E34Touring 0 Report post Posted July 13, 2014 Hey Team, So im new to this, so feel free to point me in the right direction... I have a 1996 E34 540i Touring, the automatic transmission's oil cooler has failed, while driving! I lost drive and oily water came out thru a breather, I placed the car in Neutral, turned off the engine and coasted to a stop. The cooler has completely failed with a total oil and water mix. Obviously i need a new cooler and trans / cooling system flushed, but want to know the best practice for this kind of work... What other parts should i look at replacing while i'm at it? (filter, etc etc) Trick and Tips for doing this job? Best value for money on aftermarket cooler? Thanks... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yng_750 247 Report post Posted July 13, 2014 I had it on a 525i. Problem is the over flow went both ways so i ended up with oil in water and water in trans. Trans was flushed immediatly. Went ok for a few months then totally failed with no warning. Put a second hand trans in went good. old trans had all the clutch disks chewed up in the sump. So not sure how well it can be fixed. If i had the issye again i might just swap the trans if i found one cheap enough. Biggest issue was despite a flush straight away with cleaner i had gunky oil residue forever coming out of the radiator. Within that same 6 months the heater valve clogged and froze. Header tank oring failed and leaked then a heater hose failed. Best bet is see how far the issue runs and get all areas cleaned. Talk to radiator shop for advice if trans fluid is in radiator. I have been told washing powder is good in oilled cooling systems. I have since used that method in a sentra which had the radiator topped up with 15w40 by mistake. Worked very well. Lots of bubbles though. Finally block off trans cooler and install a proper trans cooler seperatly. They work much better. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
E34Touring 0 Report post Posted July 13, 2014 Thanks Jason, Yes like you, it has gone both ways with 'oily river water' through out my cooling system! Also, just to top it off it has been sitting like this all weekend in a garage as it happened late friday night. I did some asking around in the weekend and was told, is sitting with oily water will give issues, as it breaks down friction glues etc in the trans and clutches etc =/ So best way is... Second Hand Trans and a New Radiator?? Can you explain a little more on blocking off the factory oil cooler and installing a seperate one? Thanks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yng_750 247 Report post Posted July 13, 2014 Depends if you go with a new radiator. I replaced my radiator eventually and hooked the cooler lines up as stamdard and hoped i didnt burst another cooler. In the mean time i hooked the two trans hoses into a small oil cooler behind the bumper. But i also had to block off the two unused fittings on the radiator as being split inside water could still escape. Mine sat for at least a week before being worked on so you may be better off as far as cooling but im.suspicious of trans damage. Alot may happen straight away if the plates slip due to water ingress when it was running Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
E34Touring 0 Report post Posted July 13, 2014 Yeah True, Ok, will do a little more asking around but kinda only want to play with the tranz once to be honest! Any ideas where i can get a Automatic Transmission for a 540i Touring? Are they different to the sedans transmissions?? And also a New or Secondhand Radiator?? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yng_750 247 Report post Posted July 13, 2014 Second hand rad should be fine. Biggest thing is cleaning it out asap to get oil off you rubber hoses. Google oil in radiator cleaning and get onto it sooner rather than later. 540i has a 5hp30 from memory which is v8 only through 5,7 and 8 series. Quite abit harder to find than my 525i trans. Might pay to keep the idea of a manual box tucked away in the back of your mind... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BM WORLD 1258 Report post Posted July 13, 2014 hi as i mentioned on the phone , i have a good 2nd trans and trans cooler etc if needed came from my 95 nz new 540i with 180k's. its a little bit tricky to run a air to oil cooler on this e34 540i setup as the fittings come out of the bottom of the trans and one pipe is inside the other. as you can see here. http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21MHC16NTGL.jpg and at $533usd new pretty expensive too. cheers brent 021433600 BM WORLD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
E34Touring 0 Report post Posted July 22, 2014 Right Team, Bit of a Yarn below.... Pennies Saved and ready for overhaul, After talking to several people and collecting opinions and information... I am replacing my Transmission and Oil Cooler with second hand units and installing a New Radiator. I was advised by the time I piss around with flushing my old trans, it would be a waste of money in mechanics labour and oil, as any amount of water in an autotrans is not recommended and it will never be the same. Ford New Zealand are having the exact same issues in there BA Falcons with trans coolers failing in the exact same way. (Except these are only 6 year old vehicles not 18 like my BM) They are flushing but still having high fail rates. I bought this car for long trip only, so the last thing i wanted was a dodgy trans playing on my mind as i set off on a friday night for a road trip. I found a Second hand Trans and Oil Cooler from BM World Ltd in Auckland. They had been removed for a manual conversion and had half the kms of my current trans, so this was even more reason to replace instead of flush A New Aluminum Radiator from A1 Automotive & Cooling was only $250 Delivered with credit card payment and overnight delivery. Besides these three main parts i will also install new rubber hoses and sensor for the Radiator and Oil and Filter in the Transmission. So should come together under $2500 Will let you know how i get on.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
