Torque converter failing...

[SlickGT1]

Originally Posted by Ghost-Flame

Dude, You're driving me crazy. Where can we meet half between the big city and the little city, Maybe Flemington, NJ. I'l bring my jack and some stands and tools you bring the lubegard. Then you can buy me coffee.

Where do you want to meet?

Lol thanks for the offer. It might work, but the tranny would be messed up hot. If you ever come out to Brooklyn, stop by my garage, way more comfortable place to work, versus a parking lot. I plan on giving it a go hopefully this weekend. All I have to do is back it up some ramps and I'm in place. I am confident of the process to do this without the GT1 now, so its just a matter of having the time apart from work and family.

P.S. This is my garage fridge.


P.P.S. This is my Garage (minus the clutter that's in this renovation pic)


So come by if you want to wrench. Even if on just my car, lol.

[Ghost-Flame]

Originally Posted by SlickGT1

Lol thanks for the offer. It might work, but the tranny would be messed up hot. If you ever come out to Brooklyn, stop by my garage, way more comfortable place to work, versus a parking lot. I plan on giving it a go hopefully this weekend. All I have to do is back it up some ramps and I'm in place. I am confident of the process to do this without the GT1 now, so its just a matter of having the time apart from work and family.

P.S. This is my garage fridge.


P.P.S. This is my Garage (minus the clutter that's in this renovation pic)


So come by if you want to wrench. Even if on just my car, lol.

Nice garage, my garage is very functional and heated but I don't have that fancy floor! Yuengling, My favorite!!! That looks like enough for me.

[sirshan]

Thank goodness I found this post...I have the exact same issue on my 4.6 and was close to biting the bullet on a full tranny rebuild. I think Ill take the same approach - drop pan and check for shavings and if its clean, just go with the TC replacement.

I do have quite a bit of miles...so it may be a full rebuild anyways. Ive been doing searches all over and finally found the right keywords that matched what I feel on my X.

I just dealt withit the last year, but its getting worse...so its time. No codes, nothing.

[mam4.6]

Sub'd for your results...

[sirshan]

Dropping off car on 1/2/15 at a transmission shop.

Got a few quotes from some Indys that are BMW only shops, but figured Id give this shop thats a transmission shop a try as they had some reviews from X5 Owners and had good things to say.

He's going to run some tests on it - see if its just the TC or if its a whole rebuild. Im fine with either...but clearly want the cheaper route out if possible. Ill update shortly after I get it back.

Current Mileage on my Tranny - 160k. First time servicing it EVER. Not bad considering the mileage and issues only happening now.

[sirshan]

mam4.6 (Since you sub'd).

Heres the results of my trip to the Transmission Shop:

My Tranny has 162k - Original with never getting fluid replaced.

- Fluid Checked. Fluid was full, not low. Was definitely dirty, but no particles.

- Mechanic confirmed my issues with the following - shakes/stutters at low speeds in between gears, shaking when going uphills at slow speeds, jumps in RPM "stepping" as increasing speed around 55mph. Also had a weird drone noise at certain speed/rpm that sounded odd every once in a while.

He said it was internal and recommended a rebuild. After considering my options and reading this post, I have decided to go for the rebuild. It makes the most sense with this many miles and I head out to the mountains quite a bit - so its not going to make sense to take a chance.

Ill have the X back in about 1.5 weeks - Ill report the difference when its back. Its going to set me back 3k. To all the die hards who recommend BMW only remans, Ill take my chances here. This shop has done numerous X5 Rebuilds with good reviews. I cant see spending 7-8k on a reman for this old of a car - heck, 3k is pushing it. But I do love this thing still and might have been missing out on the power it once had due to this tranny issue. As I got used to the weirdness in the tranny, I guess I didnt notice losing the power as much as I should have since Ive been driving like this the past 7 months or so.

...we'll see. If it comes out bad, then its my fault and 3k lost - Thats a gamble Im willing to take. Stay tuned.

[mam4.6]

Thanks for the update. Interested in your end result. My X will be getting a tranny update next time I happen by my Indy. I'm getting some vibration on slight uphill grades as I very slightly accelerate to maintain speed. Harder acceleration or deceleration makes it dissappear. I'm thinking more of a torque converter issue, but figured an update can't hurt.

[sirshan]

Got the X5 Back...wow. All I can say is I miss it operating normal...I almost forgot what it felt like.

So, just for those that are stuck on BMW Shops performing the work on transmissions, I will say there are good shops out there that are credible and not BMW shops.

My transmission was rebuilt, all internals were kept and the mechanic walked me through all the items that were causing my issues.

Main Issues when tranny opened:
- Torque Converter was worn completely
- Clutch Discs? Little disc looking things that almost look like Mountain Bike Brake Discs were all worn (thinner than normal and didn't have bite anymore). Lots of those in the tranny.
- Certain part of the Valve Body was worn. I guess where a valve is supposed to sit tight was no longer tight and moved almost freely
- Forward Drum around the edges/side looked concave almost. Supposed to be plum/straight
- Filter was super dirty (that was expected)
- Guibo (Flex Disc) on Front Diff was starting to crack/tear
- Lots of fine metal particles on the magnets

Got a bunch of things done and did the Rear Main Seal and Coolant Cover Gasket while the tranny was out. This thing drives and shifts like a champ again and no more stuttering/pulsing weirdness and stepping in my RPM's while cruising and accelerating anymore. Out the door cost at a "Non BMW Specific" Transmission Shop (but very familiar with X5 Transmissions) was 3200.00.

Cost included:

ZF Tranmission Rebuild Kit
Fluid and Filter
Rebuilt Torque Converter
FWD Drum
Lower Valve Body
Accumulator on Valve Body (x2)
Rebuild Seal Kit
Coolant Gasket
Front Flex Disc
Engine Rear Main Seal
(Replaced a supplied Front Left Axle/Seal for free) - didn't change my original quote and just did it because he said it was easy enough
Basically everything that showed wear in the tranny was replaced

In short, Im glad I went with the full rebuild rather than the Torque Converter only fix. It was clear from the internals when he opened it up and showed me the parts and compared them to what new looks like....there was a huge difference. Again, I had 160k on my tranny with no services done EVER on it. Im glad it lasted me as long as it did and was a heck of a lot better than what others experienced. I hope this takes me another 100k at least (if I even keep the car that much longer). Whatever happened and was fixed, it surely took care of the issues I was experiencing.

I responded on this post to open it up for anyone that does a search on these types of symptoms and debating a rebuild.

For 3200.00 - it was well worth it over than 7k+ quotes I was getting from BMW Indys. Transmission Shops that are up to speed on these trannys should know what they're doing and well worth the savings. Just make sure you do your research before biting the bullet. I happened to have a shop local to me that had people review them that had X5's Tranny Rebeuilds with great results which helped me make my decision.

Good luck to anyone that has similar issues and bites the bullet to get it done. Well worth it. 100% of my power is back and smooth as butter while driving again...ahhhhhhh.

[sirshan]

...and for the record. I had no codes pop up with all the issues I had. It was definitely drivable on flat lands with no issues and slight stutters and stepping of my RPMs as Id accelerate, but nothing that sounded broken.

What made me get the rebuild:

- Stuttering when going uphills (even slight inclines). Felt like misfires.
- RPM's would jump roughly 100-200 RPM while accelerating slow until it felt like resting at a certain speed (people refer to it as "stepping" in RPMS's???)
- RPM's would bounce up and down 200 RPM while at a cruising speed anywhere from 25mph - 65mph.
- Towards the final days before bringing it to the shop, I had a slight drone sound coming from the middle of the car. Only would hear it noticable when RPM's were low (below 3k or so)

Only way to get around the issues I mentioned above - drive the car hard or in Manual Mode.

I was so used to it, when I picked up my car I was expecting it to act the same and it never did. Thats how instilled in my head it was. Almost like it was normal...thats how long I was driving it like that. Lighter pockets, but confidence in the X again.

Oh, I have a 4.6is with 160k in case anyone is wondering. Old, but solid! Looks new...so who cares!