e-30 automatic doesnt upshift when cold
 

my 89 325ix automatic doesn't like to upshift out of first on its initial out the driveway start. After a few stop and starts it will make its first shift, then seems to be fine, shifting fairly normal. any suggestions, electrical contact or shift servo and can this stuff be done externally or inside the pan. I'm fairly adept in all areas except automatic trannies scare me.
thanks, hushpuppy

out of curiosity, how long does it take your car to warm up? engine coolant temp. i mean....

Vida,
it seems to be normal, water temp and heater is less than 5 minutes of driving. I also changed the trans filter and fluid to Mobil 1 ATF earlier this summer and it seemed to be better, but since the morning temps have fallen its about the same as last spring. If I let the car idle for about 5 minutes the upshifting is better, but it's still hard to get that first shift, even if I let the enging speed exceed 5,000 RPM. Its better to pull over and start again a time or two to get that first shift of the day to take place, After the inititial shift it works quite well, upshiftig at 3500 RPM in all gears smoothly.
rhanks, hushpuppy

I'm with you - I can rebuild engines, but automatic transmissions look like the inside of a plasmatron to me.

Automatic transmissions use the fluid as both a coolant and a hydraulic actuating fluid in their operation. They also use slip-rings and other devices to figure out what the load is on the car and shift into the proper gear. Later transmissions use electronic actuators versus mechanical ones. When the parts wear in the transmissions, it has "difficulty" measuring the load and shifting appropriately.

I would check the basics - fluid level to start. If you put it into one of the lower gears (keeping it in first), and then move the lever to pos 2, does it shift, or still hang?

-Wayne

Wayne,
It does the same thing when I put it in first and then shift to second manually for that first shift in the morning. I have noticed that I overfilled it a little (perhaps 1/2 quart). It seems like last spring before I changed the fluid and trans filter it measured full but could have also been overfull. I've thought about sucking out the extra and starting with it right on the line just to rule out the overfilled trannsmission. Any hope there?
thanks, hushpuppy

i try to stay away from auto trannys...it's greek

the only reason i mentioned the temp. was about 2 yrs ago on my wifes toyota (i know, i know) during winter on the freeway, she couldn't shift out of 1st, until it warmed up or she slowed down and the engine warmed due to less airflow. new thermostat, everything works. i guess somewhere, somehow, the thermostat is linked to automatic trans operation.

i dunno...

Shoot - I overfilled the transmission on my truck (brain fart), and then it blew up very shortly after that. I figure that there was too much fluid, and perhaps it busted a seal somewhere.

Try removing some of the fluid and see if that helps?

-Wayne

Wayne, Vida,
I did tap off a little fluid (1/2 quart)and its still the same. Its not a great issue as once it gets going in the morning its great all day. I think I'll try a dipstic or pan warmer for the winter and keep it inside and then try a few junkyard parts in the future when i drop the pan to change the oil and filter again. Otherwise its an awsome looking and driving car and shows that its still "hip to be square"

The 4-wheel drive cars are very different, I think the transmission is quite different too. Probably expensive to rebuild. If you can deal with it, I would just suck it up. But, it will probably slowly get worse over a while (like my truck did).

:(

-Wayne

Does not upshift when cold
 

Not to be off topic.. but I own a 97 E39 and I took it in complaining my car won't upshift when cold. After 5 minutes it was fine.

They handed me a bulletin 24-04-97
Claiming e31,e32,e34,e36,e38,e39 model do this in order to reduce vehicle emissions immediately following a cold start. Apparently it uses the "sport" programming for shift in the warm up phase..

Really annoying if you ask me..

now my second question.. anything aftermarket to get rid of this? : )

fgreen'
thanks for your input. I can't imagine a newer BMW auto designed to do this agrivating behavior. I've developed a procedure to deal with my transmission and purchased a supposedly low miles rebuilt tranny on e-bay in case mine gets worse. The best thing I did was adding slick-50 tranny treatment to lessen the symptoms and slicken up the overall shifting on this car. It's the first time I've had any success with any of these "snake oil" products.

Sounds like you need a 1-2 shift solonoid~~>not very expensive but you do have to drop the trans pan~>Iv never replaced one but it shouldnt be that difficult~~>just need 2 figure out which one is the 1-2