Inspection Questions from a 1st time DIY'er - long

[granit_silber]

Hey Fellas,

I'm getting ready to do my Inspection 1 and had a few questions.

I plan to change:
Spark Plugs
Oil (moble 1 15w50 or Redline 20w50)
Air Filter
Microfilter
Brake Fluid (ATE Superblue)
Coolant (Prestone -- JUST KIDDING)
Water Pump
T'stat

I know that some of these aren't in a typical Inspection 1, but I'm want to bring all the fluids up to date just for peace of mind.

Here are my questions:
1) Once I emptied the oil/brake fluid/coolant where do I take it to be recycled?

2) Are the new Bosch Platium 4+ spark plugs worth the money or should I stick to standard Bosch plugs?

3) How do I drain/fill the tranny since there's no dipstick and I don't have a lift in my garage?

4) Are there any brands of filters that I should looking to buy or watching out for?

5) In light of what I'm changing are there any ancillary parts that I should also change (i.e. connectors, etc...)

Thanks,
ashley

[Paul in NZ]

why are you using such heavy oil????,and change the diff oil too

[infinity5]

check brunos site regarding the transmission, i don't think its going to be easy at all. for 60$ you should just let the dealer do it.

the bosh plugs, as Many people have said, are NOT worth it. their design doesn't perform well in real world conditions, espeically in older engines like ours.

for the recycling of the fluids, where do you life? discount auto parts will recycle auto oil for free i think. Your local waste managment company should be able to take care of any other fluids- look them up in the phone book. You can also seach online for information about recycling oil, there are soem government sites about it.

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

Fertilize my neighbor's lawn with all the old fluids.

Or

buy a bunch of those oil change boxes filled with old belly button lint.

[infinity5]

I personally buy my oil filters from the dealer, but i know people here have some preferences about which aftermarket brand, but i don't remmber what they've said :)

when you change the coolant make sure you check the hoses for the next few weeks. When i flushed the green coolant from the PO out of my car and put the BMW kind in it immediatly started leaking from almost every single connection... i think the BMW brand has some major detergent properties (or just fresh coolant in general). when i got the old hoses off i found out they were literally mush inside.. pure sludge.

[ryan roopnarine]

if you are already changing fluids out......

id tell you to, if your PS uses ATF, to buy a gallon, and flush it at the same time. it won't take you an hour to use up the gallon/do the procedure. i think bruno has a procedure for doing the tranny without a dipstick. if i were you and my tranny were healthy enough to take a change of fluid, i'd skip doing something else to make sure the tranny gets done. it involves using a hand fluid pump to fill the fill hole. diffs take 75w90 for non lsd, and 75w140 for lsd. if you are located in the US and want to use m1 15w50, pepboys has a calendar that you can buy for $1 that has a mobil 1 coupon in it, which lets you get 6 quarts of m1 for the price of 3. in my area, that's 16 dollars after tax for 6 quarts of m1, not a bad deal.

the purolator oil filters for your m50 are made in india, the stp are made in mexico. both are distinguishable from OEM by the tearable paper band that runs along their circumference. I'd pay the extra 2 $ and get the mahle from a ger auto parts place. i change oil so much, however, that, i get the cheapest, (and the easiest to obtain after the import part places have closed for the evening) the stp from autozone for about $5 and change.

[granit_silber]

why are you using such heavy oil????,and change the diff oil too

According to my service records the car has had Castrol GTX 20w50 in it from the first oil change.
In the owner's manual I fall between the 20w50 range.

-ashley

[granit_silber]

Thanks for the Pepboys info.

Unfortunately they're not in Winston-Salem, NC or surrounding area. What do you mean "If you tranny is healthy enough for a fluid change"? How do I know? I haven't had any problems and it shifts great.
-ashley

[granit_silber]

check brunos site regarding the transmission, i don't think its going to be easy at all. for 60$ you should just let the dealer do it.



Where do you live? Anywhere close to NC?

I just called my local dealer and here's what they quoted me.

Cool Blue - $28.60 a gallon
Tranny Flush and Fill - $350!!!!!!!!!!!

My indy told me "around $100" surely there's not that much diffence in pricing!Hopefully, the person I talked to (who didn't seem too bright) just quoted me something else!
-ashley

[Rory]

Here are my questions:
1) Once I emptied the oil/brake fluid/coolant where do I take it to be recycled?
Take it to your local auto parts store for recycling. Call first as some only take oil, some take all, etc. I have had luck with local indy's or Jiffy Lube type places. Worst case is call the city/local gov't and ask about disposal, they do not want it dumped in the environment either.


2) Are the new Bosch Platium 4+ spark plugs worth the money or should I stick to standard Bosch plugs?
Nope, stick with standard F7LDCR's.


3) How do I drain/fill the tranny since there's no dipstick and I don't have a lift in my garage?
If your tranny has no history of regular maintenance then you are asking for trouble. If it has been serviced regularly then I would say change it. Bentley manuals and other sources outline the procedure, but the rule of thumb is to put in what you took out. You have to do it with the car on a level service and jacked up and supported on stands or a lift with the engine running. This is something I would say leave to the pro's as it will take 4-5 flushes to do yourself since most of the fluid is in the torque converter and would need to be removed with pressure.


4) Are there any brands of filters that I should looking to buy or watching out for?
OEM are the best (Mahle or Mann) and are also cheap, no real reason to get a no-name store brand.


5) In light of what I'm changing are there any ancillary parts that I should also change (i.e. connectors, etc...)
Do the usual visual inspections of cooling and suspension components. You are probably getting close to round II of the car's suspension replacements. H2O pump should be done every 50-60K.

Good Luck,
Rory

[632 Regal]

rorys dead on!
If you do the trans, change the filter and just replace til its full again. Dont risk a flush on an old trans, it can ruin it. If you put the front on ramps with a stop block (which isnt on my site now) so the car wont roll back down you can put the back in the air and pretty much safely fill the trans back up with the hand pump. Trans should be warm to the touch, not hot and not cold.

the oil your looking to get is pretty heavy, most people here use M1 0w40 with no adverse problems. Its thin at startup where most engine wear is caused and is thick enough for hundred degree waether too.

old fluids make great weed and ant killers :D

[granit_silber]

If your tranny has no history of regular maintenance then you are asking for trouble.
Rory

How do I know? My car has "lifetime fluid" and has had EVERY Inspection, oil change, maintaince, etc... done at the same dealership until I took ownership. Would a BMW service department go against guidlines and change the fluid?

I'm okay with the "if it ain't broke..." motto. I didn't realize that a fluid change could actually hurt the system. So is it okay to change the filter? Or just wait until it implodes and throw a 5sp in it? :D

BTW sorry to hear about the accident. I dread the day it happens to me (again).

-ashley

[granit_silber]

the oil your looking to get is pretty heavy, most people here use M1 0w40 with no adverse problems. Its thin at startup where most engine wear is caused and is thick enough for hundred degree waether too.

I guess it can't hurt to try. What do you think about Lubro-Moly's Voll-Sytheis (spelling)?


old fluids make great weed and ant killers :D

That made laugh out loud!

thanks!
-ashley

[ryan roopnarine]

How do I know? My car has "lifetime fluid" and has had EVERY Inspection, oil change, maintaince, etc... done at the same dealership until I took ownership. Would a BMW service department go against guidlines and change the fluid?

I'm okay with the "if it ain't broke..." motto. I didn't realize that a fluid change could actually hurt the system. So is it okay to change the filter? Or just wait until it implodes and throw a 5sp in it? :D

BTW sorry to hear about the accident. I dread the day it happens to me (again).

-ashley

your car does not have lifetime fluid. the only way a e34 525i could have lifetime fluid is if the car had an new or rebuilt (im not sure about rebult) OFFICIAL BMW transmission put in at a BMW DEALERSHIP AFTER SEPTEMBER 1997. no other way, unless a used one meeting the above conditions was put in. if inspection IIs were performed, that means that tranny fluid was changed every 30k miles. if its shifting perfectly and it got inspection IIs done on time before you owned it, its probably healthy enough to take a flush and filter or a filter change. DON'T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT, HOWEVER. If you think that the above isn't the case, then it might be risky to change it. one method i've heard for seldom serviced transmissions is to drain, change filter, strain the drained fluid through pantyhose or nylons, and put it back into the tranny. this removes the dirt without much of the potential for grenading it with new. if after xxxxx miles its still ok and the pan looks ok, then it might be ok to change.

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

rorys dead on!
If you do the trans, change the filter and just replace til its full again. Dont risk a flush on an old trans, it can ruin it. If you put the front on ramps with a stop block (which isnt on my site now) so the car wont roll back down you can put the back in the air and pretty much safely fill the trans back up with the hand pump. Trans should be warm to the touch, not hot and not cold.

the oil your looking to get is pretty heavy, most people here use M1 0w40 with no adverse problems. Its thin at startup where most engine wear is caused and is thick enough for hundred degree waether too.

old fluids make great weed and ant killers :D

Lots of green, brown & black grass

[infinity5]

ahhh. fightclub

[632 Regal]

fertilizer huh??? ill hook my mower up with a broadcaster this summer and let you know how it works out.

[Jeanfb]

check brunos site regarding the transmission, i don't think its going to be easy at all. for 60$ you should just let the dealer do it.

the bosh plugs, as Many people have said, are NOT worth it. their design doesn't perform well in real world conditions, espeically in older engines like ours.

for the recycling of the fluids, where do you life? discount auto parts will recycle auto oil for free i think. Your local waste managment company should be able to take care of any other fluids- look them up in the phone book. You can also seach online for information about recycling oil, there are soem government sites about it.

I purchased my car nearly 2 years ago 'used' came with +4's - since my first inspection I I put back stock Bosch plugs and lovin it ever since - Better gas mileage, engine Idles better and seems pep'ier AND the stock plugs haven't come lose like the +4's did to me twice before I replaced them finally. Also I've been using Valvoline MAXLIFE 10w30 for 120K+ engines and guess what; my annoying VANOS tick tick tick noise is gone too - I was previously using mobil 1 5w/10w30 depending on weather. It seems as though my car is just rearing to go - just wants to keep on pushinnnnnn. I'm gonna let it! Mind you adding a EAT chip made a huge difference too.