sp100

Hey guys. My 2004 530i with 70,000 mls has a transmission fluid leak.I looked under the car today and the cover underneath the car was wet with fluid, so I dropped the cover and noticed transmission fluid all over the bottom of the transmission pan. I want to check the torque on the pan screws and just service the transmission to full. Can someone please tell me the torque valve for the transmission pan screws.I serched and could not find the correct valve. It is an automatic transmission. Thanks

sp100

Thanks very much guys, I was able to get the answer.
Thanks again

lcc014

Are you sure that it was leaking from the pan not other area of the tranny ?

sp100

Well I jacked the car in the air and looked carefully with a bright light and a mirror and cannot find where it is leaking from. I looked carefully at the electrical connection at the aft right hand side of the transmission and could not see any evidence of a leak. Only the plastic pan at the bottom was wet and dripping on the panel underneath but NO evidence of a leak above the pan bolts. I also looked carefully at the output shaft, the drain and fill plugs, the front and sides of the transmission and everything looked ok. I checked the torque on the pan bolts( actually ther are screws) and they were all ok (10NM).I Will change out the pan and fluid as a precaution. Maybe it is residual fluid from when my car was serviced at the dealer, but the last time my car was at the dealer was 15 months and 20, 000 mls ago. So that is unlikely.I am baffled. Is there any where else that it can leak from?Keep me posted please. Thanks

m1900

I have the same problem a few months back I noticed a leak, thought it was some residue of an old oil change, got it cleaned and now I have noticed the same problem. In my old 1999 E39 when I had changed the tranny oil the pan was made of metal now in the 2004 E60 I noticed it is made of plastic and the since there is cover under the car which covers the engine and tranny they decided to put a plactic oil pan ( to also reduce overall weight of the car)which gets warped after sometime due to heat. The cost for the pan with built in filter is 260 + tax from BMW dealer. Oil will need to be changed too the cost would be around 800 $ if one does it through an indy shop. Just an FYI www.germanautoparts.com has the part for 156 $ plus tax/shipping, hope this helps

DRANGED

+1 I too just had the tranny oil pan and seals warranted on my 06 550 due to leaking. The tranny pan had warped and the seal needed to be replaced as well.

sp100

It was the pan leaking,even though the screws were all torque correctly. I changed the pan and reserviced the fluid and that fixed the leak. Car drives much better now, no leaks. I bought the pan an fluid from rmeuropean. I reused the screws, although I wished I should have changed them all. Some were a pain to get off ( i had to use valve grinding compound on the torx tip to get some off). If anyone is going to do this job, get new screws. Auto zone sells a hand pump for less than $5.00 that works great. I used an extra piece of hose to fit into the end of the pump hose, so that I can pump fluid sitting at the side of the car instead of being underneath the car pumping the fluid. I used a 10 mm deep 3/8 drive socket with a 12 inch 3/8 extension and an 8 mm "L" shaped allen (hex) wrench to remove the fill plug. Piece a cake to remove, worked great.

skeeter

How much did it cost you to do everything?

sp100

6 quarts of fluid cost approx 96.00 and the pan/filter about 135. Max $250.00. I bought the fluid and filter from rmeuropean.com , they were the least expensive that I could find. Total fluid used was approx 5.25 quarts. I bought 6 quarts. I am glad I did this job, the fluid was extremely dark. I will in about 6 months drain and reservice the transmission.

m1900

Thanks for the all the info sp100, so besides the pan/filter and oil does one need to buy any other parts to change the pan/oil on the tranny ??