I did this two summers ago on my 4.4i (ZF 5HP24 transmission). I am happy to answer and specific questions.

I have the Bentley manual and followed that. It does show the A5S390R, but the steps seem identical.

I think If you are going to do something this big, you should buy/borrow/steal a Bentley manual. Yes, it is expensive, but this job is big and $100 is very well spent (and you can always sell the book on ebay later. There are tons of torque specs you will need, and lots of little details, so even if someone wrote out the steps, you should still get the manual.


Two big steps you left out -

1) The transfer case is bolted directly to the rear of the transmission - as part of the process to remove the front and rear drive shafts, you will have to support the tranny/TC and seperate and remove the TC. A good time to replace the chain if you have a pre-facelift car and/or replace the front driveshaft with the longer-spline version if you haven't done that already.

2) you will have to lift engine slightly to get access to some bolts, which requires disconnecting the engine mounts and steering rack (this is a bit complicated) and lifting the engine slightly and supporting it carefully. In lieu of this step, you can hire a circus contortionist to get to the top right bellhousing bolt.

Borrow/buy sets of torx and e-torx sockets and a set of e-torx ratcheting box end wrench (gearwrench style). You will need all these options.

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David.X5
2001 X5 4.4i Sport
SOLD! at 160k miles