4.4 X5 with 5hp24 problems

[moneytree]

Have re-checked at the workshop:

They do use the GT1 scanner.

The AT fluid did not have any sign of metal or other dirt

Importantly, before these problems, I have had a leak in the cooling system and the engine was driving on very low water for some time. smoke came out of the engine bay and the car was towed. Could be that the engine overheated slightly but the auth. bmw dealer said nothign was damaged.

The cooling system was replaced incl. hoses and water pump, thermostat.

The mechanic said this overheating could have been related to the transmission failure. is it possible and what parts could be affected by this?

[swissfrank]

Originally Posted by Dannyell

anyways i definitely look closely at these pics and fix it myself...

Great! If you're a bit mechanically inclined this will be pretty straight forward.

It will probably help if you have someone take a bunch of detailed pictures for you while you're dissembling the transmission, that'll help aid you putting things back together.

Other than that, I'll be willing to help you out along the way. Good luck. When do you think you'll be taking up this project anyway?

[Dannyell]

Originally Posted by swissfrank

Great! If you're a bit mechanically inclined this will be pretty straight forward.

It will probably help if you have someone take a bunch of detailed pictures for you while you're dissembling the transmission, that'll help aid you putting things back together.

Other than that, I'll be willing to help you out along the way. Good luck. When do you think you'll be taking up this project anyway?

Thank you I really appreciate it.

When I get around to it will definitely post some pics...to help myself and hopefully the rest of the X5 community

[swissfrank]

Originally Posted by moneytree

Have re-checked at the workshop:

They do use the GT1 scanner.

The AT fluid did not have any sign of metal or other dirt

Importantly, before these problems, I have had a leak in the cooling system and the engine was driving on very low water for some time. smoke came out of the engine bay and the car was towed. Could be that the engine overheated slightly but the auth. bmw dealer said nothign was damaged.

The cooling system was replaced incl. hoses and water pump, thermostat.

The mechanic said this overheating could have been related to the transmission failure. is it possible and what parts could be affected by this?

This shop sounds like a bunch of clowns at best. "bmw dealer said nothign was damaged." then "The mechanic said this overheating could have been related to the transmission failure."

If you were near the Vancouver area, I'd tell you to come down and i'll hookup my computer and also help you diagnose it. For a case of beer or a lap dance from a girl at the local clubs here. JK LOL

Seriously, you should probably get a second opnion from an indie that specializes in these types of cars!

Now assuming the transmission did in fact overheat you likely could have damaged the friction plates in all clutch packs, possibly the friction steels in all clutch packs and the pistons... However I'm still not convinced that it is not the valve body or realted components...

Did these problems develop after they serviced the transmission by any chance?

[moneytree]

Hey, thanks I would come down and could use a lapdance myself but I live in Malaysia

The first diagnosis on my cooling system was from auth. BMW dealer but they are so expensive that I went to another shop and they mentioned just now that the problems with the transmission may have something to do with the issues I have been having with the overheating of the car:

The problem with the transmission first occurerd after I had a leak cooling system fixed, but it was fixed at this auth. BMW shop so I assumed it was all fine, hoses, water pump, thermostat, etc were all replaced and everything checked.

The first time the transmission misssed to shift gears occured I was stuck in traffic jam and driving over 1 hr before the transmission started to act funny and not shift up properly, generally just felt "wrong"...driving on highway didnt make it better, at too low gears,..so I drove it to this shop immediately.

After the shop didnt find any error message and did the service of the GB the problems came up again after driving for some time. Last 2 days, no problems occured, but I noticed the fan constantly operating at any time, whilst engine was normal temp, which was not the case before.
Drove high speed/high temp several times, but with fan ON: No problem occured with the trans. Probably due to the cooling effect of the stuck fan?

Could it be possible that the fan clutch has failed and the fan was *off* after the cooling leak was fixed, which led to temporary overheat of the transmission and temporary failure?
I noticed the fan stuck on *On* is a recent issue, so perhaps it was stuck in *off* previously after the leak fix, leading to transmission overheat and unsmooth gear changes? and now is stuck in *ON* making the problem go away?

I am now getting the fan issue fixed and will see then if the problem re-occurs at "normal" driving before doing anything to the transmission. I now hope that the trans only acted because the cooling system didnt work properly due to lack of fan operation in hot climate and dense traffic. would this be realistic to believe? would this explain lack of error messages in the GT1 diagnosis?

If yes, great news, but I hope this 1 or 2 times overheat did not do any permanent damage to trans. This morning drove to work, all was perfectly fine (with FAN on).

[moneytree]

To put the timeline straight:

1.) Alternator broke - break down on highway
2.) Got problem fixed at BMW shop
3.) Another break down the next day, hose was leaking, noticed steam comming out from the enginebay everywhere, drove only 1 mile or so, engine was running without or very little coolant, temp reader was normal..tow to BM shop again
4.)They mentioned with the new alternator they did a flush of the cooling system and this flush has removed debris which may have accumulated in the cooling and lead to expose leaks in the hoses. Hose broke and along with it water pump and thermostat was replaced due to "leaks".

picked up the car from BM and driving was ok.

4.) a few days later, issue with gear shifting came up in heavy taffic. temp reading was normal (could the fan be off here and lead to trans failure due to overheat? I did not pay attention to fan operation at all)
I assumed gearbox problem.

5.) brought the car to BM shop, explained issue with GB, they serviced/cleaned the gearbox, changed fluids and magnets, pan etc. fluid seemed ok. after testdrive, they called me to say can pick up car.

6.) on way back, trans problem occured again after 30 mins driving on highway. gear shift up very late, down shifting also not smooth and too early.

7.) last few days, noticed the fan was stuck in *on* at any speed. even after extensive driving at high speeds/acceleration, problem with gearbox did not re-occur.


now my question:
does the shifting behaviour resemble that of overheated gearbox? I read somewhere that if the gearbox is too hot, it will shift much sooner rather than later.

and would this fan issue not show up as an error message in the GT1?

[swissfrank]

Originally Posted by moneytree

now my question:
does the shifting behaviour resemble that of overheated gearbox? I read somewhere that if the gearbox is too hot, it will shift much sooner rather than later.

and would this fan issue not show up as an error message in the GT1?

I'm not sure what your intermittent problem could be from this thread. Not everything shows up as an error on the computer. The best I can assertain from your info is that it's a valvebody issue, either solenoid or orifice.

Best advice I can probably give you now is find a very good indie shop that specializes in these vehicles and get them to properly diagnose it for you.

Good Luck!

[moneytree]

thank you for feedback. the problem was the cooling system, it was not cooling effectively and apparently the gear problems above were due to overheating. with a new radiator in place and effective fan blowing, the problems have not re-occured.

as for the transmission, another issue has occured after the trans oil was changed.
Normally when rolling to a stop without throttle the transmission should shift into the highest possible gear to allow the car to roll freely, now it seems like it wants to stay in whatever gear its in and not shift up, leading to a speed loss as soon as I step off the gas.

I had my tranny fluid and filter replaced but actually its only after that I have noticed this problem...

does it make sense to do another "flush" ? could it be because of debris that was moved during the trans oil change and now needs to be flushed/cleared out?

which part of transmission is affected by this?

[swissfrank]

a lot of people (shops included) after doing a filter and pan service on the transmission forget to replace the O ring that goes on the filter. This will cause pressure problems and erratic shifting behavior.

[moneytree]

thank you. can I check this myself?