Lesson Learned !

[Rick H]

On the daily 520i I put new tyres and went for a slightly lower profile 50 down from 55 'cos they were cheaper and better rated. The other day, I got a front puncture in one of the new tyres so put on the spare.

Then the Auto gearbox packed up, no longer changing 4th to 5th, dropping gear and generally forcing me to use Steptronic - which itself had gremlins. I started pricing gearbox refurbs and replacement cars (the 520i cost me £350 - but I've spent a lot getting it back up to standard).

A week or so later and after a bit of lateral lunchtime thinking, I realised wheel speeds would be different on the fronts because of the 55 spare and 50 normal, and wheel speed must be linked to gear changes. A quick head slap later, the repaired tyre was back on and lo and behold, the gearbox was back to normal.

Moral - staring blankly out of a window can save expensive repairs and 5% tyre profile change is enough to screw your car up which is something i didn't know

[Monkey]

Originally Posted by Rick H

On the daily 520i I put new tyres and went for a slightly lower profile 50 down from 55 'cos they were cheaper and better rated. The other day, I got a front puncture in one of the new tyres so put on the spare.

Then the Auto gearbox packed up, no longer changing 4th to 5th, dropping gear and generally forcing me to use Steptronic - which itself had gremlins. I started pricing gearbox refurbs and replacement cars (the 520i cost me £350 - but I've spent a lot getting it back up to standard).

A week or so later and after a bit of lateral lunchtime thinking, I realised wheel speeds would be different on the fronts because of the 55 spare and 50 normal, and wheel speed must be linked to gear changes. A quick head slap later, the repaired tyre was back on and lo and behold, the gearbox was back to normal.

Moral - staring blankly out of a window can save expensive repairs and 5% tyre profile change is enough to screw your car up which is something i didn't know

At least you worked it out before dumping the car, or splashing out on a new gearbox!!

[LeinsCSL]

Can play havoc with BMW's DSC systems too

[Rick H]

The gears are fine, but it ran like crap today - crankshaft sensor symptoms which is odd as I only replaced it a few weeks ago, also did coolant & O2 sensors. It gets hot, throws a wobble with the revs then seems to go into limp.

Anyone know a good diagnostic cable/software package for E39/E46? Cable Shack have one on eBay for about £40 - anyone tried it?

Cheers

[Rick H]

Bought the cable-shack cable, it arrived today. A doddle to install and it pulled codes from my e39 without a problem. i'll be fitting yet another crankshaft sensor tomorrow!