e46 B3 3.3 auto/manual gearbox glitch?

[docsmith]

Hi to all Alpina lovers,
I am fortunate to have (for the past 18 years) an e46 B3 3.3 saloon with 860000 miles on the clock and have thoroughly enjoyed every single mile.
However the gearbox seems to have acquired a glitch.
When in manual mode the gear changes are perfect using both the buttons on the rear of the steering wheel and also the gear lever itself.
The problem occurs when in auto mode.
Usually the gears change without any problems but intermittently the gears will not change up or down but remain stuck in either third or fourth. I have tried altering the revs i.e. increasing and or decreasing accelerator use hoping that might bring on a gear change. No such luck.
The only way round this glitch is to move the gear lever into manual mode and then back to the auto position.
Works every time in getting the gearbox to change gears again but the intermittent glitch still occurs.
Any ideas as to what may be the cause?
I have checked for fault codes and there are none so I am in the dark.
Has anybody had this problem before?

Hope for something that might point me in the right direction before I have to take out a mortgage to get Alpina (Sytner) to have a look.

[Charles]

I assume it has done 86k miles, not 860k!

My immediate thought is to suggest changing the gearbox oil. Despite having a "sealed for life" sticker, Alpina recommend changing it every 60k miles. If this hasn't been done then it is likely to be the cause of you aren't seeing any fault codes.

You have two choices - either drain and refill, which changes about 65% of the oil ( the rest is stuck in the torque converter) or do a full flush and refill.

Option 1 is quicker and cheaper and can be done by any mechanic. Option 2 is more expensive and requires specialist equipment.

[DogWagen]

Charles' advice is sound and could well resolve the problem which could be as simple as old oil - do make sure that they change the gearbox filter though!

If that doesn't resolve the problem, it's worth getting the onboard diagnostics interrogated to see if there any fault codes present (any competent BMW specialist can do this for you or you can buy a relatively cheap scanning tool to plug into the socket). This will help indicate what could be amiss.

Seeing that you are in/around Nottingham, you could take a drive over to Woods Motors at Byards Leap (Cranwell) just off the A17. Dan and Team look after a number of Alpinas (including mine) and will be much easier on your pocket that Sytners...

[docsmith]

Hi
Thanks for both your quick replies and yes you are correct the car has only completed 86000 miles.
Got a bit carried away with the noughts.

I have been thinking of may be down to oil but just to muddy the waters even further the ASC dash idiot light has now started to flash on and off causing the car to be hesitant in its normal smooth progress. Once the ASC switch is toggled so that the ASC idiot light is permanently showing there are no more hiccups.

With that I am thinking along the lines of the wheel speed sensors may be acting up but yet again no fault codes so still in the dark.

Hopefully two separate problems.

However there is a speed sensor associated with the gearbox any chance that this could be failing causing both problems?

I'll get the wheel speed sensors replaced and the oil changed but if there is anybody out there that has had similar issues I would like to hear from them.

If I get to the bottom of this problem I shall of course keep this forum updated.

[Charles]

I'll get the wheel speed sensors replaced and the oil changed but if there is anybody out there that has had similar issues I would like to hear from them.

Having covered 393k miles in my E46 - albeit a B3S rather than a 3.3 - I've experienced most things that you are likely to encounter

Gearbox oil definitely needs to be changed every 60k miles, otherwise you start to get glitchy changes.

As for ABS sensors at the rear (which contribute to ASC metrics), if these haven't been changed in your ownership, then they will definitely be past their best.

Both of these are not £££, really need to be done and will eliminate many of the possible causes of what you are experiencing. Both can also be done by any decent indie at significantly less than Sytner will try to relieve you of.

Good luck and do keep us informed of progress

[docsmith]

Wow!
393k!! Now that is fantastic mileage
I wonder if you have the most mileage Alpina.
I can understand though as they are fantastic cars to not only own but to drive as well.
Unfortunately I am not in the best of health at the moment but I will keep the forum updated as to where I get to in sorting out these glitches.

[docsmith]

ok
looking around the internet the gearbox oil to use appears to be Automatic transmission oil ZF GETRIEBE S671.090.170
ZF GETRIEBE LifeguardFluid 5.
However I am unable find the quantity that will be required.
Any comments on the type of oil will be greatly appreciated especially if the comment informs me how much I will require. lol.

[DogWagen]

However I am unable find the quantity that will be required.
Any comments on the type of oil will be greatly appreciated especially if the comment informs me how much I will require. lol.

The gearbox requires 7.8 litres of oil according to my supplementary owners manual - call it 8 litres

There are alternatives to the ZF Lifeguard fluid - the BMW Fluid is 8322 9407807 and there should be an approved products list - have a look at realoem and use your BMW VIN

If you look at ZF.com, you'll find that there is a ZF Service centre in Nottingham. You should also be able to find the ZF kit part numbers for your Alipina.

Hope that helps,

Mike

[docsmith]

Thanks Mike will do
kind regards
doc

[docsmith]

Hi,
So things are not going well.
My local garage replaced rear wheel speed sensors as they came back as faulty only to be hit with the trifecta Xmas lights on dashboard plus no speedo.
Strangely enough the car is now running beautifully and the gearbox problems seem to have disappeared. How odd is that?

As the sensors purchased were not OEM (otherwise I would have expected them to work and the advert claimed they were) so I asked Sytner for a quote on correct sensors.
Firstly I got “Oh they are different on the Alpina to the normal e46 and we only have two in stock at £540”.

First question: Are the rear wheel speed sensors different to the stock 328i saloon which my car is based on?
Second question: How much!!!!

Any assistance on this sticky problem would be gratefully appreciated.

regards

david

[DogWagen]

The parts catalogue (https://www.thealpinaregister.com/downl ... 20b333.pdf) indicates that there are no Alpina-specific parts for the rear brakes...however, depending on the build date of the vehicle, they could either be sourced from 328i or 330d (after Sep 99)

A look at RealOEM indicates:
328 Rear sensor part no is: 34521164370
330d Rear Sensor 34526752702 - depending on Brand, these are between £30 and £100-ish each (I'd go for Hella!)

Depending on Brand, these are between £30 and £100-ish each (I'd go for Hella which are the more expensive ones)

I'd ask Sytner for the part number they think fits...if it's a 7 digit number it's an Alpina part otherwise an 11-digit = BMW

Hope that helps

Mike

[Charles]

As the sensors purchased were not OEM (otherwise I would have expected them to work and the advert claimed they were) so I asked Sytner for a quote on correct sensors.
Firstly I got “Oh they are different on the Alpina to the normal e46 and we only have two in stock at £540”.

First question: Are the rear wheel speed sensors different to the stock 328i saloon which my car is based on?
Second question: How much!!!!

What a load of cobblers!!!!!

Just been at CPC for an oil service, so I asked the question ...

1. Replaced them on my E46 B3S (donor car 330i) and they are standard BMW parts. Yours should be the same (from a 328i)

2. We used Pagid ones from Eurocarparts which cost £100 each (incl VAT) and everything worked absolutely fine immediately. OEM ones will be a little bit more than that but nowhere near what you've been quoted. I bet they are quoting for M3 ones ....

I suspect your dashboard lighting is an unrelated issue.

[docsmith]

Hi once again,

Thanks to Mike and Charles for their replies.

A bit slow updating this post as I have been waiting for a reply from Alpina in Buchloe regarding the sensors.

Mike, you are correct the 328i saloon sensors are the same and Charles ... my original reaction was the same as yours but I maybe used stronger language than that.

Basically it comes across that Sytner are not bothered about the older Alpina cars that enthusiasts are trying to look after all Sytner wants are new cars sold with new services at high prices.

I was thinking going Bosch but both of you have suggested two alternatives:- Hella and Pagid.

Any suggestions which maybe the preferred option?

Many thanks for trying to help me out and it is much appreciated.

On another note I have asked my contact at Alpina if Alpina have anything like BMW's RealOEM.

Would save a lot of farting around if they did. If I find out if they have and can get access to it I'll let you all know.

Kind regards

doc

[DogWagen]

Hi once again,

I was thinking going Bosch but both of you have suggested two alternatives:- Hella and Pagid.

Any suggestions which maybe the preferred option?

Many thanks for trying to help me out and it is much appreciated.

On another note I have asked my contact at Alpina if Alpina have anything like BMW's RealOEM.

Would save a lot of farting around if they did. If I find out if they have and can get access to it I'll let you all know.

Kind regards

doc

Brand doesn't make that much difference - I'd go with whatever's available - Pagid are, as Charles says, available from EuroCarParts; Hella is via Autodoc.

The Parts Catalogue for your B3 3.3 is [in the website downloads section - the combination of realoem and the parts catalogues has served me well since 2016 - admittedly there's a bit of detective work needed but then there always is with old(er) vehicles (or aircraft...but keeps me in business!!)

Kind Regards,

Mike

[docsmith]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for taking an interest in my little problem.
I’ve looked at the Register’s parts catalogue and notice that it is in German.
My contact at Buchloe has very kindly sent me the parts catalogue for my B3 e46 but joy of joys it is all in English.
I also have the full BMW service plan so I was wondering if it was possible to send them over to either yourself or one of the other Register keepers for you to give the once over and if considered to be of use maybe added to the other files.

Only question is who do I email the files to?