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Hi, I hope you can help me, my first post! I changed my auto transmission and rear diff fluids over the weekend. The transmission shifted fine before. The 1994 car has 130,000 miles and the trans was never serviced before. I used Redline transmission fluid. I dropped the pans and used new gaskets and a new filter. I filled up the supplementary pan with fluid before installing and pumped in fluid to the main pan. In total I added 4 qt/bottles of fluid and warmed the car up for 1/2 hour on the jacks stands and then added another 20 oz or so. The transmission is now slipping when going into first gear, ie. it doesn't catch right away and then slams in or if you accelerate slowly, it surges while grabbing first gear. The transmission is not leaking as far as I can tell. I'm not sure what the problem is, any help appreciated.
I just replaced the engine in my 525. Tranny was fine before replacing fluids. Now it has exact symptons you describe. If you get an answer please let me know and I will do the same if I hear first.
jus bought a 535 not working, problem at hand it is not selecting any gears. fluid good or filled i mean. it goes into gear occasionally. really bought it as a project in a as is where is condition.
Transmissions that hasn't been serviced periodically, and then changed after 130xxx
miles will have this problem. What happens is, the clutches lose the fiber in the old oil
after this many miles. When you change the old oil, you lose the fiber from the clutches
with it. When you put new oil in the tranny, all you have is slick oil against very worn
clutches. I learned this years ago from a salvage dealer,who told me,he would always
replace fluid when he sold a tranny, and found that this would happen more times than
not,so he stopped changing fluids whenever he sold one.
It's just as Mooreman1 stated, My regular mechanic at my local BMW dealer said to me when I asked him if I should have my tranny serviced at the 350K mark (I had it serviced at 206K & 270K), if it isn't giving you trouble or leaking fluid, leave it alone. The transmission in my 1989 525i (mfg date 12/88) is all original and he stated that the latest additives in the fluids would wipe-out my clutches. So I listened and now have 367,000+ miles on it and she's going strong.
Listen to the Dealer's Service personnel, they know!
I have a 1994 E34 Auto Gearbox.I also recently changed the Gearbox oil and filter. My car has clocked 200 000km.It was running perfectly priour to the gearbox oil change.The clutch is not slippping terribly.Please Please if anyone knows what i can do to fix this please help..I have been quoted crazy prices for a Total replacement gearbox replacement.How do i get the gearbox back to working or is this the end of the gearbox in my Beemer
Transmissions that hasn't been serviced periodically, and then changed after 130xxx
miles will have this problem. What happens is, the clutches lose the fiber in the old oil
after this many miles. When you change the old oil, you lose the fiber from the clutches
with it. When you put new oil in the tranny, all you have is slick oil against very worn
clutches. I learned this years ago from a salvage dealer,who told me,he would always
replace fluid when he sold a tranny, and found that this would happen more times than
not,so he stopped changing fluids whenever he sold one.
So Once i change my oil is there no going back as i made the mistake of changin my oil and it has the exact mention problem.Is there no way of fixing this once there is new gear oil and the car automatic clutch is slipping
This is what happens when transmissions are not serviced regularly and properly. Both Mike Miller of BMW Roundel Tech Talk fame and the technical editor from Mercedes Star (their club publication) will tell you that auto transmissions should be serviced at aproximately 35-40000 mile intervals. The idea of "Lifetime service intervals" is ok if you never keep a car for more than 80-100,000 miles, however if you want to have one longer than that, the transmission, differential, transfer case (for X-drive cars) needs to be serviced. I've said it once and i'll say it again; EVEN MIGHTY BMW CANNOT MAKE AN END-RUN ON THE LAWS OF MECHANICS AND PHYSICS!!! Sorry to hear of your troubles.
Never change the fluids, you wiped out the clutches in the transmission, what happened is that in these newer transmission fluids there are strong detergents that are very harsh and now your clutches are completely wiped out so to fix this problem your going to have to go to the junk yard and pull another tranny out of the junk yard and DO NOT CHANGE THE FLUID....theres nothing you can do either rebuild for 1200 or junk yard for 200 if dont have money you'll have to scarp her or sell for parts
There are so many threads on this issue,and it seem there is almost an even split on opinions of whether or not to service the transmission fluid in a car with high miles. I've seen threads where some have,and they stated that the transmission shifted better,and then there is your case where the transmission failed after a fluid change.
I have 140k on my bimmer and have struggled with this issue as I understand that contrary to BMWs claim of (lifetime) fluid. I know, at least in my experience,that it flies against the face of common sense to think that any transmission can continue to function without a proper fluid changes. That being said,I also understand the logic of what many transmission mechanics are saying about servicing a transmission with high miles.So it looks like if you have changed your transmission fluid at regular intervals continue to do so ,If you have not ,or you don't have the history of your cars service records it might not be the best idea to mess with something that's working fine.
Anyway, its a shame your transmission went out and I hope you get your problem resolved. Good Luck!
They claim it to be lifetime but it is the opinion of many that this was a marketing ploy as most people trade or sell their cars before 100,000 miles or sooner. Interesting to note the newer BMWs have a regular schedule of maintenance on their transmissions.
So what you are asking is the hotly debated question.What do you do?
I have read many threads on this (excellent thread on Bimmerforums), I can only go with what I think is right and it is based on the information I can gather.
ultimately it comes down to a personal judgement call.
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