Thanks Phil!
If my transmission does have the stiffened drum and upgraded hydraulics, would you still recommend the Kuhle heavy-duty drum (also noticed one kit that has the Kuhle drum and a Transgo Pressure Regulator valve upgrade...)?

One of the necessary equipment would be a hoist since the engine needs to be running and the trans engaged so that it can go through all the gears.

I would advise against doing this at home. If you look at the video, the car is not on the road, but on a hoist as they let it run through the gears. The people that produce the video is a trans shop.

That's not a problem. I have a 2 post hoist at home. I'm not new to automotive work, but there is always something new to learn every day.

Down load the following PDF file and you should find your answer there.

http://virtusplatform.com/sam/BMW/e3...P24%20diag.pdf

Great! Thanks a lot. I'll go through it tonight. I pretty much feel compelled to go ahead and do a full rebuild anyway. I have 100,694 miles on it now, and I know this is basically the lifespan of these trannys. Especially since the previous owner (I purchased it 9k miles ago) never did a fluid change (since he thought BMW fluid lasts forever...like uranium) and drove it "spiritedly" throughout the years.

Well, my serial number 0528015, so I should have the updated drum, correct? Do you still recommend getting the Kuhle version (and/or the Transgo pressure regulator valve upgrade)?

You could always wait until you have the trans apart and go from there.

True. But I hate having things apart, without replacement parts ready to go...especially a transmission. It's easy to lose track of everything while you're waiting for parts to come in.