E46 GS5-39DZ 4WD gearbox — BMW
E46 GS5-39DZ 4WD gearbox on BMW: 46 steps, engines M54B25, M57D30. What to remove, in what order, and what to check after.
This procedure removes the GS5-39DZ manual gearbox from the four-wheel-drive BMW E46 325xi (M54B25) and 330xd (M57D30). Because of the transfer box and the front propeller shaft, there is more underneath than on the rear-drive cars. The battery and body earth cables are disconnected, the front propeller shaft and the exhaust manifold lower heat shield come off, and the exhaust pipe brackets are released. The rear propeller shaft is separated at the gearbox with its middle support released, the gear selector lever disconnected and the gear-shift control bracket removed. The gearbox then comes out with the transfer box. Supporting the box on a jack and keeping the fastener sizes and torques straight on refitting are what count here.
🧭 Before you start
Disconnect the battery and the body earth cables, remove the front propeller shaft, the lower manifold heat shield and the exhaust brackets, and release the rear propeller shaft and its middle support. Disconnect the gear selector lever and remove the gear-shift control bracket. Support the gearbox, remove the supports and the gearbox-to-engine bolts, and lower the gearbox out. Refit in reverse, tightening the transfer box, gearbox supports and bell-housing bolts according to their bolt sizes.
Fits: platform codes 325XI, |, 330XD
Don't miss
- Disconnect the earth cables from the body as well as the battery.
- Remove the front propeller shaft before the gearbox can come back.
- Release the propeller shaft middle support before separating the shaft from the gearbox.
- Gearbox-to-engine bolts are tightened by size; keep the M8, M10 and M12 bolts separate.
- General practice: support the gearbox on a jack before removing the gearbox supports.
Written for this job from the workshop steps below · TorqFix editorial.
📋 Procedure
- Disconnect the battery
- Disconnect the earth cables from the body
- Drive shaft
- Remove the front propeller shaft
- Remove the exhaust manifold lower heat shield
- Remove the exhaust pipe bracket(s)
- Propeller shaft middle support
- Disconnect the gear selector lever
- Remove the gear-shift control bracket
- Remove the gearbox
Other BMW procedures
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- BMW E85 timing chain replacement
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- E46 S5D 200G / S5D 250G M52TU/M54 gearbox
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- E 36 cylinder head removal M41
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- E36 cylinder head M52
- BMW E90, E60 M57T2 3.0 diesel timing chain replacement
Who makes these pages, and how
TorqFix was built by a mechanic — after a 2,700 km drive with five roadside repairs that no diagnostic tool could explain.
The figures on this page come from manufacturer workshop documentation and are shown as they are. The page is assembled automatically from that data — it is not written by an AI. The AI works in the chat, where it answers for your specific car. It writes nothing here.
Variants of the same model differ. Cross-check torque against the factory manual for your engine before final tightening.
Seen a figure that does not match your manual? Write to us — we correct it and note when. support@torqfix.com
The story behind TorqFix →Workshop data on this page last updated 20 Sep 2026.