Stranded on the highway....for the first time ever

[Kalevera]

Well, I didn't think it would ever happen, but it did (thankfully, 3.8 miles from home): my car broke down on the highway.

I went out for a little drive tonight at about 12. Drove around town, decided to take the back roads to the next town south, about two miles away from home and then the plan was to take a quick jaunt (2 miles) back on the highway and go to sleep.

Accelerating on the highway onramp, the engine started to rev up in 3rd and wouldn't shift down to 4th, then I felt a complete disconnect between the engine and the trans...****. Still rolling at about ~ 60mph off of this onramp (luckily, not very much traffic), I popped it into S and M...no dice -- engine just revs. So I pulled the sucker over and promptly got the famous "TRANS PROGRAM" error. Pulled the codes on the side of the highway -- looks like 1111. Great.

Thought that *maybe* I might get lucky and tried restarting the car...no dice. No reverse, no forward gears, no nothing. So it seems like my ~ 1500 mile ZF remanufactured, Koala Motorsport installed 4hp-22 has blown the A clutch pack. Classic ZF. Perhaps this is due to the pendulum shifting problem I've intermittently been having? Who knows...

The real fun started as I waited TWO HOURS (including walking up the highway twice to get to a phone) for AAA to send a tow truck. After a few phone calls, a non-rollback showed up. I'd specifically told them to send a rollback, and mentioned to the driver (and the clowns at AAA) that the car's manual dictated that it needed one. He called his people and they decided to use the standard one (could that potentially be a problem?).

Finally got home...now 5am. I guess I'll be calling some people on Monday to see about ZF's warranty on their remans.

best, whit

[pundit]

...Pulled the codes on the side of the highway -- looks like 1111...

??
Isn't that the code for a throttle switch error?

Motronic 1.1 codes

[Javier]

Javier

[pundit]

See if Koala will come to the party for a 5 speed!
Well... just a thought.

[Kalevera]

I don't know -- it was like...5AM when I pulled that code, and I was really tired...so I might've read it incorrectly. I'm going out there now to see what I can see.

On the 5-speed: I should've just converted it in December, but time and tools availability limited that and I had to spend the $2400 on the ZF. Now I've got to maximize the return on that investment.

best, whit

[Alan_525i]

Seriously, do a 5-speed swap.

[liquidtiger720]

I don't know -- it was like...5AM when I pulled that code, and I was really tired...so I might've read it incorrectly. I'm going out there now to see what I can see.

On the 5-speed: I should've just converted it in December, but time and tools availability limited that and I had to spend the $2400 on the ZF. Now I've got to maximize the return on that investment.

best, whit

Shouln't you still have warantee?

Mine has already busted up once (since december). They used a wrong lenght something, which caused the gears (or a gear) to slip. they fixed it no charge.

[Kalevera]

Yup - Brett told me to take it to Bob Shields at Bavarian Auto Service in Rock Hill, SC...about 45 min away from my house in NC.

Hopefully, I can get it in tomorrow. After not having use of the car for ~7 days due to my seat restoration project, it's utterly annoying that, after two days of being back on the road, it's ****ed up again. I hate automatic transmissions

best, whit

[emw525E34]

Whit,

Not just auto tranny had this problem. My E34 sedan with auto could limp home when I had a similar situation 2 years back. It since had a tranny rebuild good as new and done over 15 track days of "abuse".

My recently acquired E34 Touring manual was also stranded on a highway about 2 miles from home as it "lost" a slave cylinder. Downshifted from 4th to 3rd and got stuck on 3rd. Zero clutch feel. Worse of all, it was 9 am on a friday morning and I was bringing the kids to school field trip. Waited 1 hour for the flatbed Loaded up the car , then accompany that to my regular workshop. Had to miss the school field trip and make that up to the kids.

Things like this happens.

[Kalevera]

Wow...I wouldn't even go near a track with my car's behavior since it received the ZF reman 4hp-22 in January

That stinks about the slave cylinder. Still, I wish I had a manual -- I could've probably fixed or jerry-rigged an issue like that on the side of the road, versus the auto (which now looks like will cost me a 45 minute tow and maybe more)...repair of which, beyond a few minor things, is beyond me.

By the way: don't let anybody use a non-rollback for this car I just got off the phone with Bob Shields and explained that the thing no longer stays in Park. He thinks the towing co many owe me a new transmission. (and yes, I told AAA to send a rollback because the car REQUIRES one -- they didn't listen to me -- and the tow truck driver decided to "risk it" after calling his boss).

best, whit