1991 325i Auto Question

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Delboy - 10 Mar 2005 01:55 GMT

Hello all,

How long should the automatic transmission last on 1991 325i?
What are the first signs of failure?

thanks.

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Bob Smitter - 10 Mar 2005 04:36 GMT

> How long should the automatic transmission last on 1991 325i?
> What are the first signs of failure?

I had a 1991 E30 automatic since it was new and sold it with 170,000 miles.
Tranny still crisp and smooth. Of course I changed the ATF every Inspection
2
using Mobile One Synthetic ATF always. Failure signs are usually noticed
by how it shifts gears - like long delays between gears (slipping), rough
shifts,
or tendency to stay in a particular gear too long (not wanting to shift).

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Psycho - 10 Mar 2005 11:28 GMT

>Hello all,
>
>How long should the automatic transmission last on 1991 325i?
>What are the first signs of failure?
>
>thanks.

The "A" clutch seems to be what kills these trannys. The seal leaks
fluid and engages the "A" clutch in park and burns it up. This seems
to show up after an emissions inspection where they have held the
RPM's up in park for an extended time. This doesn't seem to be a
chronic problem as mine was fine when I rebuilt mine at 220k miles but
it does occur. I rebuilt my tranny simply because it had the high
miles and it was out due to the torque converter failing.

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Somebody - 10 Mar 2005 16:26 GMT

> >Hello all,
> >
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> it does occur. I rebuilt my tranny simply because it had the high
> miles and it was out due to the torque converter failing.

I don't know about the E30 auto but we ran into this several times with
E32's and E34's. The details were this: If started from cold and idled,
you can safely idle at up to 2500rpm (not higher) without engaging the
internal clutches. If you idle higher than that at any given point, the
clutches are engaged in some fashion, and will proceed burn themselves out
if the engine is maintained over idle speed while stationary after that,
even after a period of normal idle. In order to return to a safe elevated
idle condition, the car must be shut off for a minumum of 1 minute. Then
idle speeds up to 2500rpm may again safely be attempted.

Around here, the idle test is run *at* 2500rpm as part of the E-test.
Tricky business for your transmission! Hope the test guy is a) good and b)
understanding of the issue.

We had a lot of burnt out clutch packs in these autos when the E-test first
started up.

-Russ.

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The Malt Hound - 10 Mar 2005 22:28 GMT

> Hello all,
>
> How long should the automatic transmission last on 1991 325i?

It will last until approximately June 24th, 1995, give or take a few
months.

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