Replacement selector rod seal for (A5S390R)

[oldskewel]

Originally Posted by whizzkid23

The friction you are encountering when mounting the seal can only come from the outer bore. The selector rod has to be free to rotate, so it's absolutely not a tight fit when speaking about the shaft / seal clearance.

This said, the seal is hold in place only by the tight outer bore / seal clearance. Obviously, because of that, it's supposed to be a tight fit, the seal should not move once installed. Applying lubricant on the outside of the seal will not compromise it's ability to seal... it will only lower the ability of the seal to hold itself in place.

... Pay a lot of attention on getting the seal pushed in straight,mostly for the first mm, this is vital! Also...choose a socket that will applicate the force as close as possible to the outside diameter of the seal! The more you go towards the inner bore of the seal, the weaker it's structure gets!
...

I agree with most of this. But I'm not concerned at all with the lube on the outside letting it slip out.

Extra agreement is directed at the bold part above. That goes for pressing in almost anything. It applies here too, except you might think it should be easier than it is. It's not.

It took me some finesse to get the seal on straight, the pressing tool (I should have just ditched that and used a better socket) in place and aligned, and then that levering, ironically named wrecker bar pushing just right. Then it went in, after a few failed attempts. As mentioned briefly above, the width of the wrecker bar helped keep this pushing surface flat, which gave me one less thing to worry about vs. using a screwdriver for example. Tough to hold everything in place, then apply the force in just the right direction.

And on upallnight's White Lightning, I've got some of that too. Can't bike any more. It is wax in suspension. So it won't leave unless it melts and runs out. We used to use it here for mountain biking in the rainy season since oil would just be washed out with the water and mud. But the wax would stick on the chain forever, it seemed.

[Chamberlin]

Thanks for the fantastic comments guys! As I have 8 BMWs in my family that I collect, restore, and maintain, I spend a LOT of time on the various forums at bimmerforums, but rarely get responses with the level of detail and enthusiasm for mundane things like this! So glad I signed up for xoutpost.com! Aside from my '01 X5 in my sig, I also maintain my wifes '15 X1, and my dad's '07 X3. I'm surprised I haven't signed up sooner.


Anyways, you all have given me a lot to think about for this coming Sunday, and my two new ACDelco seals just arrived a few minutes ago. The seal I destroyed came in a different baggie, but appear to be identical to these new ones. The seal I messed up got torn in the center ring BTW, hence my initial belief that it was the shaft that was giving me the problem (keeping in mind I was using the crappy seal insertion tool with a small orange plastic hammer). I will be sure to take a close look at the shaft before the next round of fun. Can't wait to call this one good and then powerwash all the damn ATF off the driveway so my wife stops yelling! I have a pan under it now BTW, and not surprisingly, it leaks about the same rate as with the old seal, no more, no less!

[oldskewel]

Definitely ditch the hammer. That will not get this one done. Pretty sure of that. It will just bounce things around and out.

Looking at your photo (BTW, you live in a beautiful place - wow), you might have better access with just a single jack stand at the jack point behind the front wheel on the left side. That jack/lift thing is probably right in your way, and easy visibility / access helps. And you might also find that jacked like I'm saying, you won't be leaking any ATF at all out of there. I don't think I was.

Another finer point on a little thing - I did mine at night, partly due to time constraints, but I found (as I often do) that I have better visibility working on small dark things under the car at night time with a good head lamp, etc. vs. in the daytime when everything is bright and when I look under the car everything looks dark because my eyes are adjusted for the bright daylight.

Every little assistance might help get past this simple but tricky thing.

[Chamberlin]

Originally Posted by oldskewel

Definitely ditch the hammer. That will not get this one done. Pretty sure of that. It will just bounce things around and out.

Looking at your photo (BTW, you live in a beautiful place - wow), you might have better access with just a single jack stand at the jack point behind the front wheel on the left side. That jack/lift thing is probably right in your way, and easy visibility / access helps. And you might also find that jacked like I'm saying, you won't be leaking any ATF at all out of there. I don't think I was.

Another finer point on a little thing - I did mine at night, partly due to time constraints, but I found (as I often do) that I have better visibility working on small dark things under the car at night time with a good head lamp, etc. vs. in the daytime when everything is bright and when I look under the car everything looks dark because my eyes are adjusted for the bright daylight.

Every little assistance might help get past this simple but tricky thing.

Thanks again for the good words-

Regarding the Quickjack, once you slide yourself in from the front of the car, you have 100% access to everything, and the 18-21" lifting height is perfect; not too high, not too low. Further, I spent the $1400 for this lift to avoid crawling under cars supported by floor jacks and jack stands after all these years. I do still use them sometimes for quick driveway oil changes and wheel changes, but for anything more serious, the Quickjack is my go-to lift. Not to mention in this, case, I still had to deal with the driveshaft installation, and having all 4 wheels off the ground makes that much easier.

That said, I ended up throwing my back out moving my Quickjack yesterday! I have the largest 7000lb model, and each side weighs 101 pounds. One end has wheels, but even lifting the 50lb half just the wrong way was enough to put me out. I'm actually home from work as I wouldn't be able to get in and out of a car right now. So although the Quickjack is the safest portable car lift I know of, they can still be dangerous if you don't take all precautions!

Fortunately one of my best friends is a freelance Porsche mechanic and he came to the rescue yesterday. He helped me get the car on the lift (during rain and wind!) and was then able to install the damn shifter shaft seal for me...but not after destroying one of them, just like I had.

I did tell him to install the driveshaft so he'd have something to pry against, and that worked, but the real problem here was the crappy insertion tool (as some of you noted). We ended up using 14 & 15mm sockets instead. The tool that comes with the kit is about .750" in diameter which is OK (although .760" would be better) but the walls are too thick, and with the selector shaft being as sharp as it is, you will destroy the outer dust ring every time if you use the tool. We think that the tool could be easily modified to thin out the walls and make a smooth impingement area, but it's just as easy to use a socket. And BTW, he did use a little red grease to help get the seal started.

The drive shaft was then re-installed and the X5 was tested for proper shift linkage connection (hard to screw that up). I lost the damn wave washer for the linkage however, and it looks like you have to buy a $19 kit to get the washer. Not too worried about it at the moment as it just seems to be there to take up the slop.

A few months ago I did a full driveline flush: front diff, rear diff, x-fer case, and of course the GM transmission drain, filter & fill. However we noticed the new rubber gasket that was installed is cracking all around already and is seeping on some of the bolts. Anybody else have this experience as well? I'm thinking of doing another drain and fill and filter (since I didn't do a full flush anyway) and buying the OEM gasket if they're available (which appeared to be rubber coated metal). The replacement piece was just solid rubber. Bleh. I did keep the original gasket however, and I'll be tempted to re-use that one with a little gasket sealer vs. using another new rubber one if I can't get an OEM gasket.

I also did an oil change while the under-panel was off, and replaced the oil sensor's quad-ring which was seeping a little. Also discovered blue coolant dripping on our heads... from a very obvious hairline crack on the expansion tank! So the X5 is still out of commission until that is replaced (along with the trans cooler thermostat while I'm there). I won't be overhauling the entire cooling system at this time, as I have two other M54 cars that need it worse, and they haven't had 10% of the level of maintenance this X5 has had over its lifetime (I have 17 years of service records from the previous, fastidious owners).

UPDATE: the OEM transmission pan gasket appears to be available: https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...t/24117524707/

[80stech]

The solid rubber trans pan gasket is crap. Go with the metal composite(sandwich) gasket. You are right that you would have been better off reinstalling the old gasket. No sealer would be best, you need to careful with gasket sealer on automatics.

2 post hoists are getting to be pretty cheap as well.

[Chamberlin]

Originally Posted by 80stech

The solid rubber trans pan gasket is crap. Go with the metal composite(sandwich) gasket. You are right that you would have been better off reinstalling the old gasket. No sealer would be best, you need to careful with gasket sealer on automatics.

2 post hoists are getting to be pretty cheap as well.

Thanks for the re-affirm on the crappy solid rubber gaskets... I'll plan on doing another flush and fill with an OEM gasket...oh well.


I'd love to have a 2 post or any serious car lift, but my garage only has 8' ceilings with attic storage above. The Quickjack is the best alternative in my situation, and can be used on either side of the garage, outdoors, or even to a friend's house. They make 12VDC versions too for track junkies! With the 7000lb model like mine, I've lifted everything from my E31 8 series cars, my E38 7 series, my X5, my E39's, E36, E46, all the way down to my Z3 M Coupe...Pretty versatile!

[Bmwe5320023.0]

Anyone selling the seal removal tool that you no longer need? Nowhere to be found in canada lol
There's some on Amazon but for GM 4L60
Not sure if it would work
Metalblock Transmission Shifter Seal Remover/Installer,Compatible with GM 200, 200C, 200-4R TURBO 350, 350C TURBO 400, 425, 475 GM 700-R4 GM 4L60 GM Allison - 540，Includes Seal https://a.co/d/1FCjjl3

[stevecyprian2]

Originally Posted by Bmwe5320023.0

Anyone selling the seal removal tool that you no longer need? Nowhere to be found in canada lol
There's some on Amazon but for GM 4L60
Not sure if it would work
Metalblock Transmission Shifter Seal Remover/Installer,Compatible with GM 200, 200C, 200-4R TURBO 350, 350C TURBO 400, 425, 475 GM 700-R4 GM 4L60 GM Allison - 540，Includes Seal https://a.co/d/1FCjjl3

Hello

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