E38 and E39 Autobox Queries

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   Hi All
Just wanted to ask a few questions to Andrew, and anyone else who has knowledge of the autoboxes fitted to the E38 and E39...
1. Is it normal to have to give about 1/4 accelerator push to get this car to pull off? I could compare it to having to slip a manual cars clutch. The car only does this in E mode though...and pulls off smoothly in Sport and Steptronic modes?
2. When cold, the car seems to slam the gears the gears into each other when changing down from 3rd to 2nd, when I dont have my foot on the accelerator
3. There is a loud "whooshing" noise everytime the car changes gear. It is more apparent when the car is cold, but still happens when the car is warm... You can hear it very clearly when the windows are open... This happens irrispective of whether it is in E, S or Steptronic mode?
4. Reverse gear seems to take ages to engage. When putting the car from Park to Drive, it engages in about 1/4 seconds. When engaging Park to Reverse, it will take just over a second to engage. There is also a metallic 'clink' noise everytime that Drive or Reverse is engaged?
Any help on the above question would be AWESOME!
Many Thanks
BB

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BeemaBoy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Really Senior Member II Starting a Collection Joined: 25-October-2004 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Status: Offline Points: 927	Post Options Post Reply Quote BeemaBoy Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: E38 and E39 Autobox Queries Posted: 21-January-2008 at 06:25
	Hi All Just wanted to ask a few questions to Andrew, and anyone else who has knowledge of the autoboxes fitted to the E38 and E39... 1. Is it normal to have to give about 1/4 accelerator push to get this car to pull off? I could compare it to having to slip a manual cars clutch. The car only does this in E mode though...and pulls off smoothly in Sport and Steptronic modes? 2. When cold, the car seems to slam the gears the gears into each other when changing down from 3rd to 2nd, when I dont have my foot on the accelerator 3. There is a loud "whooshing" noise everytime the car changes gear. It is more apparent when the car is cold, but still happens when the car is warm... You can hear it very clearly when the windows are open... This happens irrispective of whether it is in E, S or Steptronic mode? 4. Reverse gear seems to take ages to engage. When putting the car from Park to Drive, it engages in about 1/4 seconds. When engaging Park to Reverse, it will take just over a second to engage. There is also a metallic 'clink' noise everytime that Drive or Reverse is engaged? Any help on the above question would be AWESOME! Many Thanks BB
	87 E30 320I 95 E34 525I Auto, Executive Package, Arctic Silver 98 E38 740I Steptronic, Silver

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Andrew Rolland Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Go away rain Joined: 19-August-2004 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 6579	Post Options Post Reply Quote Andrew Rolland Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 21-January-2008 at 08:14
	Hmmm I am assuming that the E38 has much the same autobox as the E39... Q1. I would say no, sounds like the box is low on fluid. Q2. When cold the up shifts between 1st and 2nd can be rough, this is because the engine is cold/ gearbox is cols/ tranny fluid is cold/ the cat is cold, so in order to get things up to temp the ECU makes the gear changes at higher engine rpms. This can make the gear shift seem a bit rough. Q3. Doesn't sound good. I thought I heard something like this twice on my E39. Both times I had been driving slowly due to fog or twisty road conditions with everything fully warm and I heard a noise like a lorry letting air out of its braking system. Very short burst and not hugely loud. Never found out what the problem was and never had any strange effects afterwards. It might have been tranny fluid being expelled out of a breather pipe. I used to get this on my Vauxhall Senator, but I could smell the tranny fluid once it had been expelled. The Sennie only ever did it when working hard, i.e. car loaded with 5 people and on country twisty roads and the other time, tramping past lorries on the M6 at about 90. I hadn't long refilled the Sennie tranny so I had probably over filled it and it was just getting rid of excess tranny fluid. But you having an E38 you won't be able to check the tranny fluid level! Q4. Again sounds like low fluid level, gear changes between N and R should be made within say 1/4 of a second but not as much as 1 second I don't think. I would take it to an Automatic Transmission Specialist and get him to check the box. Sounds like fluid level is a bit low, but as these are sealed for life boxes there is nothing you can really do. Get a full fluid change and filter change along with a tranny service. HTH Andrew
	Be exclusive and drive a Petrol 5 Series! Current '13 62 F10 535i MSport Auto Previous '04 04 E60 545i SE Auto '03 53 E60 545i SE Auto (Stolen) '98 S E39 523i SE Auto

BeemaBoy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Really Senior Member II Starting a Collection Joined: 25-October-2004 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Status: Offline Points: 927	Post Options Post Reply Quote BeemaBoy Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 21-January-2008 at 08:56
	Wow...thanks for the quick reply Andrew ... Could an autobox with a low fluid level really cause all that? The most annoying thing for me would have to be what I reported in question 3...It does indeed sound like a trucks air brakes...but unlike your E39 noise, mine is loud...VERY LOUD. When I pull out of my house, and I rev the car to about 2000RPM, people at the other end of the street turn their heads to see what the noise is. It makes the noise all the time, but gets louder just as the box changes gear... I have a recording of the noise, if that would help? The vent pipe actually sound quite plausable and I wonder if mine is stuck open or something and letting all the noise from the autobox out into the open? What would be the chances that something has gone wrong with the valve body and that is why reverse takes so long? I have heard of the valve body going South, but that usually means that you cannot select Reverse at all! Thanks BB
	87 E30 320I 95 E34 525I Auto, Executive Package, Arctic Silver 98 E38 740I Steptronic, Silver