Lots of us with slushboxes, actually. . . (archive)

Tim in NJ also had a lovely slushbox for a while--since bought an M535i. My slushbox has 111k on it and shifts great--the 4HP22-EH trannies on the '87-'88 cars are really not so bad. You have to understand that NO, it's not going to be as good as a manual, and NO, it won't be as quick off the line. With the stock 3.25 rear end, you'll find it'll take a little time to gather up steam and once it gets above 3000rpm, it's a bear. Mine shifts very clean and sport mode is nice--estimates of life expectancy are all over the place. Some people have gotten 150-200 out of them. Some people, 100-125. I know mine will do much better than that, I think. I lot of quirks with these things aren't the trans itself, but the throttle position switch, kickdown switch, electrical connectors for the trans ECU, that sort of thing--in other words, the little exterior electronics. Most of the time, it can get tracked down and it's fine. Eventually, the clutch packs will fail and you'll probably lose reverse or maybe some of your forward gears. But, if the maintainence of the car has been good and the tranny hasn't been trashed, it's probably alright. Keep changing the fluid if it's been changed regularly. If not, some people say leave the fluid in there because a change will dislodge all the gunk that's been holding all the seals and such in place.

All in all, I've gotten to like mine because I live in Chicago and you'll want to amputate your left foot after clutching in traffic for two hours. Plus, when the tranny dies, you can easily do a five speed if you want for 1800-2500 with labor, depending on how much you spend for the donor tranny. Don't let the trans deter you--if the car is great, buy the car. I did, and I got a 2 owner no wrecks nearly perfect car. Can't complain. Hope this helps.

David
'88 535iS-"Hannah"
111k

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