540 6 speed box: oil change

[Sbloxxy]

Has anyone out there ever changed the gearbox oil on 1994 540? Mine's the 6 speed manual 'box. Is it a DIY job or should I just dust off my cheque book?

[Warren N.CA]

Lifting the car. Typically, one would place it upon 4 jack stands. I don't know any problems specific to your vehicle. Always loosen the filler plug before the drain. Refer to Bentley book. Never over-fill. The car should be level to help avoid overfill. You might try a more jazzy lube, like RedLine MTL.



Has anyone out there ever changed the gearbox oil on 1994 540? Mine's the 6 speed manual 'box. Is it a DIY job or should I just dust off my cheque book?

[DrewZ]

You may need a breaker bar to bust the plugs loose. It also might help to have a warm tranny when trying to remove the plugs. As was mentioned, make sure you remove the fill plug first. When re-filling you can run some plastic tubing from the engine bay to the fill hole. Otherwise try to get a pump or giant syringe-type thing to put the new fluid in. I have Mobil 1 ATF in my 6-speed. Shifts are much smoother than when I had Redline MTL -- especially in the cold weather.

My $.02
Drew Zacharda
6-speed Touring
http://members.aol.com/apzjd/newavatar.jpg (http://www.bmwe34.net/ASP/DURegistry/RegDetail.asp?id=100)



Has anyone out there ever changed the gearbox oil on 1994 540? Mine's the 6 speed manual 'box. Is it a DIY job or should I just dust off my cheque book?

[scott540]

How important is it to have the car level? This job's on my list of to do's when it gets warm. Also how hard is it to change the fluid in the Diff. Same deal? What fluid goes in there?

[DueyT]

How important is it to have the car level? This job's on my list of to do's when it gets warm. Also how hard is it to change the fluid in the Diff. Same deal? What fluid goes in there?
...either have it level and fill to the bottom of the fill hole, or fill with the specified volume if absolutely level is not possible.

A fluid pump is pretty well a must to empty the tranny.

Cheers,
Duey

p.s. I have Redline MTL right now, but will be changing to try out Mobil 1 Synth ATF in a few days (i.e. when it's not -15c)

[632 Regal]

Duey's connin over to change my trans fluid again, maybe you can come up too and he will get both at the same time.


:D

[DrewT]

I have a 1998 540 6 that I changed the gearbox oil. Its is suppose to be lifetime oil. The fluid I took out looked terrible. I replaced with Royal Purple and am very pleased. On cold mornings, I can change gears with all the effort.
It was an easy change.

[Sbloxxy]

Thanks for the kind offer of getting Duey to change my gearbox oil at the same time as yours; only slight problem is that I'm on the opposite side of the Atlantic to you. Do you think he's got a real long filler tube? Nice offer though, thanks.

[DueyT]

Thanks for the kind offer of getting Duey to change my gearbox oil at the same time as yours; only slight problem is that I'm on the opposite side of the Atlantic to you. Do you think he's got a real long filler tube? Nice offer though, thanks.
Sbloxxy...I'll be visiting Brussels in Octobre. I'll bring my fill pump with me...although the Eurostar may not let on things that drip red oil! :D

Cheers,
Duey