Transmission advice or Anyone have an extra trans they want to get rid of...
 

Hi
I'm brand new to d24t.
I used to have an 85 740GLE TD and drove it 82,000 in two years.
It was a great car.
I just bought another. An 84 760GLE TD.
Here's the problem.
I towed it home, in neutral, with the rear wheels on the ground and shortly after I got it home with only a total of 124000 documented miles, the trans is failing significantly.
At first it drives fine but as it warms up, it starts to lose the top gear then the next and so on.
After it is cold, it's good again until it warms up.
Do I need to do a complete rebuild?
Does anyone have a good used trans?
How many miles can I expect to get out of a ZF Transmission?
Thanks for the advice
Mike

I would say towing it in Nuetral ruined it. I know of many auto cars that have gone 200k without a problem. Finding someone that can rebuild the ZF may be a challange, but they do run/drive nicely with the auto when its in good working order.

Jason

I have over 290,000 on the ZF in my daily driver 740 TD wagon. They are pretty bulletproof as long as they are not abused.

I know a guy in northern CA that has a good used ZF trans for sale. PM me if you would like his contact info. There is also a member here, NO_SPRK, that may have a tranny available too and is also in CA.

Or, you can rebuild your current unit. The 4HP22 was used in many BMW and Jaguar and Land Rover applications as well as Volvos so parts are not hard to find, and a qualified trans specialist ought to be able to do a fine job for you.

George

I assume, of course, that you have checked fluid level and condition before condemning your trans.

I have a spare ZF tranny in my garage that I bought from a fellow list member a couple of years ago. It was removed in good working order has never been opened as far as I know.

I am however on the east coast so getting to you might be a challenge.

Let me know if you are interested.

Steve

Is there any hope that changing the tranny fluid could fix it? Anyone have thoughts about this?

It is worth a try, but I really doubt it'll fix it. You may want to put some Lucas trans additive in it as well, but again... I think you fried it when you towed it...

For what this is worth, I may have an automatic for sale soon. I'm also on the east coast.

I had a Benz ZF fail the same way without towing.

When you tow an automatic car with the drive wheels on the ground, the transmission lubrication pump does not work, so it's like running it all those miles with no fluid.
Out of curiosity, how many miles was it towed this way?