Weird Transmission Problem

[kngpen]

Hello,

This problem started two days ago out of nowhere. When in driving gear the car will studder sometimes then pop in to gear and pull foward. I.E. I will be at a red light sitting. I take my foot off the brake and the car doesnt go anywhere. I can give it the smallest pinch of gas and it wont move. So then when the light turns green and I push the accellarator normally and it wont do anything but rev for a second then I will fill something and it pulls foward. This only happens when driving city. Stopping on stop signs and going. Highway driving is fine with no problems. There is a weird noise coming from under the car in Park and Neutral. I am positive that it is a transmission problem. It is a 1995 525iA which has a 4L30E GM trans I believe. I have had the car since 87k and have never serviced the transmission (ie changing fluid etc.). It is at 118,347 as of now. Any ideas on what the problem could be? I will be checking the tranny fluid underneath the car Saturday most likely because I have school friday and the tranny fluid has to cool overnight.

[632 Regal]

its eithr low on fluid or the filters partially clogged not allowing enough fluid to pressure the system. DO NOT drive it like this til you fix it or you can trash the trans in NO time. The noise is tell tale of pump cavitation.

[A2 Motorsport]

I agree. A friend of mine had this problem on his auto (Chevy) transmission. It wouldn’t move, then all of a sudden it would "catch" and start moving. Turns out he was quite low on ATF. Please don't drive it till you fill up the transmission!

Chris

[kngpen]

Now to check the fluid it has the car has to be level correct? I dont have the ramps etc to do this. Should I call up the local BMW mechanic and see if he will cut me a deal on topping off the fluid? Also, overfilling doesnt hurt it if I understand correctly. So I could just get some tranny fluid and fill it up to wherever it lets me and see if it fixes it too right? What kind should I get if I go with the second option?

[632 Regal]

and a couple jack stands, you need them anyways and can sell them later, they arent expensive at all anymore. You might want to call some oil change joints before the dealer and see if they will touch it. If you decide to check and fill it yourself it isnt very hard just need the right size hex, a hose and a bottle of trans fluid.

[A2 Motorsport]

I would look under the car, if your losing oil it will be noticeable (oil streaks behind the leak). Transmission fluid doesn’t just evaporate, it has to go somewhere, I’d look for leaks...

[kngpen]

Ok, I have decided that I am going to jack the car up on one side and fill up the tranny fluid to wherever it lets me. Then I will lower it, start it shift it through the gears to see if its ok. What ATF fluid should I use? I am pretty sure it has the stock stuff in it as of now. I was thinking maybe this

http://www.royalpurple.com/prodsa/matfa.html

will synthetic hurt it? Should I go with * instead?

[JonE]

Check Dick Schneider's post about lifetime ATF fluid, there is a chart in there that Bill R. provided showing the different fluids used for the different years/transmissions. I believe yours will be a Dexron III ATF fluid. Might be a good idea to top it off, try it. If it "fixes" your problem then consider a ATF fluid drain and change. Others may comment on this based on unknown maintenance schedule of that tranny.

[632 Regal]

go with royal purple dextron III, full synthetic and only like 4 bux a quart. The car should be warm and running when you fill it or else when you lower it back down all the fluid will dump out and you will need to add again. get some ramps and jackstands dude!

[kngpen]

lol, I live in an apartment and vehicle maintenance is not allowed on the property. It is kind of ironic that I am doing this today when there is a Tejas chapter tech session tommorrow that involves a presentation from a Royal Purple representative.

[kngpen]

Ok so I got the filler plug off, I cant figure out how to pour the transmission fluid into the pan because of the laws of gravity. Man this is frustrating.

[632 Regal]

should have emailed me id find this stuff sooner!

Anyways drill a hole in the top of a bottle of the trans fluid big enough to insert a hose (tightly) and squeeze the bottle. Or buy a fluid pump for like 10 bucks.