e39 525i, Torque converter shudder? , nope its a Misfire :)

[charles28 136]

For the most part my E39 drives smooth and so far I've done 5000k without any issues. (in 2 months).

It has the steptronic ZF gearbox, (Not sure which model though). but its a lot nicer then the Jatco box in my older E39 I used ot own.

If I drive in heavy traffic for ages, start stop, hardly moving etc, the car eventually feels a bit odd when starting off, almost like a binding feeling/ shudder, when it does this the car feels like its not transmitting the power to the wheels as well as it should.

However once the traffic dies off and i'm motoring a long more at a decent speed the issue disappears..

Could the tranny fluid be breaking down and not handling the heat? I assume the auto gets hot when stuck in traffic, or perhaps i'm on the wrong track.

Cheers

Charles

Edited February 22, 2014 by Charles32

[yng_750 247]

Sounds like the fluid over heating.

Its lifetime fluid but still should be done after 100kms. Last time i got a bmw trans fluid replaced cost about 300. Its one job i would only ever leave to the pros. If you sit in traffic alot you might consider a trans cooler

[jeffbebe 1559]

E39 autos have a trans cooler... It's just not that great. I'm planning on fitting an aux cooler behind the bumper and ditching the fogs. Can hopefully do it all for under $300.

[BreakMyWindow 1874]

For the most part my E39 drives smooth and so far I've done 5000k without any issues. (in 2 months).

It has the steptronic ZF gearbox, (Not sure which model though). but its a lot nicer then the Jatco box in my older E39 I used ot own.

If I drive in heavy traffic for ages, start stop, hardly moving etc, the car eventually feels a bit odd when starting off, almost like a binding feeling/ shudder, when it does this the car feels like its not transmitting the power to the wheels as well as it should.

However once the traffic dies off and i'm motoring a long more at a decent speed the issue disappears..

Could the tranny fluid be breaking down and not handling the heat? I assume the auto gets hot when stuck in traffic, or perhaps i'm on the wrong track.

Cheers

Charles

I'd start with a trans fluid flush. Do you know if you have the 5hp19 ZF box ? seems it would since BMW like to use the same trans in different models There's heaps of info on the USA forums about TC issues for that box as it was used in the 530i.

[yng_750 247]

Sorry meant to say fit a trans cooler that works. I dont trust the factory one to do much

[charles28 136]

It looks like i've mis diagnosed the issue.

I suspect the real cause of this is a Misfire, when the cars got hot sitting in traffic.

This morning it was bad, the car dropped a cylinder and ran really badly, after I'd been in traffic for 30mins or so.

Turning the car off and restarting it got it back on all 6, for about 10 mins until it did it again. (after driving over a bridge going up hill).

Oddly on the way home it didn't play up, I didn't even feel what I thought was a torque convert shudder.

Tomorrow I'm getting it scanned, suspect Coil or Sensor.

[charles28 136]

Cool. so did a Scan, 4 Errors:

1. Camshaft Sensor (exhaust side)

2. Misfire on Cylinder #2

3. Fuel Tank Evap valve or something?

4. Thermostat Map control

Number 4 I knew, as the thermostat is open all the time and I have a replacement ready to install.

Number 1, well I'll replace it next week.

Number 2, could be caused by number 1, but i'm not convinced, so i'll swap Coil #2 with Coil #5 and see if the misfire moves.

[yng_750 247]

Did you clear and retest?.

Sent from my GT-I8160L using Tapatalk 2

[charles28 136]

Did you clear and retest?.

Sent from my GT-I8160L using Tapatalk 2

Cleared the errors, will re-test next week.

I don't have a scanner of my own, but have ordered one today from good ole Ebay

[Allanw 1071]

Once it logs a missfire code enough times, it shuts off that cylinder until a restart. Likely a coil or something related

The thermostat code only comes up when the electrical heater in the thermostat goes open ciruit - you'll need to replace it either way, but a thermostat stuck open won't cause a thermostat code.

Missfires can also be from oil leaking into the spark plugs holes, from the rocker cover gaskets, shorting the coil to ground sometimes. while you're in there, have a look - the gaskets don't last forever and are pretty common to leak anyway. Check the plugs too - a lot of kiwis are too tight to service things, and plugs stay in until they cause an issue (lease companies are classics for it!).

[charles28 136]

Once it logs a missfire code enough times, it shuts off that cylinder until a restart. Likely a coil or something related

The thermostat code only comes up when the electrical heater in the thermostat goes open ciruit - you'll need to replace it either way, but a thermostat stuck open won't cause a thermostat code.

Missfires can also be from oil leaking into the spark plugs holes, from the rocker cover gaskets, shorting the coil to ground sometimes. while you're in there, have a look - the gaskets don't last forever and are pretty common to leak anyway. Check the plugs too - a lot of kiwis are too tight to service things, and plugs stay in until they cause an issue (lease companies are classics for it!).

Yeah last week it shut off a cylinder and came back after restarting, i'm not convinced that the camshaft sensor could have caused this.

I replaced all the spark plugs about 2 weeks ago, no sign of any oil leaking at all.

I had the misfiring previous to this, just didn't know that it was misfiring at the time.

The coils don't look that old at all, the boots especially look brand new infact, however they could still be a few years old.

Thermostat being installed this week, along with a new Camshaft sensor, I have swapped the coils around to see if the misfire moves, if it does then i'll get a new coil of the same brand (Bosch) for that cylinder.

If the mis-fire remains on cyl #2 I'll try another sparkplug, its not unheard of to get a dud.

[charles28 136]

Since swapping coil pack #2 with #5 I have not had a misfire.

I'm waiting for my cam sensor to turn up, should arrive early next week.

I got the thermostat replaced today and the transmission serviced.

I assumed it had a ZF gearbox, but its got a freakin Jatco box, I assumed that all the steptronic boxes would be ZF in the E39, but I was wrong..

My mechanic reckons it looks different to other jatco boxes he's seen in other BMW's, (older e39's and e36's)

The 1st filter kit was incorrect and he had to get another...

But the good news is the gearbox is as smooth as silk (was before the service too).

[e39520iA 0]

Hey Charles,

if you like, just post or pm your rego and I can find out which steptronic box is in your E39. I also never heard of a Jatco Steptronic...

And can you please let me know where you had your gearbox service and how much you paid as I need a service, too. Thank you!

regards

Matthias