ok, SES light came on after a long day of highway driving at 75 t0 80mph. had it checked and popped a p0741 (Torque converter clutch solenoid electrical circuit had performance fault or was stuck OFF for a predetermined period of time). I know i've seen a lot written on here about the issue. seems like people have experienced several different fixes. 130k ...should i start with tranny fluid/filter. always great to hear from forum members ...lots of help in the past, so looking for direction again, thx.
What’s the maintenance history for the tranny? Has its fluid and filter ever been changed?
BMW sourced auto trannies from GM of France and ZF of Germany. They are totally different trannies. How to tell which one is in your car? The GM tranny has a dmooth, flat tranny fluid pan. The ZF tranny has a ribbed tranny fluid pan. The GM tranny uses Dexron3 (or newer) fluid. The ZF tranny uses a fluid from a German company. It’s expensive.
You can buy complete fluid change kits from ECS Tuning and fcpeuro. The kit includes fluid, filter, pan gasket and pan bolts (in case you damage a bolt during removal). There are YouTube vids that’ll show you the process. Be advised that fluid refill process has to be followed to get the correct amount of fluid into the tranny. Btw, changing the fluid changes only about half of the fluid as the torque converter holds a lot of fluid.
I have a ZF, and had purchased the fluid etc., but decided to do it when I got back from a trip. So, yes, will do the fluid change first, but reading about how the ZF has a shaft seal in the torque converter that is a weak point and results in a need for new or rebuilt torque converter.
Change the fluid and see how she works before going down another road. Note that if the fluid is really black, you nay want to repeat the flush after a few days driving. The torque converter hold a bunch that doesn't come out right away. Good luck. Don't spill on the exhaust pipe.
Johnny Murray
To add to what johnj has written, there are shops that have tranny fluid exchange machines. These hook up to the tranny fluid cooler and, with the engine running, exchange all of the fluid. However, DO NOT have the tech add a detergent or other cleaning chemical to the new fluid as this can loosen gunk inside the tranny. That gunk can block small fluid passages in the tranny.
Yes. Basically the machine has 2 tanks. One holds the new fluid and the other is empty. As the new fluid is added to the tranny the old fluid goes into the 2nd tank. The tranny does the work as it’s designed to pump fluid to the cooler and back to the tranny.
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