khowland

I have been reading some others posts about changing the AT fluids on their e60's.
Mine just hit 100K, BMW now tells me they have redefined their "lifetime" fluids to 100K.
This AT has never been serviced but sometime refuses to shift between gears. This year has a AT filter that is integral to the pan so changing it would cost about $250. Not an option. But I am thinking of changing the fluid.

my assumption and question is this.
this thing holds 9L according to BMW, so i assume i would address this like other conventional AT's and dump the pan, refill, run through the gears, dump the pan and refill again? I may not dump again given the outrageous cost of the fluid. I would probably leave 2-3 quarts behind in the torque converter etc....

i realize some say to never change the tranny fluid after 50K miles if it hasnt been done before, but i cant imagine leaving this crap in any longer given its tendency to not shift at times...


anyway new to the forum. thanks for any advice.

K

Bob525D

Have a look on http://www.e38.org there are tons of write ups for changing tranny oil there amongst other things (almost enough info to build a 7 series from an empty shell - no exageration btw), I know that they are not e60 write up but the basic principle is the same.

This one is a good write up: http://www.e38.org/zf-5hp30-service.html

MRV99

Personally I would change the fluid. but how they do it will not be the same as your assumption.... E60's have a plastic trans pan which will need to be replaced with a new one which and I am not sure that they will seal, unseal, and reseal the new plastic pan. From what I have been told by my tech is that they will drop the pan, replace the filter, pan gasket, fill, check levels and then send it back to its respective owner. Believe me not changing the fluids will be worse than not. Synthetics help but there is no such thing as lifetime fills...... well let me rephrase that..... lifetime fill means after BMW 100,001 is the lifetime or after the BMW warranty has expired. I am getting mine changed at 40k. Dont forget to change the diff while they have the car up.

khowland

after speaking to 2 dealers they simply drain the pan and refill it. thats it. for $268.00. my 04 does not have a separate filter, its part of the mechatronix of the pan so they leave it alone.
they say this process leaves 2-3 quarts in the torque converter after the process. an indy shop will do a full flush with cleaner and refill for $600! A lot of the cost is the tranny fluids they waste in the process.

so it looks like i will be purchasing the $16.00/.5L fluid at my local dealer and simply draining the pan and refilling it unless someone has a better idea...

i will be changing differential fluids, brake fluids, power steering fluids, draining the radiator and block, new cabin filters, fuel filter and air box filter with SE style. Plugs were at 60K so I will leave them alone for a bit. this is my every 2 year and 100K mile routine on my BMW's. I have simply not messed with an auto tranny prior to this car. My other BMW's are SMG and Manual 5 speeds.

968turboS

I plan to do the same on my 06. I need to decide if I want to do it at 60k/80k or 100k. I was leaning more towards 80k since it falls between the factory recommendation and what's considered old school. My thought is that this Shell oil is specfically built for BMW ZF units and I am sure they did enough testing to make sure it's safe to run it upto 110-120k, considering they have to have a 10-20% threshold.

Check out this place: http://www.germanautoparts.com/BMW/2006/E6...T2/2043/1920345

You can save almost $100 on the filter/pan with gaskets and seals over the dealer price. Even though their website states its a ZF kit, its not. You will get an quality unit like I did, but I figured since its not a moving part, we should be OK.

With your CCA discount, you should be able to get the fluid for approx $25/liter. I would get atleast 7.5-8 liters. I have not removed the bellypan to see the fill plug but I assume there has to be one or else there is no way to fill this. You will need to bring your own container for the fluid since BMW buys it by barrels. Drain your fluid in an emply pan so you can measure how much fluid came out. This will help you determine how much fluid you need to fill in.

If you get atleast 7plus liters in, you were able to get 80% new fluid (the rest in the torque convertor). This should be a safe amount. Change it again at your next interval. No need to run the car and drain it right away. To me, that wold be a waste of new fluid. I plan to do a write up with pictures when I finally get to that mileage.

Good luck.

Raj