I would suggest going on Youtube and checking out Gary Farro(spelling) ZF transmission rebuild. The guy has MANY videos of rebuilding the trans and he is so knowledgable. I contacted him personally and he responded quickly. There is a place called Eriksons in CT. that he buys all parts from. They supposedly have everything. Your mechanic seems very honest, but that transmission isn't that rare. Good luck.

Thanks CapeX5, it is always great to gain more knowledge on something like this, I'll check out the videos.

I own a transmission shop. We do a lot of ZF transmissions.

First of all, the statement that "internal parts are not available" is ridiculous. If they are not available, with what would the transmission be rebuilt, if it needed rebuilding? They may not be available from BMW, but they are available from ZF Erisscon and other suppliers.

Secondly, rep!acing the valve body does NOT require a teardown. It is accessible/replaceable through the transmission pan. Rebuilt valve bodies are available from variety of sources - some good, some not so good.

Thirdly, some transmissions do have a "solenoid pack". The ZF 6HP does not - it has individual solenoids, which are individually available, but are also available as a set. Installing them involves dropping the pan, removing the valve body, replacing the solenoids, replacing the valve body into the free and mission, closing it up and filling it.

His troubleshooting methodology is good, but his quote for a rebuild seems expensive. $6300 for a soft parts overhaul is $$$. The 2 year unlimited warranty seems good, but based on your driving 3000 miles per year, unlimited miles is not of great value.

You said he doesn't do transmissions - that's pretty common for general repair shops - he'll send it to a shop like mine, pay wholesale, and charge you a retaill up charge.

You may want to get a second opinion from a transmission shop that has good reviews, and is a member of ATRA.

Caryalon, thank you for much needed insight from somebody that does tranny rebuilds. I'll see if I can find a transmission shop here in the SF Bay Area for a 2nd opinion.

thanks.

Gary Ferraro. That is where the BMW and Jaguar shops in his area send their customers' trans for rebuilding instead of rebuilding them themselves.

Like and subscribe to his channel so that he can monetize his channel and continue to put out videos.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWa...yLyQ7zjW9LF-xg

Gary’s videos are good - he’s a nice guy, too. I’ve spoken with him a couple of times - pretty close to me geographically.

Would anyone know of a similar shop here SF Bay Area?

Go to ATRA.com, shop finder. Cross ref with reviews on Google. Yelp

Thanks for the tip, submitted info on my problem, will wait to hear back from them.

Update:

I found a transmission shop nearby that only does rebuilds and is a member of ATRA, so I can take my X5 there for a free estimate, will head there sometime this week and see what they find out.