Crack in transmission drain pan from rock hit - Is weld or replace the only option?r

[ilike325i]

Hello, looks like I haven't been on this site for a while (2012 actually, holy moly!). Anyway I have a 1995 740i that I hit a rock with and it has a crack about 1/2' long from which the fluid is leaking.

There is a small dent in the pan but I don't think it is enough to "bend" the pan itself. I say this because there are zero leaks from the bolts.

I haven't been able to find a used pan except for a bit sketchy used one on ebay for $70. I think the junkyards punch holes in all of them maybe? I don't mind the $70 but I would hate to get something that could be in similar condition to mine or bent or something.

My question is will JBweld on inside and outside of pan (after thorough cleaning of course) be o.k. with the pressure or is welding the only way to go? This is not a show car, just more of an everyday run around car with sagging healdiner, small rip in driver's seat etc. so I'm not looking to buy new pan or anything like that. Just wanted to get some thoughts before I try to track down an aluminum welder.

Thanks for any thoughts, opinions, or ideas.

[haynes740]

So let me say I am not a metal expert at all. If it was me I would take my car to a welding shop and have them look at it. It they can weld it I would take the car home or to my Indy and have the pan removed and welded while my Indy does a fluid and filter change.


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[bluptgm3]

Do not use JB W if you plan to have the pan welded.


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[alexisonfire]

is it a 5hp 24 ? i have a replacement trans pan for the 55p24, pm me.

[haynes740]

is it a 5hp 24 ? i have a replacement trans pan for the 55p24, pm me.

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[ilike325i]

is it a 5hp 24 ? i have a replacement trans pan for the 55p24, pm me.

Cool I'll check. I assume those numbers are on the side of the tranny or on the pan?

Thanks!

[CPHES]

A 95 740 will likely by a 5hp30 - rectangular pan is 5hp24 - a 5hp30 is pointed on the end, and is aluminum.

[ilike325i]

Definitely aluminum and pointed on one end, so must be 5hp30. Darn. But thanks much for clarifying.

[SilverIris]

Definitely aluminum and pointed on one end, so must be 5hp30. Darn. But thanks much for clarifying.

The prep work for using JB Weld is the same as prepping it to be welded. Plus, JB Weld coming loose due to oil saturation sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

Since it's aluminum and a rather thick piece, it'll need quite a hefty TIG welder and someone with fantastic skills. With all of this known, there's only one person in the states whom I'd entrust such a difficult welding task to. That would be the owner of Defined Autoworks in Ohio. Even then, there would still be sealing concerns due to the amount of heat needed to weld it properly.

I would just get another pan and not worry about it. Part# is 24111422146, you might get lucky on Ebay. There's a few 5HP30s currently on there, you might see if they would just sell the pan.

[clumsy]

Believe I may have a pan for a 5hp30. Let me check my storage boxes. PM me and I'll get back to you

[clumsy]

Have a pan if you still need one. Also have valve body, solenoids etc. let me know if you want.

[SilverIris]

Have a pan if you still need one. Also have valve body, solenoids etc. let me know if you want.

I may need solenoids for Marina. Soon as I swap in the new ignition switch, currently on the way from ECS, I'll know for certain.

[ilike325i]

Thanks for the heads up on the pan clumsy, pm sent! Sorry I've been away from this thread for a bit. Need to get the 740 back on the road cuz it's my It's my designated luxo-barge cruiser/cigar/whatever car ha ha.

Thx for the thoughts on JB weld silveriris. I keep hearing "just jb weld it" from people I know but I don't know how well that would work long term. I guess there isn't that much pressure in the pan but still I'm hesitant. I bought a new gasket for the pan so I'll have to go one way or the other (used replacement pan, jb weld, or aluminum welder) depending on if clumsy still has one available etc. I haven't been able to find a local welder but have only looked briefly so far, not in earnest. I did buy the correct tranny fluid a couple years ago for a drain and fill that I never did so at least i have that covered. That fluid is spendy!

Also while I think of it, for those close to Portland Oregon I have a 96 bmw 328i convert auto and a 92 325i 4 door 5 speed if anyone is interested or needs any of those parts. 92 has headliner removed and I started a pickup conversion process so back trunk is cut out (plexiglass back window now) so it's best as a parts car or drift car for cheap. Runs and drives good. 96 convert runs and drives good but needs alternator (I assume because batt is not charging was working fine earlier). Interior is cosmetically challenged. low price for those if anybody wants whole or maybe i would be better off to part out I suppose. They would be fun for a BMW enthusiast. Also if anyone is into porsche 928s I have a 78' 5 speed, 80' Euro S auto, and 82' auto. Also a 2002 and 2003 saab wagon (02 needs ignition switch and 03 engine is bad cuz oil passeges clogged when I was driving it - common for those when previous owner didn't run synthetic oil). We will be moving next year and I need to clean out some of these vehicles cuz they just sit there. I just mention in passing in case anyone likes those particular cars.

[ilike325i]

Clumsy helped out by selling me a pan. Thanks a lot! Cheers!

[ilike325i]

Well I got the new pan installed but after it was all torqued down (before adding fluid thank goodness) I noticed I missed a part that is on the old pan. It's a washer like disc that sits at the base of the big plastic shroud thingamagigger (see red circle in pic). The plastic shroud sits on three holes of the pan and is not secured down. The disc sits around one of the holes. Don't know how I missed it. So I guess off the pan comes again. Darn!

I also stripped three of the bolts enough that I couldn't get them to 10nm, so perhaps I'll get a few new bolts also before install. I think issue was that i used a torx 25 and later found that a T27 fit better.

One positive thing is that the gasket I ordered form Pelican parts holds the bolts in the holes, which makes installation really easy as far as lining up pan and gasket. Man I need to invest in a car lift one of these days. Getting too old for cramped quarters work ha ha!
IMG_7440.jpg
Edit: Just saw a youtube video and it looks like it is just a magnet. So I'm thnking it may be o.k. to leave it off being the car had 170K and is more of a run around car not some really nice car. But maybe tomorrow I'll have some newfound energy ha ha and just redue the installation... : ) BTW here is a pic of the big black plastic piece from youtube fyi:
tranny2.jpg

[ilike325i]

Update: Got the green bomber back on the road today after filling tranny and it's very smooth. Thx so much clumsy for sending the part!

I ended up using Max life tranny fluid ($6.50 ish per quart from amazon) plus I had 4 quarts of the spendy gold colored bmw oem stuff.

The fill procedure is so bmw (ie overly complicated) it's funny. Car has to be level, up in the air so the wheels can spin, fill from underneath while shifting through the gears and revving the engine. Doing it with 1 person and no lift was quite an adventure. I put it on jack stands and checked for level. Put a mirror on drivers side so I could see fill tube/drain hole underneath and had a harbor freight d-cell transfer pump to pump the fluid in. Sheesh that's crazy just to fill the tranny. But it's my own fault for taking the car target shooting on forest roads I suppose ha ha. Thx for all the help. Cheers!

here is the link for the $10 battery powered pump if anyone is interested FYI:https://www.harborfreight.com/batter...hoCx0UQAvD_BwE

[kouks]

So you mixed the BMW fluid with MaxLife? Not a good thing.

If you want your trans to last, I'd dump all that out and replace it with the spendy stuff. The BMW fluid is actually Pentosin ATF 1 and you can get it in 5 L jugs for not much more than that MaxLife crap.

Or you can keep driving it until the trans fails and you need another trans for $3k.

[SilverIris]

So you mixed the BMW fluid with MaxLife? Not a good thing.

If you want your trans to last, I'd dump all that out and replace it with the spendy stuff. The BMW fluid is actually Pentosin ATF 1 and you can get it in 5 L jugs for not much more than that MaxLife crap.

Or you can keep driving it until the trans fails and you need another trans for $3k.

Could you please back up your fluid-related claim with further verifiable evidence? There is no sense in spending more for a different fluid that meets the same specifications. This is one area where scientific analysis by competent persons with appropriate credentials in Chemistry outweighs personal opinion.

Early 5HP-30s got Shell LA2634 fluid. BMW later put in Esso LT71141 and issues a TSB for dealerships to do the same as LT71141 is backwards-compatible. Coincidentally, Valvoline MaxLife meets both specs...

[racer2086]

From my understanding, the newer bottles of MaxLife do not support LT71141. The specs on MaxLife show that its viscosity is lower at operating temperature than the ZF fluid.

I don't think you need to be a chemist to understand that saving $50 on fluid isn't worth the risk of a $5k transmission. ZF is extremely specific about their fluid FWIW. I definitely wouldn't mix fluids.

I ran MaxLife (with the LT71141 on the bottle) in my transmission for about 35k miles before my transmission gave up the ghost. I swapped in ZF lifeguard prior to its demise for about 2-3k more miles. When I swapped back to the ZF fluid, the car felt and shifted as it did prior to my MaxLife fill. The MaxLife definitely felt different when I first changed it thousands of miles before. Was it bad for the transmission? Don't know. Would I put it back in my rebuilt transmission to save a few bucks? Hell no.

[SilverIris]

From my understanding, the newer bottles of MaxLife do not support LT71141. The specs on MaxLife show that its viscosity is lower at operating temperature than the ZF fluid.

I don't think you need to be a chemist to understand that saving $50 on fluid isn't worth the risk of a $5k transmission. ZF is extremely specific about their fluid FWIW. I definitely wouldn't mix fluids.

I ran MaxLife (with the LT71141 on the bottle) in my transmission for about 35k miles before my transmission gave up the ghost. I swapped in ZF lifeguard prior to its demise for about 2-3k more miles. When I swapped back to the ZF fluid, the car felt and shifted as it did prior to my MaxLife fill. The MaxLife definitely felt different when I first changed it thousands of miles before. Was it bad for the transmission? Don't know. Would I put it back in my rebuilt transmission to save a few bucks? Hell no.

Thank you for clarifying about the differences, I was not aware that MaxLife no longer supported LT71141 specification. When I filled Marina's transmission last November, LT71141 was displayed on the fluid bottle. It's been awhile since I looked at them in stores, so I could definitely be wrong here.

Chemistry definitely is NOT my area of expertise, which is why I concede to those with greater knowledge and experience on the subject.

As for difference in viscosity, that could explain what I've noticed with Iris recently. Reverse has been a bit slow to engage, a bit weak and she couldn't back up the driveway a few days ago. This driveway is your average suburban inclined driveway, but the behavior is very similar to what occurred spring 2019 at my old house (couldn't back out of VERY shallow uphill driveway), but not as pronounced. In contrast, she pulled herself right up this driveway with no fuss after doing the fluid/filter in December.

Thinner fluid like the Maxlife stuff being unable to maintain adequate pressure on the clutch packs could definitely create this scenario.

In conclusion: I agree with you.
At the same time, there's bound to be a suitable fluid that is comparable in price to Maxlife, widely available in the US and meets the correct specifications, but without the BMW/ZF pricetag on it. Time to start looking at the other options.

[kouks]

At the same time, there's bound to be a suitable fluid that is comparable in price to Maxlife, widely available in the US and meets the correct specifications, but without the BMW/ZF pricetag on it. Time to start looking at the other options.

It's called Pentosin ATF1. It's $67 per 5L jug on Amazon. MaxLife is $38 per 6 Qt case. You'll need about 3 jugs to do a flush, maybe 4. Is saving $90 worth risking $3-5k for another trans?