Best smoker barges 1-5 large [vol11]

[Krikkit]

BigBen said:

Krikkit said:

What's the 'box up to?

It does not always shift well and makes a loud buzzing noise, I am not 100% sure it is the box as I can't feel anything through the gear level but it is the most likely culprit. When I bought the car I assumed the buzzing was the usual ABC accumulator problem so an easy fix, sadly not so lucky this time.

Hmm, I presume fluid levels etc are OK? A friend had similar-sounding issues in his "sealed for life" transmission on an E60 and it turned out that a slight fluid weep from the torque converter (so inside the bell housing, which looked just like a slight engine oil drip) had let the fluid drop below minimum.

Sump drop, clean up and refill with the correct fluid to the right level and bingo.

[BigBen]

Krikkit said:

BigBen said:

Krikkit said:

What's the 'box up to?

It does not always shift well and makes a loud buzzing noise, I am not 100% sure it is the box as I can't feel anything through the gear level but it is the most likely culprit. When I bought the car I assumed the buzzing was the usual ABC accumulator problem so an easy fix, sadly not so lucky this time.

Hmm, I presume fluid levels etc are OK? A friend had similar-sounding issues in his "sealed for life" transmission on an E60 and it turned out that a slight fluid weep from the torque converter (so inside the bell housing, which looked just like a slight engine oil drip) had let the fluid drop below minimum.

Sump drop, clean up and refill with the correct fluid to the right level and bingo.

Already done that and no joy, the good news being no swarf or other gunk came out with the old fluid (which looked clean). That said they didn't do a torque converter flush which I think may help

Ben

[TheLordJohn]

BigBen said:

Already done that and no joy, the good news being no swarf or other gunk came out with the old fluid (which looked clean). That said they didn't do a torque converter flush which I think may help

Ben

Why would they bother going to the trouble of removing the sump, changing the auto gearbox filter and only draining half the oil.
Sounds like a bit of a bodge, to be perfectly honest.
If I was going to the trouble of doing the above, which I have a few times, it makes sense to drain the 2 or 3 litres in the torque converter while you're farting about.

[Krikkit]

Not all TCs can be drained, I know it was definitely the case on a lot of ZF units, was also true on the old Subarus we had as well. All you can do is incremental fluid changes.

[BigBen]

TheLordJohn said:

BigBen said:

Already done that and no joy, the good news being no swarf or other gunk came out with the old fluid (which looked clean). That said they didn't do a torque converter flush which I think may help

Ben

Why would they bother going to the trouble of removing the sump, changing the auto gearbox filter and only draining half the oil.
Sounds like a bit of a bodge, to be perfectly honest.
If I was going to the trouble of doing the above, which I have a few times, it makes sense to drain the 2 or 3 litres in the torque converter while you're farting about.

Because the oil was clean and lacking in swarf / contaminants it was decided not to drain the TC. The reason for this is on newer versions of the box (722.6 I think is the code) the TC does not have a drain plug so must be drained by running the engine and flushing it out via one of the pipes to the oil cooler, not that difficult but uses a lot of extra transmission fluid and is way more difficult than just draining the box.

Earlier versions of the box have a TC with a handy drain bolt.......

Ben

[TheLordJohn]

BigBen said:

Because the oil was clean and lacking in swarf / contaminants it was decided not to drain the TC. The reason for this is on newer versions of the box (722.6 I think is the code) the TC does not have a drain plug so must be drained by running the engine and flushing it out via one of the pipes to the oil cooler, not that difficult but uses a lot of extra transmission fluid and is way more difficult than just draining the box.

Earlier versions of the box have a TC with a handy drain bolt.......

Ben

I can't remember which gearboxes I've done but a few older Mercs, 190/230E, older BMW's, Jags etc and I've never not found a small drain bung.
However, I can believe that some vehicles might not have one fitted. But i'd think the majority will have.

[BigBen]

TheLordJohn said:

BigBen said:

Because the oil was clean and lacking in swarf / contaminants it was decided not to drain the TC. The reason for this is on newer versions of the box (722.6 I think is the code) the TC does not have a drain plug so must be drained by running the engine and flushing it out via one of the pipes to the oil cooler, not that difficult but uses a lot of extra transmission fluid and is way more difficult than just draining the box.

Earlier versions of the box have a TC with a handy drain bolt.......

Ben

I can't remember which gearboxes I've done but a few older Mercs, 190/230E, older BMW's, Jags etc and I've never not found a small drain bung.
However, I can believe that some vehicles might not have one fitted. But i'd think the majority will have.

Yep it was a change made at around the time it changed from the W210 to W211 and presumably from the start of the W220 run. Same box and presumably the same converter but missing a bung on the newer ones.

[SpeckledJim]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

SpeckledJim said:

Hashtag plutocrat.

Nice work sir.

Thanks. It's not plutocratic in itself, but it might be the way lower-end plutocrats get to Heathrow.

[SpeckledJim]

Patrick Bateman said:

Does that generation of S and CL class still have the properly horrific bork potential with the suspension?

At the risk of jinxing myself, the general reading I've done wouldn't suggest a dramatic problem. Certainly nothing as famous as in ye olden days of yore.

But that said, I certainly wouldn't want to be replacing it all.

It seems there are work-arounds, aftermarket doodads, and partial solutions in greater abundance now, so the nuclear "one of them, one of them, one of them and four of everything else" type bills are not particularly likely.

[tobinen]

BigBen said:

TheLordJohn said:

BigBen said:

Because the oil was clean and lacking in swarf / contaminants it was decided not to drain the TC. The reason for this is on newer versions of the box (722.6 I think is the code) the TC does not have a drain plug so must be drained by running the engine and flushing it out via one of the pipes to the oil cooler, not that difficult but uses a lot of extra transmission fluid and is way more difficult than just draining the box.

Earlier versions of the box have a TC with a handy drain bolt.......

Ben

I can't remember which gearboxes I've done but a few older Mercs, 190/230E, older BMW's, Jags etc and I've never not found a small drain bung.
However, I can believe that some vehicles might not have one fitted. But i'd think the majority will have.

Yep it was a change made at around the time it changed from the W210 to W211 and presumably from the start of the W220 run. Same box and presumably the same converter but missing a bung on the newer ones.

My 210 doesn't have the bung. It was the flush-through method as per BigBen's description

[forzaminardi]

dme123 said:

Jimmy Recard said:

Just to add, I've realised that I forgot the link to the sale:

http://www2.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

I've never really noticed them or been bothered by them, but after stumbling across that one, it appeals to me.

That Cadillac "arts and crafts" design language, or whatever it was they called it, really is quite horrible isn't it. Flat surfaces, odd angles, every car just looks blocky and cheap to me. That seems cheaper than an equivalent spec/engine 9-3 and could be a bargain, but it just looks too crap. I can't see anyone beyond one of those weirdos who like all things American wanting it, maybe once their PT Cruiser finally dies.

To add to that, there's something awful about the letters "BLS" too. It's an unfortunate arrangement of letters that makes the car sound, to my ears, sort of fat, farty and lazy. I guess that sells well in the US.

[anonymous-user]

forzaminardi said:

To add to that, there's something awful about the letters "BLS" too. It's an unfortunate arrangement of letters that makes the car sound, to my ears, sort of fat, farty and lazy. I guess that sells well in the US.

It does sound like some sort of extra disgusting triple decker thing at Burger King doesn't it.

[SpeckledJim]

dme123 said:

forzaminardi said:

To add to that, there's something awful about the letters "BLS" too. It's an unfortunate arrangement of letters that makes the car sound, to my ears, sort of fat, farty and lazy. I guess that sells well in the US.

It does sound like some sort of extra disgusting triple decker thing at Burger King doesn't it.

bilious

Any other fans of the final round in Only Connect will have got there already.

[JF87]

"Bolus" does the job for me.

[Jimmy Recard]

forzaminardi said:

To add to that, there's something awful about the letters "BLS" too. It's an unfortunate arrangement of letters that makes the car sound, to my ears, sort of fat, farty and lazy. I guess that sells well in the US.

Interestingly the BLS was never even offered in North America. An odd thing - a Cadillac that was designed and built in Europe, for Europe and most were sold with a four cylinder diesel engine, manual gearbox and manual cloth seats!

[carinaman]

Jimmy Recard said:

forzaminardi said:

To add to that, there's something awful about the letters "BLS" too. It's an unfortunate arrangement of letters that makes the car sound, to my ears, sort of fat, farty and lazy. I guess that sells well in the US.

Interestingly the BLS was never even offered in North America. An odd thing - a Cadillac that was designed and built in Europe, for Europe and most were sold with a four cylinder diesel engine, manual gearbox and manual cloth seats!

That makes it sound like it should have been wearing a Chevrolet badge.

The estate looks like the SAAB 9-3 estate but didn't arrive til 2008 and I don't know if it came with the V6 turbo.

[W00DY]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1990-AUDI-V8-QUATTRO-3-6...


If everyone else could refrain from bidding so that you can learn from the comfort of your armchairs how difficult it is to get a windscreen for an Audi V8, then that would be lovely.

[r129sl]

W00DY said:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1990-AUDI-V8-QUATTRO-3-6...


If everyone else could refrain from bidding so that you can learn from the comfort of your armchairs how difficult it is to get a windscreen for an Audi V8, then that would be lovely.

In period I thought these were fabulous cars. They were very rare, especially in Newcastle. I'm not sure that age has been kind, however. I note that Autoglass purport to have a windscreen in stock... I wonder what other parts availability is like.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

cat220 said:

JF87 said:

Well, my E31 listing is now live on the bay, 28-day classified ad. Sob. I had the nosecone done last week and it looks approximately 92 times better now than at any time during my ownership. WHY MUST THIS ALWAYS BE THE WAY?



Rather stupidly I'm going to be away for two weeks from next Monday, but I promised Mrs JF I'd put the ad up before I left.

Very nice, I'm tempted myself! I reckon you'll have sold that before next Monday..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252832957535

This is in danger of getting lost amongst all the rather unseemly DIY skills and discussions of less worthy cars!

I never really got BMW model numbers so this is always an 8-series to me. I like.

[dscam]

tobinen said:

BigBen said:

TheLordJohn said:

BigBen said:

Because the oil was clean and lacking in swarf / contaminants it was decided not to drain the TC. The reason for this is on newer versions of the box (722.6 I think is the code) the TC does not have a drain plug so must be drained by running the engine and flushing it out via one of the pipes to the oil cooler, not that difficult but uses a lot of extra transmission fluid and is way more difficult than just draining the box.

Earlier versions of the box have a TC with a handy drain bolt.......

Ben

I can't remember which gearboxes I've done but a few older Mercs, 190/230E, older BMW's, Jags etc and I've never not found a small drain bung.
However, I can believe that some vehicles might not have one fitted. But i'd think the majority will have.

Yep it was a change made at around the time it changed from the W210 to W211 and presumably from the start of the W220 run. Same box and presumably the same converter but missing a bung on the newer ones.

My 210 doesn't have the bung. It was the flush-through method as per BigBen's description

Ditto the second generation Volvo V70 - gearbox woes also exacerbated by the fact many followed the 'sealed for life' guidance. Those that don't invariably don't flush the entire system either due to the faffing about necessary. I bit the bullet as one of the first jobs on my 140k 2.0T.