Looking for straight answers for transmission issues

[diyanich]

It's been a bit more than a week since I picked up the X from transmission shop where the Torque Converter was redone under the warranty.
No more shudder of any kind,I made just about 300kms and I can clearly feel the TC lock up in the same situation that shudder used to happen.
I knock the wood and hope it was the last time I brought it to transmission shop ever.
I may flush the fluid and change the filter myself when time comes.

[Critical Drew]

So you had the valve body replaced and then the torque converter replaced as well?

[diyanich]

Originally Posted by Critical Drew

So you had the valve body replaced and then the torque converter replaced as well?

At first it was the rebuild,shudder was there yet,valve body redone under the warranty(new aluminum casting part installed,where the master cylinder is),shifts became smooth and no rear ending feeling after swap,shudder still there,finally the Torque Converter was redone with some updated clutch etc. along some kind of shaft bushing(at least so they said) I don't really have any way to verify the bushing thing.
But THE Shudder is gone and it's the main point.
It's soooo nice.

[Sundayjumper]

I was interested to see this thread as I have exactly the same symptoms. The judder is not always present, but when it's there it's always under light acceleration at 1500rpm & just over 20mph.

So what is the conclusion ? It looked like it was the valve body right up until the TC was mentioned.

I also seem to have very slight slippage when cruising on the motorway. With cruise control set at (say) 70 mph the rev counter appears to move up and down very very slightly, maybe ±25 rpm, even though the road speed is constant. It is more apparent going uphill. I'm not getting any errors from the TC but I think the juddering and the slippage could both be consistent with the TC not locking properly.

I'd be happy dropping the pan and inspecting the valve body myself, but that means new fluid and I'd probably be better off putting that money towards getting a new TC fitted as that will also mean new fluid, properly flushed too.

[diyanich]

Originally Posted by Sundayjumper

I was interested to see this thread as I have exactly the same symptoms. The judder is not always present, but when it's there it's always under light acceleration at 1500rpm & just over 20mph.

So what is the conclusion ? It looked like it was the valve body right up until the TC was mentioned.

I also seem to have very slight slippage when cruising on the motorway. With cruise control set at (say) 70 mph the rev counter appears to move up and down very very slightly, maybe ±25 rpm, even though the road speed is constant. It is more apparent going uphill. I'm not getting any errors from the TC but I think the juddering and the slippage could both be consistent with the TC not locking properly.

I'd be happy dropping the pan and inspecting the valve body myself, but that means new fluid and I'd probably be better off putting that money towards getting a new TC fitted as that will also mean new fluid, properly flushed too.

I would've get it to dealership for diagnosis first.
Once they have conclusion,move forward.
I really regret that I didn't bring the X to the BMW dealership and went to transmission shop.
Besides shudder it used to have intermittent from 1st to 2nd slippage as well,so instead of listening to me and find the shudder cause they went with their diagnosis and focused only on the slippage.
But they didn't use the GT1 computer,it was some sort of clone,so not really a perfect thing to pull specific codes I guess.
Should the problem repeat,i will always go and diagnose it at dealership first.I suggest you to do so too.

[Sundayjumper]

Originally Posted by diyanich

...i will always go and diagnose it at dealership first.I suggest you to do so too.

No thanks

The dealer is not a transmission specialist, they are not trained to pull these apart, they'd want to replace the whole gearbox. At best they could probably manage a fluid change but seeing as it's "lifetime fill" it's probably not in their instruction book.

If I take it anywhere, it'll be to a transmission specialist. I have INPA & PA Soft, and neither are showing any faults. Yet...

[diyanich]

Originally Posted by Sundayjumper

No thanks

The dealer is not a transmission specialist, they are not trained to pull these apart, they'd want to replace the whole gearbox. At best they could probably manage a fluid change but seeing as it's "lifetime fill" it's probably not in their instruction book.

If I take it anywhere, it'll be to a transmission specialist. I have INPA & PA Soft, and neither are showing any faults. Yet...

Unless they are familiar with ZF brand.

[m5james]

ZF doesn't want their transmissions serviced, period. They even recommend to reuse the fluid if the pan is ever dropped. I've yet to see a dealership and a handful of indy's who know anything about the ZF, and even fewer who will actually service them. You keep suggesting the dealership, but I bet between here and Bimmerforums, we know more about repairing these transmissions than the dealership techs since it's not something they touch, instead they just recommened replacement as mentioned earlier.

[diyanich]

Originally Posted by m5james

ZF doesn't want their transmissions serviced, period. They even recommend to reuse the fluid if the pan is ever dropped. I've yet to see a dealership and a handful of indy's who know anything about the ZF, and even fewer who will actually service them. You keep suggesting the dealership, but I bet between here and Bimmerforums, we know more about repairing these transmissions than the dealership techs since it's not something they touch, instead they just recommened replacement as mentioned earlier.

No doubts about knowledge,I spent a year and a half trying to understand what was wrong and the only thing that helped was taking it back to the shop that rebuilt it and requesting the warranty service.It's when Torque Converter was rebuilt the way it should be rebuild with updated parts and I have none of those shudders anymore.
There are some parts that need to be replaced no matter if they are in specs or out,I was told by technician and he contacted ZF.
When I first drove the X after warranty fix I felt the TC engaging at the point I used to get SHUDDERS,now after around 1000kms later I don't feel it,I just see the RPMs drop.
That is the indicator that the clutch 's got broken in and TC is operating as designed.
Conclusion...either drive it until it completely dies or go and get a good rebuild(DIY or good shop)
If you decide to get it rebuilt,BE sure they do what they say.I have doubts that my TC was rebuilt at all the first time I had it in the shop.I had paid $4960 for the rebuild and year and a half I am finally happy to have everything done properly,so you may ask...probably you would be happier sooner if you went to the Dealership and got a whole unit replaced by them,I say There's a High probability that I would be happier sooner.
So when I suggest to go to the dealership I mean,they have better equipment to know what is wrong with the car,way better than some indy shops.