530i Tranny - Recon or potong kereta?

[azan23uk]

Hi all,

I think my e39 530i gearbox is going soon. Whilst upshifts are smooth, the down shift from 2nd to 1st (before the car comes to a complete stop) is always accompanied by a slight thud. Of course, computer shows something like "torque converter lock up excessive slip". My old 528i had this on the diagnose but I ignored it for the whole 3 years of ownership with no problem. Seems like my luck ran out on this one.

My mech does not recommend getting a recond g/box or just replacing the torque converter (TC) with a recond TC. He recommends getting a good used complete g/box (with TC) from potong kereta. There many around he said and finding a good one should not be too difficult. There are so many recond g/box on internet ranging from RM3.5k to RM4.0k that are tempting, while a potong kereta will set me back around RM4k - RM5k. Any thoughts on this? Appreciate your kind inputs and thanking all in advance.

 

[huskar3399]

i don't have info but i have questions. sorry for that.

1. what's wrong with a recond one?
2. how do you confirm/check that the used ones are in good condition and will not fail in near future?

 

[haywire]

Instead of changing the gearbox and TC, why dont you repair and recon your own gearbox?

I just repaired mine 2 months ago, using complete kit for the gearbox and reconditioning my TC too. All in was sub 5k job, not sure if you can get the same price, that was a 'neighbour' price.

 

[azan23uk]

hi huskar3399, I guess my mech is talking thru his experience...possibly he has less complaints with potong kereta 'box compared to recon 'box. Anyway, thanks for the reply bro.

Haywire, that was my initial thought exactly. I mentioned to him about "overhauling" the 'box...something like the ppl at M-Scope can do for example. He did not really favor the idea. Can u lead me to the correct ppl who does this sort job? RM5k now seems reasonable if we get all internal components of the 'box replaced with the original ZF kit...and recon TC...compared to getting a recon one which we do not know what components have gone in. Thanks a lot bro.

 

[alantiong]

agree with haywire...

i will use borg warner kits though.. higher grade

 

[gimli]

overhaul the gearbox with mscope bro. i bought a 2nd hand gearbox from chop shop once. the damn thing was already broken, but they just resell it for god knows why. ended up overhauling the gearbox. and the chop shop took a long time to refund my money.

 

[azan23uk]

Thanks gimli, alantiong. I guess the better route would be to rebuild. I'd get in touch with MScope to test and get a quote soon. Thanks again to all.

 

[anakin]

Thanks gimli, alantiong. I guess the better route would be to rebuild. I'd get in touch with MScope to test and get a quote soon. Thanks again to all.

Azan...any news?

 

[azan23uk]

Hi Anakin, have not moved a muscle yet. Moolahs spent on new 4 Mich PSS3, refurb job on rims, rear balljoints and links. Safety first heh heh. Thanks a lot bro.