Pennzoil Multi-Vehicle ATF 1,000 mile evaluation in the 5HP30

[new540iowner]

As you recall, I changed out the tranny fluid and filter a couple months ago and now have 1,000 miles on the Pennzoil MVATF. Now with the fluid fully integrated into all parts on the transmission, I can give you my impressions of the fluid compatibility.

I first decided to change out the OEM fluid after experiencing an occasional hard second to third shift. At the time, I installed an aftermarket (non-Filtran) filter and some Redline D4 ATF. After about a week with the Redline, I had an occasional slip (hard shift) which went away afterwards. At the time, I had the characteristic whining sound coming from the tranny oil pump which, as we all know now, is attributable to the thinner O-ring that comes with the aftermarket tranny filters.

Then after about 4,000 miles on the Redline D4 ATF, I installed a dealer Filtran tranny filter with the thicker O-ring along with about 8 quarts of Pennzoil Multi-Vehicle ATF. The tranny whining sound was eliminated and the car appeared to have cold morning shifts more similar to the OEM fluid (you could feel them but they were not harsh or anything). The Redline fluid by contrast had a very smooth cold morning shift quality.

After 1,000 miles on the Pennzoil MVATF, I am very satisfied with the overall performance of the fluid and would recommend it to anyone with the 5HP30.
I no longer have any hard shifts like I did with the Redline and OEM fluid but I do have a slight slippage from second to third (like I did with the OEM fluid) which is probably a worn clutch pack that I will need to eventually replace.

[Bill R.]

"first do no harm" and when i'm fooling around with a 3k replacement cost transmission, I'm not about to take any chances on an unknown fluid based on your experiences... Similar to my thoughts on coolants, I'd rather pay a little extra and use one thats designed for the car I am working on and not have to worry about it. ZF puts a number of cautions on there data sheets regarding using improper fluids and they have me convinced..so on your own car feel free to use whatever you want but I'll stick with the reccomended products. I'm sure my customers will be happy with that too..








As you recall, I changed out the tranny fluid and filter a couple months ago and now have 1,000 miles on the Pennzoil MVATF. Now with the fluid fully integrated into all parts on the transmission, I can give you my impressions of the fluid compatibility.

I first decided to change out the OEM fluid after experiencing an occasional hard second to third shift. At the time, I installed an aftermarket (non-Filtran) filter and some Redline D4 ATF. After about a week with the Redline, I had an occasional slip (hard shift) which went away afterwards. At the time, I had the characteristic whining sound coming from the tranny oil pump which, as we all know now, is attributable to the thinner O-ring that comes with the aftermarket tranny filters.

Then after about 4,000 miles on the Redline D4 ATF, I installed a dealer Filtran tranny filter with the thicker O-ring along with about 8 quarts of Pennzoil Multi-Vehicle ATF. The tranny whining sound was eliminated and the car appeared to have cold morning shifts more similar to the OEM fluid (you could feel them but they were not harsh or anything). The Redline fluid by contrast had a very smooth cold morning shift quality.

After 1,000 miles on the Pennzoil MVATF, I am very satisfied with the overall performance of the fluid and would recommend it to anyone with the 5HP30.
I no longer have any hard shifts like I did with the Redline and OEM fluid but I do have a slight slippage from second to third (like I did with the OEM fluid) which is probably a worn clutch pack that I will need to eventually replace.

[George M]

completely agree with Bill on this front...for that model trans and in particular deference to how infrequently the trans bath is changed specific to this trans unlike an unsealed ZF 4 HP 22, I would run nothing but the original spec trans fluid.
On BMW coolant however.....LOL.
George

[Hector]

but I'm a bmw coolant convert. I used prestone coolant before and that **** gnaws through the head gasket like termites on wood. I showed a picture of this a while back... this was enough for me to pay a bit more to get the proper coolant. The way I see it, if people here are calling their cars, "sweetheart," "baby," "love," bitch or whatever, then I wouldn't mind splurging a few bucks more to get the proper stuff to give your car LTC. You might get away with prestone but you'd have to change the coolant every 6 months to be on the safe side.

[Bill R.]

Prefer not to have some customer come to me in 6 months claiming that by my putting xyz brand coolant in his beloved pinto I caused the head gasket to fail and the rings to fail in his all original alusil block vega too...
Its much easier and safer for me to keep coolant on hand for all the goofy makes there are out there today, Ergo, volvo for volvos, bmw for bmw's mercedes for mercedes, chrysler for dodge, honda for hondas, toyota for toyota...dexcool for etc.... I'm even leaning away from the prestone extended life which is supposed to be dexcool compatible since I'm noticing more leak problems in cars I have put it in.... However the customer with the fine running 73 buick skylark with the mufflers held on with baling wire I will gladly use regular prestone or even autozone brand if thats what he prefers..








completely agree with Bill on this front...for that model trans and in particular deference to how infrequently the trans bath is changed specific to this trans unlike an unsealed ZF 4 HP 22, I would run nothing but the original spec trans fluid.
On BMW coolant however.....LOL.
George

[632 Regal]

Take it easy on the Buick Skylark remarks buddy!...

Even I have 2 gallons of BMW coolant here waiting for the waterpump/thermo/cover/hoses change. Also have the proper (in my case dextrom) trans fluid for the filter change along with the proper brake fluid so I can experiment with Brunos self alone bleeder cap. I have no money but when it comes down to basics why wouldnt you spend the extra 5 dollars and get the stuff that is recommended? I figure it will save me a few thousand down the road to skimp on 50 bucks. I have a friend like that, spend 10 dollars in gas to save a dollar on an item...I just dont get that logic.

[new540iowner]

If the chemicals are the same, I don't give a rat's #$@ about the label on the container. Kind of like a pair of jeans at Costco versus a pair of Guess jeans at some designer store. They're both jeans, and they both work. One just has the perception of higher quality due to the higher cost and name recognition. For Pennzoil to claim that the fluid is compatible means they must have obtained a sample of the Shell and Esso fluid and determined it's composition. Otherwise, Pennzoil stands to lose a lot of money through potential lawsuits stemming from tranny failures. Anyways, after 5,000 miles on an alternate fluid, I've got no problems.

Similarly, I just installed a pair of DEPO headlights on my car and they look and work great. They're not manufactured by "Hella" but at one-third the price, who cares?

[Bill R.]

compatible with the shell fluid, nor do I see it anywhere on the list of allowable fluids from zf who requests on their website that manufacturers submit for approval on the lists..






If the chemicals are the same, I don't give a rat's #$@ about the label on the container. Kind of like a pair of jeans at Costco versus a pair of Guess jeans at some designer store. They're both jeans, and they both work. One just has the perception of higher quality due to the higher cost and name recognition. For Pennzoil to claim that the fluid is compatible means they must have obtained a sample of the Shell and Esso fluid and determined it's composition. Otherwise, Pennzoil stands to lose a lot of money through potential lawsuits stemming from tranny failures. Anyways, after 5,000 miles on an alternate fluid, I've got no problems.

Similarly, I just installed a pair of DEPO headlights on my car and they look and work great. They're not manufactured by "Hella" but at one-third the price, who cares?

[new540iowner]

the LT71141 (Esso), Dexron III and the Shell LA2634. I can email it to anyone that wants it.

[Hector]

Amen to that!! Here in So Cal you see alot of that from people of all walks of life but it is predominantly seen in the poor latino communities and trailer park communities (just an observation but nothing against trailers.) One thing you do see here though is the ultimate load test on small pick up trucks like toyotas... I wish I had a picture to show but there are quite a few pick ups with the added wood on the side panels that are 2 to 3 times higher than the pick up cabin itself loaded with trash, furniture... When you're approaching one of these from a distance on the freeway, you're wondering "what in blazes is that?" Then as you get closer, you begin to encounter trash/furniture remains on the freeway which if you don't dodge it quickly, you wind up running over it and damaging your ride. As you get even closer, you start to realize it's one of these pick up trucks loaded to the brim and tilted from the uneven load that you think it's going to tip over on you as you pass them by. It can be a hwy adventure out here and it can be frustrating too.


However the customer with the fine running 73 buick skylark with the mufflers held on with baling wire I will gladly use regular prestone or even autozone brand if thats what he prefers..

[Bill R.]

Here (http://www.esscc.com/qs/atf.pdf)

Thats the one you're talking about, its on some other website and the pdf file document is different on that last page than the others. IF you go to the current document on Pennzoils website there is no third page and they don't list what it can be used on except dexron II IIe III mercon etc. Heres (http://www.pzlqs.com/Tech/Pdsheet/DomesticMarketing/Gear&Transmission/Pdf/MultiVehicleAutomaticTransmissionFluid.pdf) the link to the actuall pennzoil page with a date of 2003 instead of 2001 like on the other page... IF the earlier page is actually pennzoil on all 3 pages then I suspect they pulled that third page for a reason?







the LT71141 (Esso), Dexron III and the Shell LA2634. I can email it to anyone that wants it.

[new540iowner]

apparently prohibited Shell from marketing the Multi-Vehicle ATF but not Quaker State and Pennzoil. Apparently BMW didn't want a third-party to come in and take their trannyfluid profits. In Germany however, they can market it and I also have a German .pdf sheet that claims its compatible. I'm not going to get into the company bullsh&t about marketing agreements and this and that. All I can say is that for 5,000 miles it has worked great and Funfer (another tranny fluid convert with a 540) had 30,000 miles on Mobil 1 ATF in his 5HP30 with no problems.

Some people also believe that only BMW coolant will work in your car. I've been using Zerex for the past 10,000 miles with no problems. I'm not trying to convert anyone to the dark side of transmission fluids but just offering an alternative to those people who can do their own research and draw their own conclusions.

[George M]

well...where I disagree is it isn't worth the risk of trying another fluid for the amount of money involved in "a trans fluid volume you change only once every 100k miles." Different ballgame on the coolant level but an argument can be made and Bill does so often about why not spend a few bucks more on again a fluid volume you change every couple of years. Incidently BMW Blue is Zerex...its no. G48. I too use Zerex but I opt for G-05 which is approved for MB.
George

[new540iowner]

much more frequently than the recommended 100,000 mile interval. I figure a change every 20-30K should prolong the tranny till 200,000 miles or beyond.

[my 540i/94 and me!]

I just want to say "thank you for the tip", we really need alternatives, Somebody said about shell owns penzoil and quaker, if is any agreement shell-bmw brands, maybe not penzoil-bmw. I'll do some changes in my car and let you guys know what happen, per example I did light upgrade like bmwe34.net said and is working and looking great, I did mines with SilverStar, is really different.