6L45 Planetary, used and ready to install. Fits the 6L45. Ships fast from the USA.
If you are rebuilding the six-speed automatic out of a BMW 328i or 128i and found the front gearset noisy, the pinions loose on their pins, or the carrier scored where it rides on its thrust surfaces, this is the piece you are looking for. It is a used, original-equipment input planet with its sun gear from a GA6L45R, the name BMW uses for the GM 6L45. The part number on the listing is BMW 7593223, and the donor fitment given is the E90 3 Series and E82 1 Series. This is the front, simple gearset. If your problem is in the compound set at the back of the case, you want our 6L45 rear planetary for 2007-2013 instead.
GM built the 6L45 on the Lepelletier arrangement: one simple planetary set up front, a Ravigneaux compound set behind it, and five clutches to tie them together. The front set is where every forward gear starts. Its sun gear is splined to the stator support, so it never turns. Engine torque comes in through the input shaft and turns the ring gear, and because the sun is locked, the planet carrier is forced to rotate slower than the input. That slower, torque-multiplied speed is what the carrier hands to the drum holding the 1-2-3-4 and 3-5-Reverse clutches. Those two clutches then deliver that reduced speed to one sun gear or the other in the rear set.
In practical terms, the input planet is loaded whenever the 1-2-3-4 or 3-5-Reverse clutch is applied, which covers first through fifth and reverse. Only sixth gear, which is built from the 4-5-6 and 2-6 clutches, takes the front set out of the power path. That is why wear here tends to show up as a noise present in almost every gear rather than a fault tied to a single ratio.
Most 6L45 complaints are not hard-part failures. Slips, flares, harsh shifts and limp mode are usually valve body, solenoid, pressure switch or fluid problems, and they normally set codes. Work through our 6L45 limp mode and diagnosis guide first. A gearset problem behaves differently: it makes noise, it leaves metal in the pan, and it does not care what the solenoids are doing. Check the fluid level at operating temperature, drop the pan and look at the magnet, and if you see steel, plan a teardown. Once the unit is apart, spin each pinion by hand, check pinion end play against the other carrier if you have one, and inspect every thrust washer and bearing between the front set and its neighbors.
This assembly was removed from a BMW GA6L45R and the listing identifies it for the E90 328i and E82 128i. The GM 6L45 was also used in other BMW models and in the Cadillac ATS, and the 6L50 shares the same basic layout, but GM revised internal parts over the production run, so do not assume a part from one application drops into another. Match the part number, the spline count on the input shaft and sun gear, and the tooth count on the ring gear against your old part, or send us the year, model and VIN before ordering. You can see every 6L45 part we carry on our 6L45 collection page.
| Fits | 6L45 |
| Part type | Planetary |
| Condition | Used |
| Brand | GM |
| Ships | From the USA |
| Warranty | 1-year |
Doing this repair right usually means replacing these at the same time. Same transmission, ships together.
This is the front input planet with its sun gear. It sits right behind the pump and stator support. The rear Ravigneaux set with two sun gears and long and short pinions is a separate part, sold as our 6L45 rear planetary for 2007-2013.
It came out of a BMW GA6L45R. The GM 6L45 and 6L50 use the same gearset layout, but internal parts were revised over the years, so compare the part number, spline counts and ring gear tooth count to your old part or send us your year, model and VIN before ordering.
Usually a whine that rises with speed and load in first through fifth gear, because the front set carries torque in every gear except sixth. It often comes with steel and bronze debris on the pan magnet.
Replace the thrust bearings and washers next to the front set, and inspect the 1-2-3-4 / 3-5-Reverse drum the carrier drives and the stator support splines that hold the sun gear. Most builders install it with a full rebuild kit.
GM 6L45 applications are filled with Dexron VI. BMW vehicles with the GA6L45R should be filled with the ATF BMW approves for that transmission, so check the transmission label or ask a dealer before you fill it.
