BMW or Volvo Transmission Rebuild

[kawan]

Are bmw automatic transmissions easy & cost effective to rebuild?

for maybe a 2000 323i or 2002 530i ?

You also find volvo xc90's with a good T6 engine but they had a GM version of a transmission that was also problematic. For this I did see people using rebuild kits from triple edge performance.

I see many on craigslist with transmission problems and was wondering If I should get one cheap and rebuild it?

I did rebuild a 4l80e and had a lot of questions answered by clinebarger. But then it was a popular GM transmission and easy to find parts and modification ideas on the forums.

Thanks

 

[FlyNavyP3]

If you can purchase a nice clean vehicle with no other issues than the transmission for $4-5k under what they sell for running and driving AND you can R&R AND rebuild the transmission AND have it work the first time there's probably a profit in it. But it will be a lot of work to make $2000-3000 depending on how badly injured the transmission is, or if there are any hidden issues that also cut into your profit.

For me to tackle this I'd have to buy the subject vehicle really really right to justify the financial risk.

 

[Audios]

The AWD trans are expensive, they usually eat the transfer case too if the fluid was never done. The regular RWD are pretty easy to swap out besides the usual rusted hardware, probably have to blast the studs on the headers out with an air chisel.

 

[dave1251]

Originally Posted by kawan
Are bmw automatic transmissions easy & cost effective to rebuild?

for maybe a 2000 323i or 2002 530i ?

You also find volvo xc90's with a good T6 engine but they had a GM version of a transmission that was also problematic. For this I did see people using rebuild kits from triple edge performance.

I see many on craigslist with transmission problems and was wondering If I should get one cheap and rebuild it?

I did rebuild a 4l80e and had a lot of questions answered by clinebarger. But then it was a popular GM transmission and easy to find parts and modification ideas on the forums.

Thanks



You may be able to rebuild the transmission cost effectively depending on your skill level and good luck. It's a risk you will take it you go down this path.

 

[14Accent]

The 4T65E in a Volvo should be no different to rebuild than a standard 4T65-HD, it's just got a different case.

Most of the 6 cylinder BMW's from that era used a GM 4L30, shared with the Catera and the Rodeo/Trooper. Those should also be easy to find parts for.

 

[kawan]

Thanks to all the above for the replies. It is not for profit but for keeps. The closest to GM appear to be the ones in the volvo xc90. But I think the BMW's use the zf transmissions and I do not see extensive rebuild forums on those unlike the 4l80e/4l60e so that means I might have a smaller pool of experts to reach out to.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Originally Posted by kawan
Thanks to all the above for the replies. It is not for profit but for keeps. The closest to GM appear to be the ones in the volvo xc90. But I think the BMW's use the zf transmissions and I do not see extensive rebuild forums on those unlike the 4l80e/4l60e so that means I might have a smaller pool of experts to reach out to.




IIRC ZF units were spec'd for the higher trim levels such as the 330 where as the 323 received the GM unit. You can find out which by obtaining the VIN and running it through https://www.realoem.com

 

[MrMoody]

Many slippy, sloppy 4T65Es can be fixed easily in the pan with a TransGo kit, 2 accumulator pistons, a bottle of Lucas and fluid and filter. But it's definitely a dice roll, and if you have to pull it, they are more work to pull than a RWD one.

 

[kawan]

Yes, along that line of thought I always preferred a rwd.

 

[kttymau]

The Volvo XC90 T6 transaxle was cursed from birth. Not only was it unable to cope with the torque of the twin-turbo 6cyl engine, it was prone to both coolant and CV grease intermix contamination. When I was working at a Volvo dealer service department, we were seeing OVER 100% failure rates.