Eric Young
Probationary Member
- 10
- 0
- Apr 6, 2015
-
chicago,
Illinois
My project 99 Spyder GS with auto tranny takes a while when cold to engage in drive (first symptom).
I obtained this vehicle on a cold cold cold Chicago night and it must 've taken the previous own (upon demonstration of the quirk-well the first of the tranny quirks) at least 20 minutes of "warming up" until "D" finally engaged.
Upon taking ownership, I got two surprises a) the tranny fluid was extremely low, almost 2 1/2 quarts! Upon refilling to recommended level with Halvoline (red bucket, as recommended elsewhere here in the forum) and test driving, the tranny "warn up" time was cut down to 2-3 minutes in 50 degree weather. My second (pleasant this time) surprise was b) that the tranny fluid appeared clear and unadulterated. This boosted my hope that I may not need a new tranny, and proceeded to do a battery disconnect/ overnight reset. No visible tranny leaks or reduction on tranny fluid either.
The reset and refill obviously helped the "warm-up" wait time but did not eliminated it completely. Nonetheless, reverse now engages right away.
The other and perhaps main issue which has more serious consequences is that the tranny has a hard time shifting to 4th gear, even when warm. Even though most probably related to the warm up problem, I am trying to troubleshoot the two in some logical order -as the latter may be as simple as a stuck O/D cut-off switch or the tranny needs retraining after the fluid starvation (I haven't driven it much really, revving at 4800 in 3rd isn't a very pleasant experience).
A "service engine soon code" appeared after the overnight reset and I need to get to an Autozone to get that pulled also.
Any suggestions on how to proceed other than the obvious of course of replacing the tranny?
TIA
Eric (formerly a bimmerhead)
'99 Spyder GS (project, auto)
'93 BMW 318i (kept this for the manual-amen!)
'91 Ranger 5-speed XLT (great for hauling parts)
I obtained this vehicle on a cold cold cold Chicago night and it must 've taken the previous own (upon demonstration of the quirk-well the first of the tranny quirks) at least 20 minutes of "warming up" until "D" finally engaged.
Upon taking ownership, I got two surprises a) the tranny fluid was extremely low, almost 2 1/2 quarts! Upon refilling to recommended level with Halvoline (red bucket, as recommended elsewhere here in the forum) and test driving, the tranny "warn up" time was cut down to 2-3 minutes in 50 degree weather. My second (pleasant this time) surprise was b) that the tranny fluid appeared clear and unadulterated. This boosted my hope that I may not need a new tranny, and proceeded to do a battery disconnect/ overnight reset. No visible tranny leaks or reduction on tranny fluid either.
The reset and refill obviously helped the "warm-up" wait time but did not eliminated it completely. Nonetheless, reverse now engages right away.
The other and perhaps main issue which has more serious consequences is that the tranny has a hard time shifting to 4th gear, even when warm. Even though most probably related to the warm up problem, I am trying to troubleshoot the two in some logical order -as the latter may be as simple as a stuck O/D cut-off switch or the tranny needs retraining after the fluid starvation (I haven't driven it much really, revving at 4800 in 3rd isn't a very pleasant experience).
A "service engine soon code" appeared after the overnight reset and I need to get to an Autozone to get that pulled also.
Any suggestions on how to proceed other than the obvious of course of replacing the tranny?
TIA
Eric (formerly a bimmerhead)
'99 Spyder GS (project, auto)
'93 BMW 318i (kept this for the manual-amen!)
'91 Ranger 5-speed XLT (great for hauling parts)
