Tranny going dead, sell it ?!? part it ?!? All suggestions appreciated.

[amsmk]

I loved every minute of driving with my 89, 535i (174k) until recently the reverse started to act funny :( . I can drive it forward but almost every shift is with a kick, and the computer started warning about the transmission.
A local guy (BMW expert) can get me a tranny and install it for $1700.
I have three options:

Sell it as it is, (any ideas how much? the body and inside is very clean and the engine runs perfectly).

Part it out.

fix it and then sell it or perhaps keep it. (how much should I ask for it?)

I would be very appreciative to have your advice.

[Alexlind123]

Swap in a manual transmission.

[Paul in NZ]

if you r car is in really nice condition AND you want to keep it fix it.Only the market can decide what its worth,parting a wrecked car or a car in poor condition can be a good way of gtting ggod cash but it wont equal the money a nice complete car will get

[amsmk]

A manual transmission is cheaper?

[Kalevera]

Buy my used trans! $300 plus shipping (check the for sale/swap area of the forum). I *am* negotiable...I really need to get that sucker out of the shop. Or wait a few weeks and buy the trans currently in my car, a 9000 mile factory ZF reman with 1 year left on the unlimited mileage warranty, serviceable through any BMW dealership, for $1000.

best, whit

[amsmk]

Someone told me it would not be sold as it is, but the parts like doors, seats and trunk would bring a good amount. Then again, a nice guy that owns BMW junk yard told me a good chunk of the car will sit in my garage for a long time.

[amsmk]

How many miles on the used one? The shop will charge min. 600$ to swap it so it is kinda scary to get a used not knowing its condition, what do you think?
I think there are 2 kinds of transmissions for E34, is my WIN# gonne help me to find the correct type?

[Kalevera]

What's the build date on your car?

It's a working trans, came out of an '88 735iL that had a light hit to the front/was still driveable. Miles are high at around 140/150k, but the fluid is in great shape -- could have been rebuilt in the past, but I can't confirm it.

For the price (and I am negotiable -- I just want to get the thing out of there before it gets stuck on the racking at the bottom of a crate), it can't be beat. I'm not one to sell junk, and if I thought this thing wasn't usable, I would've already taken it apart -- I've been wanting to tear one down and rebuild it for some time now.

If you want a warranty and low mileage, my reman is the way to go, but I'm not sure that I'm willing to sell it quite yet. My swap could suck and I may want to go back to the original configuration. Aside from being few and far between on the barely used market, those with the factory remans are usually keen on getting their money's worth out of them.

Edit: and actually, the reman has about a year and three months left on the warranty, and 7 months of use on it.

Edit #2: here's the actual link -- http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=14582 -- I guess I was asking $400 then, now I'm asking $300. It gets buried under an S38B38, M70, and an M52TU on monday :(

best, whit

[amsmk]

04/1989. I checked ETK and the trans. is 4hp 22, but also somewherelse it said 24 (confused). Someone told me I gotte check the pins, but how?

[Kalevera]

Yes, the 22 and 24 share the same casing, different bellhousing and sizes of the internal clutches...maybe a few other things I don't know about.

I don't think it'll work without swapping the valve body and electrics from your current trans into this one. This assumes that the valve body on your current trans isn't gunked up or otherwise faulty. I'll have to pull out the manuals to confirm.

Best, whit