A friend was having tranny problems on her e46 330i (explantaion mark in gear emblem mark). she decided that she didnt want the car anymore and just gave it away. she gave me the car from free and i took it too a bmw specialist over the weekend. i dont have the results yet but he did say that that sign means a transmission fault.
i looked around on ebay and found used transmissions with low mileage from that model but also seen some transmissions that was for a 2003 330i but i wondered will it fit hers. she has a 2001 330i .
Other than the warning on the dash, what are the symptoms? Did you try the basic troubleshooting first, such as does it need fluid top off?
It's no secret that these auto transmissions are a weak point, but jumping directly to replacement seems like a rushed decision.
My friend find a good independent BMW mechanic to probably diagnose the problem and take it from there. Damn, your lucky your getting a BMW for free !
Lucky !
Even if you need a new transmission, your better off. Don't buy used, always rebuild !
Used are crap half the time too. If you have low fluid, fill her up and enjoy the new ride !
Very poor piece of advise. I'd take a used transmission in good working condition over rebuilt any day of the week. Too many people rebuild and come here the next day after spending $$$$ complaining of massive amount of problems with their freshly rebuilt transmission.
Possibly not. The E46 used at least two transmissions, from different manufacturers. You need to figure out what transmission is there before getting a replacement.
You might (!!!) be able to change it to another type/manufacturer, but research first.
Agree with the caveat that it's a gamble either way.
Used can be rot, but rebuilt is most likely done by a guy who doesn't take it seriously. And it's a complicated procedure. Seen more than one rebuild go bad soon again.
A1, what is the last 7 digits of the VIN? This particular BMW/year/series has issue with the transmission. They have flaws transmission and even you replace with the same, maybe after few miles then it breakdown again. If you have the flaws transmission, the best thing you going to do is to rebuild it and I think it cost at least $2,500.00. Anyway, the other transmission could be repaired by replacing the solenoid.
Bad news. So now the mechanic noticed that there was a leak in the tranny.
I told him i will get a new one.
Good news is hi found a new tranny with 50k on it and our local junkyard.
Bad news is i dont know how to take a tranny out to send to the bmw shop where my car is?!
Where's the leak coming from? Maybe it's only the gasket needs to be replace. Tow you car into a transmission repair shop to rebuild the transmission or ask a tow truck to bring the transmission to the BMW shop or if you want to save money for the tow truck, rent a U-Haul truck and to it yourself.
the gasket was replaced. ir was leaking from some hoes he said. he said he might be able to rapair it or not he isnt sure yet until he takes it all the way apart
By the way, how much the transmission cost and the installation (labor)? Did you check around how much it cost to rebuild the transmission? Remember replacing with old one is cheaper than to rebuild but there's no warranty. At least the transmission shop will give you one year warranty. Try to consider rebuild than replacing, this is only my opinion.
Make sure the transmission are the same because if not you have a problem with the connectors and the computer too.
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