B_Schnell

Wow great video. I wish I saw before I did my tranny pan remove and replace on my 545i. Amazing the very same tranny and pan BMW as Jaguar. I had no trouble with getting the bolts off the pan as the dealer already removed the pan when the fixed the cylinder valley coolant pipe and gasket when they had to drop the engine and remove the trans around 35K miles under warranty. They fortunately replaced them with the T 40 torx bolts and they came of easy. I used Pentosin oil though and bought a OEM pan, the pan this guy used in U tube video from Taiwan had recesses from bolt to bolt and I rather have a beefier solid lip that the OEM pan has since it's plastic and right next to the exhaust and all that heat going on. That infa red gun to measure the temp is great. I didn't use one, just kinda guessed by feeling the temp of the oil that was running out while the engine was running. Must wear gloves as the exhaust gets hot very fast! overall great video and valuable as these ZF trannies start to leak well before "lifetime" due to the plastic pan. So all the debate over which oil to use??? Does it really matter if you get a leak around every 50K miles or so and you have to replace the oil anyway? Thanks for the post Anyone have a u tube of replacing the mechatronics sleeve?

rctmthouse

I replaced mine couple weeks ago, T40 torx so had no problem with bolt stripping. After watching this video and saw the lay out of my transmission, I wrapped a towel around the exhaust section near the fill hole so it wasn't much of an issue for me. The only problem I ran into was I didn't lift my car on 4 jack stands, instead I used the ramps for the front and jack stands for rear. That's where the problem lies. The car was leveled but it was a bit low. Didn't realize it until when I was about to pump the fluid in. The pump I got was at Autozone that fits one gallon bottle. Don't know what one gallon bottle they were referring to but I poured out a distilled water gallon bottle and used it as a fluid container but the cap did fit perfectly. Ended having to lean the gallon bottle side way a bit in order to fit it underneath the car to pump. I didn't use the heat gun either, just waited for approximately 5 minutes as the OP stated and started from there. Oh another thing I found is that damn fill plug bolt was a major pain to put back correctly when the fluid was streaming out.

As for the sleeve, you can look into other car makers such as Jags, Land Rover and Huyndai. I found more discussion on the sleeve replacement process than searching from the BMW forums. I guess more BMW owners have the CPO warranty so they just bring it in for repair.

turboawd

so you're saying the other car brands have as many problems with the mechatronics sleeve?

rctmthouse

they all use the same transmission as ours, all experience the same slam and yes, do have problem with the sleeve. I think it's the design of the tranny itself, not just BMW.

turboawd

ok, i just changed my fluid, and boy was it dark. my 06 550i has 98k miles, and the pan appears to be original. it had the "lifetime fill" sticker on it.

some notes i'll add:
my car has a 11/05 build date and had the t40 torx screws. a cordless impact drill makes quick work of those screws.
my original pan had the recess area around the screw holes.
wrap a towel around the exhaust pipe so you dont burn yourself when filling the trans.
my trans only took about 2.5 liters fluid initially, with the engine off....and about 5.5 liters total with the engine running.

changing the mechatronics sleeve is a little tricky. the space is kinda tight. the old sleeve came out easy, but was trapped in that space. i had to pry on the trans a bit, and squeeze it out between the trans and body. installing it took a little patience.
here is a good diy to follow:
thectsc_mechatronic_replacement.pdf
courtesy of http://www.thectsc.com/ who also sells the transmission pan/filters,zf fluid, etc.

rctmthouse

congrats Turboawd...my old fluid was a bit lighter than yours (70K miles) but definitely brownish and darker comparing to fresh fluid. Didn't replace the sleeve though since I had it replaced at 52K. I checked and there was no sign of fluid leaking.

turboawd

my sleeve wasnt leaking either, but since i bought a new one, i changed it anyways. i needed the challenge.

tsk

I read through the whole thread but didn't see any mention of this: Anyone know how much fluid you can get out without dropping the pan? I'm not sure I want to replace the pan and a quick drain x2 might be an easy way to go if it gets most of the fluid.

525iEnjoy

3-6 liters you have to measure what comes out

tsk

5.5 seems the be what comes out if you remove the pan. That's over 50% and great. I'm wondering if you don't remove the pan approximately how much comes out. If it's 3 liters, that's 1/3 of the fluid and not so great (3 changes would get about 65% fluid change). Or if anyone who's done this has an estimate of how much is left in the pan when you drop it down, that would help.