Life sucks, officially

[warton]

This is my transmission ('92 525iT). Notice it is not all in one peice, mounted under the car, happily shifting as I drive around:
http://www.cs.pdx.edu/~warton/images/bimmer/ouch.JPG

These things broke and the clutch was bouncing off the pump housing. Not sure how much the rebuild will be... more than I'd like to spend, given we're right in the middle of a new hardwood floor install.
http://www.cs.pdx.edu/~warton/images/bimmer/broken_rings.JPG

Peter

[Robin-535im]

This is my transmission ('92 525iT). Notice it is not all in one peice, mounted under the car, happily shifting as I drive around:

These things broke and the clutch was bouncing off the pump housing. Not sure how much the rebuild will be... more than I'd like to spend, given we're right in the middle of a new hardwood floor install.


Peter

In the garage, that is, putting together a transmission with a stiff egg nog and santa hat. Ho ho ho!

I assume you're going to rebuild it yourself? I've secretly always wanted to rebuild an auto tranny. I've done a manual, which had a very low part count compared to the auto.

I have a friend who is a wizard at Saab trannys. He'll buy a saab cheap with a bad tranny, rebuild it, and sell it for a nice profit.

Best of luck!

- Robin

[Derek A.]

Those thrust washers are a fairly common problem in those transmissions. The soft parts are all readily available at any trans supply shop. BMW does not service those pieces individually - are any of your hard parts damaged ?

[George M]

Hi Peter,
Looks like you are deeeeeeep. Maybe you want to sell one of your road bikes...you got any on the block that a working stiff can afford?...or is all your stuff carbon and unobtainium. If so...what frame size you ride?
Thinking about biking more in '05....life's short...ride hard.
Good Luck with your tranny...its always a matter of time with older BMW's...you are still ahead...you will get another big block of miles out of it.
Cheers,
George

[George Davis]

There are metal replacements available for that plastic thrust washer, check around. I also suggest replacing the 3rd gear drum (right side of main pic, next to case). The lip can break off, and if fragments get between any gears the damage is severe. No upgrades available for that part, unfortunately.

Good luck

[Jr ///M5]

Peter, what ever he says, don't let George Mann near any motorcycles....

You can get that idea out of your head now George....=) more than once, when I would get a raging case of wind in the used to be hair, you would come along to remind me of the idiots, blonde perched SUV's gabbing on cell phones and the like that made riding dangerous. So now it's my turn to pull you from the lure of danger...=)

Sorry Peter, I would be no help whatsoever with your transmission. I do know a lot of people that could help you with your hardwood floors however...

Think it's time for a 5 speed conversion???

Jr

[Bill R.]

This is my transmission ('92 525iT). Notice it is not all in one peice, mounted under the car, happily shifting as I drive around:
http://www.cs.pdx.edu/%7Ewarton/images/bimmer/ouch.JPG

These things broke and the clutch was bouncing off the pump housing. Not sure how much the rebuild will be... more than I'd like to spend, given we're right in the middle of a new hardwood floor install.
http://www.cs.pdx.edu/%7Ewarton/images/bimmer/broken_rings.JPG

Peter

[George M]

Hi Jr,
As bad as I want a motorcycle...and definitely have an itch for a nice BMW motorcycle...have a friend with a couple and know Ed has one...they are beautiful....reference I made to Peter was about bicycles with peddles. Keeping my eye out for a nice mid-high end lightweight road bike as am going to get more into cycling (pedal variety)...caught the bug late this year. Jr...another data point to discourage me from getting a motorcycle is a good friend of mine I worked with is recovering from a bad motorcycle accident as we speak. He is one of the lucky ones...but likely won't be as good as he once was...he is our age....almost died...no brain injury...50 stitches in his face....punctured lung...multiple fractures etc. A fellow engineer and careful rider on a nice new Harley he waited a year for....he had a lot of previous riding experience. I love motorcycles like many do on the forum...but if any of us had any sense we would all be driving tanks around with the number of stupid drivers out on the road. One mistake...and not by you...and you are toast.
No help for Peter with his trans either other than to wish him well with the rebuild.
George

[MicahO]

Sorry to see that Peter. The tranny in our '92 T went last winter, about 6 months after I had sold it to my nephew. I had given him enough of a sweetheart deal that I didn't feel too bad, but it's a really sucky thing.

I can't be too much help getting it back together. If you are doing the dis-and-re-assemble, I SALUTE YOU!

[George M]

Micah...don't think you know Peter like we know Peter...don't think that Peter is doing the rebuild...however wielding the camera quite nicely :-)
George

[ryan roopnarine]

crapedy crap crap crap

sorry to hear about your transmission peter....

i gotta threadjack, however. about 26k miles ago, when dropping the pan, i retrieved one of those plastic washer deals from the pan. is this something i should be extraordinarily concerned about? the car had 111,111 in january (when i did it). it now has 140,xxx, no sign of pendulum shift, perfectly fine in all other respects. i change the tranny fluid every 3k or 6k, depending on whether or not i change with synthetic or conventional motor oil. any comments? TIA.

[Bimmer Nut Ed]

I love my BMW Motorcycle. Actually I've got o0ne and wifey has one too, but hers does not get a lot of riding time. Next to my e34, its the most fun to drive. Mid-life crisis sure worked out well for me.

Rebuilding a manual tranny, actually sounds like fun. I've done an auto Volvo tranny once and always wondered how hard it is do to a manual. My daughters manual tranny in her 1992 535im occasionally grinds when going into 2nd no matter how nice you shift. It's very occasional, but I'd imagine, that over time, the more it grinds, the more likely it'll need to be repaired. I don't know a lot about manual trannies, but I'd suspect a bad syncro or something, correct? it's weird, cause most of the time the shifts are butter smooth. Really it's about once every 2 weeks you get a grind, and thats not with hard shifting, just real easy shifting, so it's quite a suprise when it happens.

Any way you can: Ride hard, pedal hard, drive hard.

[George M]

that's right brother...any way you can...stay hard...or at least as hard as you can :-)
You got a great toy collection Ed...the mark of a man who enjoys life :-)

[warton]

Not me doing the rebuild, though it looks pretty easy from those pictures. ;-) Seriously, I don't have the time/experience/tools/inclination/guts to do a job like this. My mechanic sends me pictures of work as he's doing stuff.


Micah...don't think you know Peter like we know Peter...don't think that Peter is doing the rebuild...however wielding the camera quite nicely :-)
George

[warton]

I trust my mechanic, so I'm assuming the rebuild will be good for many more miles. Rest of the car is in good shape, except a sagging headliner in front. In the grand scheme, for yearly costs that approach car payments of a new Corolla, I get to drive a confident, luxurious, attractive enthusiasts car. It's worth it to me (or so I keep saying). Though this would have been the perfect time to drop a 535iM drivetrain in! :)

Re: bikes - I'm 5'9", I ride a 56cm frame. The only things I've got that I'm not using right now are a Concorde Aquilla ('89 World Champion paint, Columbus SLX, Kestrel carbon fork, 8-speed Ultegra STI, Topline cranks, Ringle hubs, nice bike) and a 56cm Bianchi cyclocross frame/fork (aluminum). I really should sell the Concorde, but it needs a little work first. The Bianchi would make a great cyclocross/commuter bike when built up, but probably not a very good choice for recreational road riding.

Nice to see you back posting George.
Peter


Hi Peter,
Looks like you are deeeeeeep. Maybe you want to sell one of your road bikes...you got any on the block that a working stiff can afford?...or is all your stuff carbon and unobtainium. If so...what frame size you ride?
Thinking about biking more in '05....life's short...ride hard.
Good Luck with your tranny...its always a matter of time with older BMW's...you are still ahead...you will get another big block of miles out of it.
Cheers,
George

[warton]

In the garage, that is, putting together a transmission with a stiff egg nog and santa hat. Ho ho ho!

I assume you're going to rebuild it yourself? I've secretly always wanted to rebuild an auto tranny. I've done a manual, which had a very low part count compared to the auto.


I've never secretly wanted to do that, personally. :D Seriously, it's way beyond my ability... I've done a clutch once, many years ago on an International Scout Traveller; accumulators on the Touring self-leveling suspension; brakes; thermostats/hoses (no radiator yet); electrical work (including "patching" the rear hatch harnesses, that didn't last BTW); a few other things here and there, but I'm not even a shade-tree mechanic - just a hack with enough tools and not enough sense to do some of my own car repairs.

Peter

[warton]

.... he was going to see if a machine shop could clean it up. The gaskets were cooked, and the "rear apply band" showed signs of overheating. I'm waiting for an update today. Thanks for the information!

Peter


Those thrust washers are a fairly common problem in those transmissions. The soft parts are all readily available at any trans supply shop. BMW does not service those pieces individually - are any of your hard parts damaged ?

[warton]

I've passed this on to the mech.

Cheers,
Peter


There are metal replacements available for that plastic thrust washer, check around. I also suggest replacing the 3rd gear drum (right side of main pic, next to case). The lip can break off, and if fragments get between any gears the damage is severe. No upgrades available for that part, unfortunately.

Good luck

[warton]

...that run on bagels. ;-) Since we're curretly out of the house for the new floors (which I'm also not doing myself ;-), I'm not getting much riding in right now. But in the "good" years, I'll put anywhere from 2,000 to 6,000 miles in on the bike. This is what allows me to drink as much egg nog as I like this time of year.

None of which is to say that mixing it up with traffic on a bicycle is a low risk activiy... I've been hit twice in my 10+ years of commuting.

Peter


Peter, what ever he says, don't let George Mann near any motorcycles....

You can get that idea out of your head now George....=) more than once, when I would get a raging case of wind in the used to be hair, you would come along to remind me of the idiots, blonde perched SUV's gabbing on cell phones and the like that made riding dangerous. So now it's my turn to pull you from the lure of danger...=)

Sorry Peter, I would be no help whatsoever with your transmission. I do know a lot of people that could help you with your hardwood floors however...

Think it's time for a 5 speed conversion???

Jr

[warton]

My local mechanic seems to be very "Bill R" like - thorough, straight forward, and highly competent. Honestly, I don't think I would still have the Bimmers without him.

Peter

[warton]

;-) I had heard a couple of "screech" type sounds shifting under load, but was ignoring it under the "I don't want to know" philosophy. I guess this is better than getting stranded somewhere. Thanks Micah.

Peter


Sorry to see that Peter. The tranny in our '92 T went last winter, about 6 months after I had sold it to my nephew. I had given him enough of a sweetheart deal that I didn't feel too bad, but it's a really sucky thing.

I can't be too much help getting it back together. If you are doing the dis-and-re-assemble, I SALUTE YOU!

[warton]

One of the things that was happening was that when the clutch drum (or whatever it is called) was hitting the pump, it was shaving metal which was then circulating through the tranny. Also, in my case the fluid was pretty toasted and I hadn't been changing it regularly enough (15K miles or less is a must, my mechanic says).

Thanks for the sympathy. :)

Peter


crapedy crap crap crap

sorry to hear about your transmission peter....

i gotta threadjack, however. about 26k miles ago, when dropping the pan, i retrieved one of those plastic washer deals from the pan. is this something i should be extraordinarily concerned about? the car had 111,111 in january (when i did it). it now has 140,xxx, no sign of pendulum shift, perfectly fine in all other respects. i change the tranny fluid every 3k or 6k, depending on whether or not i change with synthetic or conventional motor oil. any comments? TIA.

[Paul in NZ]

well i will salute you peter for your $2000 commitment to our e 34's.
If i had a mechanic like that he would receive an extra xmas bonus too!
I am an ex motorcyclist,ex mountainbiker and about to get back into recreational road biking,commuting.For a warm up (i havent ridden for at least two years) I have just completed a 40km relay leg,one of the original team pulled out at the last moment.The relay leg was good,one SERIOUS hill in the middle.Theres something strangely therapeutic about road cycling,and esp if you can hook up with a few mates on a sunny yet cool sunday morning for a magic carpet ride........ ;)

[George M]

agree with Paul...there is something very therapeutic about road biking. Trail biking has its alure as well...but have to love the speed of the open road on a really nice bike. Thanks for your comments Peter. I expected you to be a high end road biker...you are running some very trick gear. We won't connect on the bike front..I need a 59-60cm frame depending on length of top bar. Will likely get into it more buying a nice light bike off the rack...probably an Aluminum Trek with carbon fork...not sure yet. Meanwhile will likely restore an old Schwinn Le tour with lugged Chrome Moly Frame with Shimano Aero hand brakes of course :-) over the winter and ride that until I decide what to get next year.
No more hi-jacking...back to transmissions.
Good Luck,
George

[MicahO]

but when it's finished I'll certainly raise a toast to another job well done. It's a hard way to have to spend money. On Jen's Touring (had it still been in my possesion), it would have been the first real unexpected repair. Same for the tranny that I had to have done on my van - those have been great vehicles. You can't get very upset about those repairs, but it still doesn't feel good when you sign the work order.

Hopefully the weather's not so bad yet that you can't use your alternate means of transport?



;-) I had heard a couple of "screech" type sounds shifting under load, but was ignoring it under the "I don't want to know" philosophy. I guess this is better than getting stranded somewhere. Thanks Micah.

Peter

[lesage]

The problem with aluminium is that it stretches gradually. Just ordered a Nivachrom bike from Roberts London, after investigating...

[MicahO]

Thanks for the comment George. I know Peter well enough that I'd never think to underestimate him.

[Dave M]

One of my first frames, which I still have kicking around (89 Concorde Aquila with World Cup Sticker). Won more races on that bike than any other, and, am still confident eating with both hands at 40km/h, something I can't say for all my rides.

Couldn't resist chiming in,

Dave M

Re: bikes - I'm 5'9", I ride a 56cm frame. The only things I've got that I'm not using right now are a Concorde Aquilla ('89 World Champion paint, Columbus SLX, Kestrel carbon fork, 8-speed Ultegra STI, Topline cranks, Ringle hubs, nice bike) and a 56cm Bianchi cyclocross frame/fork (aluminum). I really should sell the Concorde, but it needs a little work first. The Bianchi would make a great cyclocross/commuter bike when built up, but probably not a very good choice for recreational road riding.

Nice to see you back posting George.
Peter[/QUOTE]

[George M]

Micah....I don't under estimate Peter's good judgement either...why he is having it done :-)...a daunting task to rebuild any transmission being short of an expert and they even don't always get it right.
And lesage...as you may know...can't make a blanket statement about aluminum framed bikes with one broad stroke...well you can...you just did
:-). Truth is...if the overall section modulus is high enough based upon a frame's geometry...it can easily be the strongest frame out there and not stretch over time. Frame stretch is due to a combination of frame parameters...a function of frame geometry which includes size and shape and tube wall thickness in combination with material selection....also many different alloy aluminum's to pick from. Depends on how close a frame designer wants to play in the elastic range of deformation in an effort to keep weight down.
George

[Hector]

and you hit the nail right on the head. To me this therapy is most effective when you have a decent group of people like, say 6 to 10, who share the same passion for the sport as you do. Although I'm more into mountain biking, I have been lucky enough on several occasions to ride with such aficionados. There's nothing like riding through country side roads (almost nonexistent traffic,) at a brisk pace and at dawn through rolling hills with the occasional view of livestock grazing the field... therapy at its best.

...and Peter I feel for you. I got almost 175K on my original tranny and I pray it doesn't start to act up any time soon since I just finished blowing about $1.5K in engine parts over an 11 month period.

[warton]

Thanks for the comment George. I know Peter well enough that I'd never think to underestimate him.

That's the nicest compliment I've gotten in a long time... thank you Micah. ;-)

Peter

[warton]

Micah....I don't under estimate Peter's good judgement either...why he is having it done :-)...a daunting task to rebuild any transmission being short of an expert and they even don't always get it right.

But I hide it really well! :)

Peter

[George M]

Peter you are proliferating some great aphorisms...
Life sucks officially....and I will embellish....it is everyman's task to hide his dumbness
:-)

BTW here are a couple more from celebrated minds:
- Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
Albert Einstein

- The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation (my favorite)
Henry David Thoreau

Couldn't resist,
George

[Sweetwater]

Peter you are proliferating some great aphorisms...
Life sucks officially....and I will embellish....it is everyman's task to hide his dumbness
:-)

BTW here are a couple more from celebrated minds:
- Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
Albert Einstein

- The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation (my favorite)
Henry David Thoreau

Couldn't resist,
George

Just got into this thread and can't resist some personal commentary....

Bicycle enthusiast till my sons hit their adolescent years and have been contemplating re-entry as my "egg nog" is settling on my middle years.

Motorcycle enthusiasm has been my replacement passion and the GS is the newest and bestest vehicle in the stable (and I don't have to insure a teenage son on it). Just like the bicycles, you can not let other idiots on the roads dictate your enjoyment, or you'll have to start driving that Hummer.

Finally, a couple of personal favorite quotes:

Everbody's preachin' at me that we all wanna git to heaven, trouble is, nobody wants to die to git there....BB King

Reality.........is what does not go away when you stop believing in it. Philip K Dick