Transmission mount DIY for 3.0
 

After much searching and not finding much info on the subject I thought I could share my experience.

Total cost of this job was $70, $50 for the tool (I happened to get a deal on fleabay) and $20 for the the new bushing. See the first pic for the tool used.

1. Have the car in the air and supported safely.

2. Remove the heat shield around the exhaust to expose the 3 hidden cross member bolts.

3. Using a floor jack (if working on the floor) slightly lift the transfer case to take the tension off the long bolt running through the cross member and rubber mount. Loosen nut and pull out long bolt. I chose to trust my jack for the length of this procedure but it would be wise to now support the transfer case with a jack stand.

4. Remove the 6 bolts holding the crossmember and remove crossmember (see 2nd pic). Now you will have good access to the bushing (3rd pic). As you can see in the 4th pic my bushing is not terrible but it is fatigued with cracks and is quite hardened.

5. Pics 5 and 6 show the the tool installed. Pic 7 is in the action, I recommend lubricating the threads on the tool and try to refrain from using an impact (same goes for installation).

6. Now with the bushing removed pic 8, clean out any dirt and corrosion.

7. You are now ready to install. Spray a little silicone spray on the portion of the mount going into trans (this will help with installation). In pic 9 on your new bushing you will notice an arrow. Line up the arrow with arrow on the trans mount pic 10, and assemble your tool to press in the new bushing pic 12. Last pic installed

8. Reinstall cross member, thread in the 6 bolts loosely. First torque the long nut and bolt running through the mount to 55ft-lbs. (all torque specs from bentley manual)

9. Replace jack stand with floor jack and hold the transfer case in an unloaded position from the crossmember and torque the 6 crossmember bolts down to 30ft-lbs.

10. Reinstall heat shield

Nice write up!

Absolutely fantastic write up.

1. Where did you get the toolset, any links you can share?
2. Did you need to take off the underbody reinforcement plate in order to take off the cross-member?

Thank you

1. I purchased the tool from ebay but the seller is based out of China, so at the moment buying the same tool will be difficult due to the fear mongering of coronavirus.... cheapest I found was $160usd for a similar tool. https://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-X5-Tran...ty!98230!US!-1

2. I did not remove the underbody reinforcement plate to drop the crossmember. Toughest part was removing the heat shield for the exhaust.... but it bends easy enough

Nice post, thanks!
Just curious, what were your symptoms and were they fixed once the new bushing was installed?
This is the transfer case bushing right?

I was having driveline vibrations. First replaced the rear driveshaft carrier bushing along with the bearing (bearing was shot and skipping)...then moved on to rear diff carrier bushings..... then finally the transfer case/transmission bushing. They were all failing to some degree and once all replaced it really smoothed out my X5.

Oooh if you get a chance to elaborate on the driveline vibrations I would be interested. I know my engine mounts are bad and intend on replacing them, that's why I was wondering about the reinforcement plate for the transmission mount or if the transmission mount can wait (thankfully for my wallet, it can). But I do get a unnerving vibration while cruising or accelerating around 60-70mph, but not all the time. I just attributed it to the engine mounts which will be replaced soon.

I was having vibrations and a shimmy when accelerating uphill from 25-40mph, it felt as if it were pulsing. In the past I replaced my motor mounts as well while i was doing the oil pan gasket. So much easier to replace them with the subframe dropped down. Best of luck tracing down your vibrations!

I had vibrations from 90kph to 105kph. I had 1 tire that the belts were happy only in one direction, worn motor and transmission mounts (replaced) a track control arm (replaced) and guibos (replaced) and now it's gone. Although I have a body panel sounding vibration at idle in/out of gear now so I will be reviewing my harmonic balancer [emoji849] pretty soon. N62 4.8iS.

Everything I listed above lessened the problem but didn't fix it until everything was done and road force balancing completed.

PS. I also did new rotors...

(Member #7) Parts Throwers Anonymous [emoji1787]

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"Parts cannon bombardier " :gun:

What? That part looooooked guilty![emoji1787]

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Hi Kman, I am going to have a go at this this weekend. Did you have to remove/disassemble the exhaust at any stage? The instructions say to do so before taking off the crossmember, but if you were able to do so without taking off the exhaust I would like to know how.

Thank you!

Why not list it on eBay if you don't think you need it anymore, then I will go buy it cheaply. Win-win!

Thanks to KMan for the excellent write-up I was able to do this today. I am a novice so it took me a while. Here are some notes:

Unbolting the exhaust hangar mount in the middle of the heat shield is necessary, and the trick I found was to spray a bit of silicone lubricate where the hangar pokes through the mount, then use towel or something with a bit of grip to pull it away from the car towards the outside and it will slide/pop off easily.

Use gloves (as always) but especially when working with the heat shield, as there are a few sharp edges.

When remounting the new mount, I used the 4 1/4 inch (smaller of the two) pegged semi-circular pieces from the kit into the "front" (back end of car) of the mount and the 3 3/4 inch "larger" rimmed circular piece from the kit on those other side (front end of car). If you follow KMan's writeup, the usage of the tool is actually pretty simple.

One word of caution, is as you are removing the mount using the tool, it's possible that it is really wedged in there good, and the rubber can begin to stretch more than the mount will come out. Towards the end of the limit of the special tool, I could see the rubber exiting the hole without us turning the bolt, so I knew there would be some recoil incoming. Just be careful at this stage, because it can shoot right out if you aren't prepared. Just make sure to watch the rubber in the hole as you are screwing and you can see how much tension load you are putting on it.

I also replaced the other parts shown in the parts diagram, such as the rubber stopper and the long bolt with nut - just for good measure.

Of course, my vibration at idle is still present. In P it is diminished, and in N it goes away for the most part. The real test will be when we get it to higher elevation and see if we still have the acceleration wobble (never happens around town at lower elevations, no matter what the speed or amount of acceleration).

Once again, thanks KMan for great DIY.

Hey everyone
To the op Kmann who bought the tool
Do you still have the toolset for this job if you do could I buy it from you ?
Did you also replace your engine mounts also?

It's an old post, but trying my luck.
I'm trying to locate the transmission mounts on my 3i, would you guide me on this please. Thanks.

There are no actual transmission mounts - the entire engine/transmission/transfer case assmebly is supported byt two engine mounts and one transfer case mount.

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/par...W-X5_30i&mg=22

Great response. Much appreciated.
P.S. Would you need a special tool for the transfer case mount removal/installation?

Yep - there is a special tool for this job.

https://xoutpost.com/attachments/x5-...-diy-3-0-1.jpg

Have a read of this thread - it should answer all your questions! ;)

https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...diy-3-0-a.html

Great link thanks again. One more favor please, do you know of any link to do with replacing engine mounts for X5, and 3i specifically.

There's a lot of threads about this but all the hive-mind information boils down to one post - this one from Overboost -

https://xoutpost.com/1177166-post65.html

Great. Thanks a lot for your guidance. Much appreciated.

As I'm inundated with tools in my small garage, do you think it's at all possible to get the mount out without this tool?
And secondly, how can you tell the difference between bad TC mount & bad engine mounts? Thanks,

Probably - a blow-torch will remove nearly anything! :cool:

But getting the new one in will be much harder.

I'd suggest looking around to see if you can rent one or buy a cheap one from AliExpress etc - afterall, you'll only use it once.

I needed a similar tool for the rear sub-frame bushes - got a very good tool (Kommen) from a local auction site, used but in perfect condition - and cheap ($150). :thumbup:

Kommen actually make the tool you need...

Can't help much there, sorry - hopefully someone with the same engine as yours will chime in. The engine mounts in my 30d are VERY different - they are even vacuum-controlled! :rolleyes:

I ordered this bushing too. Gotta figure out to change it without tool, because it's too expensive for one time use. :)

https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1aFQEX...71.jpg_q50.jpg

https://www.aliexpress.com/i/32825411630.html

You could try to copy this and make a tool.. ;)

As I always say, where there's an auto parts store ball joint kit to borrow, there's a way.

AM.

Here's perhaps a better idea: https://www.eeuroparts.com/Parts/407...B221010RENTAL/

Yep. Or just buy a Harbor Freight bushing kit and improvise...

They are all shot at this age. Replace them all. At the age of the E53 X5 the parts cannon is your friend to set a new baseline for maintenance items.