from the engine and the car was trashed out but ran awesomly.
I offered $1800 and they said come & get it.
Here's a photo from the day I bought it:
http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f238/Baguaman/?action=view&current=100_0160.jpg
and here 2.5 months later:
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f238/Baguaman/P1010036-1.jpg
It's a totally different car now & I invested about another $1500 into it.
I can't beleive how cheap I got it and I was waiting for something really serious to appear, but it's starting to show that it was a very lucky buy.
I have made more changes since the 2nd photo but I will probably lose the m5 type trim around the bottom. It looks too much like primer.
At 176k the only single problem with the car is that the drivers window makes noise but doesn't go down.
Fred/Houston

[Gunslinger]

That sounds like the guibo.

edit: a bad TC would shudder at a stop.

[TouringDan]

2nd vote for the guibo...

[miroxz]

2nd vote for the guibo...

i agree most likely guibo..cost=$60

[Fred in Houston]

I'm going to have to agree about the guibo, however, I think there may be a crack in the differential mount. Both have been common issues on my E28's.
Thanks
Fred/Houston