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GM 5L40-E transmission teardown

214K views 126 replies 31 participants last post by  chpok77 
#1 ·
As some of you will know, I like to tinker with the ZF 5HP24 transmission fitted to the BMW M62-engined L322s (in fact, out of all the 5HP24s I’ve rebuilt in the past 18 months, I think around eight have been for members of this forum).

Anyway, I thought it was high time that I branched out a bit so I’ve just spent a few quid on a faulty GM 5L40-E transmission from a L322 3.0 litre diesel (‘02-‘06MY) with the intention of boring you all to death with its inner workings `). You lucky people..,,...I bet you can’t wait :lol:

Thought I'd better warn you.

Phil
 

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#4 ·
fraser130 said:
RRPhil said:
Thought I'd better warn you.

Phil
I am really keen to hear/see all this as I'm about to buy a '03/'04 3.0l and this is my greatest concern!

Fraser
Oi, Fraser, who let you in? :think:

Oh, I just checked the Moderator Log and it was me! :oops:

Now go and edit your profile to show everyone you're another flamin' Aussie.
 
#5 ·
Hello there Ron!
So, who is going to get one first, eh?

I drove one yesterday, boy do they go for a 3ltr diesel! AND as good as 8-9 l/100!!! I then managed to convice Sheri to take it for a drive, she liked it too!
I'm trolling through here trying to learn about ipod options for the MID unit type radios, but I think I might just go for an AUX input, then eventually update the whole ICE setup...., anyway, perhaps move this (and the previous one!) to it's own area as I seem to have hijacked it!
 
#7 ·
Unfortunately, other commitments are restricting my progress at the moment but I thought I’d report on what little headway I have made so far.

I started underneath with the sump pan (20-off 10mm A/F bolts) and removed the metal & rubber gasket.





As soon as the sump pan came off it was clear that something was amiss - it looked like there’d been an explosion in a glitter factory! Everything’s covered in fine metallic debris. The guy that I got the transmission from simply said that the transmission had lost reverse.



The filter comes off easily (just pull).



Note that the filter has a spacer and two seals.

Like with the ZF boxes the filter is made by Filtran in Germany (The German border is only a few yards away from where the transmissions are built in Strasbourg, France).

The wiring harness comes out next :





…followed by the valve block assembly. This is retained by nine screws – one with a 10mm A/F head and the remainder requiring a Torx E8 socket.



Interesting to see that GM put the inhibitor (or XYZ) switch inside the transmission rather than the ZFs on the outside.

Here's the valve block assembly from underneath :



The five solenoids can clearly be seen as well as the four accumulators :



The three (identical) solenoids with the green connectors are the shift solenoids for the 1-2, 2-3 & 4-5 shifts (labelled A, B & C respectively in the casting).

The similar sized solenoid at the other end of the block assembly, with the grey connector, operates the torque converter lock-up clutch.

The remaining (large) solenoid is the pressure control solenoid whose job it is to adjust the transmission’s line pressure.

I did a quick check of all five solenoids’ winding resistances and all were to spec. (at 20 deg. C. these should be : shift solenoids = 15 to 17 Ohms, TCC solenoid = 10.0 to 11.5 Ohms and pressure control solenoid = 3.5 to 4.6 Ohms)

The two speed sensors can then be removed (each held in with a single screw) :



The sensors should have a resistance between 325 and 485 Ohms at 20 deg. C. Mine measured 387 and 389 Ohms.

The jump tubes that feed fluid from the valve block to the clutches in the casing can then be removed (they're held together by metal straps) :





Anyway, that’s all for now. The bellhousing is next and then I can start to remove the running gear ...........

Phil
 
#10 ·
What he said! ^ :)
 
#12 ·
The boss said:
The converter took a dump and killed everything. Seen it a few times on those transmissions.

Seen a few whine like hell and when you drain the fluid and refill it they don't move anymore.

The Boss has a good point.

With that kind of metal in the pan, the reverse lockout valve is stuck, or the TCC PWM solenoid is stuck on. Both of those conditions will cause no reverse.


Tom
 
#13 ·
Awesome detail and documentation! We don't have the diesel models here in the US (that I'm aware of?) but still interesting to follow the rebuild. I'm subscribing :thumb:
 
#16 ·
Okay, moving around to the front of the transmission……

Just before removing the bellhousing I removed the torque converter turbine shaft O-ring :




Then the seven 13mm A/F bolts which secure the bellhousing to the maincase follow :




The bellhousing can then be drawn off. The oil pump cover assembly is bolted to the back of the bellhousing :




The running gear can now be extracted :




First the direct and reverse clutch assembly :






Followed by the forward and coast clutch assembly (attached to the input shaft) :





Hmmm, something wrong here. The input sun gear shaft and forward clutch sprag assembly comes with it and doesn’t want to part company with the forward and coast clutch assembly :



and clearly something has been getting a bit hot!

With some effort I finally extract the input sun gear shaft and the forward clutch hub/sprag assembly has also obviously been getting very hot :




Removing the plates from the forward clutch :



and, well, they look like toast :



There’s nothing left of the friction material and several of the plates have friction welded themselves together.


Next out is the direct clutch hub & shaft assembly :








And then the overdrive and reverse clutch hub which has the intermediate clutch sprag assembly attached :




The next stage is going to involve the removal of this huge (selective thickness) circlip - which I’ve highlighted in red for clarity - before the overdrive and intermediate clutch assembly can be removed.




Anyway, that’s going to have to wait I’m afraid, as one of the forum members has just sent me his L322 transmission (ZF 5HP24) all the way from Ireland for repair so I’d better get on with that now. I’ll come back to the GM 5L40-E once I’ve fixed the ZF unit.

By the way, I’ve ‘un-welded’ the torque converter from the GM ‘box so that I can get it apart and inspect the condition of its internal components and I’ll post the photos of this later today.

Phil
 
#18 ·
Great photos Phil.

You have definately got my interest and I am considering doing mine this summer. I have previously rebuilt and upgraded an R380 and LT230, but have never touched an auto. I have a few questions:

1. I have been looking at kits, and so far, have only found Transtec and Precision International, but no OEM. Where will you source your parts from and do you either have a source for OEM parts, or prefer one of the above 2 suppliers (assuming one of these is not OEM)?

2. Do you intend using the oem special tools, or do you use ez-seal installers (or equivalent)

3. The master kits appear the same for the 5l40 and the 5l50 - if so, are the differences only in the valve body (increased pressure) or electronics?

Appreciate your input, and thanks for such a well documented strip down.
 
#20 ·
So here’s the GM torque converter with the weld, holding the two halves of its casing together, removed :



Lifting off the engine-side half of the casing reveals the torque converter lock-up clutch :



And we can immediately see that the clutch lining has disappeared completely leaving metal-to-metal contact :




which is presumably where all the metallic debris is coming from.

Lifting off the lock-up clutch assembly reveals the turbine :





With the turbine lifted out the stator and impeller can now be seen :



The stator has an axial thrust bearing either side of it, both of which appear to be in good condition :



and removing the centre cover reveals the ball-and-ramp one-way clutch which allows the stator to back-paddle once the converter’s coupling point has been reached (at around 85% speed ratio)



And finally, after removing the stator, the impeller in all its glory :




So, clearly an issue with the lock-up clutch lining but the remainder of the converter appears to be in good condition.

Phil
 
#21 ·
In reply to stevenA's post :

"I have been looking at kits, and so far, have only found Transtec and Precision International, but no OEM. Where will you source your parts from and do you either have a source for OEM parts, or prefer one of the above 2 suppliers (assuming one of these is not OEM)?"
This is my first attempt at stripping the GM ‘box so I haven’t yet found out about the availability of an OEM overhaul kit. These are easily available for the ZF transmissions but I don’t know about the GM ones.

"Do you intend using the oem special tools, or do you use ez-seal installers (or equivalent)"
Yes, the clutch pistons look a real pain to reassemble compared with the simple ZF O-rings. The official tools look very expensive so I have priced up a Seal-e-Zee kit (there’s a specific one for the 5L40-E) and it comes to less than £100 so that would appear to be the way to go.

"The master kits appear the same for the 5l40 and the 5l50 - if so, are the differences only in the valve body (increased pressure) or electronics?"
Do you mean the 4L40 & the 5L40 because these are the same transmission, it’s just that they leave out 2nd gear (sprag, clutch, coast clutch, accumulator) and fit a lower duty Ravigneaux geartrain in the 4-speed version. All other components are identical.

Phil
 
#22 ·
fraser130 said:
nsxxtreme said:
Phil have you done a write up on the ZF transmission? I would be extremely interested in that one. Exspecially any details on any special tools you might have created or purchased.
Try http://www.rangerovers.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=37767

Cheers,
Fraser
Thank you I have been away from the site for a while.

Phil your an invaluable resource and do a really good job at documenting!!!

I know when my transmission finally bites the dust (knock on wood) I'll be going back through your posts.
 
#24 ·
RRPhil said:
In reply to stevenA's post :

"I have been looking at kits, and so far, have only found Transtec and Precision International, but no OEM. Where will you source your parts from and do you either have a source for OEM parts, or prefer one of the above 2 suppliers (assuming one of these is not OEM)?"
This is my first attempt at stripping the GM ‘box so I haven’t yet found out about the availability of an OEM overhaul kit. These are easily available for the ZF transmissions but I don’t know about the GM ones.

"Do you intend using the oem special tools, or do you use ez-seal installers (or equivalent)"
Yes, the clutch pistons look a real pain to reassemble compared with the simple ZF O-rings. The official tools look very expensive so I have priced up a Seal-e-Zee kit (there’s a specific one for the 5L40-E) and it comes to less than £100 so that would appear to be the way to go.

"The master kits appear the same for the 5l40 and the 5l50 - if so, are the differences only in the valve body (increased pressure) or electronics?"
Do you mean the 4L40 & the 5L40 because these are the same transmission, it’s just that they leave out 2nd gear (sprag, clutch, coast clutch, accumulator) and fit a lower duty Ravigneaux geartrain in the 4-speed version. All other components are identical.

Phil

Transtec and Precision Int. are high quality kits for GM, and all domestic units for that matter.

Don't waste your money on OEM kits. I have been using them in my shop for over 20 yrs.


Tom
 
#25 ·
RRPhil wrote:

"The master kits appear the same for the 5l40 and the 5l50 - if so, are the differences only in the valve body (increased pressure) or electronics?"
Do you mean the 4L40 & the 5L40 because these are the same transmission, it’s just that they leave out 2nd gear (sprag, clutch, coast clutch, accumulator) and fit a lower duty Ravigneaux geartrain in the 4-speed version. All other components are identical.
Actually, there is an increased torque 5l50 that was introduced at the end of 2004, and fitted to BMW's and it would appear Range Rovers, althugh this is less clear. The torque capability of this box went from 360 NM to 390 Nm, so basically just a tweak.

Looking at the torque converter from your box, maybe this was one component that was upgraded - I need to xcheck in Microcat!
 
#26 ·
Ah, sorry, I’m with you now. So the A5S360R is a 5L40-E and the A5S390R is the 5L50-E, is that correct? I was confused over this some while ago :

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=30994&start=15#p295548

(& still am) because BWM specify a different fluid for each and the L322 M57 is rated at 390Nm but appears to use the fluid specified for the 360?

So you’re thinking that the later L322 TD6s may have been fitted with the upgraded transmission?

Phil
 
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