OZ tranny specialists?

[wingman]

My tranny has started to slip (oh yeah, yippee!!!). No warning messages or limp mode yet but I guess that comes next. What I was after is some guidance from NSWelshmen about where to get this sorted and... approx cost for an old 4 speeder.

Yours in debt,

Wingman

[mattyb]

All states transmissions, recommended by Bee Emms. where i had mine done last year. Romsey Street Waitara (Hornsby) near Gregs. good price, no probs friendly service, Mark is the manager. i'll find the number for you.

[mattyb]

http://www.allstatestrans.com.au/

waitara= 02 94892261

[wingman]

Cheers Matty. I've got the car booked into my mechanic on Friday so I'm going to get him to check the things recommended on bmwe34.net to see if it's something small (praying!!!). If it's not the shelving in my new garage will have to wait. Was your tranny slipping before it went or did it just go out with a bang?

[mattyb]

clutch pack in first went one day out of the blue, started slipping big time. however I could drive to Asquith, 2nd, 3rd 4th ok, along the freeway to bee emms but i knew it was stuffed when i got there. bee emms moved it to waitara to be fixed for me, damn nice folks, I will be going there from now on for everything I cant do myself. how did promotion go?

[BigKriss]

Have you tried to service the transmission yourself Tony?

[rob101]

bummer, but in the end you could always do a manual transmission conversion.:D

[GJPinAU]

All states transmissions, recommended by Bee Emms. where i had mine done last year. Romsey Street Waitara (Hornsby) near Gregs. good price, no probs friendly service, Mark is the manager. i'll find the number for you.
You could have a sleep-over ;)

[wingman]

Mine only slips in 1st occaissionally when it's hot. I'll know more tommorrow. No luck with the promotion.

[wingman]

No I haven't. I don't have a Bentley and the car is being serviced tommorrow anyway. I noticed that the bottom gasket was weeping so I'm hoping that my problem is just low fluid. I wish I knew more about how the tranny worked. I hate being 'in the dark' about things.

[rob101]

No I haven't. I don't have a Bentley and the car is being serviced tommorrow anyway. I noticed that the bottom gasket was weeping so I'm hoping that my problem is just low fluid. I wish I knew more about how the tranny worked. I hate being 'in the dark' about things.
You should get a "bosch automotive handbook" I just bought one this week. they are awesome when it comes to explaining things, might look tonight and see if i can scan something onto the web for you.

[wingman]

Thanks mate that would be great.

[rob101]

Thanks mate that would be great.
well sorry but i forgot to bring it to work today, anyway firstly i try and explain. the automatic gearbox can be split into 2 parts, a torque converter which makes sure the engine doesn't stall when you stop, then the series of planetary gearsets, brakes and clutches that control the gear ratio.

Basically the torque converter is a hydraulic coupling that functionally does the same thing as a clutch, except it amplifies the torque at lower speeds (useful for taking off) It also supplies the hydraulic pressure in the rest of the transmission.

For the gearset part, the gears which are engaged are controlled by a series of clutches and brakes on the gears. These are actuated by hydraulic pressure (much like a foot brake in the car) by the valve block in the bottom of the transmission which has lots of solenoid actuated valves, this is how the ECU's electronically control the hydraulics.

basically you change the combination of brakes and clutches which are engaged to change the ratio. The brakes and clutches are the wet type, that is to say, they need oil to cool them so if the oil is starting to go off the clutches will start to slip. I haven't worked out quite yet why this is, but i think it may be due to the viscosity of the oil reducing, which makes it harder for the clutches to grip.
If the oil is very low i'd expect it could also affect the hydraulic pressure which would effect the speed of engagement of the clutch as a lower pressure means less force and therefore a slower engagement. Low or Old oil will also cause the clutch to heat up more which will reduce the life of the clutch.
this (http://auto.howstuffworks.com/automatic-transmission.htm) might help you out as well.
Anyone else feel free to correct me as I am not proclaiming myself as an expert here just trying to convey my understanding of the problem.

[wingman]

Thanks heaps Rob. I'll have to spend to let it all sink in.
Cheers!

[wingman]

The car has come from the service and the tranny feels good. I'm crossing my fingers though and feeling a bit nervous in case it slips again. I haven't told my wife what the consequences of a fried tranny will be. My super dooper warranty covers $1500 of tranny repairs "specifically excluding transfer cases and worn converter clutches"... What a bunch of shite. I've decided to let the warranty lapse which means I am now free to do my own servicing and I'm going to chip the ECU after the great rave that Phil Sanderson gave me about his.

[kev535i]

great explaination rob101 and go the chip wingman!

[mattyb]

ditto

[rob101]

yeah, let me guess used car dealer warranty? I didn't even bother with mine they wanted me to service the car every 2500 km or for me every 5 weeks at an approved mechanic .... get bent. plus the value of the repairs was a maximum of about $500 which is about what it costs to change a spark plug on a bmw at most workshops.
I've saved that much by servicing the car myself in 6 months!

[wingman]

yeah, let me guess used car dealer warranty? I didn't even bother with mine they wanted me to service the car every 2500 km or for me every 5 weeks at an approved mechanic .... get bent. plus the value of the repairs was a maximum of about $500 which is about what it costs to change a spark plug on a bmw at most workshops.
I've saved that much by servicing the car myself in 6 months!

I had to service every 3 months or 5,000 which is normal anyway. It seemed like a good deal at the time and the dealer got me upgraded due to the great condition of the car. At the end of the day these warranty companies don't make money by paying claims. When you go through the policy just about everything that actually breaks is "specifically excluded"!!! I'm busting to get my EAT chip. New shocks come first though.

[wingman]

So my mechanic changes the tranny fluid and tells me that it's in good condition with just tranny fluid coming out without a trace of chewed transmission! All good. The tranny isn't slipping anymore but it's still odd. Taking off in 1st it takes up but feels like it's changing a split second after taking off and one time only when I brought it to a stop from about 80kph it felt like it changed back all 4 gears in about a second! I'm confused and all the searches I've done don't seem to cover this condition.

[genphreak]

So my mechanic changes the tranny fluid and tells me that it's in good condition with just tranny fluid coming out without a trace of chewed transmission! All good. The tranny isn't slipping anymore but it's still odd. Taking off in 1st it takes up but feels like it's changing a split second after taking off and one time only when I brought it to a stop from about 80kph it felt like it changed back all 4 gears in about a second! I'm confused and all the searches I've done don't seem to cover this condition.Tony, which tranny do you have? Is it the ZF? Some 525 had a GM box. I really don't think you should worry too much:

You can get a tranny fllter, o ring and pan gasket from BMA and throw her up on ramps. (If your tranny is a ZF, I have a spare set for it). Climb under, drain and remove the pan, replace the filter. Check the old one (and the sump magnets for anything 'large'. If it looks ok, replace everything and renew the fluid 9ie if it specifies Dexron II change to Dexron III. Give it a week or two and if it is starting to behave better drain and replace the fluid again. Also, at this point consider consider cahnging to Castrol Transmax Z, it works better.

The reason it sounds all complicated is that when you drain and replace you only get 60% of the fluid in the box. No point putting a nice synthetic oil ($70AU/4L so you need 2) in with any existing (worn out) Dexron.

After that only use Transmax Z and she'll last a bit longer. If it proves no good at any point just get a second hand replacement and a new filter and fluid- it is really not hard to replace one. Try ZF in Arndell Park if you have any doubts mate. :) Nick

:) Nick

[bigtisas]

My auto trans starts to slip (slipping noise) when she goes uphill. I called La Jolla BMW indy for the trans fluid (dexron III). On the phone, the indy told me trans fluid change cost US$85. But when my girlfriend took my car there, they only charged her $75. :) Anyway I hope this will fix the slipping problem.

[genphreak]

My auto trans starts to slip (slipping noise) when she goes uphill. I called La Jolla BMW indy for the trans fluid (dexron III). On the phone, the indy told me trans fluid change cost US$85. But when my girlfriend took my car there, they only charged her $75. :) Anyway I hope this will fix the slipping problem.I believe they can adjust the bands, there is probably a torque setting we should know about. I need a ZF4HP22 manual, then I could say. If your fluid is brown, old or smells burned, it will need to be changed. Slippage is more likely caused by worn/polished surfaces due to ovesuse of old fluid and undue wear :(

[wingman]

Thanks Nick. I've got the ZF hp4.

[genphreak]

Thanks Nick. I've got the ZF hp4.When I changed to Transmax Z it really smoothed the box out and helped it. I can't complain about it at all now. Partly it might have been the full fluid change that helped (I did a few short-interval Dexron III swaps prior to moving to synthetic) and after that I did two synthetic swaps. I'd see how you go after a new filter, band adjustment (I think you can check the torque on the bands) and then a couple of short-interval changes. You might get a whole bunch of road time out of it yet. The 4HP22 is a great box. If you consider swapping it out, maybe find a late 525i with the M50/52 and a new 4HP22EH (electronic sports box). Then you get a new motor, better economy and so on- the whole setup- cluster, wiring and all engine bay components should do it. So long as it is a ZF box version- otherwise you may need the driveshaft too. It is not that expensive to ship pallets-size boxes back here from LA either- maybe talk to Bimmerman... he might be inventive on this. :) Nick If you were to do this I might chip in and collect a 5 speed kit changeover kit for mine.