The new news 24 thread

[richardmorris]

[reb]

[Lord Sterling]

On 17/05/2025 at 18:28, Lord Sterling said:

A few days ago, I decided to tighten the bolt on the check-strap that are located on the inside of the recess of the door, the check strap would 'click' everytime the door was opened. So tightening it made it quieter, however, the noise started to come back a tad. So I tried to tighten it up again and ended shearing the bolt:

Not a biggie (hopefully) its just a case of finding the correct bolt size and nut and getting them back in and tightening up.

Following on from my snapped mounting bolt for the check-strap, I managed to conjure up something from work. 

The mounting bolt couldn't just be a normal everyday hex bolt, oh no, it had to be a very specific hex bolt with a very large shoulder. 

I'm always finding nuts and bolts at work and found a socket bolt with a barrel that was exactly the same size as the shoulder on the original bolt. The hex bolt I was using temporarily did the job well, but I wanted something a bit more permanent thay wouldn't eventually work it's way loose so easily.

This morning after getting home from work, I took out the hex bolt and replaced it with the socket bolt (left in the pic with the bolts) the round head sunk into the aperture of the check-strap and held it in place to stop the strap from knocking against the mount whenever the door is opened and closed.

[SiC]

On 01/05/2025 at 00:02, SiC said:

Soooo transmission fluid and mechatronic seal change on my E90 330i ZF 6HP gearbox. I've been putting this off for a while as it's a pia job being on your back. To be honest, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be in the end.

Car jacked up. Probably the bit that always takes me the longest. Faff in getting the stands in the right place when lowering and making sure it's stable. Double PIA getting both ends up and level. It's not actually level in this photo - my drive has a slope. Later on I level off for the fluid top off.

Panels off over the filter & pan. Yes it's a plastic pan.

The exhaust mount has a bolt in the middle to clamp together. This sheered off. Stupid aluminium (or something non ferrous) mount and bolt. Ended up drilling this out later and sticking a bolt through the top and a nut+split washer on the other side. Mostly as dissimilar metals may seize together and having a nut on a replacement bolt has some chance of it being removable in the future if needed.

Undid the fill port first. This is a 8mm hex and needed an awful lot of force to crack it off. I couldn't get a ratchet in there at all. Later on when I tightened it up, I couldn't get a torque wrench in so did it as tight as I could...

Drained from the drain port first (10mm hex) and then dropped one end of the pan to remove the last lot.

Filter was date coded 2005. So almost certainly factory. Fluid didn't look too bad. Apparently changed 6 to 12 months before I bought it. I think that would make it around 8k miles. Dirty but nothing tragically awful from what I can tell.

Mechatronics (valve body) off. This needed the electrical connector disconnecting on the outside, white plastic tab pulling down on the mechatronics and removing the connector seal. Some say this is a nightmare to do. However I could get my hands in with a bit of a squish? Maybe those doing videos on this have massive hands? (I'm used to putting hands in awkward places as I often drop bolts and such, needing retrieval!)

The seals are on top. The big double D seal is the main line pressure port. These can split. Mine hasn't (I forgot to take a picture of it) however the o-ring was all deformed. Obviously leaks from here is sub optimal as the gearbox ECU needs to compensate the lost pressure by bumping up the force & time with the solenoids to the clutches+brakes.

The four other seals compress over time and leak. These were removed with a pick. A tad fiddly and for a bit I was concerned they weren't coming out. Did eventually and I just needed to be careful I didn't go through and scratch the bore.

You can see here the seal length difference. New left, old right. Not massive but enough that they can leak fluid when pressure is being driven through those ports. These ports go up to the clutches and brake bands. So not somewhere you want pressurised fluid to escape from. 

With the new ones all in, you can see them sticking out slightly. This is what they should be like and get compressed when the valve body is out back on. I pushed hard to make sure they were fully seated. All I soaked in some old ATF to lube them up. 

Valve body reattached - 10 bolts and all the ones for removal are Torx #40 to make it easy to know which. These need to be reattached in a specific order to ensure even clamping. Also a piddly 8nm. I bought a specific low range torque wrench to do this as you absolutely don't want to cock this up, let alone risk stripping a thread. Box will likely be scrap if you do that. 

Also the shifter sensor needs lining up with the shifter metal post. Mine was actually out of alignment at first. Easy to move around and correct but definitely don't want to find out/remember you haven't done it when it's all buttoned up!

External electrical connector pushed in just fine - again easier that I could get my hand in. 

New filter looks very similar to the old. The filter is moulded into the pan and replaced as one. 24 bolts to reattach this pan and again they need to be done in a specific order. Being plastic, they're very prone to warping and risk leakage. Something you definitely don't want as low fluid the transmission ECU won't know but will bugger the box from pumping air. Torque is a tiny 10nm per bolt. Again my new torque wrench is essential here to do the job properly.

I called it quits for the night at that point and started again today in daylight.

Not many photos today but tbh the refill isn't very exciting.

First thing I did was remove the pan again. I really didn't want to do this and risk warping the pan, but I wasn't fully happy that I didn't knock the big double-d seal when mounting the mechatronics. I didn't align the mechatronics unit properly at first and took a few attempts while trying to get one bolt in and started. However looking through my photos of the night before, I realised the double-d seal is right next to the filter port. So I could easily see the seal even with the mechatronics in place. 

This is what you're looking at here. The black thing in the middle is that double-d seal. Looks bang on in place to me.

I did level the car off. Turned out dropping the back stands by one position got the level absolutely nailed on.

For refilling I bought this thing. Uses compressed air from my little Lidl compressor to charge it. You can get hand pump ones but as I have a compressor, this made more sense. Absolute god send and filled 4 litres of fluid in less than a minute at 30psi.

Refill is not as complicated as many make it out to be. First fill is with engine off - took about 4 litres. You start the cold engine and then top up till it leaks out the fill port. This was around 3 litres. 

You run the gearbox up to temperature and cycle through PRND a few times. I kept topping up during this and putting the drain plug back in. At 40c (read using a scantool) you check the level by removing the plug and it should be a slow stream apparently. Once that's done, you put the fill plug in properly and shut down the engine. If the transmission fluid gets to 50c, you need to shutdown and wait for it to cool off. Tbh that pressure filler was by far quick enough that I had to wait a fair bit to get to 40c anyway - even at ~25c ambient temperatures.

In total I think I put in around 8 litres. I bought 10 litres but that seems to be overkill. Maybe I'll do another fluid change in 10k miles or so. Just fluid, not filter.

I was supposed to be going to the gym tonight and I really didn't want to miss a session. So I quickly packed up, put the panels back on underneath and dropped the car down. Got changed and went out to the gym as a combined test drive!

Knocked a great session out, despite being tired from rolling around on my back. Then came back and checked for leaks. 

I couldn't see any where the gearbox was. The oil stain I think was from my Spitfire when I took that over last week 🤣🙈

So how does it shift gears now?

Erm well not too much different! 🙃

Actually that's not entirely true, it doesn't flare between changes when in manual mode (albeit I almost never use manual normally). Changes do feel a bit smoother but not completely imperceivable. The bump you get when stopped as it goes into neutral has gone away. Pulling off there still is a slight pause but I haven't tried that too much yet.

However it's still early days. The gearbox adapts to internal wear and now the pressure lines are different, it needs time for it to adapt to its new world. You can reset adaptations - often recommend on forums. However it's NOT recommended by ZF, BMW and xHP (a gearbox remapping company) if you haven't rebuilt the box. Basically the adaptations are purely for internal wear as it ages. By resetting them you're putting back to factory. So it needs to then readapt for the wear. However this can cause additional wear in the box as it does this. Even worse, if the box internals are worn enough, it may never be able to shift properly enough to regain the adaptations. 

So it's basically safer to just keep driving as is and let it adapt itself over time. I've taken notes of the old adaptions and will be interesting to see what they're at in a few hundred miles. 

The good news is basically that it's still working just fine! Hopefully this job will prolong the life of the car for much longer period. These seals and BMWs filled for life ATF (ZF say change every 60k) are the major Achilles Heel of the box. The rest actually seems pretty robust and easily can do big miles if these bits are taken care of. 🤞

I'm also seriously considering remapping the gearbox with xHP. 3 stages and I'll probably keep with stage 1. This is slightly quicker shifts but the shift points are lower to aid fuel economy. Stage 3 is nearly DSG speed shifts and great for tuned engines but also increases wear - all stuff that doesn't bother me. Stage 2 is in-between with reduced 0-60 time but not as aggressive as stage 3 and again I'm not bothered too much about out and out performance. Also I might disable the neutral shift when stationary - reduces wear in the box and speeds up pulling off, just with a higher fuel consumption when idling (as the box is in gear). Interestingly BMW/ZF have two main gearbox maps - standard and Alpina. The Alpina map is faster shifting and basically what xHP have based their stuff on. 

 

On 01/05/2025 at 21:27, SiC said:

Mine are still in spec but only just on clutch E. Hence my apprehension at resetting the adaptations. I have read these boxes will still shift normally at +/- 700mbar. 

ZF tolerances:

My box:

 

I don't think it's a weakness as such, just gets used the most out of all the clutch packs in normal driving. Especially as most of the time, apart from city driving, it'll in 4th gear and up from pretty much 30mph. 

At 500 miles since the fluid change, I checked the adaptation values. 

Before

Now

Looks like some values have moved closer to zero on the pressures. That's a good thing, it means the transmission ECU is adapting itself back closer to the stock expected pressures. I'm especially happy with Clutch E reducing as that gets the most use being it's used for 4th/5th/6th gear. 

It also proves that you don't need to reset the adaptations and it'll sort itself out just by driving it after a fluid+filter+seal change. According to ZF/BMW/xHP it's risky to reset them as if the box is heavily worn, it can not shift well enough to figure the adaptations values. Also the adaptation process can put wear on the clutch packs and knacker them quicker until it finds the correct values. 

[sdkrc]

Neighbour had rear discs and pads done a few weeks ago. Tonight their brakes shit themselves. A quick look and it appears the garage only put in one of the 2 guide pins. 

Very lucky for it to fail near home and not on the motorway. A fun phone call to the garage tomorrow 

[artdjones]

Oh, well, ordered one. If and when it gets here shall report back.

[Stanky]

17 minutes ago, artdjones said:

Oh, well, ordered one. If and when it gets here shall report back.

Looks like my CJ Autos one which is quite possibly the best thing I have ever purchased, ever. Get (if you don't already have) a 1kw drill for raising and lowering and then win at life. They are incredibly useful, relatively portable and make most car jobs far far easier than using axle stands.

I have total faith working under mine, which is more than could be said for axle stands.

They're well suited to normal domestic garages, being not too wide, and don't lift the car too high either.

A chap I know spent 3x what I did on my CJ autos tilting lift on a pair of quickjacks which were really good, but he's had no end of trouble with the hydraulic hoses, culminating in a car needing lifting off using a telehandler when it got trapped  'up' after a hydraulic oil leak stranded it. These are delightfully simple yet effective.

[artdjones]

23 minutes ago, Stanky said:

Looks like my CJ Autos one which is quite possibly the best thing I have ever purchased, ever. Get (if you don't already have) a 1kw drill for raising and lowering and then win at life. They are incredibly useful, relatively portable and make most car jobs far far easier than using axle stands.

I have total faith working under mine, which is more than could be said for axle stands.

They're well suited to normal domestic garages, being not too wide, and don't lift the car too high either.

A chap I know spent 3x what I did on my CJ autos tilting lift on a pair of quickjacks which were really good, but he's had no end of trouble with the hydraulic hoses, culminating in a car needing lifting off using a telehandler when it got trapped  'up' after a hydraulic oil leak stranded it. These are delightfully simple yet effective.

It's a bit more expensive than a lot of them (£600), but is rated for 2000kg rather than 1500. So good for fairly large cars.

[Stanky]

4 minutes ago, artdjones said:

It's a bit more expensive than a lot of them (£600), but is rated for 2000kg rather than 1500. So good for fairly large cars.

And in the real world that's basically 3500-4500kg since you'll usually have one axle on the ground when you're using it. I think I've only ever locked mine in the 'flat' position with all 4 wheels off the ground once, and that was to see how it worked!

[stuboy]

1 hour ago, artdjones said:

Oh, well, ordered one. If and when it gets here shall report back.

ive looked at these and thought about one 1 day.. where did u get it from?

[artdjones]

28 minutes ago, stuboy said:

ive looked at these and thought about one 1 day.. where did u get it from?

From a company in Northern Ireland, as I'm in the Republic, and that means no extra VAT, duty, or large carriage charges. I think CJ Autos in Lancashire are some of the cheapest in UK.

[stuboy]

52 minutes ago, artdjones said:

From a company in Northern Ireland, as I'm in the Republic, and that means no extra VAT, duty, or large carriage charges. I think CJ Autos in Lancashire are some of the cheapest in UK.

ok ill look

[Stanky]

45 minutes ago, stuboy said:

ok ill look

Mine is the CJ Autos one, was about £400 delivered. A very worthwhile investment

https://cjautosheywood.co.uk/product/low-profile-2-ton-mini-car-lift-cl33/

 

[artdjones]

A review with pics will follow. My main reason for wanting on is that at the age of 65 it would be nicer to sit on a chair to do brakes and suspension at home.

[IronStar]

If your carbureted car’s battery is flat and it’s parked in a garage with next to no ventilation, don’t be an idiot like me and jump start it, especially if you can’t move it straight away as it’s boxed in by the car starting it. The amount of exhaust fumes cars with no emissions systems are able to produce in short order, especially on fast idle, is something we completely disregard as we’re not exposed to them daily.  In time it took me to pack up the starter cables and move the 159 out of the way, it pumped up enough exhaust fumes that I’m still filling feeling really bloody dizzy and have a headache an hour after this endeavor.
It’s a big garage, but the car is boxed in the corner. I left the garage door open, I really hope that by the time someone else gets in it will drop to reasonable levels. 
Bonus photo of moments before bad decisions hit: 

[SiC]

19 minutes ago, IronStar said:

If your carbureted car’s battery is flat and it’s parked in a garage with next to no ventilation, don’t be an idiot like me and jump start it, especially if you can’t move it straight away as it’s boxed in by the car starting it. The amount of exhaust fumes cars with no emissions systems are able to produce in short order, especially on fast idle, is something we completely disregard as we’re not exposed to them daily.  In time it took me to pack up the starter cables and move the 159 out of the way, it pumped up enough exhaust fumes that I’m still filling feeling really bloody dizzy and have a headache an hour after this endeavor.
It’s a big garage, but the car is boxed in the corner. I left the garage door open, I really hope that by the time someone else gets in it will drop to reasonable levels. 
Bonus photo of moments before bad decisions hit: 

My carbon monoxide detector on the back wall always goes off pretty quick when starting one of my classics in the garage.

Just one example I've got to hand running my BGT for less than a minute but I've seen it go much higher. Also watch out if outside the garage but the exhaust is pointing in. That quickly builds up CO even with the double width roller garage door being completely open. 

600ppm can be death within half hour and is considered a lethal level. 

[IronStar]

20 minutes ago, SiC said:

My carbon monoxide detector on the back wall always goes off pretty quick when starting one of my classics in the garage.

Just one example I've got to hand running my BGT for less than a minute but I've seen it go much higher. Also watch out if outside the garage but the exhaust is pointing in. That quickly builds up CO even with the double width roller garage door being completely open. 

600ppm can be death within half hour and is considered a lethal level. 

It was running for 5ish minutes before I realized what’s going on and that the air shouldn’t be visible. 🤦‍♂️ If ChatGPTs napkin math cross-referenced with my symptoms is to be trusted, it was probably over 1000ppm, and I got low 20s COHb poisoning levels.  Feeling much better 2 hours later though.
The garage is an underground apartment complex garage with doors nowhere near the parking spot. Exhaust pointing towards the corner, which is the worst possible place for CO buildup. Not much I could’ve done, other than hurrying the fuck up, and moving Florida outside instead of packing things up slowly. 

[SiC]

Just now, IronStar said:

It was running for 5ish minutes before I realized what’s going on and that the air shouldn’t be visible. 🤦‍♂️ If ChatGPTs napkin math cross-referenced with my symptoms is to be trusted, it was probably over 1000ppm, and I got low 20s COHb poisoning levels.  Feeling much better 2 hours later though.
The garage is an underground apartment complex garage with doors nowhere near the parking spot. Not much I could’ve done, other than hurrying the fuck up, and moving Florida outside instead of packing things up slowly. 

CO is invisible too.

I've seen my CO detector hit 1000ppm with an idling classic with the choke pulled out after a few minutes. So yes it would be believable or even more. Usually doesn't affect me as it's on the back wall which will be be worst and I don't hang around there. Plus the door is open too. 

[IronStar]

9 minutes ago, SiC said:

CO is invisible too.

I've seen my CO detector hit 1000ppm with an idling classic with the choke pulled out after a few minutes. So yes it would be believable or even more. Usually doesn't affect me as it's on the back wall which will be be worst and I don't hang around there. Plus the door is open too. 

I never thought about this, as even with emissions controls tampered with, anything remotely modern doesn’t generate anywhere close to this amount of exhaust fumes. Definitely not an experience I’m keen on repeating. If it doesn’t start, battery is getting disconnected and charged, not jumpstarted. 
Another entry on my ever growing list titled “why I really hate carburetors” 😄

[SiC]

1 minute ago, IronStar said:

I never thought about this, as even with emissions controls tampered with, anything remotely modern doesn’t generate nowhere close to this amount of exhaust fumes. Definitely not an experience I’m keen on repeating. If it doesn’t start, battery is getting disconnected and charged, not jumpstarted. 
Another entry on my ever growing list titled “why I really hate carburetors” 😄

Even fuel injected cars aren't great until their catalytic converter has warmed up! Depending on the age of vehicle, how clever the ECU is and miles on the cat this could take a good few minutes before they reduce too.