E30 Zone

bought my first e30 the other day and had no problems driving the 120miles home, gearbox was smooth and reverse was working fine. just been out for a drive and now does not reverse. the gearbox goes into drive fine and up through the gears. put it into reverse you can feel it change and slightly edge back but doesn't move. i'm a newbie to e30s and to autos so any help would be appreciated.

Sorry, that aint a fun problem, check and see if it brakes on 1st and 2nd gear. If you can get ya money back, that gearbox will need an overhaul.

so its as bad as i thought how much am i looking at for a gearbox overhaul?

Really depends on who you talk to, maybe it will be cheaper to get a used one. Does it brake on low gear?

yeah just been out and it brakes in low gear. it feels like it wants to reverse but just doesn't. ?????

Hello, sorry to confirm your woes, but I had exactly the same problem with my 320 convertible with switchable box. Two weeks ago it packed up completely. The car has only done 96k. I have had a price of £750 plus vat but who do you take it to? Some people have told me that these so called experts just steam clean second hand boxes and sell them as reconditioned. I have been looking for a 4HP22 but with no success as yet. Hope you fair better than me. I am trying to get enough information together and I will have a go at rebuilding my box. Good luck.

If it brakes in low gear the problem could be simple, if im not wrong you need to fix a cylinder on the valve body, shouldn't cost that much, but you need to talk to someone that overhauls them, if it's just the cylinder i think you could get it fixed for around 300.
But i think the previous owner knew about this, the revers doesn't suddenly cut, it slips then cuts, some smart guys will sell their car before it's too late.

Maybe the best solution is to change the gear box. On here in the past few days there have been several offered in good working order for 50 quid or less. It will cost a few bob to have it fitted unless you're handy with spanners, but it's far less expensive than an overhaul. Put an add in the wanted section - auto boxes are not considered 'kewl' (children - duh!), on here so many have them removed and converted to manual.

cheers for your help guys will ring around a few gearbox specialists tomorrow and weigh up my options

so i've had a look around and i reckon its going to be easier and cheaper just to replace the box. think i might attempt this myself as i'm fairly competent. any problems i should be looking out for?

Well heh the hardest part is getting the box down, ask anyone who overhauls them ;)
But anyway taking down the box is just a few bolts, i would recommend to unscrew the 3 bolts at the top first, but to do that you need to unscrew everything at the back, don't worry the auto can tipp without breaking anything , to get the upper bolts out you will need to extend the wrench around 1.5 meters, also you need a universal joint for the wrench.
From here you need to hold the auto upp with something so that you can unscrew the rest and then take the auto out. Remember that the converter needs to come out with the auto.
I would not recommend to do this while laying on the ground, i did that and it took many hours, when i got the car over my head it took me 4 hours to take it down then upp again.
On the ground i used several days heh.

Where abouts are you Oli? I know some good guys in the South West...

Replace the box! Should be able to pick one up for the measly price of £50. Fit it yourself and you've done a cheap fix! Keeping another one working. Or do a manual conversion, if you wouldn't mind manual, whilst your there!

Should be able to find some slush-boxes as people do manual conversions every now and then, or buy a 320i auto for its shell and slump in a 325i engine.

You may even find a stunning 320i auto engine with sub <70k on the clock for under £100! Most people they are just elaborate paper weights, but having a spare engine for parts is always useful. Pull it to pieces, clean it up and put the bits in a box. Save for a rainy day!