phaduman

My CPO warranty (6yr/100K) expired in Dec. and damn luck ; transmission is leaking. Babied the car - no hard driving. Only 53K miles. I have read about leaks could be with gasket, or, the sleeve (where is it?). Do you think this is leaking from the drain bolt?

Man - this sucks.

Also, the leak has soaked onto the splash-gards most of the car's length. Not sure how much fluid is lost (won't be surprised if a Quart has been lost) - is it safe to drive it to a dealer? they checked everything in December (before the CPO expired) and had said nothing was wrong.

Appreciate all feedback & recommendations.
Looking from rear to the front of vehicle: I believe the solenoid sleeve is on the right top corner (not visible), right?





Pic from the driver side of the car, pic of the side of the pan.




thx
PN, San Jose, CA

healthservices

Forgot what the name is called but I think it is the mechatronic sleeve leaking. I just did two this last month.

BimmerFan52

Looks like the mechatronic sealing sleeve given the distribution of fluid the entire length of the pan (unless you do a lot of high speed driving in reverse).

I always advise anyone who is nearing the end of a warranty to have an indie inspect the car. I have heard of BMWNA frowning upon dealers who do warranty repair work at the end of the warranty unless the ticket was opened with the customer specifically complaining of a problem.

turboawd

if the pan is just wet, you might be alright for a while, but if it starts leaving marks on the ground, dont delay in fixing it, or at least top off fluid level every so often.
but just plan to do a pan/filter and mechatronics sleeve change.

pcy

Mechatronics sleeve is kind of hidden where the red arrow is. Look for black cap in that area. Pan needs to be dropped to replace the sleeve.

phaduman

Thank you for the great advice. Actually it had been going on for a while because when accidentally I touched the bottom splashguards, they were soaked and when I touched, they were wet. So oil had dripped and spread to a vast section of the splash-guards.

Definitely looks like a pan-drop & sleeve change. I am taking the matter up with my trusted dealer advisor. Will keep you posted.

thanks all
PN, SJ

phaduman

FYI...

Mechatronics sealing sleeve leakage BMW's official service information bulletin SI B24 08 06 attached. official statement: ZF 6HP Transmissions - Mechatronic Sealing Sleeve Seepage. E53, E60, E61, E63, E64, E65, E66, E85, E90, E91, E92, and E93 vehicles with ZF 6-speed 6HP19/21 or. 6HP26/28 transmissions produced up to 04/08. Transmission fluid seepage is visible in the area of the transmission oil pan.

Doc attached (and care during installation...)...my leakage looks like a classical oil leak. Except that, I do have oil drops fallen onto the splash-guards enough to cause major wetness of a major portion of the splash-guards (from bottom front of the car to rear of car).

document link here:
Zf 6hp transmissions - mechatronic sealing sleeve seepage - TopHQBooks.com

Excellent tear-down of the ZF 6HP26 (variant of the E60 525/530's 6HP19/21) transmission: clearly showing the sleeve location, removal etc....
http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...-teardown.html

A youtube video (for a x5, with same transmission issue) showing the location, the tab to pull and how to align...video useful from beginning up to 1.35

Razzy530

How about manual trannies? Are they affected by this ?

Stephen Max

Manual trannies have no mechatronics, so no sleeve and no leak. Well, they may leak somewhere else, but I haven't heard of any leak problems with the manuals.

Jim165

What do you know! Just had my oil changed today by an indy and was informed of a leaking sleeve and pan at 53K, not to mention a leaking vacuum pump. I suppose these damned transmissions and their plastic pans will require this regardless. Just waiting on warranty approval...