Reverse has left the building!!

[G Man]

I've been anticipating this day for the past few months. The persistent clicking sound in reverse has finally given way to silence. I guess tomorrow it's on to drop it off to Larry and George at GR Auto Care. Larry looked at it a couple of months ago and gave me an overview of the rebuild. It figures, I'm right in the middle of replacing all of the flooring in my house, and didn't need another cash outlay. Timing is everything!! I guess the M5 is back in the rotation for a couple of weeks.

 

[gerryvz]

Sorry to hear this, man. Larry will do you well by the rebuild, though. I will stop by GR on Saturday after I donate blood in the AM, and check out the ol' girl. I'm right behind you with regard to the clicking.

It is nice to have another nice machine(s) to drive though. Covet your E39 M5

 

[G Man]

Gerry
I think it now might be next week when I drop off the car. I did talk to Larry this morning, but I have had a couple of things crop up that might delay me.

 

[TerryA]

Gary,

Maybe you just want a total rebuild but if it is just reverse I believe it can be repaired at minimum cost of R&R the trans plus R&R of the front clutch plate thru the front pump.

This is how Ted Reich @ Transmeister Orange CA fixed reverse on my old 300e.

I had no more trouble after the fix. He told me it was a common occurrence on the 300e. I'm not sure about the 500e.

Ted knows what he is doing. Glen has also had work done by Ted.

I know you won't be coming to Calif for repairs but maybe you could run it by your guy.

Just a suggestion it worked for me.

 

[Cannoli]

It was a matter of time ... happened to me about a couple of years ago at about 170K miles.

Nice to have a M5 to put in rotation! For me, my Ruf (conversion) did the trick in rotation. It was nice to get back in the saddle with the 500E once fixed - amazing car!

 

[G Man]

I never took my car in back in May, but finally dropped it off this afternoon. I figured I needed to get it wrapped up as we are now moving to Dallas and I begin commuting this coming Monday. Larry is going to do a full rebuild along with a power steering repair and new ignition lock cylinder.

 

[gerryvz]

I'll drop by to see your car on Saturday. I owe Larry my set of plastic M119 oiler tubes, and I need to borrow his chain link riveting tool for my E320 rebuild.... I decided to replace the timing chain while the head is off (it's easier that way).

Congrats on the new job (I saw that on LinkedIn !) and good luck with the move up north. There's a few folks up there you should connect with (txbrit, samiam44, texas993) and also a few good shops that know E500Es as well.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[texas993]

Welcome to Dallas! Let me know if I can help with anything.

 

[Glen]

Hi Gary,
How's your M5 these days? Not sure if I mentioned it but I put PSS9's in mine a couple years ago. Overall, I'm not that impressed with them. The ride isn't nearly as refined as I hoped, I'm thinking about having Bilstein revalve them...or possibly just trying something else. Any recommendations?

 

[G Man]

Thanks Gerry. Next project for the 500E is a bit if paint. The roof us loosing the clear coat. Let me know what shops you recommend in Dallas.

Glen
The M5 is good. I'm headed to Dallas tomorrow in it to battle the ice. I run Dinan springs. I don't have any experience with the Bilsteins.

 

[texas993]

Gary,

The best body shop in Dallas is Stuarts. http://www.stuartspnb.com

They are very good and I see the Porsche and Ferrari guys use them with tremendous results. I have never used them.

Another great shop that is less expensive and very good is New Concepts. Owner is Thomas Liu. (972) 365-5689

I have used them to respray the front bumper on my Porsche. They did an excellent job. I have also seen other cars that they have done well.

Personally, I would visit both shops and see what you end up with.

Good luck!

 

[G Man]

What independent mechanics would you recommend?

 

[gerryvz]

Hey G-Man,

What's the ETA on the tranny from Larry?

 

[Stevester 500E]

I had a tranny specialist tell me that one should run one quart of Lucas in older trannies to give them a little more life. What danger does one risk by using Lucas?

 

[samiam44]

There is a good paint shop on 35, just north of 635. They use Spies-heckle (sp) paint. Do lots of german car repairs. I think there are quite a few places that do good spraying.. if you remove the trim yourself. I know Stuart's did a complete paint job on someone's 500e on the list-or maybe it was forsale car.

I have always heard of doing just the front clutch pack, but with 20 years and 170,000 miles, I would think most of the soft rubber seals are hardened and leak.. not to mention the 2.5 hrs it takes to clean and rebuild the valve body.

 

[gerryvz]

Spies-Hecker.

I spoke with Larry, the shop owner. They're experienced in rebuilding these transmissions, and I agree with him that given the time/money/effort to take it out of the car, reseal the exterior, remove the front pump, and replace the reverse clutch pack....it's not all that much more time and expense to do the rest of it too. But Larry and I think alike ... may as well do the job right the first time. The transmission will be good for another 150K+ miles....

I had a tranny specialist tell me that one should run one quart of Lucas in older tranniesto give them a little more life. What danger does one risk by using Lucas?

Why would you not just pull the transmission and have it repaired, as opposed to using a Band-Aid? I guess I'm just opposed to putting any chemicals in my cars that the factory doesn't specify (i.e. Lucas anything, Marvel Mystery Oil, stop-leaks/seal swellers, STP gas treatment, Seafoam, etc.).

 

[G Man]

Looks like the car should be ready tomorrow. My wife will be picking it up as I'm still in DFW. Larry has done several other repairs in addition to a complete trams rebuild. Although it's going to end up totaling more than double what just the rebuild would have been, I'll feel comfortable that I won't have to worry about some issues for awhile.

 

[gerryvz]

I saw your car today at 1 PM, G-Man ... it's all ready to go !

 

[G Man]

She rarely drives the car but she told me she enjoyed the drive home. I'm excited to get back and take it for a spin.

 

[G Man]

I think the transmission was starting to fail even before the reverse issues cropped up. After driving this weekend post rebuild, it's amazing the difference I am enjoying. Shifting is much smoother and the power feels more linear.