rotracing

gcalo, Thank you so much for your guidance. I used ZF fluid and I tried the trick on the oil pan and that works great. Unfortunately my tranny is toast as I suspected and I'll have to replace the unit. I found a used transmission with 37k miles that I may buy. It is the exact same model number as mine 6HP-21X. I found one off a 335Xi but I'm not sure it will fit even though all the numbers match. I'll do a search here in the forum but if anyone is familiar with compatibility between 3 series and 5 series would be most helpful.

By the way I tested my tranny with a new valve body and nothing took the 4th gear problems away.

thanks again,
Ozzie

seanjordan20

KyleB I am finally getting to my valve body. I went out of the country so it got put on the back burner. Instead of getting the solenoids replaced I decided to got with rebuilding the valve body. I pulled it out last week and should be getting it back sometime this week. The rebuild cost $608 to do including shipping and a 10 year warranty. Hopefully I get the outcome I am looking for. I might need you for the trans reset if I can not get my new laptop to take the INPA install. If you are still offering? I will let you once I get the valve body back.

KyleB

Happy to help when ready, you know how to reach me!

seanjordan20

Ok I completed the valve body install last night. Had a couple of hiccups trying to install it too fast but in the end everything is ok. I have not felt my car ride so smooth since I first got it. The rebuild was well worth it. For a grand total of $887 I believe, I got my car back riding new with a ten year warranty on the valve body. Thanks KyleB for offering to do the reset. In the end the INPA software installed on the Windows 10 and worked flawlessly. I even did some coding that I have been meaning to do.

KyleB

thats awesome news sean, glad everything went well for you. where did you get your valve body from?

txag_530i

Yes, who did the valve body repair work? A company name, contact and phone number would be great to know.

seanjordan20

I pulled my Valve body and had it rebuilt. It is hard to get a hold of a core so that is your best bet or you can buy a new one from the dealership but that cost around $1500. The person I went through is a great guy. His info is as follows:

World Wide SP
Matthew Cilwa
(513)886-1215

He goes through a company call VBX that is in Virginia and owned by Sonnax. It took them 2 days to rebuild it and have it back in the mail. They say it takes 3-5 days though. You can talk with Matt and have him do next day air both ways if you cant wait long. The price will reflect the extra charge for rush shipping. I also went to CTSC to purchase the Mechatronic Seal Adapter and oil change kit. Pelican parts had the other parts I needed for the install which are the sealing sleeves. The sealing sleeves are hard to find so if you can get them from the local dealer go ahead and grab them. They run between $17-$23 a piece.

If you call Matt let him know his buddy Charles sent you. He will take care of you.

KyleB

That's awesome info, thanks for posting.

M5 Jed

First off, thanks Kyle for the write, excellent info here!

Second, what are your thoughts on Redline D6 ATF, I did some research and its equivalent to Shell M-1375. I know that Mercon SP is the least expensive equivalent. I just have a soft spot for Redline products. Any input from anyone is welcome.

I have an 2008 535xit and was getting the tranny malfunction once in a while. I figured it needed a tranny service since it has 74k miles. I had the car on the lift for 2 days this week, dropped the exhaust, heat sheilds and tranny support bracket, drive shaft and output flange. After I removed the tranny support bracket, I found gear oil around the area, on the harness to the actuator and the dampener. So I removed the output flange, thinking the output shaft seal is leaking. Turns out it's completely dry. Also checked the drain and fill plugs, totally secure. Only other area where gear oil can come out is the seal where the actuator goes into the transfer case. So I took that out, o-ring looked ok so I just added some Dirko and resealed it. I was also assuming that there was some fluid loss on the transfer case from the leak so I just decided to drain and fill the TC. I was shocked when I found out the TF-0870 fluid for the TC was $50 for 1 liter. I got the fluid anyways to flush the TC to make sure it's not low. Also checked the Mechatronic sleeve, since I ordered one, but it was complete dry too. I decided not to touch it.

I proceeded to drain the tranny and replace the pan/filter. Was able to fill with 4 quarts. Started car, went through the gears and filled it again and managed to get 2 more quarts in. At this point, I have a mixture of the old fluid and new. I figured I'd drive on it for a week or so and drain and fill again and that would remove the majority of the old fluid. Driving the car home today, the transmission malfunction warning popped up half a donen times. I just restarted the car to at least get home. Just on normal cruising, if I just slightly accelerate, it would slip and trigger the malfunction warning. Now I'm thinking maybe I don't have enough fluid in or the Redline ATF D6 is not compatible. But based on what I found online the D6 is compatible with the Shell M-1875, so that can't be it. After reading this thread, maybe it's the solenoids.

What's your take?

txag_530i

Technically, the Red Line website indicates that D6 is a "Popular product and application crossover:" with the BMW ATF, but it is not a direct substitute for it. Having written that, I'm pretty convinced that any decent ATF fluid will work (and RedLine is a first class company).

Were there any metals shavings in the pan? If not, then it really sounds to me like you need to change your solenoids and the five seals underneath the valve body.