ATF fluid change followed by total transmission failure

[Reuben Lim]

Still in shock. Passed by the auto supply this morning, bought synthetic engine oil, ATF and gear oil for my 89 525i a, had fluids changed at the gas station, didn't watch over this unfortunately. Engine oil brand was Top 1, ATF and gear oil brand was USA 88, a new one to me that the seller said was the only brand he carried. Picked up the car, used it a couple of hours in traffic, parked for dinner, and when I was pulling out after, the transmission gave without any warning at all, no error message, engine running smoothly but nothing throughout all gears, except a very faint grinding at R. Had the car lifted and brought to my indie mechanic. Shucks. What could have happened? Am I screwed bigtime? Am thinking car may also have been jealous, since have been going around the past weeks looking at newer E34s.

[Tiger]

No name brand ATF on BMWs? I would check the ATF level... alot of places do not know how to fill them up.

[Jon K]

Still in shock. Passed by the auto supply this morning, bought synthetic engine oil, ATF and gear oil for my 89 525i a, had fluids changed at the gas station, didn't watch over this unfortunately. Engine oil brand was Top 1, ATF and gear oil brand was USA 88, a new one to me that the seller said was the only brand he carried. Picked up the car, used it a couple of hours in traffic, parked for dinner, and when I was pulling out after, the transmission gave without any warning at all, no error message, engine running smoothly but nothing throughout all gears, except a very faint grinding at R. Had the car lifted and brought to my indie mechanic. Shucks. What could have happened? Am I screwed bigtime? Am thinking car may also have been jealous, since have been going around the past weeks looking at newer E34s.

Unfortunately, it sounds like you did what most E34 automatic owners do. You probably thought damn i could use an ATF change! Went off and got it changed, not knowing that swapping the old fluid out would probably ruin the transmission. A LOT of people on this forum who have automatics say that if the transmission fluid hasn't been replaced before/lately, do NOT replace it. It has to do with the grittiness of the fluid that the transmission because "broken in" to. New fluid essentially "doesn't work" in the transmission. It's a sad thing.

[uscharalph]

Still in shock. Passed by the auto supply this morning, bought synthetic engine oil, ATF and gear oil for my 89 525i a, had fluids changed at the gas station, didn't watch over this unfortunately. Engine oil brand was Top 1, ATF and gear oil brand was USA 88, a new one to me that the seller said was the only brand he carried. Picked up the car, used it a couple of hours in traffic, parked for dinner, and when I was pulling out after, the transmission gave without any warning at all, no error message, engine running smoothly but nothing throughout all gears, except a very faint grinding at R. Had the car lifted and brought to my indie mechanic. Shucks. What could have happened? Am I screwed bigtime? Am thinking car may also have been jealous, since have been going around the past weeks looking at newer E34s.
Well this thread has scared the S**T out of me. We're planning on changing out my ATF filter this or next weekend. I hadn't planned on flushing all the fluid though, just changing out whatever fluid we lose dropping the pan (About 50%).

[632 Regal]

first check the fluid level, hopefully they forgot to put the plug back in and it leaked out. Next to check is pull the pan and make sure the filter is in there right.

good luck bro!

[zygoteer]

OK ... scrub my ATF change this weekend ... hmm ... I need to think and check previous posts

[ryan roopnarine]

Still in shock. Passed by the auto supply this morning, bought synthetic engine oil, ATF and gear oil for my 89 525i a, had fluids changed at the gas station, didn't watch over this unfortunately. Engine oil brand was Top 1, ATF and gear oil brand was USA 88, a new one to me that the seller said was the only brand he carried. Picked up the car, used it a couple of hours in traffic, parked for dinner, and when I was pulling out after, the transmission gave without any warning at all, no error message, engine running smoothly but nothing throughout all gears, except a very faint grinding at R. Had the car lifted and brought to my indie mechanic. Shucks. What could have happened? Am I screwed bigtime? Am thinking car may also have been jealous, since have been going around the past weeks looking at newer E34s.

why did you not have the filter changed? if its gunked up, and the filter is almost full, cleaning it out into an overfilled filter is gonna reduce hydraulic pressure. the USA 88, is that a dexronII or III atf?

[632 Regal]

USA 88 doesnt even google...

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

A good trans.

Usually a trans that dies after an oil change was either on it's way out or the fluid change was the wrong type and/or the filter was replaced wrong.

A dying trans could run on high viscosity dirty fluid filled with clutch material and dirt for a while (borrowed time), only to fail when fresh fluid is added during a change, washing away all the stuff that gave the clutch packs friction and the oil a higher viscosity filling in for all the wear.

Try to find some dextron III and a new filter, and try again...It's a cheap attempt to revive the trans and may be all it needs.

[632 Regal]

but he would probably have to flush the entire thing to get the crappy stuff out. I cant find that trans fluid anywhere to see what its made of.

[Tiger]

Don't get hung up on technicality... just do it until it gets better. Otherwise, all of us would simply sit on our hand and do nothing.

[MBXB]

Reuben,

Is this the stuff you poured into your tranny?

http://www.topoil.com/atf.htm

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

In a pan drop & filter change.

[Reuben Lim]

No, but that's the brand of the engine oil I put in. Have had good experience with it in my previous cars, cheaper than Mobil 1, don't know though if it's really synthetic.The car is still with my mechanic, given the number of cars parked in his garage, he'll probably open my baby up tomorrow. I could kick myself for putting that obscure ATF into my tranny, I think that did it. Was too in a rush to shop around. Would have been better putting in service station brand ATF. And I had this great sense of wellbeing just after the fluids change, thought had done right by my baby...

Should I just try to replace the ATF and filter, and hope for the best? My problem though with that is I may be leaving a ticking time bomb that will go off anytime while I'm stuck in traffic or on a road trip; I may also be selling the car sometime soon and I wouldnt like to stiff the new owner that way.

Am having a hard time deciding between a 90 535i a european with just 59t kms, or a 93 525i a us version with 51t kms. There is a also a 94 525i a for the local (Philippine) market with 50t kms, but without power seats and other options found in imported versions. I also honestly think going around looking at other E34s was not good for my baby's esteem, she must have thrown a fit.

BTW, the tranny has been worked on two previous times, the latest one last Jan. This mechanic did the first tranny fix, he's pretty handy, but given my strike 3 the other night, should I just haul the car to the dealer? I know the cost though would be horrendous...

[Kalevera]

Reuben, I would pull the dipstick and assess what's in the pan before getting panicked about it. Post a picture of the stuff in a clear container or on a reflective spoon so we can see the color. If you know what burnt ATF smells like, take a whiff of it, as well.

I'm confused as to what happened with the filter. If it WAS changed, there's a high likelihood that the o ring was left off or improperly installed and the trans sucked air, not ATF. Running it through the gears like that couldn't help anything. I guess the mantra should be, "When the trans says 'no', take no for an answer."

best, whit

[Reuben Lim]

Headed for the mechanic's now, will try to get sample and post. No, the transmission filter wasnt changed. Should you do that when ATF is changed? For that matter, what's the score on ATF changes. Should this be done regularly like every 10,000 miles as preventive maintenance, or fiddled with only if the tranny is experiencing glitches?

[infinity5]

If you didn't change the filter when you changed the fluid, when else would you change it? :) I mean, filters are wear components by definition.

[Jon K]

Headed for the mechanic's now, will try to get sample and post. No, the transmission filter wasnt changed. Should you do that when ATF is changed? For that matter, what's the score on ATF changes. Should this be done regularly like every 10,000 miles as preventive maintenance, or fiddled with only if the tranny is experiencing glitches?


When it comes to automatic transmissions in these E34s, it seems that you only mess with them when they mess with you.

[632 Regal]

the rule of thumb on these transmissions is (should be put in a sticky somewhere) to change the filter and what fluid drains out with the proper fluid every 30k, no flushing no sooner either. Appx 3-4 qts.


Headed for the mechanic's now, will try to get sample and post. No, the transmission filter wasnt changed. Should you do that when ATF is changed? For that matter, what's the score on ATF changes. Should this be done regularly like every 10,000 miles as preventive maintenance, or fiddled with only if the tranny is experiencing glitches?

[Kalevera]

I deviate with Jeff on this one. 15k fluid/filter change on any 4hp-22. 70k on anything that uses the shell or esso "lifetime" fluid. If the thing hasn't ever had a fluid/filter change and the fluid is in bad shape yet the tranny is fine: leave it in there and run it until the trans doesn't work anymore.

best, whit

[uscharalph]

I deviate with Jeff on this one. 15k fluid/filter change on any 4hp-22. 70k on anything that uses the shell or esso "lifetime" fluid. If the thing hasn't ever had a fluid/filter change and the fluid is in bad shape yet the tranny is fine: leave it in there and run it until the trans doesn't work anymore.

best, whit
I just bought the gasket / filter / O-ring package from BMA and am going to drop the pan, change the parts and just replace what fluid comes out. That's ok right Whit, since I'm running the 4hp-22? Idon't think my tranny fluid's ever been touched.

[Reuben Lim]

Didnt change the filter this time as this was changed the last time the transmission was done, sometime January, at that time clutch pressure plate (not sure this was the part) and 2nd gear plate changed. Hindsight is 20-20 as they say.

Just came back from the shop, saw the tranny innards and there were shattered parts, the clutch something-something housing and the pump were some the mechanic pointed out. What fluid I saw was brown in color, beside the point, though.

He recommended that I just plunk in a surplus tranny from Japan, instead of springing for the rebuild kit and other tranny parts. Figure on spending close to a thousand dollars for the surplus tranny and labor, would be spending almost twice that if I buy brand new parts, rebuild kit and labor.

Oh well, thanks for the inputs guys.

[grave77]

I agree with Jeff here, Tranny Rules should be put in a sticky thread, I personally suffered 2 times from this problem and the simple answer was ... once you change the ATF after a long time running it you will get this results unless you flushed the tranny ... still nothing is garunteed ... estimated life time after ATF change is 3 - 4 monthes ... mine was a piec of trash after 3 monthes .. now I converted manual as the auto was dead.