I have a 2003 S type R that thumps into gear from 5th to 6th any ideas gang?

 

The FAQ has several TSB's on different transmission noises/problems. See if any of those match what your car is doing?
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Thanks Clubairth I did check the FAQ's and TSB's before I posted.

 

Well those listed in the TSB are the most common. If you can't match anything up you may have to trust a transmission shop for further help.
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Maybe elaborate a little bit more on the "thump" - does this happen every time the car makes that shift? It is only happening in the 5-6 change right? Does road speed or RPM have any impact on the thumping? How hard of a thump are we talking about here - can you feel the thump or just hear it? Does it thump in Sport mode too?

 

The thump occurs every time from 5-6 it is felt more than heard, it is a definite thud, both in "normal" mode and sport.
Speed seems irrelevent 60-70KPH or 100-120kph same effect.
It also occurs if you change manualy and go from 5-6 by hand.
I have noticed too that the thump is more pronounced if you are just "backing off" with the throttle when it decides to change up.
AND the transmission now seems to want to "kick back"/"kick down" when hard, not full throttle is applied, when you are just trying to acccelerate a little faster than "normal"

 

New one to me. Maybe low fluid? You may need a good trans shop to diagnose what it is.

 

I don't know how much researching you have done but Klaus at this place has very good prices on ZF transmission parts and fluid. He is said to be an ex. ZF technician. I used him for my oil change kit. I don't think there is anyone who knows more about the 6 speed ZF. I would call and talk to him. He really has a lot of repair experience with these transmissions.

Oil change kit for 6HP26/28/32
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I'm not sure that Klaus returns phone calls now. I spoke with him more than a year ago, and he made it clear at that time that he prefers to communicate via e-mail. If anyone discovers differently, please let us know....

 

Hmm...the symptoms fit a low fluid type condition, although in my experience you'd have that type of behavior through more than just one gear change. Torque converter could be another issue. Or it could be as simple as a trans ECU programming problem. Do you have an OBD2 scanner - if so perhaps hook it up just to check for any stored codes....you may need to go to a dealer and have them take a look at the electronics.

In the meantime, have you considered just driving in 5th? Thinking perhaps that might help preserve the tranny itself until you get it sorted out. The S-Type is pretty long legged gear-wise so tooling around in 5th isn't really that big of a deal.

 

Did you end up finding out what was causing your ZF trans to thump into 6th gear? I have a 2005 BF XR6 Turbo which also runs the ZF 6 speed and it is doing exactly the same thing as described in this thread, and it only has 30,000km on the odometer.

 

Took the car into a JAg dealer his diagnostic indicated a faulty Torque converter, which on inspection also took out several valves in the auto box etc, reco tranny fitted, all OK

 

Unfortunately my car does this from time to time at 48mph, as if its not sure to shift upshift sixth or down shift into fifth. I get around it by driving 50mph instead of 47-48. 5% of the time it thumps, the other 90% is a laggy shift.

I'm hoping a tranny reflash will fix this and it's not a torque converter. Results to come before yr end.

 

Thanks for reporting back!! We don't often get to close the loop like this. Can you post how much the recon tranny will cost you?

Your problems are not common and I hope they don't become common!
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Thanks for getting back to me, I hope this is not the case with mine as I not long bought the car and being a 2005 model warranty is long gone! Mine is thump varies from not noticeable at all if I'm accelerating moderately so it doesn't change into 6th until say over 100km/h to a mild thud if I am just cruising up 80km/h. I have also noticed its harshest if it changes at 80km/h under slight acceleration/load.. I checked that my torque converter is locking and it appears to be locking fine in 4th, 5th, 6th.. But in 6th the instant I take my foot completely off the gas it unlocks and the revs drop by about 300rpms.. Also if I accelerate slightly more than normal in 6th or up a slight incline it doesn't unlock in 6th it just immediately kicks back to 5th, can anyone confirm if this is normal operation for the ZF? One other thing I've noticed is when it's cold or if its been switched off for 10mins more the first time it up changes from 3rd to 4th is flares slightly between that gear change but only ever does it once then changes normally after that..