E39 auto transmission

[spinny]

on occasion, won't go in R after starting. Fine after some Forward driving.

Any ideas??

[victory1auto]

Definitely not a good sign, of course. How many miles on the car/trans and what is the trans service history, if any?

[kbsilver]

As Vic said, not a good sign. A cracked reverse drum that holds the clutch pack is a common failure in many different BMW transmissions.

While it may not be in your case, from what I read, the total loss of reverse is likely just a matter of time.

I have a $5000 souveneer from the auto trans in our 2000 540iT (heavy duty ZF 5 speed) being a cracked foward drum. In my case the full rebuild (2 months ago) at an independent trans shop was still less expensive than a remanufactured trans swap by the dealer, and I have a 3 year warranty. The previous owner, 80K miles ago, dealt with the reverse drum in this same car.

[edw1]

on occasion, won't go in R after starting. Fine after some Forward driving.

Any ideas??

Do the E39 6 cyl cars use the same GM trans as the E46? If so, there is a reasonable fix.
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=706809

I doubt you have the ZF transmission with its grenade-like reverse drum because reverse comes back.

[spinny]

150K. No previous issues.

[kbsilver]

6 or 8 cyl?

[dtorp110]

Check the trans fluid. It might be low. Whats the mileage?

[spinny]

Replaced the fluid and filter. Two weeks and same issue. It's a 528.

Time to look at the reverse drum mentioned above. How much does that cost??

Is it worth having a dealer do a computer diagnostic?

[spinny]

Had the diagnostic. Nata. The again, the trans did not 'die' at the time.

Visited a few web sites re BMW trans. Most think problems with the GM5L30 qre ELECTICAL, and rcmd solinoid, etc.

Sound good??

[spinny]

It was the SOLONOID.