2001 DII having trouble shifting to low range-??

UK4X4

Expedition Leader
when he says all your might he's not joking........think of a german shot putter or weight lifter .......being that its a bmw shifter.

yep ruddy solenoid..........
 

Brian McVickers

Administrator
Staff member
DONE! and shifting happily!!:wings:

Thanks everyone for your help.

I removed the shift knob - no kidding, you just need to pull pull pull. :REExeSquatsHL1:

After the center console and all the trim and wires were disconnected I drilled out the rivets and moved the plate out of the way to access the selenoid.

The four bolts holding the selenoid in place were terribly tight and it took about thirty minutes to get through the black sealant and get the unit off.

I completely removed the selenoid, cleaned the two surfaces, top of case and round cap, and coated with a good bead of Permitex.

While I was in there I took the opportunity to run some new split loom over wire bundles and spray lube anything that look like it needed it.

With everthing back in place it shifts from high to low and back again smoother than ever, making me wonder just how long the selenoid has been
on its way out.

I read a few acounts of people taking the selenoid out, grinding the plunger off the end and then placing it back in but I completely removed it. I think the generous application of Permitex sealant, the black stuff, will do well.

Thanks again,
Brian
 

R_Lefebvre

Expedition Leader
Huh, so it was the solenoid. Good stuff. I guess I'll proactively gut mine next time I'm in there.
 
Last edited:

michaelgroves

Explorer
Pardon my ignorance, but what is the purpose of the solenoid? NAS only, some kind of safety thing is what I gleaned... but what does it do?
 

R_Lefebvre

Expedition Leader
My guess is so that the vehicle cannot be moved into neutral with the transmission in park and the key removed. A requirement for automatic transmissions in NA which doesn't really seem to make sense with a transfer case but... we have a lot dumber requirements.
 

michaelgroves

Explorer
My guess is so that the vehicle cannot be moved into neutral with the transmission in park and the key removed. A requirement for automatic transmissions in NA which doesn't really seem to make sense with a transfer case but... we have a lot dumber requirements.

Well, I guess if that's what it does, it's not such a bad idea... you'd never really want the t-case in neutral when the transmission is in park and the key removed, would you? (Why does it make less sense with a t-case?)

I just wondered if it was a hare-brained scheme to prevent shifting between high and low on the move!
 

R_Lefebvre

Expedition Leader
I guess Audi is referring to the "Unintended Acceleration" problem with Audis in the 80's, though I don't see the direct connection to Transfer Cases.

I think the idea is, most dumb North American drivers think "Transmision is in Park, the vehicle CANNOT move" so the FMVSS requirements make it so. I'm not really sure why they would do that, when the same dumb drivers could pop a manual transmission into neutral. It's not like we have two classes of drivers license, the higher allowing manual transmission use.

And now this is reminding me... when I was changing my driveshaft, I had want to leave the TC in neutral, and I believe that it would not even allow me to remove the key from the ignition, same as if the trans is not in park. It's all interlocked.
 

muskyman

Explorer
the selonoids were all a product of the interlock regulations that came after the AUDI debacle.

no shifting without your foot on the brake or starting your car in gear for americans any more...guess we all suffer for the few idiots out there that could not tell the gas from the brake.

I still thing it all really was a product of the short lived moon boot craze in the 80's
 

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