1987 325e Shifting Problem

You gotta send this one in.

http://www.cartalk.com/

The first thing to look for is a NEW MECHANIC !!!!!

I think you got hosed/taken for a ride (or should that be - your car got taken on a joy ride)

Is that you mr goodwrench

Does your 325 have a dipstick for the transmission fluid? Some years had "permanent" transmission fluid. It is a pain in the __ss to check those models. If the trans is low it may give you those results. I had to get Mrs. C.'s up on jack stands, with it level and running, warmed up. Then I had to force 2 qts of ATF into a fill port on the driver's side of the trans pan. It is a real pain. But once filled, it has worked fine. Good luck.

you may have a vacuum leak, that could account for both complaints.

check the hoses from the intake manifold to the brake booster, and the transmission modulator.

there should be a diagram in the engine compartment.

if you listen around the engine, with it idling, you may be able to hear the leak.

Like Guest said in post #5, sounds a lot like a vacuum leak, as in disconnected vacuum line. Not all that unusual to discover a new defect after a vehicle has been in a shop for maintenance on an unrelated system. Could be the mechanic just wants to see you and your car, again.

Or, it could be a crack at the end of a vacuum hose, since these can be expected after 20 years.

Return to the shop that conducted the repair to the brake line and have them correct the problem to your satisfaction.

It sounds like, at some time, you took your car in to have the oil changed and a day later the windshield wiper broke and you felt it was their fault. (no, I'm not getting down on you, it's just that I hear that sort of thing so often "I had my tires rotated and now the radio doesn't work right") Face it, some problems just happen coincidentally, especially in a 20 year old car. Don't take it out on the mechanic.

In this case, it is possible that in getting to the areas necessary to repair the brake line, normal movement of surrounding 20 year old vacuum hoses may have caused the dried out material to crack. That should not be taken out of the mechanics pocket. It is the car owners responsibility to see to it that all systems are maintained. This is a sign that ALL similar hoses should be replaced on order to prevent future problems. I have done this a few times, even on the same vehicle, as the replacement hoses available don't last even half as long as original equipment hoses and I normally don't get rid of a car until it passes 200,000 miles.

Mechanic A says it might be a bad, or leaking vacuum hose.

Mechanic B says that mechanic A is a crook, and you should never bring your car to him again.

Who is correct?

A) Mechanic A

B) Mechanic B

C) Neither A nor B

D) Both A and B

E) My wife.

Thanks to everyone for possible solutions.

I spoke to the previous owner and he was a mechanic and that's what he thinks the problem is too.

Because of my searching I also found a great BMW shop in Toronto that comes highly referred by more than one owner.

Thanks

Judy

Hope you'll come back here and let us know what solved the problem.