Please send me your old ZF transmission pan and filter

[scottg]

Having researched the Grenadier's ZF pan and filter, we have a 2 uptake port filter, one that is used on BMW mild hybrids and it appears any vehicles with engine start/stop. The 2nd port's purpose is to maintain transmission fluid pressure during engine stop, and on mild hybrids, when the transmission is disconnected from the engine during coast. The 2nd port is operated via an electrical motor so that pressure is maintained to ensure the ZF is ready to go at a moment's notice after coast & start/stop, which is different than when starting the engine before a drive.

Some of us would like to replace the plastic pans with aluminum pans, but no manufacturers yet support the 2nd uptake port filter.

Sending me your pans and filters when you do your service will help provide a supply we can use to send to manufacturers to hopefully get these 2 uptake-port filters supported in aluminum and perhaps other pans, as well as helping identify BMW 2-uptake port filters that are compatible with the Grenadiers. Not only that, we may help all BMW mild-hybrid and engine start/stop owners who may also want aluminum or other types of pans for their vehicles.

Diesel and Petrol both, please. And if you would, please send me your VIN as well. I won't publish or share these but they may be helpful if we find differences in pans between models or engine types.

If your transmission is being serviced by an INEOS dealer, tell them you want all replaced parts provided back to you so it doesn't get tossed. This is a common request, I do it for all service on any vehicle so I can inspect the replaced items.

Ideally you would donate by paying shipping, but if that's not for you, contact me directly and based on the flood of pans I do or don't have on the way, or your distance around the world from me, I can decide if it's worth me paying shipping through reimbursing you. Happy to do that if I can.

scott@scottg.net -- put "Grenadier ZF pan" in the subject line.

Appreciate the assistance, no guarantee we'll get traction with vendors but at least they won't be able to say they have no examples to use for re-designing their pans. You can send the gaskets and screws too if you like, but you don't have to clean the pans or filters, though thorough draining would be appreciated

If I get a deluge of pans and filters, I'll repost here to let all know we have plenty of pans and filters.

Much appreciated.

/s.

 

[Tom D]

So does this mean that there is a way of putting the gearbox into Neutral electronically with the engine off? That would be very useful ..

 

[scottg]

So does this mean that there is a way of putting the gearbox into Neutral electronically with the engine off? That would be very useful ..

Based on my research and testing, and I'm in no way an expert on this, SO DO NOT USE THIS INFORMATION TO WRECK YOUR GRENADIER -- I disclaim any warranty that this information is correct in any way. There.

Now:

1. The engine is connected to the transmission is connected to the transfer case is connect to the drive shafts.

2. If you turn the wheels, you turn the drive shafts, which turns the transfer case gears, which turns the ZF transmission.

3. To safely tow, drag, push the Grenadier, the ZF must be in neutral *OR* the transfer case must be in neutral. The ZF transmission is what must not be manually turned in any way while it is set to Park.

4. When the ZF is in neutral, the transmission is connected to the drive shafts through the transfer case, and the wheels will turn the transmission (which obviously is why if the ZF is in Park, it'll be damaged).

5. When the transfer case is in neutral, the drive shafts ARE NOT connected to the transmission via the transfer case, so towing or pushing the Grenadier makes the wheels turn, and the drive shafts turn, but the transfer case gears do not turn, or the transfer case gear connected to the ZF does not turn, so the ZF transmission even in Park is not turned and no damage occurs.

6. The ZF transmission requires 12V(?) power to shift out of Park to any other selection, including neutral, and the engine must be running.

7. The ZF does have power when the Grenadier is in accessory mode, but I could not get the ZF to shift out of Park no matter what I did (kept brake depressed, pressed unlock, unlock + park buttons, stuck my finger in my ear ...), so you really do need a running engine to shift the ZF out of Park and into any other gear.

8. In accessory mode, I was able to shift the transfer case into all modes -- H, L, H-lock, L-lock -- and the telltale cluster lit up properly showing me what mode I was in and what systems were unavailable in these modes.

9. SURPRISE: After some wiggling between H / L, the transfer case went into NEUTRAL(!) Picture attached. This would not work with a locked transfer case, just between H and L.

Lifting the collar and moving the transfer case shifter in between H and L does cause the transfer case to go into neutral, but not reliably as there is no clear feel or indication that I've put the shifter into the right spot -- the collar does not drop, I couldn't feel it in any way when it did indicate it was in neutral. So I would not advise using this technique unless your vehicle is in water, you MUST move it, and you cannot get underneath it.

Although I was able to get the transfer case into neutral twice, it really felt like a 'hack' -- it took a while to get it to go into neutral, I had no idea when it would tell me it was in neutral, I had to let it sit in between H and L for a few seconds before the console indicated it was in neutral. Neutral is not a 'provided' setting, it really seems to be a hack, it took a lot of jiggling the transfer case shifter to get it in between H and L to where I'd get the console message that the transfer case was in neutral, and it wasn't very easy and doesn't seem like it's a made for setting.

I do not know if this would work without power, it probably would since the transfer case shifter is mechanical and not electronic, but you'd have no indicator whether your transfer case really was in neutral or not without power to the console and ECM.

If you do get your transfer case into neutral, because the collar does not drop, there seems to be no way to lock it into neutral, and any movement or accidentally contacting the transfer case shifter could take it back out of neutral.

Car wash mode is another possibility (it's in your manual, mine is on page 137) -- with engine running you put your ZF in neutral, shut off the engine and *immediately* put the ignition into ACC mode -- the ZF will stay in neutral that way, but will switch to park after some number of minutes, which is not identified in the manual. I'll test that next time I'm out and about. I'm not keen on using this method without knowing how long it'll last, and ideally with a countdown time on the console so I know when it's going to shift back into Park. I wash my Grenadier myself, regularly, and never use car washes.

It seems to me that there's a good case to be made for modifying the transfer case and its shifter to enable a neutral mode in between H and L, where the collar would drop and set it into a confirmed safe neutral position so you would not have to rely on the console to tell you it's in neutral, and so you would not have to get underneath to manually set the ZF to neutral. There may be good reason why this is not implemented for our transfer cases.

It also seems ZF could modify their transmissions (or maybe this can be added without modification through a signal to the ZF) to go into neutral and stay there, while the engine is off, but this would only work as long as it has power. Perhaps a secondary battery, one that can be charged during driving, that is smaller, just enough to power the ZF could be used to provide power to it when the vehicle power cannot. Again, not an expert here, so maybe there's good reason it cannot be, or an extra battery capability would be too costly and complex.

/s.