Test drive/ diagnose my 6mt for me.

Is anyone near middle ga that is familiar with these transmissions that would be willing to drive mine and help diagnose some gear clunking while shifting? The worst is from 2nd-3rd. Its like the gears are still slightly spinning and will clunk together when it slides in. It seems to go away if you drive very spirited. Thanks and let me know. I have changed the fluid and though it felt better after a few drives it seems to still be an issue. The only thing i didnt do was jack it back up after the change and check the level again but it was coming out of the hole when i plugged it back up.

Can you get a video of it? Does it sound like there's a ton of play in the driveshaft and it's flopping back and forth? I recently replaced the driveshaft and there's a lot of slack in the trans and diff, so I've come to the conclusion it's normal. It was probably less when the car was new, but I'm afraid it's part n parcel with these cars.

It doesnt make any noise. Best i can describe it is its not grinding but 1 clunk you can feel like two gears had to line up a hair better and then it slips in. Its almost like trying to get it in gear with the car turned off not using the clutch.Sometimes theres a resistance then it goes in.

lupus71 wrote

Sometimes theres a resistance then it goes in.

Sounds like my love life....
But on a real note, this almost sounds normal. I had something similar to this when I first got my M3. Some one told me I'm probably not shifting quickly enough. Over the last year of owning the car and learning how it likes to be driven, it has seem to go away. Not saying that's your answer, but it's something to consider.

Well it does shift just fine when wring it. I was wondering if my clutch needs adjusment/ replaced. It releases closer to the floor. I also hate the feel of it. Ive been contemplating doing the clutch valve delete.

OP...when's the last time you did a proper service on the transmission by changing out the oil with something fresh?

Keep in mind, you need ISTA in order to run the trans cooler-pump when draining/filling the oil.

I swapped less than 500 miles ago with royal purple. I did not drain the lines as i was told theres not much in them. I also did not recheck it after a short drive like your suppose to but i can jack it back up if its a likely candidate.

lupus71 wrote

I swapped less than 500 miles ago with royal purple. I did not drain the lines as i was told theres not much in them. I also did not recheck it after a short drive like your suppose to but i can jack it back up if its a likely candidate.

Okay. So a couple problems. Rather ambiguous to say you filled it with "royal purple." Royal Purple what...?

Next is whomever "told you there's not much in the lines." I would clearly state that this person doesn't know what they're talking about. Read TIS as this procedure shouldn't be skipped. The pump NEEDS to be constantly running during the fill procedure, otherwise you won't get the proper fill level. Simple as that.

This is what i used.its called synchromax im trying to figure out how to post a pic also. I will look up what tis as ive never heard that before.

I think i used close to 2 bottles.

This is where i read it didnt matter about the fluid in the lines and without a $1.5k tool you cant get it out without taking it somewhere.

Synchromax probably okay.

lupus71 wrote

This is where i read it didnt matter about the fluid in the lines and without a $1.5k tool you cant get it out without taking it somewhere.

It doesn't cost $1.5k for ISTA. Not sure where that poster pulled that number out of as it's nowhere near that amount for this "tool."

If you don't run the trans pump while filling, then you're missing on about 10 to 12 oz of fluid. I figured this out when my trans oil pump wasn't working.
https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2050467

lupus71 wrote

I think i used close to 2 bottles.

I had a 1 series 6 MT with this stuff in it. Hated it; made the shift slow and heavy. Redline ATF (D4 I believe is what they recommend) is leagues better IMO.

Does anyone know where to get the software and exactly which i need to turn the trans pump on? I cant seem to find it.

you can just put power and ground on the pump and itll run. Its on the side of the gearbox. a power probe can get in there.

amrazM wrote

you can just put power and ground on the pump and itll run. Its on the side of the gearbox. a power probe can get in there.

Bingo. 12V battery with two leads works just fine. This is exactly what I did and ended up replacing about 2.5 quarts. Redline MTL is the good stuff 👍

lupus71 wrote

Does anyone know where to get the software and exactly which i need to turn the trans pump on? I cant seem to find it.

Did you try googling "latest version ista?" There are other forums dedicated to this. Not sure how you can miss it if you even tried.


If you're wanting to go the manually powered route, you can simply just apply 12 volts to the red pin I described in my other thread post #6 by gaining access to the e-box. The battery jump-start terminal is very conveniently located next to the e-box.

I did search google for over an hour and got very little from it. All old links that no longer work. So i went to your post and im not sure where the bundle of wires is at with the red pin. Is that what you were saying is right next to the battery? Also you said it has to be running while you fill but i read you arent suppose to run the pump for more that 30 secs. So you have to turn it on and haul butt under the car and try and fill and plug in less than 30 secs?

lupus71 wrote

I did search google for over an hour and got very little from it. All old links that no longer work. So i went to your post and im not sure where the bundle of wires is at with the red pin. Is that what you were saying is right next to the battery? Also you said it has to be running while you fill but i read you arent suppose to run the pump for more that 30 secs. So you have to turn it on and haul butt under the car and try and fill and plug in less than 30 secs?

I'm not too sure about posting direct links to other forums about taboo topics. So I won't as I don't want attention from any moderators. But all I simply searched for was "latest version of ISTA" in google. Did some educated research and acquired said SW (FREE mind you! Anyone reading this, if you paid for ISTA, you're being scammed). Expect over 100+ gb of an install with a competent laptop, adapter, OS, and user.

If you read my #1 post you would understand the drain/fill procedure in the tool. Drain procedure only runs pump for 30 seconds. Fill needs to be ran constantly.

The picture in post #6 clearly shows the e-box location from the stock TIS photo. I'm not sure how you missed this. I also discovered a misprint which I showed the correction in the schematic.

You should know what/where the jumpstart locations are on the car.

RocketyMan wrote

If you're wanting to go the manually powered route, you can simply just apply 12 volts to the red pin I described in my other thread post #6 by gaining access to the e-box. The battery jump-start terminal is very conveniently located next to the e-box.

If you are not confident in either using the SW or manually activating the pump, it might be worth finding a familiar mechanic.

I googled latest version of ista but i dont know what sites are scams and what is legit. Tons of links that go nowhere in posts and people saying they cant remember the site they got it from. Idk. Thanks for the help though.

So i tried to jump the red wire for the pump and nothing happened. This is what i did- pushed start button without touching brake and it says ignition on. I could not get it to say anything about acc but the usb ports were lit up so i assume thats correct. I used a circuit tester clipped on the 12v jump bracket and poked the end into the top of the red wire at x6011 while it was still plugged in and it light up but no sound from the pump. Did i do this incorrectly?

lupus71 wrote

So i tried to jump the red wire for the pump and nothing happened. This is what i did- pushed start button without touching brake and it says ignition on. I could not get it to say anything about acc but the usb ports were lit up so i assume thats correct. I used a circuit tester clipped on the 12v jump bracket and poked the end into the top of the red wire at x6011 while it was still plugged in and it light up but no sound from the pump. Did i do this incorrectly?

I generally followed the procedure outlined here:
https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15038181&postcount=67

Except I didn't cut anything open. I just opened the connector and then used an external 12V battery and some leads to activate the pump. I think I tried poking a lead into the connector, perhaps like you described, and it was not successful. You can very clearly hear the pump operating once you get everything connected. Good luck with the procedure.