MarkusSwe

Did the replacement today, took me 5h and it solved all my issues!

gcalo

I find it interesting that some went to their dealer sourcing a small quantity of fluid to find the dealer only had it in 55 gallon drums!

I thought dealers did not do transmission flushes!!!

I am planning on doing my e60 this W/E.

It has 114,000 miles.

I am using Motorcraft Mercon SP ATF.

Have read a ton on this, and no reason not to use.

It's made by Shell for Ford to ZF specs.

As well known, a huge price difference.

This is similar to Ferrari telling buyers to use only Pirelli tires!

Found this tightening sequence page which is helpful.

Will report my results

Booyaazaa

The dealers don't do flushes. However when they have to service the trans they will replace the pan and fluid which they do for quite a few cars. Hey let me know how it goes for you. I have been thinking of doing this myself along with replacing the mech sleeve and bridge seal too as a preventive measure since I drive my car pretty hard.

gcalo

My car is very dry underneath, so I am not going to touch the Mechatronic seal assembly.

I have learned that if seals are not leaking leave them alone!

If it leaks in future I will replace it during another liquid flush.

The drain and replacement seems very straight forward.

The bummer is that I don't yet have a lift in my garage. Had a separate 50 amp electrical panel installed in the garage with a 220V outlet circuit for the lift.

So I am working from the floor but using wood block assemblies for rear tires that I had made to work on my Ferrari. Have to double them to get the car up evenly 11" - 12".

I will not work under a car with four jack stands. So this way the rear end is solid, and I can use the handbrake with confidence.

I put in new inner/outer tie rods last W/E with front jack stands no prob. Four I do not trust.

I will let you know.

gcalo

My filter was just delivered from BMW Parts, Porsche Parts, Audi VW Mini Volvo Saab Mercedes Auto Parts - RM European Auto Parts

Enclosed was this sheet

Interesting that the gasket is a rubber seal. I expected to see a flat mating gasket as was depicted on the BavAuto video.

Makes this procedure even easier.

The sheet indicates to drive the car to normal operating temps first.

This is OK I think if you are working from a lift. From the floor I want the car cool and will let it idle up to temp after the 1st oil fill

gcalo

I found two (2) great long handled allen wrenches on eBay.

One is 8 mm ($3.49) and the other is 10 mm ($3.99) both perfect to work on the ZF tranny.

The seller is chasertech. Very reliable and attentive seller from SoCal.

Contact = chasertech@yahoo.com

They apparently sell bicycle parts, and both of these are used for that purpose.

They are a great item

gcalo

Changed the filter and fluid today, and I determined something very interesting. I do not believe that changing the pan and "filter" is necessary.

I see that fluid is drawn into the "filter" area and then fed up into the transmission.

However, I do not believe there is any type of filter in the pan other than a screen to catch larger partices if present!

I drained the tranny into a light gray plastic cat litter pan I purchased from Target. It is smallish and tapers down to one side. Perfect for this job.

I wanted this to see if any debris would come from the transmission during the drain. Not a spec! Drained the old ATF into bottles to calculate what came out.

After removing the bottom pan I placed it into this plastic pan to fully drain, and again looked for debris. Nothing.

The magnets in my pan had a bit of gray sludge, but it was not an excessive amount.

My theory is that there is no need to waste money to replace the pan. One could remove the original and clean it with gunk, dry it, then reinstall it if necessary.

However, I see nothing to indicate any necessity of spending money to replace that pan.

I have cleaned my original by using Gunk and a paint brush. It is now very clean, and I am waiting for it to fully dry.

I see four (4) areas where there are heat seared tits that hold the "filter" to the pan. I am going to drill those out and expose the so called "filter".

I will post pictures of what I find after opening the pan. I will not be in the least bit surprised.

My analysis is to leave that original pan alone, save that money, but change the fluid.

What an incredible shifting difference now! I have 114,726 miles, and it never felt better!

I used Motorcraft Mercon SP. Superb so far.

I will later post my details of the work itself and how I got the car dead level and off the ground for a full 12" clearance.

gcalo

I used my Dremel to cut along the edges to remove the "filter" cover.


To my surprise there is a "filter" assembly. It is thin, being about 1/8" in thickness, stretched very tight in place, and has a slight stiffness to it. It feels like a polypropylene weave.


You can see from the photos that it is somewhat clean after 114,000 miles.


Granted I did spray Gunk into the plastic tube and then put the hose nozzle into the tube to force clean it. However, I did not believe it was really that dirty after all those miles as very little poured out of the lower pan slot..


I am still of the position that the assembly does not need replacement. As stated, I believe it could be cleaned and then fully dried, and then re-installed but only if one felt this essential to do.


Fluid replacement appears to be the key here as it is for engine oil. The drained fluid was quite dark, and it did stink!

I think frequent fluid flushes would clean that filter as well!


My opinion on the matter.

gcalo

Aside from my previous comments about not requiring a pan/filter change, this is my installation experience.


I built 2" X 10" ramps for my Ferrari, and have used them on the BMW. They can be seen in photo. These give me 12" of clearance below the car. The lowest piece is about 24". I am changing that to 36" and taking the top 12" – 14" piece and screwing it to the new bottom piece so the incline is more gradual for the BMW to B/u as it climbs.


You have to also have two (2) 2" X 10" per side for the front wheels otherwise the floor jack will not function to raise the front! Lay them down and backup gradually. Works great.


Jack the front from the center point, add jack stands on each side, adjust their height to emulate what the blocks provide, and you should have 12" clearance front to back.


I left the jack on front point but not under full tension. I will not work under a vehicle with four jack stands. This is earthquake country. Can’t rely on them. So this method gives me security, peace of mind, and the ability to use the hand brake.


I pretty much followed what has been previously stated. The exhaust bracket does have to come off, and you need Torx wrenches for that. A socket will not fit. I did not have Torx wrenches and settled for large visegrips on the Torx head.


No real surprises, and I was lucky that the 24 pan bolts were Torx 40! I was shocked to see how many of the bolts were loose! They were definitely not tightened, but there were no leaks!


I had a large piece of brown kraft paper double folded within reach under the car and pulled it under the tranny after pan removal so oil could drip out. The pan was sitting in the oil collection pan at that point.

That oil was black, and it stank. The open tranny even stank more! About 5.5 – 5.7 liters came out.

After the dripping had nearly stopped, I wiped the base of the tranny, put a few tablespoons of ATF into the new pan, and then with that clean ATF ran my finger over the new seal all around. I also lubed the two seals on the standup tube in the same manner.


I placed a copy of the torque sequence into a plastic sleeve, bent a paper clip, and then attached to a floor jack so I could easily read and follow it.


After snugging the 24 bolts I reached for the torque wrench that I had set for 6 lbs, and then started on 1st bolt. It was tightening too much at least for me without signaling reaching 6 lbs. So I decided I did not want to snap a bolt and waste an hour removing and replacing it.


I figured if there were previously loose bolts and no leaks if I snugged them "German Tight" as one says, I should be fine. It appears that is the case.


The fill went as planned. I bought a case of Motorcraft Mercon SP ATF at O’Reilly Auto Parts for $5.50 per quart. You have to ask them for that deal. It’s worth it.


I also found an inexpensive hand pump that screwed to either a gallon or 2 liter bottle. I had a 2 liter clear bottle and used that. The extension tube for the pump was too short. I am going to replace it as it left about 2" of ATF in the bottle each fill! Annoying.


It took about six (6) quarts of new ATF. That worried me at first, but I soon realized that the fill levels in each Motorcraft Mercon SP pint were inconsistent.


There is a clear line down one side of each pint with markings. I lined up the 6 unused quarts and sure enough each had a different level. That’s odd but a reality.


So between spillage in filling and inconsistencies in pint levels I am sure I replaced pretty close to what came out.


I did the "adaptive" 30 second pedal process before driving, and now it is shifting beautifully and nicely.

I really believe there is absolutely no need to change that pan and "filter". I see no advantage.


I suggest to save money on replacing the filter and just change the ATF every 20,000 – 30,000 miles.


Next weekend I am going to drain and refill the tranny to clear out the residual oil in there. I am sure it will then be even smoother shifting.

Booyaazaa

Gcalo, nice detailed write up.