735 auto problem

Hi I have a 1989 735 and on a long trip towing a trailer the trans randomly would not change into top gear.It didn't matter what I did , slow down,speed up , manualy shift it or whatever I could not get it to change then when it decided IT!! was ready it would change itself perfectly. the other problem I have is sometimes I get trans fluid on the left rear of the engine. My guess is it's comming out of the dip stick as I can't see any other place for it to come out of but the dip stick tube saems quite dry. I do have a extra oil cooler on the trans and I mostly use the car to tow a1100kg trailer at about 65mph .please does anybody have any clues, I do have a spare trans but don't want to use it unless I realy need to .Thanks Ian Staples

Whats the level of the tranny fluid? Low trans fluid can cause this so the real problem isn't shifting issues, it's how to fix the leak.

Hi I have a 1989 735 and on a long trip towing a trailer the trans randomly would not change into top gear.It didn't matter what I did , slow down,speed up , manualy shift it or whatever I could not get it to change then when it decided IT!! was ready it would change itself perfectly. the other problem I have is sometimes I get trans fluid on the left rear of the engine. My guess is it's comming out of the dip stick as I can't see any other place for it to come out of but the dip stick tube saems quite dry. I do have a extra oil cooler on the trans and I mostly use the car to tow a1100kg trailer at about 65mph .please does anybody have any clues, I do have a spare trans but don't want to use it unless I realy need to .Thanks Ian Staples


How many miles are on the current tranny? I had an 88 735I several years ago and my tranny began to act as yours is, until one day, out of the blue, it never went into gear again. I ended up having to have the tranny replaced at a cost of around $3,300. Back then (1998) the car was worth close to $10,000, so I went ahead and replaced it, however now, it would not really be worth the cost to replace a tranny in an E32 unless you already had a bunch of money invested in it and was planning to keep it for awhile. Just my .02 cents worth.

I cheaper method of replacing your tranny is to find a donor/parts car that is in good running order. As you have an E32, you might be able to find an E32 or an E34 donor car with the same driveline. I'm almost positive that the E34's had similar drivetrain options on the 530/535's as the E32 735's.

If your a DIY'er (which should be one a prerequisite of ownership with these cars), you can also save on labor, cuz that's where most of the money is spent in repairs. The parts themselves are decent. Get a garage to buy the parts and of course they're gonna want to make money off the part and then charge you $70/hour for labor with a min of one hour.

Working on these car's isn't hard if you're up to learn something new. It's just a matter of understanding that they aren't any simpler or complex than a domestic, it's just different, and that's where the challenge is!

hi my tranz oil is slightly over full which might explain the oil possibly blowing out the dipstick?? . next time I go on a trip I will wrap a bit of wrag around the dip stick tube right up top and that will confirm if in fact this is where it's coming from. Yes I am a D.I.Y.er so if any body know how to service these trans i.e oil filter?? I would be please to hear from you . Also how do I find out exactly which trans is in my car ..1989 735il e32 and are these used in any other models . I can get a manual from my library for the 5 series bot not the 7. Thaks guys.. regards Ian the Kiwi.

hi my tranz oil is slightly over full which might explain the oil possibly blowing out the dipstick?? . next time I go on a trip I will wrap a bit of wrag around the dip stick tube right up top and that will confirm if in fact this is where it's coming from. Yes I am a D.I.Y.er so if any body know how to service these trans i.e oil filter?? I would be please to hear from you . Also how do I find out exactly which trans is in my car ..1989 735il e32 and are these used in any other models . I can get a manual from my library for the 5 series bot not the 7. Thaks guys.. regards Ian the Kiwi.
The transmission is made by ZF, who also makes transmissions for Terex and the like, is a 4HP22 if it's an auto. The rare manual tranny is a 5HP30, also made by ZF. I believe these trannies were used in 5-series BMW's as well, but I'm not certain.

You will also find a ZF 6-speed tranny in the new Maseratti Quattroporte, mostly all top end BMW's (if not ALL BMW's), Audi, and I believe Mercedes-Benz. As mentioned, they also make transmissions for buses, trucks, and mining equipment such as rock trucks, excavators, backhoe's and many other applications. See the Terex web site.

http://www.terex.com
http://www.zf.com

hi my tranz oil is slightly over full which might explain the oil possibly blowing out the dipstick?? . next time I go on a trip I will wrap a bit of wrag around the dip stick tube right up top and that will confirm if in fact this is where it's coming from. Yes I am a D.I.Y.er so if any body know how to service these trans i.e oil filter?? I would be please to hear from you . Also how do I find out exactly which trans is in my car ..1989 735il e32 and are these used in any other models . I can get a manual from my library for the 5 series bot not the 7. Thaks guys.. regards Ian the Kiwi.


The site below should answer your question.


http://www.realoem.com/bmw/select.do