mike2291

so today i was at the beach and the car was parked for the whole day.. when i went to start it i put it in reverse and it started to shake/rumble when i drove it felt weird. after i drove to drop off my friends the rumbling had stopped... What could it be? im really praying its nothing big...

W Cole

Only does it in R? Thats weird. It sounds like bad engine/transmission mounts. Have you ever replaced them? How many miles?

vettdvr

With bad mounts it will vibrate a lot at idle but get smooth at highway stable speeds.

W Cole

^yup, definitely. Some of the symptoms I had: would vibrate at a stop in d or r. It would be fine in n or p. It would get better as the engine warmed up. You would feel the wheel vibrating especially. You could also feel a vibration around redline but it wasn't nearly as noticeable as the problems at idle.

mike2291

well had a mechanic look at it today he told me that its the transmission he put it up on a jack had me put it in and out of drive and all the gears.. he said when he listened to the tranny he could hear some sort of thump when i engaged the gear. He said something was broken and id probably need a rebuild. $1800 was what i was quoted from a few sources.. thinking of getting rid of the car.. this at 80K then theres gonna be airmatic im sure soon.. what else... too much hassle

SZMB

Have you ever changed the tranny fluid?
I don't think anyone can tell for certainty that the tranny needs to be rebuilt by just listening to it. Go to the dealer and have the fault codes scanned. They may charge you $150 for diagnostics.

mike2291

No I was actually reading on the forums and planning on changing the oil soon... Then this happened. I'm going to take it to another specialist in reseda I think .he said hell run all the codes and look around free inspection so thts my next step. I tried it again today it was rough again at r. But I don't see what else it can be besides the tranny kinda bummed out cuz I've only had the car for 6 months and I reallly love it except now I'm geTting worried. Btw thanks for all the input everyone I appreciate it!

SZMB

Common failures in these trannys are the valve body and solenoid. It would still cost $500 - $1000 to have them replaced. If no fault code comes up, I would change the fluid & filter and see.

mike2291

by any chance do you know any reputable repair shops around southern California?

SZMB

No I don't. I use yelp.com to find some good local ones w/ good reviews.

vettdvr

Make sure the "thunk" wasn't mounts

mike2291

so i still havent really had a chance to take it in but i drove the car again today and when its cold it vibrates during Reverse and driving wise the gears just change like normal... is it common for mounts to do that to a car and cause vibration in R? where are the mounts and is it possible to check them myself? Thanks guys... appreciate all the help .

lboudreau

Interesting... I sometimes get shakes when I start the car in the morning but once the idle levels out its ok. I swear I could put a pop can on the engine cover and it would knock it off when I first start the car. Strange

mike2291

yeah that does sound weird... im not really a car expert, and im kinda tight on the budget right now so im praying its not an expensive fix... most likely ill take it in tomorrow to have it look at again..

Staff@RPM

Change the transmission fluid and filter every 30K to really help prevent some big repair bills down the line. The preventative maintenance costs so little yet hardly anybody does it.

lboudreau

I had my transmission fluid changed at 75000 KM and then again at 80000 KM since they replaced my valve body. The tranny is still a jerky mess but it seems smoother than it was before. I still get the shakes when I start it up in the morning and even when stoped at a light and its in gear. I told the dealer about this a while back and the increased my idle speed by 400 Revs. Didn't really have much of an effect.

SZMB

The engine mounts are under the engine -- between the engine and the body frame. You can check them out this way: Drive ~30MPH, step on the brake hard so the car comes to a sudden stop (make sure do this in a safe place). If the mounts are loose,the engine will rock back and forth a few times, you'll definitely feel it.

lboudreau

Does it really have to be at 30MPH. If its loose enough to feel rocking then wouldn't it happen at 10MPH as well.

mike2291

ok so i took it in and had some other guy look at it he showed my how busted up my mounts were they were all leaking the oil and the transmission mount that had been put there was an after market one that was low quality, tomorrow everything will be fixed! all together with parts and labor 475 not bad huh?

Sathinas

W..T...F...

What does ANY of this thread have to do with BMW3 Series transmissions and how to put them in reverse?

charliele729

Maybe he must be day dreaming that he a MB , haha