Advice- auto box fluid change

[bigwinn]

Evening

Canvassing for a view please

My 2.2 was a manual and I changed the box gear oil which made a big difference

New car is older but less miles (03 on 66k) with an auto box

I can only find shipkiller’s ‘how to’ completely change the fluid in the box

Questions:

How can you check the current level- seems logical to check that it’s at an acceptable level

Would you/should you do the full fluid change with filters etc? I read so many conflicting views on do it or not doing it

Over to you for a view please!

Cheers

Stuart

 

[mr.tourette]

Its sealed for life so unless you have a leak from the gearbox or evidence of a repair then it should be safe to say it has enough oil in it.

At the age of the car its probably worthwhile but maybe not completely essential

 

[bigwinn]

Cheers- appreciate the view

 

[Rucky]

I would personally change it, have done so on both the E85 2.5 5 speed auto and the E85 3.0si 6 speed paddle shift box.
You need to check exactly which box you have as the oil is different as are the filters.
the 5 speed has a replaceable filter which is accessed by dropping the plastic gearbox sump. I recall I used Castrol Transmax
the 6 speed has a replaceable plastic sump with the fiter built in and requires a specific BMW / Shell spec oil.
see :

If you climb underneath there is a sticker on the plastic sump detailing exactly which box you have.
The type determines the Oil.
This is what I used on the wifes 3.0si with the 6 speed auto with paddles.
I purchased a replacement MANN Sump/filter online, actually came from Germany.
The oil to BMW / Shell Spec was purchased from Smith and Allan in Darlington
https://www.smithandallan.com
For the 3.0i ZF 6 speed Auto : ATF M1375.4
It is supplied in 5L bulk (x2) and they do delivery
A Hozelock 5L garden pressure pump to fill was very useful.

 

[Sludgepump]

I've been thinking of changing my auto box oil. I think when BMW say 'sealed for life' they probably don't mean 18 years! Mine's 15 years old and 70,000 miles, and I do wonder whether to change it or not. Would be interested to know what a garage would charge for this. I would expect the oil to have degraded over time.

 

[bigwinn]

I would personally change it, have done so on both the E85 2.5 5 speed auto and the E85 3.0si 6 speed paddle shift box.
You need to check exactly which box you have as the oil is different as are the filters.
the 5 speed has a replaceable filter which is accessed by dropping the plastic gearbox sump. I recall I used Castrol Transmax
the 6 speed has a replaceable plastic sump with the fiter built in and requires a specific BMW / Shell spec oil.
see :

If you climb underneath there is a sticker on the plastic sump detailing exactly which box you have.
The type determines the Oil.
This is what I used on the wifes 3.0si with the 6 speed auto with paddles.
I purchased a replacement MANN Sump/filter online, actually came from Germany.
The oil to BMW / Shell Spec was purchased from Smith and Allan in Darlington
https://www.smithandallan.com
For the 3.0i ZF 6 speed Auto : ATF M1375.4
It is supplied in 5L bulk (x2) and they do delivery
A Hozelock 5L garden pressure pump to fill was very useful.

Were you not concerned with the stories around changing the oil making things worse? Dont get me wrong the manual box change deffo made a difference (and the oil removed was like water!)

 

[Rucky]

Not at all - its a gearbox and wears. Not sure how changuing the oil can make a gearbox "worse" neither of mine were faulty to start with. The auto box is however a very complex piece of kit with a lot more solenoids and valves!
BMW "Lifetime" means their support lifetime - not the life of the car I suspect.
(I dont personally believe in a 2 year engine service period either I do all my cars annually.)
If you run the car and gearbox up to operating temperature and then drain down, remove / replace sump and filter refill from a pump then it is actually quite a quick job. Worst part is topping it up and then running engine and cycling through the gears whilst on jacks/stands until it is back up to operating temperature - topping up with it running.

Both cars still going strong, paddle shifts working great.

If anyone has made their gearbox "worse" by changing the oil I have not heard of it - although BMW immediately advised me against it as it was a specialist job and needed oil at a specific temperature and pressure injection etc etc - all I wanted was to know how much the oil cost!

Maybe someone else on this forum will disagree, they usually do - but thats my personal experience.
(Always 2 sides to a story)

 

[Rockhopper]

Two BMW specialists have refused to change the fluid in my five speed box unless there is an actual problem to fix. They say they have had too many people come back with problems afterwards. The issue maybe that there is no official method of changing the fluid so its just done by a best guess which perhaps doesn't work out?

 

[Rucky]

Sorry - dont know which gearbox you have but this is the ZF service link :
https://aftermarket.zf.com/go/en/aftermarket-portal/passenger-cars-and-lcv/know-how/useful-tips/transmission-oil-change/

 

[bigwinn]

Thanks Rucky and all!

 

[PaulTwyman]

Hi all,
I have just had (yesterday) my transmission serviced at 96K miles. It involved dropping the oil out and removing the pan. The filter in mine is part of the sump pan so a new one was installed (£135). Whilst the sump was off a few other items were replaced such as an adaptor that was letting by and some seals and sleeves that had hardened and were also failing. Not too expensive in themselves but the whole job was fairly expensive. transmission fluid alone was £200. The transmission was also reset so it would relearn my driving style - what ever that is!!

The only way to know if it has enough transmission fluid is to run the engine and get the fluid up to around 35 C and then fill until it flows out the filler port.

These transmissions are really complicated and you do need to let someone who knows what they are doing complete this work.

I can honestly say that this has transformed the transmission. Gone are the harsh changes and the dragging/chugging when stationary. Also it goes from 1st to 2nd now when cold.

All in all expensive but after 96K miles that fluid was knackered. I beleive a new box is around £4K so for me it was a no brainer to get it done and there was definately a benefit.

 

[bigwinn]

Thanks Paul- sage advice

I know when something is achievable on the drive or not and I’m sensing this is a job best left to a garage