I have a 1988 735i that recently lost all forward power. Reverse works just fine. When I shift to drive it will just rev and roll. I replaced fluid and filter...no shavings in the filter. Any ideas???

These threads address similar issues:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=732276

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=743900

Good luck figuring it out! :\

thank you

I Have A 1988 735 I ,the Transmisson Does Not Want To Shift Properly

I Have A 1988 735 I ,the Transmisson Does Not Want To Shift Properly

http://bani.anime.net/o_rly.jpg

Details would be helpful.

Had the same thing happen to me. Whatever you do don't drive it! I made the dumbass mistake of doing that because I needed to get places because once the car got into second gear it worked fine. Try putting it in neutral on a flat road and see what happens. Mine was going backwards (stuck in reverse at all times) and I kept driving it until I burned it to a crisp and did about $3000 in damage - yay me!!!

Its probably clutch packs. Need to replace them/rebuild trans. Had same prob on my 733i

I don't think people realize that if you perform a full tranny service when the tranny is acting up, it can actually cause the tranny to fail. I've spoke with many auto tranny specialists about this. If the tranny is not engaging gears or it's shifting improperly, a fluid change will actually make it worse, despite people's "hope" of fixing the problem with a service job.

It sounds like you need to have your tranny rebuilt.

Had the same thing happen to me. Whatever you do don't drive it! I made the dumbass mistake of doing that because I needed to get places because once the car got into second gear it worked fine. Try putting it in neutral on a flat road and see what happens. Mine was going backwards (stuck in reverse at all times) and I kept driving it until I burned it to a crisp and did about $3000 in damage - yay me!!!




thats exactly what mine does, what causes this.... a bad solenoid or a sticky valve???

It could be a sticky valve, but also wear on the clutch parts. You will only know ehen the part is completely disassembled. Oil can also tell a lot, if it smells burnt and is completely black, there is more than just a sticky valve.
Remanufacturing a tranny is not rocket science, I have done it on several 4HP22/24 already.
Buy a tranny repair manual, the parts from the many repair shops on the internet and do it, or buy a reman one, including a reman torque converter.

^^ my dad and me changed the oil and filter in the tranny and also put some lucas additive in it. the old oil was black but not burnt and there was no metal shavings in the pan or sludge. i was thinking of rebuilding it, but i don't have the facilities to do it and my car is a daily driver for me also. and the shops around here like to rip people off too lol. i did have a guy that had a tranny lined up for $900 but i backed out and figure i'd ride it through. the worst part is, the car has really grown on my and i want to keep it going.

I don't think people realize that if you perform a full tranny service when the tranny is acting up, it can actually cause the tranny to fail. I've spoke with many auto tranny specialists about this. If the tranny is not engaging gears or it's shifting improperly, a fluid change will actually make it worse, despite people's "hope" of fixing the problem with a service job.

It sounds like you need to have your tranny rebuilt.
+1
If you do all of that, you need to change fluid, get new clutches and maybe ball for the valve body, and then you need to have it reprogrammed, that's the correct way to do it, but still no guarantee that it will be fixed.

thats exactly what mine does, what causes this.... a bad solenoid or a sticky valve???
I went to get it smogged, and the dumbass at the shop didn't do it properly, and the snap that's supposed to happen to the cylinders under the wheels got sent to transmission basically, causing one of the wheels inside it to lock and snap off, leading to the car being in constant reverse.

I went to get it smogged, and the dumbass at the shop didn't do it properly, and the snap that's supposed to happen to the cylinders under the wheels got sent to transmission basically, causing one of the wheels inside it to lock and snap off, leading to the car being in constant reverse.



that would explain why my car shakes when i put it into reverse. probably the exact same way it happened to you, it happened to my car. previous owners of my car had it e-tested but where i live, i don't need it.

that would explain why my car shakes when i put it into reverse. probably the exact same way it happened to you, it happened to my car. previous owners of my car had it e-tested but where i live, i don't need it.
Ya you're lucky, I lived in BC before and there we had to pass aircare all the time!