Trans Program - Resolved - My Experience

[bagpuss]

Having read all the numerous posts on here about this issue, I thought I'd post my experience in case it helps anyone.

I picked up a '94 E34 530i (V8, uk-spec, I live in UK BTW) with 124,000 miles on it, which was advertised with the 'Trans Program' fault so I bought it cheap and took a chance.

It turned out that the symptoms were more than just the message appearing. The car seemed to rev without engaging a gear after stopping and then pulling away and there seemed to be far too much 'clutch' activity, in general, than there should be. The 'Trans Program' message didn't always appear, but when it did, re-starting the car reset the message although the 'surge' symptoms persisted.

I had the EGS' codes 'read' (Bosch 0 260 002 309, GS 7.32) and it showed codes 05, Pressure Regulator, 16, Tubine Speed Sensor and 100, Speed Monitoring and the BMW specialist said 'take it to a trans specialist, it probably wants a rebuild' to which I replied that I wanted him to check the fluid level first. This he did and to both our suprise's it took about 10 pumps from his fluid-trolley-pump before fluid emerged from the filler/level plug. I've no idea how much that was, but he said normally he only has to pump in 1 or 2 pumps so I assume it was a lot - maybe a couple of litres but I dont know really.

Anyway, all topped up and codes reset, I drove off somewhat pessimistically, and to my suprise, no more surges and it changed up and down perfectly and threw no 'Trans Program' errors.

So the lesson here is make sure you check the fluid level before anything else and read the codes which is equally important, but somewhat misleading if there's not enough fluid in there - or are they - see questions below.

My questions to you guys though are:

1) He said it wasn't a 'sealed for life' unit, therefore can I consider his top up (I believe it was Dextron II equivalent) to be good enough, or should this be considered a temporary measure - i.e. needs re-filling with more specialised stuff ?

2) Are the codes thrown, normal for a low trans fluid situation or would it be indicating a secondary problem ?

3) Since I can see no leaks, I am left wondering where all the missing fluid has gone to ? Surely it cant get 'burnt off' in a closed system, or can it ?

4) Would the low fluid situation have caused any permanant damage ?

Anyway, I hope my experience helps someone.

Cheers.

[632 Regal]

excellent post!

My questions to you guys though are:

1) He said it wasn't a 'sealed for life' unit, therefore can I consider his top up (I believe it was Dextron II equivalent) to be good enough, or should this be considered a temporary measure - i.e. needs re-filling with more specialised stuff ?supposed to be dextron III, replace about 3 quarts every 30k so the trans doesnt fail

2) Are the codes thrown, normal for a low trans fluid situation or would it be indicating a secondary problem ?mine threw codes and it was only about a quart low

3) Since I can see no leaks, I am left wondering where all the missing fluid has gone to ? Surely it cant get 'burnt off' in a closed system, or can it ?mine was probably low due to someone prior to me checking the fluid either not level or not running at the correct temperature and it draining back out

4) Would the low fluid situation have caused any permanant damage ? It can but since you have no problems now count your blessings and drive on!

Anyway, I hope my experience helps someone.

Cheers.[/QUOTE]

[Jeff in MN]

I would double check the fluid that was put in, I thought those "sealed for life". or "lifetime fluid" transmissions used a very special fluid that was not your run of the mill Dexron III. My bentley says." the 1995 540 is the
A5S-560Z transmission that uses a semi-synthetic ATF that is only available from BMW. Dexron must not be used in the A5S-560Z transmission."

Good luck.

[BillionPa]

the 530 uses Dex3 or better, but not the shell stuff that the 540 uses.

[bagpuss]

the 530 uses Dex3 or better, but not the shell stuff that the 540 uses.

I guess this then agrees with what the guy said about the 530i not being the 'sealed for life' trans and therefore not needing the 'special' fluid. Nice to have a confirmation; many thanks. I will check and make sure its Dex III or equivalent, but just out of interest, if it was Dex II would that make any real-world difference ? Cheers.

[Qube]

1) He said it wasn't a 'sealed for life' unit, therefore can I consider his top up (I believe it was Dextron II equivalent) to be good enough, or should this be considered a temporary measure - i.e. needs re-filling with more specialised stuff ?

That kind of concerns me, though it may be unfounded. I assume 'sealed for life' means there is no simple way to open the circuit to fill at all... and that he hasn't merely ripped something open to fill? Also, I never like it when mechs say things are "good enough". That usually means 'great' for an American 4-banger but won't cut it for our cars!

[632 Regal]

if it was Dex II would that make any real-world difference ?
http://www.smartsynthetics.com/articles/atf-gm-dexron-spec.htm

[bagpuss]

1) He said it wasn't a 'sealed for life' unit, therefore can I consider his top up (I believe it was Dextron II equivalent) to be good enough, or should this be considered a temporary measure - i.e. needs re-filling with more specialised stuff ?

That kind of concerns me, though it may be unfounded. I assume 'sealed for life' means there is no simple way to open the circuit to fill at all... and that he hasn't merely ripped something open to fill? Also, I never like it when mechs say things are "good enough". That usually means 'great' for an American 4-banger but won't cut it for our cars!

No, there was a simple way to open it to fill it - a single drain / filler plug on the bottom of the trans. Seemed strange to me that the fill plug was on the bottom, but he explained to me that it sits higher up in the pan, which it did, and he needed to insert his 'hose' up into the hole, so that made perfect sense in the end. He also said that if it were a 'sealed for life' one that there would be a label on it, stating so, and if there were, that it would need a special fluid and he wouldnt be able to do it. There was no label so I was more than happy for him to fill it with 'standard' fluid and be glad it cured the issue. If I keep the car, I'll probably get the fluid/filter etc changed at the next oil service, but happy enough for now, unless someone strongly disagrees with this somewhat pragmatic approach ?

Due to this, and what has been said already, I am assuming that the trans on the 540i is a sealed for life version but the 530i (94, uk spec) is not, and to clarify, this 'refill' was done on the 530i.

Cheers.

[mamilapon]

What would worry me is how much "clutching activity' has there been before you bought it. Has there been an excessive amount of wear of the clutch packs every time it revved uncontrolably? These are all unknowns.

[bagpuss]

What would worry me is how much "clutching activity' has there been before you bought it. Has there been an excessive amount of wear of the clutch packs every time it revved uncontrolably? These are all unknowns.

Yes, you're probably right. Hence I've sold the car cheap now as TBH, E34's are virtually 10 a penny over here and its not worth the headache, and I only bought it to 'cure' it of some of it ills, such as LKM module, washer motor, bonnet cable, OBC bulbs, trans program etc - all the usual E34 niggles that people let slip over the years, which really annoys me ! Now I've fixed it, I'm happy to move it on with the satisfaction that its a good deal better than when I bought it. Besides, I really love my 540i and to me, nothing other than an M5 comes close. I just dread the day I have a 'trans program' to deal with on the 540i as that one *is* a (big-bucks) sealed-for-life unit !