4.8is transmission journey from broke to ballin'

[David.X5]

I want this Indy!!!!

[Ricky Bobby]

Was so worried about the story and price tag when I came in to read your thread Prop (and I do enjoy reading them)

Left very happy for you, and happy that your X can make the Wild West '15 trip!

Glad it wasn't too bad of a fix, yet again though, another chalked up reason to being ecstatic to have my E53 MT.

[PropellerHead]

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby

Left very happy for you, and happy that your X can make the Wild West '15 trip!

Me too! Here's a snapshot of our plan as it stands, now. Should be about 5-6k miles this time around. NO off-roading this time!

We actually have about 12 stops before the '#2' there and about 15 after '#29". Roadtrippers.com (awesome btw) only allows for 40 waypoints. I am a planner (to the extreme) so I had to break the the trip into smaller ones. My daughter (age 11 by then) and I will have about 10 stops along the old Rt66 before we rendezvous with my wife in Phoenix. And yes. We'll have a picture standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona.

[kvc]

I think we need more of these 'good ending' stories posted. I often cringe when reading some of the posts on this forum and wonder when malady I've that's been described will afflict my X5.... It's really nice to read someone's good news for a change. Thanks for making me smile!

[bcredliner]

Yes, I said most of the times the forum threads are scary. So many are negative. I am also the one that posts my X5 has over 100,000 miles and has never had 95% of the problems. Thanks PropellerHead! Very well said, I admire your willingness to be open and candid.

[D Unit]

subscribed.

[Junkycosmos]

PropellerHead,
Thank you for taking the time to candidly post all of these details. I had been struggling on where I start on the transmission issues that sound rather similar if not exact same as your cold morning kick and slight hanging in gear. Your post here really helps motivate me in being willing to take a few steps forward. Your description hits it for me; when the Beast is warmed up and going smooth I get feel the dream which is all too hidden by these occasional silly trans issues that erode overall confidence.

As others have posted, I am also a bit frustrated by the lack of available expert help available for these cars. While I would like it to come cheap I would honestly willing to pay more than dealer pricing for the occasional real expert to diagnose and fix my BMW. After trying both local dealers and a few Indy's around me I am still yet to find anyone who is willing to think through an issue with reasonable mentality toward targeted root cause. I understand the common trend across most industries is to toss out and replace instead of repair but acceptance of that behavior drives insane cost and discourages targeted root cause thinking. Sounds like you found a great Indy who cares to repair. I wish we all could find reasonable access to similar.

Thank you for the posts and motivation!
J
2005 / 4.8is @102k miles

[BigLion]

Thanks so much PropellerHead - I was trying to describe the one-off hard shift into second (only on cold starting) firstly to my regular shop guys, and also on this board once; sounds like I had the same issue with my '06 4.8iS, however now there is a shudder between 3-4 at > 3,000 rpm, without such a hard lurch into 2nd, but this could be a separate issue!

Another E53 owner with a daughter at my kids school tipped me off about a local guy called 'Mike the Mechanic' here in Abu Dhabi who is an X5 owner, as you say - I talked to him today and he said the same about diagnosing problems with engine management and sensors before offering to strip and rebuild the Tranny. I'm also thinking hard about the possible financial consequences (the wife is 60% made up to make me get a Tahoe, I'm sure) but he seems a straight-up guy, so will go for it in the coming week - after pay-day, of course

[Junkycosmos]

PropellerHead,
Thank you! I wanted to post a quick note back. Using a bunch of what you posted as motivation and tips my X (2005 x4.8is) is shifting better than I ever knew it could. While I would not have outright said before this that I had a broken transmission but it was clearly not performing as designed and had started to lag more in recent months.

No more kicking when shifting from 1st to 2nd. No more hanging in 2nd and 3rd and overall more consistent shifting overall. As a result my driving has is now more spirited. Not crazy but enough so that I'm also shocked for my mileage to have also increased. Yes, no kidding 5% or so. Clearly it was hanging in the lower gears more than I realized.

I have had good success with recent steps I took of swapping trans fluid and the parts plastic sealing parts between valve body and trans. All of the plastic tubes were shorter from age 1-2mm. The theory here is high pressure fluid leaks between valve body and trans due to these $20 in plastic parts shrinking. No special tools other than to drop trans pan. Valve body unbolts and drops even easier.

My Medtronic seal had a very slight leak too. I also think my overall fluid was low too as it took 7 liters to refill first time and second fluid swap only took 5.5 liters.

Trans oil change 7 liters life guard6 (bav auto)

dropped pan,
new filter (BMW parts counter)
dropped valve body
New metatronic seal (round electrics plug seal)
valve body seal , 4 tubes within trans (BMW)
took 2 liters into pan with engine off,
took 5 more with engine running, gear shift and 42C
Reset trans adaptations
Trans shifting much better now

Drove a 2 thousand miles and then for good measure changed trans filter and pan gasket 2nd time. Added fluid Zf lifeguard 6, took 5.5 liters at temp 40c
Trans resets adaptations again due to new fluid. If I were recommending to someone else I would not recommend 2nd pan drop but I would do 2nd fluid change.

Drives much better now. Shifting smooth and quick like I expect from a 2.5 ton sport truck.


Here are some other research links I complied looking into this.


Zf site directions
http://www.zf.com/na/content/media/u...28_Catalog.pdf

Zf lifeguard 6 fluid per zf site
Amazon $23

Bav auto $23 / liter
Welcome to bavauto.com | ZF Lifeguard 6 fluid - for 6-speed automatic transmissions

More on our trans
Everything about your ZF 6HP26 transmission issues | BMW Logic7 site

6hp26 tear down and history
Post 6 here shows the 5 seals (1 rectangle and 4 round tubes) valve body and trans plates
ZF 6HP26 Teardown

[fmugur]

Great to hear guys. I also have the 1-2 hard shift when cold on the 4.4 and on the 4.8 not too bad but it's there. I will change the gaskets and I hope that fixes it. I added the part numbers. As far as I could find, other than the four tubes all are BMW parts.

new filter BMW part:
24117543550

new oil pan gasket, BMW part:
24117543484

New metatronic seal (round electrics plug seal):
24347588725

valve body seal - BMW part number:
24347588727

4 tubes within trans (BMW) - from the ZF catalog you posted. I believe these cannot be purchased from BMW, only from the ZF transmission parts supplier?
2x BMW 24107519314 ZF 01.050
BMW 24107519315 ZF 01.060,
BMW 24107520715 ZF 01.064

Note: I found and added the BMW part numbers for the ZF SEALING SLEEVE