Transmission question

[Alexlind123]

With 109.5k miles, should i be worried about changing the fluid? I dont know if it has ever been done before and i dont want to ruin anything by changing it now if it hasnt ever been changed before.

[Incantation]

have you tried doing a search?

[Kalevera]

Pull the dipstick, dabble a little bit of the fluid on a sheet of white computer paper and post a picture of it on the forum. Make sure the color correction is good.

best, whit

[Alexlind123]

This is after the oil has soaked in and dried but it looks much the same as when it was wet, this is the best pic i could get, i fiddled around with the white balance but i am really not a veyr good photographer. Let me know if it needs to be better or wetter.

http://servo.postverket.us/alex/IMG_0003.JPG

[Kalevera]

Looks normal to me. The idea is for it to be red. Brown or brackish red are bad.

But it looks fine for a fluid flush. I would pull the pan, inspect it, clean the magnets and replace the filter. The fluid looks clean enough that there shouldn't be any chunks of metal in the pan (just filings on the magnets --- perfectly normal).

I guess the white sheet of paper idea didn't work out as well as I thought it would. Next time around, I guess a petri dish or the like would do the trick.

best, whit

[Alexlind123]

Well it was kind of brown when i first dabbed it on the paper but there is a shade of red in it.

[Alexlind123]

I really have no idea how to flush the transmission. When you say pull the pan, im assuming that there is a drain plug on it to let the fluid out first? And what about the fluid in the TQ, will that just drain out too or should i just replace whatever fluid come out when cleaning the magnets, inspecting the pan and replacing the filter. Btw, where is the filter?

[Alexlind123]

Never mind, the haynes service manual i downloaded outlines it fairly nicely.

[Kalevera]

I really have no idea how to flush the transmission. When you say pull the pan, im assuming that there is a drain plug on it to let the fluid out first? And what about the fluid in the TQ, will that just drain out too or should i just replace whatever fluid come out when cleaning the magnets, inspecting the pan and replacing the filter. Btw, where is the filter?
Ah, if it was "kind of brown," it might be wise to post a pic of a drop of the fluid in something clear so we can get a better look at it.

Yes, the car has a drain plug. Been a while since I've done one. I think it's a hex key -- 6 or 7 mm. Drain the fluid out. What sits in the pan and subsequently drains from the valve body is ~ 50% of what's in the trans. The torque converter, valve body, and other fluid passages retain a lot of it. Leaving the trans open overnight to drain may get more out, which may or may not be a good idea. The pan is secured by, really, two things: a bunch of torx bolts around the lip of the pan and the dipstick tube. As a DIYer, I could never loosen the dipstick/pan nut (it's a 32 or 36mm, I forget), so I would pull the entire thing out (dipstick tube held in place with a tappet hex screw up by the engine block) and go from there.

Have a good set of torx bits around to do this job. The filter is secured by three or four T27/T30 (something like that) bolts, to the bottom of the valve body -- picks fluid up from the pan. When it comes off, the inlet to the valve body will dump a bit of fluid on you, so watch out. Be sure to remove the o ring if, by some chance, it stays up in the inlet. And use a new rubber o ring, usually included in the OEM filter kit, when installing the new filter. Change the pan gasket, as well -- it takes two seconds and the part is cheap.

When refilling, use the dipstick tube. Guestimate how much came out and put about that much back in, less is alright. Drive the car and get it warm, then park it and check the fluid level while running, fill as necessary.

best, whit

[Alexlind123]

Here are some pictures, much better quality.

http://servo.postverket.us/alex/IMG_0013.JPG

http://servo.postverket.us/alex/IMG_0011.JPG

[Kalevera]

Looks fine.

[Alexlind123]

I thought so too, its much easier to see on transparent material.

[genphreak]

was just browsing through and.... noticed someone had posted a pic of their undies :D (Apologies in advance for the quality humour)

Looks perfectly normal to me.

You need to be sure you replace the tranny fluid every 40,000km religiously. Worn and blown trannies are too expensive to risk

If you do that (or can manage it more frequenty) you'll do fine. I'd suggest doing it three times in the first 20,000 you put on it if you don't know when it was last done). If you tow stuff or race the car- cut those numbers in half.

Using syntehtic gets you more life, but I'd rather have an opportunity to remove the 'filings' and inspect the pan without dumping 10 times the cost on fluid I'm going to change again anyway.

To change it simply follow the Bentley manual's instructions... get yourself a few trans mission kits (For an e34 535 they are about $20 on eBay and will fit your ZF 4HP22 tranny). Suggest you get a few engine oil and air filters too whilst you are at it.

Every time you pulll the pan you should have a new gasket and filter ready to go back on. :D

[Bill R.]

use dexron III/mercon castrol, its up to about 2.50 a quart now since oil has been going up like crazy.. It will take less than 3 quarts to change on your car. The procedure is here on Bruno's site. (http://www.bmwe34.net/e34main/Maintenance/Transmission/Automatic_flush.htm)
When you go to fill it back up, add 2 quarts into the dipstick hole with a long thin transmission fluid funnel then start it up and let it warm up without the dipstick in. Change gears from park to reverse,neutral,drive etc a couple of times then let it idle for awhile, once the fluid has warmed up ,stick the dipstick back in with it idling in park and see where the fluid level is , it will take between 2.5 and 2 3/4 quarts total usually on a normal change , only add a quarter of a quart at a time after your initial 2 quart fill, it comes up fast on the dipstick so you don't want to overfill it..







With 109.5k miles, should i be worried about changing the fluid? I dont know if it has ever been done before and i dont want to ruin anything by changing it now if it hasnt ever been changed before.