[divadkha]

Hey guys, first time poster for a headache of an issue. I'll try to keep it short, but I could use some advice asap.

During a transmission flush for my E92 '07 328i (112k miles, hard 2-1 downshifts) one of the pins broke off from the TCM. Purchased a replacement TCM, however, just realized that it came off a 335i. Now the car turns on but shuts off when shifting out of P and into R or D.
I ended up towing it to my brother-in-law's mechanic. But, because he's not a BMW specialist and just a mom and pop shop for all cars, I'm now skeptical about the results. He's claiming the tranny is locked up and wants to put in a rebuild for $3600. He won't tell me how he got to that conclusion, and is rushing to get the car off his lot after a day since we've talked and telling him I need to figure out what to do.
I've also talked to a local BMW mechanic shop in Pasadena, just to feel out my options, and he said he'd want a $600 retainer to diagnose. 50-50 chance he'd figure it out or be prepared to pay for further services ($$$$).

Here's where I could use some advice. Would the fact that the replacement TCM coming off a 335i, instead of a 328i, be the reason why the car shuts off when shifting out of P? If I can recall, 328i coupes have 6HP19 while 335i have 6HP21.
Or, is it just coding issues? I only remember using inpa to change the vin on the TCM.
Would it be preferable to find another TCM, either with or without Mechatronics, from a 328i?
And, if worse comes to worse, could it have been possible for the tranny to "lockup", even though it was just fine right before servicing, needing a rebuild?

I'm in between getting the rebuild tranny, or towing it to a local mechanic that specializes in BMW, or towing it back home to try again.

Any advice will be helpful and will have my thanks in advance.

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by divadkha

Hey guys, first time poster for a headache of an issue. I'll try to keep it short, but I could use some advice asap.

During a transmission flush for my E92 '07 328i (112k miles, hard 2-1 downshifts) one of the pins broke off from the TCM. Purchased a replacement TCM, however, just realized that it came off a 335i. Now the car turns on but shuts off when shifting out of P and into R or D.
I ended up towing it to my brother-in-law's mechanic. But, because he's not a BMW specialist and just a mom and pop shop for all cars, I'm now skeptical about the results. He's claiming the tranny is locked up and wants to put in a rebuild for $3600. He won't tell me how he got to that conclusion, and is rushing to get the car off his lot after a day since we've talked and telling him I need to figure out what to do.
I've also talked to a local BMW mechanic shop in Pasadena, just to feel out my options, and he said he'd want a $600 retainer to diagnose. 50-50 chance he'd figure it out or be prepared to pay for further services ($$$$).

Here's where I could use some advice. Would the fact that the replacement TCM coming off a 335i, instead of a 328i, be the reason why the car shuts off when shifting out of P? If I can recall, 328i coupes have 6HP19 while 335i have 6HP21.
Or, is it just coding issues? I only remember using inpa to change the vin on the TCM.
Would it be preferable to find another TCM, either with or without Mechatronics, from a 328i?
And, if worse comes to worse, could it have been possible for the tranny to "lockup", even though it was just fine right before servicing, needing a rebuild?

I'm in between getting the rebuild tranny, or towing it to a local mechanic that specializes in BMW, or towing it back home to try again.

Any advice will be helpful and will have my thanks in advance.

The early 335's had a 6HP19. There was an update to the tranny in March of 07 which doubled the size of the hard drive in the TCU from 500gb to 1T. I don't know if that meant the 6HP21 was the end result. I'd do some research on google to see what the transmission was called post 3/07.

However, there are people that have fished out TCU's from wrecked 335's that were post 3/07 so they can get the TCU with a 1T. They do this so they can flash the Alpina trans software onto their transmission.

I don't know if going from the 335 to a 328 tranny matters or not.

I don't think I'd spend $3600 for a new transmission or even a rebuilt one.

I'd probably take the car to a BMW Dealer and pay the $125.00 for a diagnosis. You may need to redo the solenoids in the tranny. That part kit is only $650-700.00.

[RocketSurgeon]

Ok, I doubt the wrong EGS damaged the transmission in any way. The wrong EGS could certainly cause the car to shut off when shifting from park though.
Personally, I don't trust any shops, so I would tow it home and do some research. I'm not quite sure what transmission you have. I was under the impression that all of the North American 328s have a 6-speed GM/Toyota transmission. Did you see a number plate identifying the transmission? It's possible that your current hardware could be flashed to the correct specification. Do you have the ZB number from your old or new EGS?

[divadkha]

Thank you very much mweisdorfer and RocketSurgeon for your input. And with that I might consider having the car towed back home on Monday while I continue figuring this out.

mweisdorfer
Yeah, I thought having to spend $3600 on a rebuilt transmission may be overkill for a car possibly valued at 5-6k. And I've been told that ZF trans should hold up quite well, so I don't see how it would've just randomly decided to "lock up."
I only briefly looked, but it does look like 335i owners report having 6HP21. I do believe the 335i TCM I purchased is extremely likely to have come off a 6HP21.

RocketSurgeon
I did not look at the number plate on my transmission, but it's very obvious that it's a ZF trans--oil pan and mechatronics has ZF branding on it. If I recall, it's the 328i sedans (E90) here that get the GM trans. 328i coupes (E92) get ZF.
Since the car's still at the mechanic right now, I do happen to have the only ZB number I have written down, 7572903, and this is with the new TCM/EGS installed. I don't have any info saved prior, and would be impossible now that the old TCM's electrical pins are damaged.

Any more input is greatly appreciated. And thank you again mweisdorfer and RocketSurgeon.

[tlow98]

Highly doubt the wrong TCU did anything damaging. Why not just get the correct 328i and try again?

[RocketSurgeon]

That ZB that you provided corresponds to the GKE211 transmission for an N52 equipped e9X vehicle. The data referrences the transmission as a ZF 6HP19. If you have any way of finding your original EGS ZB number, I could check whether you have the GKE211 or GKE215. There may be other ways to check this...
I think the first thing to do is default code your EGS for your car. Load up NCS Expert with expert mode, identify your car, then select your EGS and hit SG_CODIEREN.

I've rebuilt ZF transmissions, that EGS should not have hurt the body of the transmission. It doesn't supply hydraulic pressure to anything sitting in park, and it told your engine to shut off as soon as you shifted out of park. I'd suggest trying to code this EGS module to work with your car. Failing that, I'd try again with the proper EGS.
Can you read codes?

[divadkha]

My E92 does in fact have a N52. I recall reading it off during coding and I know my E92 came from outside of California. Due to stricter emissions, California E92s had N51 engines installed instead of N52 like in other States.
I've done basic coding with my car before with my laptop only a few times and nothing too advanced. Ever since Carly came into the picture, coding via smartphone has been my primary method. Again, just for coding little things or clearing out error codes and maintenance items.
Thanks to you guys I am more convinced that the transmission is fine, a rebuild is not necessary, and that the issue lies within the TCM/EGS. I will also plan to have the car towed back home to try my hand at it again. It'll be a couple days though since it's the weekend.
Once I get the car back I will follow your suggestion, RocketSurgeon, and load up NCS Expert and follow up back here. If there's no luck with this TCM/EGS, at least I know that I can probably take a step back and look for one off a 328i.