Mark: Hi, it's Mark Bossert. I'm here with Bernie Pawlik, Pawlik Automotive in Vancouver, Vancouver's best auto service experience, and we're talking cars. How you doing, Bernie?
Bernie: Doing very well today.
Mark: So today's guest is a 2009 BMW 335D. I don't know if we've done a podcast about this before.
Bernie: I don't know if we've done one on this car or not.
Mark: Very powerful. Lots of torque. Beautiful vehicle. What was happening?
Bernie: Yeah, a really nice car to drive, actually, after we fixed what we're gonna talk about. What was happening is, the owner was experiencing some transmission shifting issues and going on for a while he said. Sometimes when you'd go and put it in reverse, it would take a while before it went into reverse. There was a delay engaging into gear. And same with forward gears. Worse when it was cold. Sometimes it would miss a shift while you're out driving and it wouldn't shift properly between certain gears. So pretty concerning. And you know, I kind of figured, hey, it's a BMW, there's not a lot of parts available. It'll probably be a transmission replacement if the owner even wants to do it.
Mark: It's an automatic transmission?
Bernie: Automatic, yeah. We do the odd BMW with a standard. They're not very common, generally older. Yeah, generally older. But even stuff around this vintage, there are available in standard.
Mark: There's our vehicle.
Bernie: There's our vehicle.
Mark: Rainy day in Vancouver.
Bernie: Yeah. Rainy day and a bit dirty from winter.
Mark: Let's jump right to the culprit.
Bernie: Yeah. So right to the culprit. So actually this turned out to be the problem. So of course, you know, how do we find it? Well, we do some diagnosis, we do some research. Scan for codes. The only code was a shift over, I can't remember the exact description, but something to do a shift between fifth and sixth gear, which wasn't even related to the primary concern. But nonetheless, it gave us, you know, some pointed direction that was in the transmission.
So this is a common problem on these BMW transmissions. It's a spacer. The arrows are pointing to rubber o-rings. Well, they're actually square O-rings, but they're rubber seal rings that go between this plastic spacer, and these go between the valve body and the transmission body.
And so what happens is there's fluid that's being pumped through them. And if of course, if the pressure isn't full which happens as the seal deteriorates, then the transmission won't shift properly.
What we're looking at here is the bottom of the transmission. With the valve body removed. The valve body is basically what controls the transmission shifting. It has valves and that will control fluid flow to the various clutch packs and bends and things inside the transmission.
And that's the valve body. This is the valve body which sits at the bottom of the transmission, just above the transmission pan.
And yeah, so it bolts right up into that area.
Mark: Sort of nestled in and out of this area here?
Bernie: Yeah, it sits, it sits right in that cavity there. And what sits on top of this is the transmission pan, which, if you look under the vehicles, basically a big black pan that sits underneath it. And that's sort of the base of where all the fluid sits. There's a filter in there as well.
Mark: Was this a straight six?
Bernie: t's a straight six diesel, yeah. So traditional BMW longitudinal engine.
Mark: This is where this piece sits.
Bernie: That's where the seal sits. Yeah. There are four seals there. And also if you look just behind where the black piece is, you can see sort of a shiny area with some holes and passageways.
Mark: Right here?
Bernie: Yeah. Right there. Yep. Those are also areas where fluid flows between the valve body and the transmission. But for some reason there are no seals there. I don't know why, but I guess they didn't feel it was necessary, the manufacturer, for some reason. And a lot of transmissions are like that, they don't actually have a seal in between the valve body.
Mark: So this valve body and that lower area, that area that we're looking at. Where the failure part was. That's all bathed in transmission fluid, is that right?
Bernie: All bathed in fluid, yeah. And this is all pumped through the transmission. There's fluid flowing, and on the left side you can see some colourful items, orange, blue, those are electronic valves that control the shifting. So, you know, there's a computer that signals the computer gets information from the transmission. The transmission shifts the gears based on the signals. And so these are like electric solenoids that'll be activated.
This is the top view of the valve body and the blue arrow points to where that seal, the culprit seal sits.
Mark: Another view of it.
Bernie: Yeah, there's a closer up view. You can also see those passageways that don't have seals.
And then there's a close view of the bottom of the transmission with the other four black O-ring seals that we replaced.
Another view of the valve body, again, close up where the four seals go. And I think we've kinda looked at everything.
Mark: An extensive repair is what it feels like.
Bernie: Yeah. But nothing compared to the taking the transmission apart and replacing that. This is only the simple stuff of the automatic transmission. The real complexity hides up above all where all those O-rings and seals go.
Mark: So the valve body part is complex in itself, but it's not the most complex part.
Bernie: Yeah, no, exactly. It's a very complex piece of equipment, of an automatic transmission. It's amazing how reliable they are, and they work really well.
Mark: Was this an eight speed, nine speed?
Bernie: Think it was an eight, maybe a six could be a six. You know, it's funny, you just have to look at how many years you go by. Like now, any modern vehicle, eight speed is like, kind of normal, you know, on a higher end. You know, my GM truck I've got as a 10 speed. It's like my bicycle. You know, my, I got a 10 speed bike. It's a 10 speed car. It's funny.
Mark: So how did everything run after repairs?
Bernie: Well, there was still some more work to be done afterwards, so as with any vehicle it's complicated and computerized. There's adaptations that need to be done. The transmission computer had been used to operating for a long time with the pressures improperly. So, you know, it's brain so to speak, is wired to work with wrong information or improper physics, you know, lack of pressure. So it kinda gets used to operating in that level. So when you replace everything now, it doesn't quite work. I mean, immediately when we drove it, it was like a hundred percent fixed.
But there's still issues where when you slow the car down to a stop, the transmission would kinda make a thump. Like it wouldn't make a thump, but it was a rough disengagement. So there was some adaptations that we need to perform to the transmission computer. Some road tests, some procedures. The adaptations are done through a computer. And then the rest of it is done through driving procedures. And, you know, once we did that, perfect. The owner's tickled. He expected to replace a transmission or maybe ditch the car, so he is really happy that it works.
Mark: Probably saved him in the five figures.
Bernie: Yeah. Even though this car's in good shape and runs well, it's, you know, the value, I don't know that it would even be worth spending money on a rebuild transmission. There could probably be a good used one to be had. But again, you know, when you think about used parts, you go, well, if you have something that's got a common problem, like this seal, it's almost like if you were to put a used one in, you'd wanna fix that seal too.
Mark: So this is a fairly common problem with the diesels or with all BMWs?
Bernie: With all BMWs.
Mark: If you're looking for repairs for your BMW transmission or of any part of your BMW in Vancouver, the guys to see your Pawlik Automotive, you can reach them online at pawlikautomotive.com. Or you can call them at (604) 327-7112 to book your appointment. You have to book ahead. They're always busy. Pawlik Automotive in Vancouver, BC Canada. Thanks so much for watching and listening. Thanks Bernie.
Bernie: And thank you, Mark, and thank you for watching.
