This is very good advice,i was reading up on flushing/replacing ATF and it was said,that flushing is damaging to the transmission system. I second,a drain and refill.

 

thanks man. My kit is on the way and will be on it early next week.

 

I'm half way done with the fluid change. The magnets were coated with a thick layer of the gray matter. LOL. We'll see what happens after when I finish.

 

that grey material is the chippin of your transmission but that should be normal

 

same here

 

The gray matter is metal AKA your clutch packs which is NOT normal. A little gray matter on the magnets is normal but only a minimal amount is.

 

These aren't the things I could have possibly checked prior to my purchase. It's twice in a row my quest for a decent german daily-driver has ended in FAIL.

 

Update: Fluid change complete. Took a hard test drive. Nothing changed... pfff, however, I did notice a leak from this thing next to the oil pan. The leak is not on that thing (I don't know what it's called), but appears to be coming from somewhere above and eventually dribbles to the ground. Please see the attached image. The leak was apparent right after I stopped the car, and stopped after a few minutes. I might have overfilled the tranny fluid, but I don't know what this leak is or where it's coming from. Any ideas?

 

Take a better pic (wider) and point to what's leaking. Probably your input shaft seal but can't tell from that picture.

 

That might be tough given the little working space I have underneath the car. I'll monitor the leak for a few days though. May be it was temp. I'll update us soon.