Pretty Sure I Crippled my E46

"Party-vi" (party-vi)
12/24/2015 at 07:19 • Filed to: None

Leaving work last night I was driving on back roads to avoid traffic, and went through a 4-way stop that had a lot of standing water on the other side. I powered through versus getting stuck in it, but a few miles later the transmission started shifting hard and slipping, and now it’s in limp mode. Shit. Balls.

DISCUSSION (28)

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Party-vi
12/24/2015 at 07:35

water aint nothing to mess with! As long as it’s fresh water and not salt water though, you should be okay. I wouldn’t suggest driving it much though until you have it checked out.

Party-vi > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/24/2015 at 07:41

I went about 5 miles to get home, and it’s parked until I can plug in a code reader and see what is what.

AndyG_UK > Party-vi
12/24/2015 at 08:03

Oh shit, water’s nasty!

I'd defo disconnect the battery for a while and let her dry out, check all obvious connectors for water etc, check for water in your fluids as well, maybe, just maybe something has got a bit damp and will be fine once it's dried out, but do let it dry out fully before reconnecting the power and trying to read any codes and good luck! :(

OPPOsaurus WRX > Party-vi
12/24/2015 at 08:03

Replace the fluid? To bad I don’t know anything about transmissions. I do know that shitting balls sounds rather unpleasant

JGrabowMSt > Party-vi
12/24/2015 at 08:10

There’s probably water in a connector, or water got into the vent of the trans. A fluid change should help you out greatly.

How many miles are on the car, and have you ever changed the fluid?

Party-vi > AndyG_UK
12/24/2015 at 08:23

It’s not practical to check for water in the transmission fluid - as I understand it, the transmission needs to be warmed up and I need to take the fill plug out to check the fluid level. What a PITA.

Party-vi > JGrabowMSt
12/24/2015 at 08:24

171k miles. I had a flush done at 112k, so it’s just about due for another anyway. I’ll disconnect the battery and let it site for a day and see if that resolves the issue.

Party-vi > OPPOsaurus WRX
12/24/2015 at 08:24

Probably my best option at this point is a flush. I’ll be calling around to see what pricing looks like, but IIRC it’s pretty expensive.

XJDano > Party-vi
12/24/2015 at 08:27

Take the battery out and put it in a bowl of rice. The rice will draw out the moisture.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Party-vi
12/24/2015 at 08:30

My brother in law and I tried switching the trans fluid in his GF’s car. Only offset of the fluid drained. Maybe you can drain add drain add drain add and see what happens. Just a guess tho if you don’t wanna pay $$$

Nibby > Party-vi
12/24/2015 at 08:44

BMW - The Ultimate Wading Machine

Party-vi > OPPOsaurus WRX
12/24/2015 at 09:29

I called a shop and the tech suggested disconnecting the battery and waiting a few days. I think I’ll let it site over the weekend and see what happens.

Party-vi > XJDano
12/24/2015 at 09:29

I hate all of you.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Party-vi
12/24/2015 at 09:41

I have a lot of customers right now that feel your pain. They drove through deep puddles and seized their engines. Probably at least 8 in the last month, we’ve had a lot of record setting rain recently. Good luck.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Party-vi
12/24/2015 at 09:51

That reminds me of when I went through some somewhat deep water in my old Saab... fast.

Water splashed up into the engine bay and into the intake.

The engine started to sputter and then stopped.

Got it towed home. But after letting it sit for a while, with the help of a boost, it got started.

Some water did get into the engine, but nowhere near enough to hydrolock it.

Lots of steam came out of the exhaust. Let it idle for a while and drove it for a while to help get it to fully dry out and boil off any water than might be in the oil.

Party-vi > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
12/24/2015 at 09:54

Much appreciated. Fortunately the engine seems fine.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Nibby
12/24/2015 at 09:54

Bavarian Motor Water...

LOREM IPSUM > Party-vi
12/24/2015 at 10:11

Don’t go rushing to replace the fluid just yet. This is a fairly common issue with BMW’s of that era as many people have found after driving through deep puddles or using the undercarriage wash feature offered by some car wash places. Long story short, water got into the wiring for the transmission. Probably at a connector, but could be anywhere down there if you’ve got any wire insulation issues going on.

Best bet, if you can, is to get under the car and disconnect the connectors for the trans, blow them out with compressed air, maybe a shot of wd40 to displace the water if you’re in a hurry, reconnect, and you should be g2g.

If you don’t have the means to diy this, things should hopefully dry out on their own given enough time... Weather and circumstance permitting, of course.

...and a battery nap never hurt anyone.

Party-vi > LOREM IPSUM
12/24/2015 at 10:12

Definitely going to try a battery nap over the next couple days and see what is what. Good to know!

deekster_caddy > Party-vi
12/24/2015 at 10:32

I would start with a drain and fill, see how the fluid looks. If it’s milky then do it again. If it’s still no good, you’ll need to flush. I mean you’ll need A flush.

Party-vi > deekster_caddy
12/24/2015 at 10:38

I’m going to let it hang out for a couple days with the battery disconnected. If that doesn’t work, I’ll be jacking it up and inspecting the connections. If that doesn’t do it, then it’s going in for a flush at a local indie shop.

SaIty22 > Party-vi
12/24/2015 at 10:49

My first guess- without knowing much about the layout of BMW engines is that you may have some water sitting on one of our plug or coil packs. That can ground out your ignition for that cylinder(s), causing a misfire. Those misfires often feel like a slipping tranny.

If that’s all it is your code reader will tell you about the misfire and you don’t really need to do anything- just wait for it to dry out, hit it with a hair dryer to help, or look for a cracked boot on one of your COPs or spark plugs and swap in a new one.

Hopefully it’s a simple fix like that. I can’t imagine you got water in your tranny but I guess stranger things have happened...

Party-vi > SaIty22
12/24/2015 at 10:57

Huh. I didn’t even think it could be an engine issue, since it felt like it was shifting hard from park/neutral in to drive and then in limp mode spun up to around 2,000rpm before the torque converter would lock up. I think a few days to dry out should help. I’ll find out Saturday or Sunday for sure.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > Party-vi
12/24/2015 at 12:01

In other news i took by stock f350 through some very muddy trails and it did great! Need a higher vehicle mate! :)

SaIty22 > Party-vi
12/24/2015 at 12:51

If it’s shifting hard from park in to drive it's probably not the ignition grounding. Not sure what to tell you... good luck getting her running right

Party-vi > TheD0k_2many toys 2little time
12/24/2015 at 13:58

I have one, but it’s currently a garage queen.

deekster_caddy > Party-vi
12/28/2015 at 13:41

any luck?

Party-vi > deekster_caddy
12/28/2015 at 13:45

Shit no. Let it sit with no battery from Friday to Sunday, and then cleared all the codes to have it kick back a circuit issue for the turbine (torque converter I guess) speed sensor. I’m taking it to a local shop next week when their schedule clears up, and hopefully in the meantime it’ll continue to dry out.