Torque Converter
 

Yes... It's that time of the year.... The bills are racking up.

Went to dealer with shuddering/vibration issue from standstill moderate acceleration. They orig thought transfer case. After them looking into it further they tell me it's my torque converter and quote me 3200 to replace!!! Ouch! No way.

So I call my tranny shop ( they worked on my fathers M5) good guys.. Do mostly domestic cars though.

Tranny shop is not 100% convinced its the torque converter after short test drive. I tell the owner to take my car for the weekend.. Drive around and figure it out. He says he will try to rebuild the thing instead of replacing.

What are the chances dealer diagnosis could be wrong? I would hate to put 2k into a new or rebuilt torque converter and then have the same problems! And how do you even test these damn things? How did the dealer come up with their conclusion?

Dealers are scam artists.

What are your symptoms?

Vibration from floor while accelerating. Usually around 20mph. It's very noticeable and almost feels like it's holding the car back. Also feel it around 40 mph.

Do you feel it in the same RPM range? I would disconnect the front drive shaft and take a drive. Also, is it any different in sport mode?

Naz, when you feel the vibration lightly step on the brake. If it goes away, it's likely you have a failing torque converter. By stepping on the brake, the tranny ECM commands the torque converter to lock up and discontinue it's "hunting".

No different in sport mode...

Unfortunately the car is with tranny mechanic right now. I'll let him know some of these suggestions.

The vibration happens in lower rpm range typically.. Under load accelerating slowly you'll get a real clunk.

Transmission was done at BMW 28k miles ago.

Oh, and it only happens when the car is warmed up

only if you was closeby queens..i would have told you to bring it to M-Spec for inspection man....theyre pricey but realy good..

What was the out come Naz?? I have similar problem i'm trying to determine possibilities before i take it to a shop..

It could be the trans but,

On my pathfinder a few yrs ago, i had a vibration also, what it ended up being is the rear driveshaft has small welded counterweights and one of then actually fell off. Ended up taking out the rear driveshaft, took it to a driveshaft balancing place and it fixed it.

Doesnt sound like your issue too much but doesnt hurt to check.