Help! E36 328 UK 5 Speed Gearbox Problem

[achupz]

Hello forumers, i need some suggestion/opinion regarding my E36 UK 5 speed P18 2.8 engine. Im not really a technical type of guy, im not familiar with the technical terms , just follow what recommended by the mechanic. Therefore i think this forum gives room for me to ask around for other recommendation from the sifus here. Recently i encountered gearbox problem as it enter into "safe mode" and the yellow gearbox icon appears on the speed meter. When i drive its like only engage to the 2nd or 3rd gear only, driving at 60km/h( Thats the fastest it can go) with 4.5 RPM (WOW!) To be sure i send to my regular workshop at kayu ara for diagnose and too bad it is what im scared of. The gearbox has slip at 4th gear. To rebuild he said goin to cost RM6-7k as the repair kit is expensive and hard to find. when i ask why so expensive mahh,he just said my gearbox is rare. He recommend me to buy a halfcut with the same type of gearbox to replace rather than rebuild it. The halfcut gearbox cost Rm4k and trade in my old gearbox, as according to him good condition and cheap lahh with 1 month warranty. Plus workmanship and service goin to cost me rm5k.So my question here to the sifus are 1) whether to rebuild or to replace with half cut? 2) Is it true the repair kit is expensive and hard to find?3) The price ok kahh?4) How to identify the halfcut gearbox is in good condition? dont want after 1 month have to rebuild pulakk4) Got any other half cut shop the has the said item with lower price?5) Any other recommendation/suggestion.Please help. Thanks

 

[achupz]

anyone, help? need to get it done quickly one way or another. Or maybe i post it in the wrong section? urmm?

 

[Lionel_Koh]

Hello forumers, i need some suggestion/opinion regarding my E36 UK 5 speed P18 2.8 engine. Im not really a technical type of guy, im not familiar with the technical terms , just follow what recommended by the mechanic. Therefore i think this forum gives room for me to ask around for other recommendation from the sifus here. Recently i encountered gearbox problem as it enter into "safe mode" and the yellow gearbox icon appears on the speed meter. When i drive its like only engage to the 2nd or 3rd gear only, driving at 60km/h( Thats the fastest it can go) with 4.5 RPM (WOW!) To be sure i send to my regular workshop at kayu ara for diagnose and too bad it is what im scared of.

The gearbox has slip at 4th gear. To rebuild he said goin to cost RM6-7k as the repair kit is expensive and hard to find. when i ask why so expensive mahh,he just said my gearbox is rare. He recommend me to buy a halfcut with the same type of gearbox to replace rather than rebuild it. The halfcut gearbox cost Rm4k and trade in my old gearbox, as according to him good condition and cheap lahh with 1 month warranty. Plus workmanship and service goin to cost me rm5k.

So my question here to the sifus are

1) whether to rebuild or to replace with half cut?
-Its depend ur gearbox condition ...if d gearbox not badly damage ..then rebuilt will be a better choice .....

2) Is it true the repair kit is expensive and hard to find?
-Not really ...ur gearbox shld be ZF 5 speeds box .....

3) The price ok kahh?
-its relatively high

4) How to identify the halfcut gearbox is in good condition? dont want after 1 month have to rebuild pulakk
-U cant unless u try it on ur car

4) Got any other half cut shop the has the said item with lower price?
-Call me for d location @ 0122207630

5) Any other recommendation/suggestion.
-try to rebuilt if possible .....if really cant then can find one in chop shop....But ZF 5 speed normaly found in Hong Kong & Spore car .....Try ur luck ......
2nd choice go for Jatco 5 speed conversion ..cost lesser.....
last choice go for GM 4 speed conversion .......cost less but u will loss 1 gear to play around ...

Please help. Thanks

 

[loafer]

Go for manual conversion

 

[achupz]

Hello forumers, i need some suggestion/opinion regarding my E36 UK 5 speed P18 2.8 engine. Im not really a technical type of guy, im not familiar with the technical terms , just follow what recommended by the mechanic. Therefore i think this forum gives room for me to ask around for other recommendation from the sifus here. Recently i encountered gearbox problem as it enter into "safe mode" and the yellow gearbox icon appears on the speed meter. When i drive its like only engage to the 2nd or 3rd gear only, driving at 60km/h( Thats the fastest it can go) with 4.5 RPM (WOW!) To be sure i send to my regular workshop at kayu ara for diagnose and too bad it is what im scared of.

The gearbox has slip at 4th gear. To rebuild he said goin to cost RM6-7k as the repair kit is expensive and hard to find. when i ask why so expensive mahh,he just said my gearbox is rare. He recommend me to buy a halfcut with the same type of gearbox to replace rather than rebuild it. The halfcut gearbox cost Rm4k and trade in my old gearbox, as according to him good condition and cheap lahh with 1 month warranty. Plus workmanship and service goin to cost me rm5k.

So my question here to the sifus are

1) whether to rebuild or to replace with half cut?
-Its depend ur gearbox condition ...if d gearbox not badly damage ..then rebuilt will be a better choice .....

2) Is it true the repair kit is expensive and hard to find?
-Not really ...ur gearbox shld be ZF 5 speeds box .....

3) The price ok kahh?
-its relatively high

4) How to identify the halfcut gearbox is in good condition? dont want after 1 month have to rebuild pulakk
-U cant unless u try it on ur car

4) Got any other half cut shop the has the said item with lower price?
-Call me for d location @ 0122207630

5) Any other recommendation/suggestion.
-try to rebuilt if possible .....if really cant then can find one in chop shop....But ZF 5 speed normaly found in Hong Kong & Spore car .....Try ur luck ......
2nd choice go for Jatco 5 speed conversion ..cost lesser.....
last choice go for GM 4 speed conversion .......cost less but u will loss 1 gear to play around ...

Please help. Thanks

Thanks lionel for the clear explaination. Do you know any reliable workshop that are specialist in bmw and gearbox rebuild? With reasonable price as to quality of workmanship.

 

[Lionel_Koh]

Thanks lionel for the clear explaination. Do you know any reliable workshop that are specialist in bmw and gearbox rebuild? With reasonable price as to quality of workmanship.

Pls call me for d direction ........

 

[achupz]

Go for manual conversion

hahaha great idea! Thought bout it before and recently almost made it, but already had a manual Japanese turbo. So no need both manual. Lazy days can drive auto mahh hehe Anyways how much is the manual conversion anyway, dint really survey lahh

 

[Lionel_Koh]

Go for manual conversion

Racun King is here ....

Cabutzzzz

 

[Vincent Hor]

achupz, I did a conversion on my E34 525i to Jatco 5 speed. See attached link

http://www.bmwclubmalaysia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22231

Hopefully it can help you make some decisions. If you like to get Albert's opinion his number 0122017792 or 0163357792

So far the Jatco is working very well. After me another BMWCM Member also replaced his ZF5HP with the Jatco and he is very happy driving Melaka-KL-Melaka on a weekly basis.

anyone, help? need to get it done quickly one way or another. Or maybe i post it in the wrong section? urmm?

 

[loafer]

hahaha great idea! Thought bout it before and recently almost made it, but already had a manual Japanese turbo. So no need both manual. Lazy days can drive auto mahh hehe Anyways how much is the manual conversion anyway, dint really survey lahh

Ah I see. 328 is a great car to drive anyways, irrespective if it's manual or auto .

My manual conversion cost around RM5k complete including labour. Most parts are new except for clutch and gearbox.

You can ask Lionel, he's the real racun king

 

[achupz]

achupz, I did a conversion on my E34 525i to Jatco 5 speed. See attached link

http://www.bmwclubmalaysia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22231

Hopefully it can help you make some decisions. If you like to get Albert's opinion his number 0122017792 or 0163357792

So far the Jatco is working very well. After me another BMWCM Member also replaced his ZF5HP with the Jatco and he is very happy driving Melaka-KL-Melaka on a weekly basis.

Thanks a lot vincent, very informative. I will give albert a call see what he says. What i understand is Jatco is more economical and ZF is performance. I stand corrected.

My first option is to rebuild my ZF gearbox, if the cost is too high i will consider to replace with halfcut either ZF or Jatco. However for the price RM3.7K is a good deal. Plus im a heavy traveler, KL-Melaka every week.

Im aware that the consumption of the jacko is economical, how bout the performance? Does the different with ZF is a lot?

And wheres is Albert located?

 

[achupz]

Ah I see. 328 is a great car to drive anyways, irrespective if it's manual or auto .

My manual conversion cost around RM5k complete including labour. Most parts are new except for clutch and gearbox.

You can ask Lionel, he's the real racun king

Hahaha, im racun immune ;p anyway you have any suggestion? rebuild or replace? urmmm

 

[loafer]

IMO it's better to just rebuild. Even if you replace, you will have no idea how long the replacement gearbox will last. If it dies on you a few months down the road then you'll have to fork out another sum of money to rebuild.

At least you'll have peace of mind if you rebuild your current gearbox knowing that it'll last you at least another 150,000 kms or more if well taken care off.

 

[achupz]

IMO it's better to just rebuild. Even if you replace, you will have no idea how long the replacement gearbox will last. If it dies on you a few months down the road then you'll have to fork out another sum of money to rebuild.

At least you'll have peace of mind if you rebuild your current gearbox knowing that it'll last you at least another 150,000 kms or more if well taken care off.

Well said loafer, thanks for the suggestion. For myself i think i prefer rebuild as it has more assurance on the liability on the amount of money im paying. Btw you live in ampang? we are near by

 

[achupz]

Hye fellow forumers , im still looking for the best suggestion/opinion on what to do before i did something foolish and waste of money.

Other than that, if you have any recommended gearbox workshop which is reliable and quality workmanship with reasonable price please do let me know. Please provide me the contact no as well.

In addition, any of the forumers that have information regarding my problem, please provide your contact no. I will contact you personally.

Im desperately in need of help. Thanks

012-2143416 (Azim)

 

[Vincent Hor]

The other BMWCM who switched to Jatco also had the same problem. Couldn't shift into 3 or 4th. The G/box was in limp mode. Repair was more costly. He decided to change to Jatco. This swap to Jatco comes with G/Box, Torque converter, Wiring set, long shaft and rear diff. All from the half cut.

Question : If you repair your g/box, what about your torque converter, longshaft and rear diff? They are as old as your g/box and may also be on the way for problems.

Besides, if you change to Jatco, you can sell off your good parts i.e. Torque converter, longshaft and rear diff.

End of the day, your cost is very much cheaper. BTW the Jatco g/box is so hardy that there are plenty of the them in the chop shop. And the G/Box are VERY CHEAP to replace.

Cheaper to replace than a Wira, Perdana or Toyota!!!

Will be visiting Albert this morning to service the car. Azim, if you like to can come by and test out my car for the responsiveness of the Jatco. BTW my number 0162258831

 

[achupz]

The other BMWCM who switched to Jatco also had the same problem. Couldn't shift into 3 or 4th. The G/box was in limp mode. Repair was more costly. He decided to change to Jatco. This swap to Jatco comes with G/Box, Torque converter, Wiring set, long shaft and rear diff. All from the half cut.

Question : If you repair your g/box, what about your torque converter, longshaft and rear diff? They are as old as your g/box and may also be on the way for problems.

Besides, if you change to Jatco, you can sell off your good parts i.e. Torque converter, longshaft and rear diff.

End of the day, your cost is very much cheaper. BTW the Jatco g/box is so hardy that there are plenty of the them in the chop shop. And the G/Box are VERY CHEAP to replace.

Cheaper to replace than a Wira, Perdana or Toyota!!!

Will be visiting Albert this morning to service the car. Azim, if you like to can come by and test out my car for the responsiveness of the Jatco. BTW my number 0162258831

Thanks for the offer, currently im at melaka. Will be back in 2-3 days time lahh. anything i give you a call.

 

[achupz]

Updates, i already send my car to M-Scope Batu Caves (MR Lau) to fix the problem due to recommendation by some forum members and a fren plus its closer to my place. Seems like rebuild is the best option as the damage is not major.

Anyway, thanks a lot to the members who responded to my thread. Looking forward to meet you guys in some TT's in the future.

I will update on my rebuilding progress and how it turns out. Regards

 

[achupz]

Hye fellow forumers, i got my car on friday last week, as promised. I must correct my term on the "damage not major" earlier. My damage is 7k total, which is initially they quote me 5k. The story is like this,

When i came there to see my gearbox, the "australian guy" ( Gearbox supervisor) explain to me whats wrong and what parts should be changed. So he started explaining as in i know whats hes talking about, all i understand is the 4th and 5th gear hancur teruk, and some related parts also teruk ( I will post up my receipt details) however the outlook of the gearbox is pretty bad from my view. Then i ask one soalan cepu emas, will the gearbox be running as good as before. He says yeah sure but if you want your gearbox to run like almost new you theres another option. He suggest me to change a few parts that currently is okay but potentially might have problem in the future as it already seasoned. He asked for 7k, i biasa la negotiate. Then surprisingly he reply, you dont have 7k he doest want to do it. Because the quality of his work will be limited by my budget. Somehow that guy is very convincing, very professional. He even guarantee me my gearbox will run better than before.

So, im the type of guy that loves "safety net", so i decided to pick the 7k rebuild After the gearbox has been done, i came there on thaipusam eve to test the car. The "Australian guy" sat beside me and ask me to push my car to the limit, to test hows the gearbox responding and durability. He brought me to a one straight road with less cars, there i tried to push the new gearbox to the limit, engaging the "sport mode" and with my 1st generation Tiptronic playing with the 5 gears, gear up, drop gear.

As the result of 100% satisfied with the job, very impressive. My gearbox is way better than before, even when the time i first run it when i got it from halfcut. The power, smooth and response is mindblowing :top:. So far(touch wood) hehe

I think 7k is worth it, worth than buying a branded sport rims hehehe anyway in my opinion, this is a good workshop for rebuilding gearbox. Worth surveying if you looking for one.

 

[azam318]

Bro achupz, glad to hear that your problem has resolved.
Anyway, good info.