I suspect that a CV axle has failed inside the front differential and the metal pieces caused the gearing to halt abruptly which broke the drive shaft and destroyed the bearing and flex plate. I guess Ill know more when I pull the differential out.

Sounds like a mess. Very interested in what you find. Did you have any warning or symptoms?

well I bought it broke so I did not experience any symptoms. I have the front differential loose but I cannot get it out between the subframe and the motor...... Does anyone have any write ups on removing this or removing the subframe? jacking up the motor?,,, any manual I can purchase?.....

I did find that the front drivers CV axle had been replaced with a NAPA brand axle which potentially may have caused the failure.

E53 4.4 transmission issues - after rebuild
 

This is one I hope Phil (RRPhil) gets to see. Others are welcome to reply!

My X53 5HP24 transmission went "south". A local guy who works transmissions on the side "supposedly" rebuilt the unit for me. The seals were deteriorated and one of the drums cracked.

Upon it's return to me it ran well for 15 miles, then went crazy. After its second drive it went into failsafe in less than 2 miles, acting like it could not upshift from 2 to 3.

One instance it only worked in the manual mode. That short drive was successful.

Another instance it went a couple of miles in automatic, acted like it missed 2nd and 3rd gears, then went to failsafe.

A fourth instance in the manual mode it would start shifting by itself and the engine had not reached 3,000 RPM. Then it went to failsafe.

Last instance I was in auto. Went to the 2nd traffic signal, and proceeded once I had the green light. There was NO load on the transmission. Suddenly it BANGED into gear, and then into failsafe. The shifter was now in the manual position!!

Assuming the internals are all correct (new valve body, clutches, steels, etc) I am wondering about the "external" factors. The shift lever is not correct. It is not smooth or easy. Upshift is ok. Downshift is very stiff. What else to consider on the exterior? Or could it be internal?

Did they not road test it? Ouch! I hope you get it sorted.

I have the dreaded "thump/jolt/jerk" down into first when rolling to a stop. And reverse takes ages to engage. One garage said the bushes are worn which cause the gearbox to have too much oil pressure - and hence the thump when stopping.

Anyway, took it to a specialist yesterday for a rebuild (who says he has done loads of X5's and said they do need a rebuild at 100k miles - the torque convertor is the same as the Z3???), and so fingers crossed it fixes the issues....

The remanufactured units from ZF (V8 equipped X5s E53) are really good replacements to the ailing trannys of our X's . We have done 3 tranny replacments using the ZF remanufactured and they have been awesome and the customers have fallen back in love with their X5. The warranty is really good for the customers also.

Does ZF have a certified rebuild/install location in the D/FW area Jay?

With over 200k miles on the OE unit and no plan on selling the X, I know it's just a matter of time before I go the ZF reman route.

I have purchased the ZF reman Trans/BMW units from Gopowertrains out of Virginia. I had contacted ZF directly and they actually gave me contacts at two distributors here in DFW area and when I went to them they could not sell direct to me and said I had to go to a vendor or shop to order. So I was like who should I go to. They could not suggest a shop certified ZF vendor. Anyway, I came across the ZF reman that gopowertrains is distrbutor/vendor for and they shipped the transmissions to the shop where I had them installed, Import Car Center in grapevine (my brother is a BMW technician). Gopowertrains did not charge a core fee up front and packaging of the reman unit was real nice that we put the old trans right back in place and then contacted gopowertrains and the unit was picked up by truck within 2 days heading back to ZF in Illinois. It has been a pleasing experience all the way around. The last trans for an X5 was ordered on a Friday the Reman unit showed up from FeEx freight on Wednesday of the next week.

Thanks for the info Jay.

Without a certified ZF repair shop local, I will attempt to find a trans shop or BMW dealer that will accept delivery of the reman unit, then DIY the swap.