AAAAHH! Auto tranny blew please help on iDea's

[TheCleaner]

:help
I can't believe this my transmition/auto died on me today. Mechanic said its shot and supposedly the transmition in a 91 525i is made by GM of all things.:eyecrazy
I just need to know what my options are, Yes I've been doing some searching on the forums but, i need a quick summary of of how screwed i am. Does any ony have a spare trany in my area?
Thanks a head of time
The Cleaner:nutz:

[AZDinanE34]

Your not screwed that bad (you just wont have a car)! Transmissions will die at some point depending on the way you drive and how its maintained but there are plenty of used ones out there. I know of a company on ebay called vinesautomotive (bmw recycling company) that in the past have had many used/ working condition trannys at really great prices. Also how many miles did your GM one have?

[Binjammin]

Isn't Vines the place I've heard of being sketchy on used parts, especially trannies? I don't want to tarnish anyone's reputation, just want to warn you to look before you leap.

[Goathumper]

5-speed swap. You know you want to

[strayts]

5-speed swap. You know you want to

seconded :)

[ltflint]

Isn't Vines the place I've heard of being sketchy on used parts, especially trannies? I don't want to tarnish anyone's reputation, just want to warn you to look before you leap.

I have ordered stuff from them twice and both times what I received was not what was advertised. They did make good, however it took a long time. Communication was spotty from them at best. Won't be using them again.

[ladiesman217]

5-speed swap. You know you want to
x3

eurodepot

[attack eagle]

5-speed swap. You know you want to

x4.

[StealthBimmer]

I have ordered stuff from them twice and both times what I received was not what was advertised. They did make good, however it took a long time. Communication was spotty from them at best. Won't be using them again.

I had the same experience. The first time i ordered from them they were fine. The second time the only sent me half of what was pictured, i only needed half...but the OTHER half. so i went and bought a parts car...problem solved

As for the tranny, search junkyards,ebay,etc...should be preety cheap

[Derek A.]

Its not a hard tranny to work on. Did your mechanic define shot? You might want to take it to a trans shop and let them take a crack at it. I would rather spend the money and have the trans gone through as opposed to risking a used one. Used auto trannys are a tough battle unless you really know the history.

[jcraig]

You lucky bastard. I would love for my transmission to break so I could have a reason to put in a 5spd. Take advantage of the opportunity.

[genocide98]

You lucky bastard. I would love for my transmission to break so I could have a reason to put in a 5spd. Take advantage of the opportunity.

You'll still hate it when you have to drop the auto out and slap in the 5spd. Trust me.

[ladiesman217]

it wasn't bad... easier than wrestling the auto back into place for sure.

[Goathumper]

FYI, I have most of what you would need for a conversion. Ive had it for way too long and need to get rid of it. Its even the zf tranny that was also in the M3.

[ladiesman217]

you still have the zf from the 525i? refresh my memory , how many miles were on it?

I still need to replace the one I had to weld and seal with JB weld after it got damaged in shipping, for piece of mind really. I don;t thing the damn thing has leaked a drop since then.

[TheCleaner]

Thanks for all the replies. :)
The car has 248,km.
5 speed swap is tempting but I can not do the work my self as for time, lack of space/condo and need to do the more affordable option. I do agree that a used transmission is not what I want to take a chance on.
A transmission shop is what I found out to be the best option, price and warranty. A family member has come through with a connection for a good price at a local transmission shop.

The car has been a fair bit of a project the last 7 months. Unfortunately I've had to get most of the work done and has cost a small fortune and I still have not been able give the car a new paint job do to the continued mechanical work needed. Not much left to replace on the car.
-all the arms and joints/lower suspension
-blestien shocks and h&r spring kit
-KVR brakes rotors, pads
-18"M5 replica wheels
-bav ignition coils
-19lbs bmw injectors
-all the fluids
-all the little regular maintenance stuff; filters, plugs, cooling system, ac, battery.... i just cant think of it all right now. 14G later

Thought that every thing was great, got the car custom tuned at millerperformance cars. The car ran perfectly and gained 15 rwhp 6fpt. Plus about 600km to the tank. A week later the transmission starts to act funny would seem to not go into gear, rpm would rise and the car would hardly go any were.
I new buying the car it was neglected, just life happens and the car ended up need too much all at once and was our only car at the time.
Just need the car to be a nice daily driver. Tomorrow the car will go to the tranny shop.

[TheCleaner]

Let me know if you guys can see the attachment

[TheCleaner]

I've been looking through the Bentley manual, and was wondering if you guys could recommend any thing else to replace while the transmission is out? I figure the transmission mounts would be a good start.

[TheCleaner]

The transmission never over heated it just wore out and was metal on metal.
$3300.00 for everything plus install and 2 years 40,000km warranty. Everything was replaced inside and the few updates that existed on the transmission and torque converter were done. Also a shift kit was installed. Plus shifter arm was fixed as well; it was very sloppy and would not stay in the correct gear and starting in any gear. They were going to install an external transmission cooler but know surprise to me could not find a place to fit it. So they hooked up the rad/trany cooling system to a machine that could flush out all the metal particles. They used 3 filters and magnets for almost 3 hours. Cut open the filters for inspection. After the 3rd filter they found no more metal peaces. The car runs amazing, especially after the custom tuning from Miller performance cars. We have to take it easy driving the car for the first 500km then A&B transmissions want to inspect the car again.

[attack eagle]

wow... almost 3x what it cost me to go 5 speed., 2x what it cost to pay someone to swap for you.

Sounds like I made a good decision in going 5 speed!!!

[tonyroc14]

sounds like that tranny place knows what they are doing tho

[attack eagle]

YEP!!! I f you wanted to save one, sounds like that would be the place to go!
Glad it is running again Mr Wolfe.
http://www.gonemovies.com/WWW/WanadooFilms/Misdaad/PulpWolfVincentJules.jpg

[TheCleaner]

I live in a condo, don't have the tools or time to try this my self. I plan on keeping the car for a long time. I just could not take a chance on a used transmission. 3k is a drop in the bucket compare to everything else in to the car in six months. Next thing on the list will be full exhaust system and paint job. Those will have to wait till next year.

No one said they could see or not see the pdf. of my dino. Can you guys see it?

[attack eagle]

Yes I can see your DYNO plot. not bad at all.

[TheCleaner]

cool.