BMW ZF Transmission shifting fault -- Mechatronic gasket/seal

[goodfellow]

Old buddy of mine is going to attempt this next week on his 5-Series. I'm not a fan of the ZF transmissions -- way too many issues, but the Europeans put them in just about everything. Anybody have any experience with this fault? He called me asking for some advice, but I have absolutely no experience with these transmissions. In fact I tend to stay away from anything made by European manufacturers these days. 

Apparently it's a plastic gasket/seal assembly that develops a crack in the housing and the resulting leak causes transmission shifting problems.

http://transmissionfault.com

[bonneyman]

No help here, but geez - am I getting sick and tired of problems related to manufacturers putting plastic parts in cars!   

[goodfellow]

No help here, but geez - am I getting sick and tired of problems related to manufacturers putting plastic parts in cars!   

LOL --have you looked inside the engine compartments of BMWs and Audi/VWs lately? ------ It's all thermo-plastic. A good friend of mine jokingly says that "..the stuff lasts just long enough for the warranty to expire."

I think he may be on to something ---LOL

[Matt_T]

Based on a quick search it appears the hardest part of the job is deciding what transmission fluid to use. The options appear to range from $5 a quart on up to north of $25

Job itself looks easy enough.

http://www.thectsc.com/images/pdf/thectsc_mechatronic_replacement.pdf

[goodfellow]

Thanks Matt!! -- I'll pass the pdf along to my buddy. He's taking a couple of days off this week to do this at his house. We also found a video on YouTube on it -- but I think the pdf will help out more.

[stokester]

Very informative PDF on the procedure.

I frequently observed coworkers who disregarded torque specs and tightening sequences - all it takes is one come-back to lose any time you may have gained.  With my German motorcycles I follow them to the letter.

German engineering is never to be questioned! 

[DeadNutz]

Very informative PDF on the procedure.

I frequently observed coworkers who disregarded torque specs and tightening sequences - all it takes is one come-back to lose any time you may have gained.  With my German motorcycles I follow them to the letter.

German engineering is never to be questioned or understood! 

There I fixed for you.

[Matt_T]

Thanks Matt!! -- I'll pass the pdf along to my buddy. He's taking a couple of days off this week to do this at his house. We also found a video on YouTube on it -- but I think the pdf will help out more.

You're welcome. Youtube is OK for getting an overview of a job but it's no substitute for real service documentation IME. Anyways how did the job go?

I frequently observed coworkers who disregarded torque specs and tightening sequences.

Amazes me the number of "skilled" mechanics who have no clue about tightening sequences. It's something that should happen automatically after a bit of experience even if you don't have the procedure available. You might not match the factory sequence exactly but should be close enough it'll pull down properly.

[goodfellow]

Thanks Matt!! -- I'll pass the pdf along to my buddy. He's taking a couple of days off this week to do this at his house. We also found a video on YouTube on it -- but I think the pdf will help out more.

You're welcome. Youtube is OK for getting an overview of a job but it's no substitute for real service documentation IME. Anyways how did the job go?

I frequently observed coworkers who disregarded torque specs and tightening sequences.

Amazes me the number of "skilled" mechanics who have no clue about tightening sequences. It's something that should happen automatically after a bit of experience even if you don't have the procedure available. You might not match the factory sequence exactly but should be close enough it'll pull down properly.

Far as I know he was successful. I haven't heard from him this week, but will check in later on. He's a pretty busy guy -- big corporate job, kids in HS and grade school, -- and lots of other activities.