Zf 5hp18

[Daenra]

Hi, I have a 525i 1993, not an expert, start notice that after driving for 30 min the shifter became hard when I went to park or drive, I decide to change the trans oil in a service shop. Same day I took it from the garage I tried to park at home and again the shifter didnt let me to shift to P. Then I push it and suddenly the shifter went back and forward easily but none gear works. The mechanic went home and told me that the shifter cable was the problem, change it but still the same, no gears working... Again back to the service shop, they found that the manual valve of the body valve was broken (ZF part 1056-327-173), change it for a second hand part and still with the problem. Now the mechanic said that must find a new manual valve to replace it. Notice when the trans is cold I can use the shifter without problems and the car and gears drives well...until it became hot. I already bought the ZF manual valve but before install it I need an advice because I feel that something is wrong with the temperature of the transmission. Please advice. Thanks,

[whiskychaser]

The manual valve on the 5HP series is known stick and then break. It only costs about £12 so I am not sure why anyone would fit a used one.

Fit the new one and make sure the end is hooked up correctly. If you don't, you will get a box full of nothing

[Daenra]

Thanks Wiskeychaser, the mechanic just found this piece and installed without notice ...well here is imposible to get one of these parts but finally got it on internet, hope this will be the reason why the shifter get stick..let you know.

[DanielWGK]

When I got my 1994 530it earlier this year, the shifter was definitely difficult to move. It finally just snapped the head off. I tried to fix it, with an obvious failure. The dirty ATF had made it brittle. $16 later, I had a brand new one in the mail. Haven't had an issue since.
If the car sits for a long time or has the same fluid in certain climates, the end of the plunger swells. I actually sanded the original one down and polished it but it still managed to break. The new one works flawlessly.

[shogun]

I just read about a similar case on a German Forum, E36 M3 3.0 with 5HP18
completely broken, apparently in older 5HP18 and 19 this part was made out of a kind of 'plastic'. It started with heavy shifting and then the part cpl. broke into 2 pieces, one part was falling out after he removed the trans pan.
Selector Valve http://www.thectsc.com/products/sele...alve-84-3.html
5HP18-5HP18A-5HP19-5HP19FL-5HP19FLA-5HP19HLA-5HP24-5HP24A-5HP30 Product ID : 1056 327 173 01

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y8/...ed-1copy-1.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y8/...ed-1copy-2.jpg

[whiskychaser]

Yes. They do break. But you can replace them without dropping the valve body. You only need to remove the section that holds the valve. But remember that there is also a section on top of the valve body which is held on by the same screws. It may well stay where it is but to be safe, just insert some longer screws and lower the section with the valve in it. And as above, make sure it is hooked up to the lever

[shogun]

Over the past 2 years I have heard of and personally seen some more cases of broken selector valves, especially on 5HP18 and 5HP30, but also 4HP24
ordered each 2 of these for valve body overhauls for stock:
5HP18; 5HP18A; HP19; HP19FL; 5HP19FLA; 5HP19HLA; HP24; 5HP24A;5HP30 ZF 1056 327 173 and ZF 1056 327 170
For the 4HP I ordered also 2 pieces zf 1043.327.069
5HP18 parts list https://www.thectsc.com/images/pdf/5HP18.pdf

[Sobek]

Just wanted to say thank you for this thread. I have an E38 with the M60B30 / 5hp18 combo, and recently got it running after it was parked for 2 years. I got half an hour of driving out of it before the trans bowden cable snapped up by the shifter, and just yesterday after playing around underneath I found that the selector shaft on the side of the transmission is really tough to shift through the gears. I also think gears 2 and 3 have gone while the rest still work as of now. A bit of googling lead me here and I'm glad it's something RELATIVELY easy to fix, although I'm stuck doing it in an outdoor carport on gravel with ramps... we'll see how that goes haha.

I'm struggling to find a reasonably priced one that will ship to me in Australia though, so the hunt continues. But yeah, thank you for the excellent description, images and links to parts!! Fingers crossed

[fo3]

I'm struggling to find a reasonably priced one that will ship to me in Australia though, so the hunt continues.

Where have you tried? I thought I saw some parts on UK ebay that would send here for ~5 pounds

[whiskychaser]

Nearest ZF outlet to you appears to be in Blacktown, NSW. If they cannot help, it looks like CTSC still supply the valve (USD 23.50) but you would have to check price for shipping with them. Don't know this UK seller but they are selling them for £19.69. Again, I don't know what the shipping cost would be:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ZEST-REPA...-/264270937249

There should be a reasonable amount of resistance to turning the lever on the side of the trans because it is connected to the parking pawl. And you don't want it coming out of park on its own. But you should be able to turn it using one hand only and at no risk to your blood pressure.

The band is common to gears 2,3 and 5. But if you can't get 2 and 3, I am not sure how you will get it up to about 55 mph to check. I would have thought it would throw you in limp mode after 2nd

[fo3]

Don't know this UK seller but they are selling them for £19.69. Again, I don't know what the shipping cost would be:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ZEST-REPA...-/264270937249

That's the one I found and it's 5 pounds postage economy, 12 pounds express.
You can hardly get anything locally delivered for under $15 so it's cheap postage for international and I bet the part is so much cheaper as well, and of course it's impossible to get info from local companies here because it's the stoneage for non retailers.

[whiskychaser]

That's the one I found and it's 5 pounds postage economy, 12 pounds express.
You can hardly get anything locally delivered for under $15 so it's cheap postage for international and I bet the part is so much cheaper as well, and of course it's impossible to get info from local companies here because it's the stoneage for non retailers.

There are some silly prices about. And some sellers will not post outside the UK. If you find something you need on a UK site just PM me. I am happy to check it out.

[shogun]

Get the one from the Bay in UK, price is o.k. and shipping no one can beat to OZ for 5 pounds, Seller will ship from Poland, has an excellent rating there of >99% positive. That is a ZF part, there are no copies or fakes, no production by those which make copies as demand is not in the thousands.
In case you want to overhaul the valve body, the 5HP18 has 2 different part numbers for the gasket between the 2 plates.
ZF 1056 327 100 5HP18 old version
ZF 1056 327 110 5HP18 new version

Based on the serial number on your 5HP18 and the parts list number you can find out what your trans has. As far as I remember, the new gasket also fits into a valve body with originally the old gasket, but the older version gasket will not work in a valve body with originally new gasket.