PaoChe

Starting to get slippage in 3rd and 4th gear under load and transmission data errors. E-clutch seems to be going based on codes. Went into limp mode twice. Seems ok if I stay below 3000 rpm, but thats obviously not a long term solution.
Love to just get a newer used car but that's just not in the cards now and it's tough to sell the current one with a failing transmission too.
Only 110k miles, but it's been ALL around town, almost no highway, lots of 0-30-0mph every 100 yards, so lots of cumulative shifts I guess.
Hoping to get away just replacing solenoids and fluid. Willing to replace or have a total refurbish done if necessary. $3k for a transmission overhaul is still cheaper than a used car. But definitely need a qualified professional opinion.
Looking for an Indy shop in the Hosuton, TX area that specializes in german autos, preferably one with lots of experience with ZF transmission repair and rebuild.

Came across these two in my search, hoping someone here has experience with either of them? Or potentially other good options in the Houston area?

Bimmer Performance Their services look somewhat generic, they even mention they do 4x4 lifts and such...
Bimmer Workshop Looks a bit more specialized towards german autos, no clue how they are with transmissions though.

Any advice on shops is appreciated

PaoChe

Just in case anyone needs the best independent BMW service in Houston, I highly recommend ABR Houston. They took a look at my transmission, the adaptations, fill rates, etc. Told me the only real solution is a complete rebuild. They personally don't do anything that's not OEM, which for my old car doesn't make sense, but they have tons of connections in the area and will point you to quality service that will fit your budget if need be.

seanjordan20

Your trans needed to be rebuilt why. If it wasn't slipping then a rebuild was not necessary. Need more info on this post to validate the recommendation. The E60 trans is a beast.

PaoChe

It was slipping occasionally. Went into limp mode 3 times. They test drove it with a computer hooked up monitoring the trans. Had input output rpm mismatch, so definite slipping. That plus my adaptations are super weird. None are high, all less than 200mbar, but some are -400mbar. The guy there is a certified zf tech, he said there's absolutely no documentation on numbers that far in the negative. Typical behavior as the trans gets old is solenoids ramp pressure up and up but mine is slipping and it isn't ramping pressure. Fluid level and temps are good. Basically it's slipping, they don't know why, but to open it up means fluid needs to be replaced. At 110k that will likely cause more issues. Most people I know say flush the fluid before 90k or don't bother because it'll cause more problems if you do it later than that. This shop definitely knows their stuff. But they don't do piecemeal rebuilds. Recommended a small transmission shop that will rebuild for ~$3k but it'd be investing money in a 16 year old car. It may get me another year by which point it'll need a new water pump and valve cover gasket. It's just not a good use of money for me now to be fixing up a 16 year old car.

I'd like to think I can get away with new bridge seal, mechatonic seals, solenoids, fluid and filter. But all of that is $1500. Maybe $700 if I do it myself. But if that doesn't solve it I just wasted a ton of money.

seanjordan20

I was getting safe mode for 4 years. I finally decided to do the fluid change and VB rebuild at 130k (first time changing fluid) plus the seal and filter change since then no more issues. I can almost guarantee at 110k you transmission is fine. I helped someone in Japan with the same thing you were told and after his worked as new. It room me $900 total with fluid, gaskets, filter and VB remain to fix mine and it easy as long as you know how to turn a wrench. The only thing you'll be without the car for a.few.days waiting to get your VB back

PaoChe

Yeah I do find it hard to believe at 110K miles it'd be outright failing. Its been giving me a little lurch/clunk down from 2nd to 1st when I come to a stop for years now. I figured that was just normal for an older car, my sisters old Audi did it so violently you'd get whiplash, it did that for 3 years and still didn't fail. Mine is so mild I didn't think anything of it.

Read a lot of people saying that's the first sign that rectangular valve body seal needs replacing. New solenoids and seals seems to solve it for most people. Though I've also heard the early E60's needed a transmission software update to fix the clunk from 2nd to 1st?

Once it started slipping from 3rd to 4th and I got E-Clutch errors I realized there's more to it.

Checked my adaptations and they're anywhere from +200mbar to -400mbar. The one shop I took it to with a certified ZF technician said there's no guidelines for a negative offset that far. Said he's never seen that before and he recommended complete transmission replacement. Not very helpful... Negative numbers are pretty strange as normally when the trans is slipping it'll ramp the pressure way up to compensate. Mine isn't doing that. Shifts are getting sloppy and slow. If I keep it at a super steady 2000 rpm and don't vary at all it'll be smooth and shift quick, any variation in acceleration or any higher rpm and it's a mess.

At any rate, I guess I'll give solenoids, seals, fluid and filter a try. All together the parts seem to run $600-800. I can rent a lift and try to do it myself, but I'd prefer to have a shop do it for like $500 or less if possible (if I provide the parts).

Main issue is finding someone that can clear adaptations and retrain correctly to avoid damaging the trans. I don't trust run od the mill transmission shops to be able to do that.