Hey Jonny, that was really interesting to watch. You mentioned not to forget where the ball bearings went and not to forget one or it won't shift right. I had an 84 Buick Regal T-type with a 2004r transmission in it. Took it to the transmission shop, got it back and it wouldn't shift right. The owner of the shop after having charged me for the complete rebuild, generously gave me a brand new transmission at his cost. I later heard through the grapevine he had forgotten to put a ball bearing in. It is always great to see your attention to detail. Cheers!
I am not a mechanic, well not before buying a BMW. Did this on my 645ci a couple of weeks ago, Zip Kit, new plate and seals, but also replaced the gasket set (4 rubber tubes) which were compressed and knackered. Made the world of difference, so smooth now. My biggest PITA was getting the plug seal back in as there is no room on the back of the 645 to apply any pressure unless you drop the back of the transmission, or MacGyver a useful tool to help push it home. The transmission filling hole next to the exhaust doesn't make things any easier. Nice Job Johnny.
You tell the quality and skill of any mechanic or tradesman’s by how they open a plastic bag. Never trust a savage bag opener that tears the bag open. Where’s Jonny opens the bag carefully and professionally. This reflects the high qualities of his repairs.
I really like how you guys actually show the Ninja doing the repair and not just filming the break down and install. Its interesting to see what goes into actually doing the repair. Your Channel does a excellent job of actually seeing the work that goes into a repair. Keep up the Good Work👍👍
A typical masterclass as always from a skilled technician BUT can we have a shout out as well to the design engineer who crafted those two aluminium castings with that maze of galleries?
That is the one job that I always leave to a pro. I'll never forget trying to install a shift kit in a Ford C-6 back in the 70s! Little springs and ball bearings went all over my dirty shop floor. Thankfully, a friend with experience came by and spent the night helping me. Thanks again, Shorty!
I used to recondition auto transmissions back around 1971. It's interesting to see how little they've changed in all that time apart from the electronic controls.
This seems to be unique to the ZF with the gold fluid, but in my experience as a tech a lot of shift issues are solved simply by servicing these transmissions. Its a shame I never got a chance to work for a professional like this. Maybe someday...
How does Johnny only have 70k subscribers? Unlike the Car Wizard, Johnny is a humble, non opinionated guy who explains everything in great detail, keeps an immaculate workshop and loves his job. He’s not boasting about his yacht, property portfolio and generally talking out of his ass
Bro, Johnny doesn't appeal to the lowest commond denominator, which is basically 95% of America and the world in general. He doesn't look like them, think like them, act like them and etc. The masses are intimidated..
I dropped Hoovie because of his fake victimization routine. You can only be a bumbler so many times. "Oh, i've been taken advantage of again. I'm so simple minded". While his bank account keeps getting larger. But still watch the yacht guy for his narration style. Johnny for his tech/memory skills.
Sweet ride. One day I will need to drive to Johnny from Colorado to get my N62 replaced in my X5.? I'm at 200000 miles and still no smoke. No scored #8 cylinder. Johnny always amazes you with his attention to detail. Glad you mentioned the reverse delay. My HP28x has always had that. Now I know! You want to make an old X5 ride like it's on rails? Do a 4 hub bearing change over. It will amaze you!
If there's something I learned when looking into automatic transmissions is that every one of them has some kind of "fix kit" to solve a specific, recurring issue. Sonax, Trangso and all the others.
When I had my BMW 750li Mechatronic unit replaced, I was able to go directly to the company that remanufactured the ZF modules. I think it cost me something like $1800 and I had to send back the old core. The real trick was getting someone to program the unit to my car.
Hmmm.... Ford 6r and GM 6l is licensed versions of that transmission... I have a Ford Expedition with the 6r and have that weird kick when coming to a stop or suddenly getting off the gas at low speed (not every time and it's not bad yet). Wonder if it's the same issue?
The valve body on an XC90 is a pain in the butt to remove. It bumps up to the frame. And it's in a vertical position too. I'm having a tough time removing it so I can send it out to get rebuilt.
Great job with the upgrade! Sure is a lot more complicated from the tranny shift kit I installed in my TH-700r from my hotrod Olds from years ago! BTW - when replacing the trans fluid pickup on your ZF be sure to use factory OEM. Don't be tempted to use a cheap Chinese knockoff. Why? Remember that reddish/brown seal on the pickup tube? if that's doesn't seal properly against the valve body then the transmission cannot suck oil up into the pump properly. Then your car doesn't move. You don't need to ask me how I know that. 😢
I need to get one of those, my one sucks - spent an hour on Sunday before last pumping 5.5 litres of transmission fluid flat on my back under the car - my shoulder hurt so much the next day.
Fanbloodytastic a true mechanic very professional I’d be afraid to take the sump off the box 🙈but who designed the pattern of those galleries to enable it to do what it does blood genius Glad to see you back 👍👨🏻🏭🇬🇧
I did a full transmission seal and solenoid replacement on my zf 6hp21 in my e90 335i pre lci (australian) i wish i wish i went the extra step and did this too while i had the valve body on the table, full of regrets now!
I'm not sure this is necessary under normal conditions - I had a G6E turbo with the ZF6 that I did nearly quarter of a million kilometers in with just regular maintenance - I first changed the fluid and filter at 100,000km, then the same again every 60,000km after that - it still shifted like new at 240,000km - that car was tuned and had 400rwhp too, so no lightweight.
@@Beer_Dad1975 yeah I’m just at the limit of my trans. It’s done 260k km when I bought it and now I’m making around 400rwkw 800nm torque and about to tune full e85 and head for 450rwkw. Would of been a great idea to just do this while I was in there. That’s all
@@InTuneGarage Yup that kind of power levels will definitely increase the likelihood of failure and I think 450kw is up around the max output for an unmodified ZF6 anyway - I forgot to mention I also put a after market cooler in mine as the factory Ford heat exchanger was crap. They are easy transmissions to work on - I just did the A380 in my current Lexus a couple of weekends back - it was a b*tch of a job compared to the Ford - just no room to get at the filler plug, and the drain plug left at least half a litre of fluid in the pan, which yes, I managed to dump all over the garage floor when I levered the pan off :-(
what symptoms warranted this work? I've got a 2012 x3 with intermittent hard shifts from 3-2-1. I was looking towards bad solenoids, but maybe this is more likely the culprit?
Retired transmission rebuilder, That valvebody service he did had to be at least $1800 and it still needs to be rebuilt in the near future he said, the older ZFs would burn the A clutch, clutches, steels ,gaskets and reseal it good for another 100000 miles ,glad I'm done, I love my Tacoma it does not break.
Agreed, but I also have found a looming problem is the torque converters going to lunch and spreading metal throughout the trans. I do not have any real info from others as to what constitutes a decent mileage to remove and replace the TC. If left too long this can cause high dollar damage to the internals. With only 100K miles, expect this TC can go for a while, but what do others in the industry think? What is your expectation? I recently did a GM 5L40E with 245000Kms (just over 150K miles) that had TC failure. The box internals looked like they coukd have done another 100000Miles but for the failed TC destroying the pump and other bits.
@@miceinoz1181 We used to have an account for BMW, Porsche, Mercedes we would do all there transmissions used to build a lot of ZF four speed BMWs , input shafts, stators ,A clutch ,would go bad on them, Torque converters held together back then ,this was back in 1994 , It's been eight years since I rebuilt full time, I'm old and glad to be out of it.
What!! changing the gearbox oil? Do you not see the yellow sticker on the pan? Nah Jonny, just kidding, love your content and have been missing it lately. I have learned it easier to position the mechatronic before tightening the valve body screws. The mechatronic dowell pins work well to align the valve body halves, and once some screw are tightened, can be removed again to get the rest. There is enough play in the holes to make replacing the mechatronic more difficult if the factory alignment pins are not used. Just a thought. Did you change the 4 tranfer seals? I did not see this, and they are as essential to change at the same time as the bridge seal because they flatten out.
When refilling the fluid do you fill until it starts to run out of fill hole, replace plug, start vehicle, get it to operating temp, shift through all the gears ( a few seconds in each gear),then back to park, leave running, remove fill plug and top off? That is how the process was explained to me in the past. Or is all that overkill. Thanks
I do enjoy watching the car ninja work he has a lot of knowledge when co mes to BMWs but an extremely comlicated transmission l will stick with my toyota manual gear box
I think that GM trans is a 5L40 (5 speed)? Different issues, different internal design. There are videos on YT on them, if maybe from a different vehicle. Look up Gary Ferraro on YT. He runs a trans shop in NY. He probably has something.
Surprised it needs a valve body rebuild at all - I had a ZF6 that did 240,000km with just regular maintenance - once the car got to 100,000km I just did the filter and fluid every 60,000km and it shifted like new right up until the car got written off. That was in a car with 400rwhp too, and I towed with it occasionally, so it wasn't like it was a low stress application.
The Zip kit is a very good solution for the hard 2-1 downshifts. I would see no point doing it until you have this problem though. Various recommendations about the oil/filter/seals service though, most seem to stick to a 60,000 Mile interval.
Hey Johnny, do you have any where else where i can get in contact with you besides youtube? i have questions to ask about your knowledge/experience, and how I can follow the same path of expertise.
This is the kind of stuff that separates a professional mechanic from a glorified parts swapper. Nicely done Jonny!
100%
Wizard glorified parts swapper shoosh battery needs a spring washer but wizard puts new battery terminal on instead (from penny's to £ pounds).
@@dainsmart6237 David aka the wizard is an uncertified hack mechanic.
That's called the dealer!
@Ralph Reilly absolutely
Hey Jonny, that was really interesting to watch. You mentioned not to forget where the ball bearings went and not to forget one or it won't shift right. I had an 84 Buick Regal T-type with a 2004r transmission in it. Took it to the transmission shop, got it back and it wouldn't shift right. The owner of the shop after having charged me for the complete rebuild, generously gave me a brand new transmission at his cost. I later heard through the grapevine he had forgotten to put a ball bearing in. It is always great to see your attention to detail. Cheers!
I love watching Jonny do this kind of work. Not too much talking, but he explains what is going on and makes it seem like anyone could do this.
I am not a mechanic, well not before buying a BMW. Did this on my 645ci a couple of weeks ago, Zip Kit, new plate and seals, but also replaced the gasket set (4 rubber tubes) which were compressed and knackered. Made the world of difference, so smooth now. My biggest PITA was getting the plug seal back in as there is no room on the back of the 645 to apply any pressure unless you drop the back of the transmission, or MacGyver a useful tool to help push it home. The transmission filling hole next to the exhaust doesn't make things any easier. Nice Job Johnny.
It might not seem too complicated a job to "the Ninja", but it's something that only a competent tech should tackle.
Nice work Johnny...
You tell the quality and skill of any mechanic or tradesman’s by how they open a plastic bag. Never trust a savage bag opener that tears the bag open. Where’s Jonny opens the bag carefully and professionally. This reflects the high qualities of his repairs.
I really like how you guys actually show the Ninja doing the repair and not just filming the break down and install. Its interesting to see what goes into actually doing the repair. Your Channel does a excellent job of actually seeing the work that goes into a repair. Keep up the Good Work👍👍
A typical masterclass as always from a skilled technician BUT can we have a shout out as well to the design engineer who crafted those two aluminium castings with that maze of galleries?
Some Kraut from Friedrichshafen.
That is the one job that I always leave to a pro. I'll never forget trying to install a shift kit in a Ford C-6 back in the 70s! Little springs and ball bearings went all over my dirty shop floor. Thankfully, a friend with experience came by and spent the night helping me. Thanks again, Shorty!
I used to recondition auto transmissions back around 1971. It's interesting to see how little they've changed in all that time apart from the electronic controls.
He is really good at stretching his spring. This is not an easy job. I am glad he does not say: "If I can do it, You can do it."
I’m really into PC building and cars and Jonny breaks this down like it’s a simple pc build it’s amazing.
Hello from Sydney, love your work Jonny. I was wondering if you can do the same video on MB 722.6 tran. The detail is superb, love it. Thanks.
Thanks for not playing music (and the nice video, of course).
Just started looking at Johnny's work today, and can say he is the real deal.
It's very relaxing to watch Jonny work carefully and methodically on repairs like this.
Glad to see you back. Now I need to see more of that E36 M3 behind you.
A mechanic is good when he's calm doing this kind of work. A channel where the work actually gets done.
This seems to be unique to the ZF with the gold fluid, but in my experience as a tech a lot of shift issues are solved simply by servicing these transmissions.
Its a shame I never got a chance to work for a professional like this. Maybe someday...
How does Johnny only have 70k subscribers? Unlike the Car Wizard, Johnny is a humble, non opinionated guy who explains everything in great detail, keeps an immaculate workshop and loves his job. He’s not boasting about his yacht, property portfolio and generally talking out of his ass
Bro, Johnny doesn't appeal to the lowest commond denominator, which is basically 95% of America and the world in general. He doesn't look like them, think like them, act like them and etc. The masses are intimidated..
Yeah. I had to drop The Car Wizard. Went way off the reservation. Sad. Really liked his early videos.
Agreed, too much gab and no actual work from the so called Wizard. I too have dropped him.
I dropped Hoovie because of his fake victimization routine. You can only be a bumbler so many times. "Oh, i've been taken advantage of again. I'm so simple minded". While his bank account keeps getting larger. But still watch the yacht guy for his narration style. Johnny for his tech/memory skills.
Sweet ride. One day I will need to drive to Johnny from Colorado to get my N62 replaced in my X5.? I'm at 200000 miles and still no smoke. No scored #8 cylinder. Johnny always amazes you with his attention to detail. Glad you mentioned the reverse delay. My HP28x has always had that. Now I know! You want to make an old X5 ride like it's on rails? Do a 4 hub bearing change over. It will amaze you!
His job is like a surgeon no room for mistake. Good job Johny
Jonny is a master. Love watching someone work that know their stuff.
Great work done Jonny as always.
How did they design transmission they look so complicated. Alien technology
You are as calm fixing that transmission as Bob Ross was painting happy little clouds and trees.
If there's something I learned when looking into automatic transmissions is that every one of them has some kind of "fix kit" to solve a specific, recurring issue. Sonax, Trangso and all the others.
Ninja your The mechanic you take care and get rid of problems. Bravo Zulu
The valve body contains amazing looking hydraulic channels to my eyes!
Johnnie, you make it look easy, great mechanic. I wish I could have you work on my car.
Thanks 👍
Thank you for a great detail video on sonnax valve body repair kit.
Welcome back! Was worried that maybe you guys decided to stop making videos.
excellent video !! thanks for sharing 👍👍
So glad to see you again💪
When I had my BMW 750li Mechatronic unit replaced, I was able to go directly to the company that remanufactured the ZF modules. I think it cost me something like $1800 and I had to send back the old core. The real trick was getting someone to program the unit to my car.
Hmmm.... Ford 6r and GM 6l is licensed versions of that transmission... I have a Ford Expedition with the 6r and have that weird kick when coming to a stop or suddenly getting off the gas at low speed (not every time and it's not bad yet). Wonder if it's the same issue?
Well, according to Sonnax website that kit also fits the 6r so probably, lol...
Oh wow I even have the same reverse delay.
Good to see your back 👍
The valve body on an XC90 is a pain in the butt to remove. It bumps up to the frame. And it's in a vertical position too. I'm having a tough time removing it so I can send it out to get rebuilt.
I missed your videos soooo much. You make me want to make a bad decision and buy a BMW once I have a garage
Wow, Wednesday morning meditation! Thank you Ninja :)
Great job with the upgrade! Sure is a lot more complicated from the tranny shift kit I installed in my TH-700r from my hotrod Olds from years ago!
BTW - when replacing the trans fluid pickup on your ZF be sure to use factory OEM. Don't be tempted to use a cheap Chinese knockoff. Why? Remember that reddish/brown seal on the pickup tube? if that's doesn't seal properly against the valve body then the transmission cannot suck oil up into the pump properly. Then your car doesn't move. You don't need to ask me how I know that. 😢
Is that a stock X5 with so many exhaust pipes going all the way?
Glad I'm not the only one who gets good use out of that transfer pump lol best five bucks I've ever spent at harbor freight 🤣
I need to get one of those, my one sucks - spent an hour on Sunday before last pumping 5.5 litres of transmission fluid flat on my back under the car - my shoulder hurt so much the next day.
jonny is elite bmw technician
Looks like a overly complicated ⚙️ gearbox ⚙️ customers just glad that the Ninja is on the job! 🙏🏼
These ZF boxes are one of the easier ones to repair in my experience.
About time a video dropped I've been itching
13:24. How can we find out the number of that plate and order before taking valve body out? And where do we order that from?
Ive never had a spool come out that easy
Did the same for the Valve body on my BMW 850. Did not solve the problem. To much glitter and sludge and I had to get a replacement unit.
Hold my beer. Ordering parts now for my zf-6hp19. Uncertified brokanic in the making.
Fanbloodytastic a true mechanic very professional I’d be afraid to take the sump off the box 🙈but who designed the pattern of those galleries to enable it to do what it does blood genius
Glad to see you back 👍👨🏻🏭🇬🇧
There is a fill on the side also u need to turn the car on after u fill it half it will take more fluids in after u turn it on
I'm surprised there are no alignment pins/bolts used for aligning the valve body halfs. Awesome video!
Looks like a piece of the millennium falcon.
Why didn't you use the side fill hole?
Also, bro why don't you wear katex gloves?
Checked out Epicenter Garage....Good channel thanks for the tip...
I did a full transmission seal and solenoid replacement on my zf 6hp21 in my e90 335i pre lci (australian) i wish i wish i went the extra step and did this too while i had the valve body on the table, full of regrets now!
I'm not sure this is necessary under normal conditions - I had a G6E turbo with the ZF6 that I did nearly quarter of a million kilometers in with just regular maintenance - I first changed the fluid and filter at 100,000km, then the same again every 60,000km after that - it still shifted like new at 240,000km - that car was tuned and had 400rwhp too, so no lightweight.
@@Beer_Dad1975 yeah I’m just at the limit of my trans. It’s done 260k km when I bought it and now I’m making around 400rwkw 800nm torque and about to tune full e85 and head for 450rwkw. Would of been a great idea to just do this while I was in there. That’s all
@@InTuneGarage Yup that kind of power levels will definitely increase the likelihood of failure and I think 450kw is up around the max output for an unmodified ZF6 anyway - I forgot to mention I also put a after market cooler in mine as the factory Ford heat exchanger was crap. They are easy transmissions to work on - I just did the A380 in my current Lexus a couple of weekends back - it was a b*tch of a job compared to the Ford - just no room to get at the filler plug, and the drain plug left at least half a litre of fluid in the pan, which yes, I managed to dump all over the garage floor when I levered the pan off :-(
what symptoms warranted this work? I've got a 2012 x3 with intermittent hard shifts from 3-2-1. I was looking towards bad solenoids, but maybe this is more likely the culprit?
Are you going to teach us how to replace e clutch bushing from the transmission in event if the car generates 4f85 error code?
Awesome video
Retired transmission rebuilder, That valvebody service he did had to be at least $1800 and it still needs to be rebuilt in the near future he said, the older ZFs would burn the A clutch, clutches, steels ,gaskets and reseal it good for another 100000 miles ,glad I'm done, I love my Tacoma it does not break.
Agreed, but I also have found a looming problem is the torque converters going to lunch and spreading metal throughout the trans. I do not have any real info from others as to what constitutes a decent mileage to remove and replace the TC. If left too long this can cause high dollar damage to the internals. With only 100K miles, expect this TC can go for a while, but what do others in the industry think? What is your expectation? I recently did a GM 5L40E with 245000Kms (just over 150K miles) that had TC failure. The box internals looked like they coukd have done another 100000Miles but for the failed TC destroying the pump and other bits.
@@miceinoz1181 We used to have an account for BMW, Porsche, Mercedes we would do all there transmissions used to build a lot of ZF four speed BMWs , input shafts, stators ,A clutch ,would go bad on them, Torque converters held together back then ,this was back in 1994 , It's been eight years since I rebuilt full time, I'm old and glad to be out of it.
14:44 " it's super simple" I can guarantee i would completely mess up! :->
What!! changing the gearbox oil? Do you not see the yellow sticker on the pan? Nah Jonny, just kidding, love your content and have been missing it lately.
I have learned it easier to position the mechatronic before tightening the valve body screws. The mechatronic dowell pins work well to align the valve body halves, and once some screw are tightened, can be removed again to get the rest. There is enough play in the holes to make replacing the mechatronic more difficult if the factory alignment pins are not used. Just a thought. Did you change the 4 tranfer seals? I did not see this, and they are as essential to change at the same time as the bridge seal because they flatten out.
Several others (myself included) wondered about the transfer sleeves as well. Nice tip re positioning unit before tightening valve body screws. Thanks
Where do you get BMW gear box separate plate?
Reputable transmission spares companies.
Are those crash bars? Impressive.
I just pay people to do this stuff for me but watchin mechanical engineering has always been interesting
Link for the kit? Thanks
When refilling the fluid do you fill until it starts to run out of fill hole, replace plug, start vehicle, get it to operating temp, shift through all the gears ( a few seconds in each gear),then back to park, leave running, remove fill plug and top off? That is how the process was explained to me in the past. Or is all that overkill. Thanks
Yes. You're correct.
Hey bro where can I buy the springs that come with the small plastic point on top ?
Great video. Thanks 🙏
Those bars have got to be aftermarket right? Never seen those on an X5. Seems a bit over kill right Johnny?
I was wondering the same thing. I have never seen an X5 off-roading to warrant that kind of protection.
What kind of alien technology is that?
Is that supposed to be some kind of skid plate water pipe protection under that X5?? Why??
Great video man!!
I do enjoy watching the car ninja work he has a lot of knowledge when co mes to BMWs but an extremely comlicated transmission l will stick with my toyota manual gear box
Love the video Jonny!
Ninja doing 🧠 surgery on himself...it's very easy. Just follow the instructions. Nothing is difficult for the Ninja.
Yay!!! You’re back!!!!
very educational
Great video.
Nicely done, how do you find the code for the gasket, is it dealership specific of zf specific information, thanks
I have the same question. Have you found out?
What’s the approximate cost for this service?
Great video , I could use a video for. 2005 x5 3.0 with a gm trans. Think mine could use this.
I think that GM trans is a 5L40 (5 speed)? Different issues, different internal design. There are videos on YT on them, if maybe from a different vehicle. Look up Gary Ferraro on YT. He runs a trans shop in NY. He probably has something.
What is that panel with the maze-pattern? Why is it built like that?
Jonny is way more of a true mechanic than that Wizard. That guy just likes to replace parts at crazy hourly rates.
Glad I swapped my ZF auto tranny to a 5 spd manual in my E39 530i.
How often do you recommend performing this service? This is my wife’s daily driver. Thanks for the helpful video.
every 60,000 miles I would perform it.
Surprised it needs a valve body rebuild at all - I had a ZF6 that did 240,000km with just regular maintenance - once the car got to 100,000km I just did the filter and fluid every 60,000km and it shifted like new right up until the car got written off. That was in a car with 400rwhp too, and I towed with it occasionally, so it wasn't like it was a low stress application.
The Zip kit is a very good solution for the hard 2-1 downshifts. I would see no point doing it until you have this problem though. Various recommendations about the oil/filter/seals service though, most seem to stick to a 60,000 Mile interval.
can u plz post the link were did u order the zip kit?thank you
Are those bars factory or were they added to protect the catalytic converters
Not factory. Just aftermarket rock protection stuff for off roading (not that this vehicle ever goes off road).
What does something like that cost?
I every VAG car owner is looking on with tears in their eyes.
Does this apply to a 7G Tronic (Plus) as well?
Would this also apply to a Range Rover with the 6HP26X?
Same box parts as this BMW X5. Both have the ZF6HP26X.
Hey Johnny, do you have any where else where i can get in contact with you besides youtube? i have questions to ask about your knowledge/experience, and how I can follow the same path of expertise.
Hello Ninja!!!!!
Bukur👍
I am mechanic bat the is issue whit bmw 116i when put drive or reverse back to parking
Can I send you my value body to rebuild and test? How do I get in contact
Never seen those undercarriage bars before
No “Car Wizard” taste test?
@@francisbarrett1881 yep
The Car Wizard is a cowboy
👍❤️👍