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E36 Jatco transmission problems

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I tried it on the 328 - it didnt work for me

Ok that's all good was just curious. How's your one going anyway? I'm hoping to get mine done soon while im on annual leave lol, it seems to love changing gear to quickly (eg 3rd to 4th when only doing 2500 RPM with foot down) when you really want it to move, unless of course i have it in sport.

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it seems to love changing gear to quickly (eg 3rd to 4th when only doing 2500 RPM with foot down) when you really want it to move, unless of course i have it in sport.

Mine too, is this a fault or normal? Doesn't bother me tbh.

I'm lucky I don't have a Jatco jerk .... yet ....

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Ok that's all good was just curious. How's your one going anyway?

A friends been driving it daily for 2/3 weeks & I drove it yesterday & happily its all good

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ive got the bladdy jatco jerk all id o is put it in snow for the first 10mins of driving and then back into econo mode

drives fine if i do that

car is at 194000 kms approx and in regards to a previous post, i know th zf transmition is lifetime fluid etc and doesnt give many issues but considering the jatco is a totally different box can i change the fluid without causing it to fail soon after?and prolong the life left in it?

im not up for a manual conversion again and would like to stay out from underneath the car (seems like im constantly fixing something hhah)

thanx in advance

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ive got the bladdy jatco jerk all id o is put it in snow for the first 10mins of driving and then back into econo mode

drives fine if i do that

car is at 194000 kms approx and in regards to a previous post, i know th zf transmition is lifetime fluid etc and doesnt give many issues but considering the jatco is a totally different box can i change the fluid without causing it to fail soon after?and prolong the life left in it?

im not up for a manual conversion again and would like to stay out from underneath the car (seems like im constantly fixing something hhah)

thanx in advance

I changed my atf in the hope it would prolong the life left in it, but nope it did not. Of course you or anyone could argue that it wouldnt hurt, sure, but the jatco jerk in general isnt because the atf is getting a bit useless. If you didnt have the jerk already it may, but considering you do have the jerk, I am afraid it will do piss all really.

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I've got the Jatco jerk and flaring. Fluid was replaced a few months ago to no effect. Tried clearing the adaptions a couple of weeks ago and it got worse immediately. Spoke to a transmission specialist with some expertise in Jatcos and they tell me that the trans had adapted to the wear and tear. By clearing the adaptions, the shift parameters had been reset to default. While this may have improved the jerk, the flaring had gotten worse.

I suppose as the trans "re-adapts" over time, the jerk will return and the flaring will get better again? Seems like the only fix is to go manual or find a good replacement auto.

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Hi all, I realise I am necroing this post, but it's better to ask here than start a new one; it appears that I have this dreaded Jatco jerk...

Just push the snowflake button when you take off then you can avoid the 1st-2nd jump until it's nice and warm.

What I did notice as well is that the problem isn't evident when at operating temperature, that's great, but is there any other risk to the gearbox driving around for extended periods of time using the snowflake setting?

One thing I am worried about is cooking the transmission as, other than this problem, it feels pretty perfect.

Just after a few assurances :)

& should be VERY cheap-had my 328 done this avo while I waited-took about 5 mins.

Where did you take yours? Can anyone suggest a BMW service centre in Wellington? Just called Jeff Grey and they told me about $60 for half an hour labour. $60 is nothing, but I just don't like getting ripped if it really is a 5 minute job.

He also had no idea what I was talking about when calling it the 'Jatco Jerk' lol! That's obviously not the technical term :lol:

Edited by e36ttfto

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I suppose as the trans "re-adapts" over time, the jerk will return and the flaring will get better again? Seems like the only fix is to go manual or find a good replacement auto.

I had the same problems on the missus' car! I changed and flushed trans and diff and got the adaptions reset.

It did feel weird at first...i took it for a good run, about an hour on the open road and up and down a few hills and short sprints

After that the box was much much better, jerk was still there but no where near as bad!

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HI guys.

I have a bmw e36 it's a 328i straight 6 

Now I've been having this transmission issue where on first gear it holds and revs to abut 3000 rpm before it changes to the next gear all other gears seams OK but it always that first gear I've tried reseting the tcm but it's still the same.

But I have notice that if I back my foot off the pedal after hitting 3000 rpm it changes to the next gear.

Now is this my tcm given up or is it something more?

Any help guys will be very much appreciated.

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I have a Jatco in my E36 and it has been serviced and shifts reasonably well. That said it also has a post 1997 TCU and supposedly they do make a noticeable difference. 

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On 1/26/2020 at 7:31 PM, Bruno118 said:

...where on first gear it holds and revs to abut 3000 rpm before it changes to the next gear...

Changing at 3000 is fine... I'm not sure what problem you're describing...

If you mean that it should be changing at 3000 and is flaring higher whilst trying to change then that could just be low fluid.

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When my jatco was jerking, it was the 1st-2nd change, and it held first until it slipped and then banged hard into second. Crossing intersections was the worst, you never knew when it would actually decide it wanted to change and in the mean time it could slip enough that you would lose some momentum. Holding gears isnt the traditional "jatco jerk" issue, its the hard shifting or flaring/slipping.

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Revival again. 

Can some one lay it out simple. 

I have the jerk. Without pulling the gearbox out or taking it to a transmission expert what are my options . 

Fluid and filter change ? 

Reset ? 

Can any scan tool do the reset ?

 

Cheers 

 

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My jerk was 1st to 2nd, flat shift type. A new filter and fluids didn't make it any better. I just used the snow flake mode to hold it out of 1st gear.

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Learn to live with it basically 

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Basically it gets to a point where it’s bad enough to require swap out with either a manual box or OEM German auto transmission.

Have had two jerkco automatic e36s and both had issues , one at 80,000 (318i )and one at 120,000 (328i) The first one had a rebuild ($3k 20 years back ) and problem came back at 110k , second one made it to beyond 240,000 km with slight 1-2 jerk and gentle acceleration used most f it’s life. 

Best option for these transmissions is a 40 tonne catiplier bulldozer or a molten furnace.

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Pretty sure the loom is completely different on the ZF and why no one swaps them in.

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5 hours ago, Neal said:

Basically it gets to a point where it’s bad enough to require swap out with either a manual box or OEM German auto transmission.

Have had two jerkco automatic e36s and both had issues , one at 80,000 (318i )and one at 120,000 (328i) The first one had a rebuild ($3k 20 years back ) and problem came back at 110k , second one made it to beyond 240,000 km with slight 1-2 jerk and gentle acceleration used most f it’s life. 

Best option for these transmissions is a 40 tonne catiplier bulldozer or a molten furnace.

Yup. Agree completely, utter trash of a transmission.

Mine did about 80,000km and the jerk got to the point where it would lurch at takeoff too, which made getting across intersections interesting. When it got to that point I manual converted the car and didnt look back.

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From memory I paid $2900 a long time ago to recondition a Jatco before blowing it again and just converting to manual. Car was around the 120k km mark at the time, I was first owner after Japan.

Manual conversion or swap in another Jatco and call it a day, don't waste your money reconditioning.

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