Which Oil/Fluid Company Do You Trust With Your Life?!

[BMW4LIFE]

Like the title says!

This is mainly concerning motor oil, tranny oil, and gear oil

[shogun]

non of them is used very much here in Japan. So I cannot comment.
Probably you get as many opinions as posts.

[Grantus]

I voted for the ones that are known here in NZ, I dont know how an engine or transmission oil has any control over whether I live or die though.

[BMW4LIFE]

I voted for the ones that are known here in NZ, I dont know how an engine or transmission oil has any control over whether I live or die though.

Ha! It really doesn't...makes the subject more dramatic if you will...

then again...if you are being chased by a gang and you need to drive your BMW to the max to get away you will need the best fluids among many other things to get away! :p;)

hahaha!

[bubba966]

If you're still trying to figure out what to put in your diff just go pick up some Redline, RP, or Amsoil. Whichever one you find first at a price that's fine by you.

Swepco is supposed to be nice stuff, but I've never heard of anyone using it in BMW's. None of the locals that race BMW's use it. None of the guys in Europe that take their M5's to the Nurburgring use it. And I've not really seen it for sale much.

And really, you're putting it in a 525 so the diff doesn't see that much power. I'm guessing you're not taking it to a track. And it's probably an open diff as well. The diff fluid selection isn't that big of a deal. Personally I'd look at Amsoil first, RP/Redline second, then Valvoline/Castrol synthetics third. I've used fluids from all of those companies (with the exception of RP which I've heard from many different people to be pretty much on par with Amsoil) with good results.

If you were racing a high power car with a high lockup LSD then you could/should be more particular about exactly what's in there. But even then anything from Amsoil/RP/RL would work great. Buy 2 quarts of one of them, throw it in and be done with it. No sense in worrying about it so much.

[bmwrp8]

I have always used castrol magnatec 10w-40 in all my cars :) works fine for me :)

[BMW4LIFE]

If you're still trying to figure out what to put in your diff just go pick up some Redline, RP, or Amsoil. Whichever one you find first at a price that's fine by you.

Swepco is supposed to be nice stuff, but I've never heard of anyone using it in BMW's. None of the locals that race BMW's use it. None of the guys in Europe that take their M5's to the Nurburgring use it. And I've not really seen it for sale much.

And really, you're putting it in a 525 so the diff doesn't see that much power. I'm guessing you're not taking it to a track. And it's probably an open diff as well. The diff fluid selection isn't that big of a deal. Personally I'd look at Amsoil first, RP/Redline second, then Valvoline/Castrol synthetics third. I've used fluids from all of those companies (with the exception of RP which I've heard from many different people to be pretty much on par with Amsoil) with good results.

If you were racing a high power car with a high lockup LSD then you could/should be more particular about exactly what's in there. But even then anything from Amsoil/RP/RL would work great. Buy 2 quarts of one of them, throw it in and be done with it. No sense in worrying about it so much.

Your right it is just a 525I but this is my nature...I always research things to the bone and then once again...

I decided that SWEPCO is too much last night after reading some reviews...seems like Porsche are a big user of that stuff...I found out that it is not even Synthetic rather a high end mineral based fluid.

As far as RP goes...sooooooo expensive! So I think I have narrowed it down to RL or Amsoil...so I can say that the gear oil is DONE!

Now as far as the tranny oil goes...should I just stick with Red Line as well?

[M20Turbo]

Redline 15/50
transmission From '83 to '92 BMW attached labels to their transmissions to indicate the fluid called for.
The label should be affixed to the passenger side bell housing.
BMW's with Green Label - MT-90
Red Label - D4ATF
No Label - MTL

Green or Red label Units with D4ATF or MT-90 use 17mm external hex drain and fill plugs.

No Label Units with MTL use 17mm internal hex drain and fill plugs.

In the differential 75W90.

[BMW4LIFE]

Redline 15/50
transmission From '83 to '92 BMW attached labels to their transmissions to indicate the fluid called for.
The label should be affixed to the passenger side bell housing.
BMW's with Green Label - MT-90
Red Label - D4ATF
No Label - MTL

Green or Red label Units with D4ATF or MT-90 use 17mm external hex drain and fill plugs.

No Label Units with MTL use 17mm internal hex drain and fill plugs.

In the differential 75W90.

well i have a 1993 (8/93) and i do not see a label anywhere down there...

I take it this one for the tranny?

http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=51&pcid=7

and this one for the diff?

http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=47&pcid=7

[bubba966]

You'll want this for the diff if you go with RL
http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=133&pcid=4

And you've got an auto in your 525, yes? If so it's a GM unit that requires plain old non-synth Dexron III ATF. Yes, you could drop $120 on a case of fancy synth tranny fluid. But as someone that's had a couple of high performance severe duty GM auto's custom built for me I can say this. Do not bother with synth tranny fluid for your tranny. It's not needed at all. And I wouldn't want to change over to synth on a tranny as old as yours is.

Go to Costco or Wallyworld or what have you and buy a case of Dexron III ATF from a decent manufacturer (Chevron/Valvoline/Castrol/etc.). Should cost you $25 or so. Buy yourself a tranny gasket set from Pelican or such (gaskets for both pans and new bolts as well). Also buy a new tranny filter as well.

Get the tranny up to operating temp and drain the pan. Fill it back up. Idle it for 15 minutes or so. Drain the pan again. Fill it back up. Go ahead and drive it for a few days. Get it up to temp and then drain it and drop both pans. Replace filter & pans after you've cleaned out the pans. Refill the tranny and let it idle for 30 minutes or so. Top it off after that while it's still hot.

Do that every 25-30,000 miles and you'll be set. When you're told by the owner of a shop that's built thousands of GM high performance automatic overdrive trannys that you shouldn't use synth fluid and you should just use regular stuff and change it often you generally listen to him. And my personal experience with GM performance overdrives in high power/torque use has shown him to be right.

[BMW4LIFE]

You'll want this for the diff if you go with RL
http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=133&pcid=4

And you've got an auto in your 525, yes? If so it's a GM unit that requires plain old non-synth Dexron III ATF. Yes, you could drop $120 on a case of fancy synth tranny fluid. But as someone that's had a couple of high performance severe duty GM auto's custom built for me I can say this. Do not bother with synth tranny fluid for your tranny. It's not needed at all. And I wouldn't want to change over to synth on a tranny as old as yours is.

Go to Costco or Wallyworld or what have you and buy a case of Dexron III ATF from a decent manufacturer (Chevron/Valvoline/Castrol/etc.). Should cost you $25 or so. Buy yourself a tranny gasket set from Pelican or such (gaskets for both pans and new bolts as well). Also buy a new tranny filter as well.

Get the tranny up to operating temp and drain the pan. Fill it back up. Idle it for 15 minutes or so. Drain the pan again. Fill it back up. Go ahead and drive it for a few days. Get it up to temp and then drain it and drop both pans. Replace filter & pans after you've cleaned out the pans. Refill the tranny and let it idle for 30 minutes or so. Top it off after that while it's still hot.

Do that every 25-30,000 miles and you'll be set. When you're told by the owner of a shop that's built thousands of GM high performance automatic overdrive trannys that you shouldn't use synth fluid and you should just use regular stuff and change it often you generally listen to him. And my personal experience with GM performance overdrives in high power/torque use has shown him to be right.

I see what you are saying and coming from Bubba but my logic is the following...

I changed over to full syn motor oil at around 130K and noticed all ++++ changes so I was hoping that it would be the same for the tranny...

Should I get the BMW stuff? I know RL, RP, Amsoil comes out to be around $60 for the change not including the filter and gasket set so that is a hefty cost indeed but at the same time I fear to put the cheap stuff in the car =/

I was thinking worst case scenario I will use Amsoil, or RL for the diff as it only needs 2 quarts but for the tranny I use MB1 (even though some say not to)?

Funny how the survey about is supporting Castrol (hmmmm)

[bubba966]

You're not going to notice any difference going synth on the tranny. Your tranny wasn't designed for synth.

I've very particular about my auto stuff. Which is why I've frequently had things custom built to my spec (and frequently answered the question "what in the world are you putting this in?". lol for seriously over design). And the custom GM tranny I had built for my truck ran perfect on plain old Dexron III non-synth. It saw at least twice the power that your 525 is putting out. Not to mention that it saw much, much heavier loads than your 525 ever will (5,000 pounds empty, with 7-8,000 pounds in the back on occasion).

Just buy 12 quarts of Chevron at Costco, or 12 quarts of Valvoline at Wallyworld or some other equivalent deal where 12 quarts costs you $25-$30.

Then do a drain & fill twice. Run it for a week or so and do a drain & fill with pans dropped & a new filter. You'll need about 12 quarts to do that. That would be much more beneficial than putting 3 or 4 quarts of RL/RP/Amsoil in the tranny. Not to mention that all of the stuff in the valve body might not much care for a shift over to synthetic. It'd be a lot like when people have their tranny completely flushed and it dies shortly thereafter due to sludge/grime/etc. getting broke loose all at once and clogging the hydraulics up killing it.

Oh, BTW. I've done the drain & fill twice (have yet to do the pan drop & filter) like I explained to a friend's '95 525iT. It shifted a lot smoother after that. Expect it to behave nice for quite some time after I do the pans & filter. Used Chevron ATF as that's what could be had from Costco for $22/case.

[bubba966]

Funny how the survey about is supporting Castrol (hmmmm)

Castrol is nice stuff. Reason it's out front in your poll is that its nice stuff and is very common as well. You can find Castrol products virtually everywhere in any part of the world.

I can't say that it's easy to find RP, RL, or Amsoil in stores. I'm in Seattle which isn't exactly the middle of nowhere small town and it's not easy to find those particular products. Makes it hard to try them out if you can't buy 'em.

Not to mention most people won't drop the $ it costs to buy the nice high end fluids. People act like M1 is super spendy stuff and will rarely spring for that. And it's half the price of RL/RP/Amsoil stuff (that should tell you something).

Easy to find + good performance + decent price = Castrol's lead in your poll.

And really, why bother with M1 in anything? It's not true synthetic anymore. It doesn't perform that well. And it's not exactly cheap. If you're going to be particular about fluids at least go with good stuff like RL/RP/Amsoil.

[BMW4LIFE]

Castrol is nice stuff. Reason it's out front in your poll is that its nice stuff and is very common as well. You can find Castrol products virtually everywhere in any part of the world.

I can't say that it's easy to find RP, RL, or Amsoil in stores. I'm in Seattle which isn't exactly the middle of nowhere small town and it's not easy to find those particular products. Makes it hard to try them out if you can't buy 'em.

Not to mention most people won't drop the $ it costs to buy the nice high end fluids. People act like M1 is super spendy stuff and will rarely spring for that. And it's half the price of RL/RP/Amsoil stuff (that should tell you something).

Easy to find + good performance + decent price = Castrol's lead in your poll.

And really, why bother with M1 in anything? It's not true synthetic anymore. It doesn't perform that well. And it's not exactly cheap. If you're going to be particular about fluids at least go with good stuff like RL/RP/Amsoil.


Bubba I hate to question your knowledge but MB1 is synthetic...It says it right on the bottle "Fully Synthetic"

Then again...if they are not...they need to be taken to court because in my eyes that is false advertisement if I am not mistaken =/

Very good point on the Castrol by the way....I have considered that product in the past mainly due to the fact that the Bentley books refers to that as the fluid to use...

Did you get a chance to read this by the way?

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=1&ved=0CAwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.syntheticwarehouse.com%2Fbroc hures%2Fg2457_gearlube_study.pdf&ei=0_t8S5K0PI7itgOwxZjQDA&usg=AFQjCNFu6WZo_0wVTDRk8aRU8TaeSsiLgQ

Funny how MB1 comes in second next to Amsoil...makes me think

RP is considered garbage by these test standards (funny being that it is the most expensive fluid locally)

[bubba966]

M1 no longer comes from real synthetic stock. It's made from conventional oil that's been hydrocracked. Too tired right now to recall the exact details. But there was a lawsuit awhile back over the term synthetic when referring to oils. Think it was against Valvoline or Castrol. Anyways, courts ruled that hydrocracked oil could be called synth. And when that happened Mobil changed their M1 over to hydrocracked bases instead of the real synthetic (PAO or Ester based) they used to use that they built their reputation on.

If you can use cheaper base stock that can be called "synthetic" rather than the real stuff and charge the same price then it makes the shareholders very happy.

Oh, and yeah, I've read that gear oil comparison that Amsoil commissioned. Read it after I'd already been using Amsoil. I'd already bought a few quarts of Amsoil 75w90 Severe Gear for use in my diffs. And someday I'll actually put in in my M-Sport.

But anyways, if that was a truly unbiased comparison test that was performed it tells me what I already knew from first hand experience. I've not yet used an oil that has less friction than Amsoil. It's very noticeable on cold starts. With idle speeds. Throttle response & WOT. And it's quiet w/out being thick.

If you wanted to go to the hassle to find it & pay the $ for it I'd go with Amsoil Signature Series 0w30 in your engine, Amsoil 75w90 Severe Gear in the diff, and Chevron/Castrol/Valvoline/etc. non-synth Dexron III in the tranny.

[BMW4LIFE]

M1 no longer comes from real synthetic stock. It's made from conventional oil that's been hydrocracked. Too tired right now to recall the exact details. But there was a lawsuit awhile back over the term synthetic when referring to oils. Think it was against Valvoline or Castrol. Anyways, courts ruled that hydrocracked oil could be called synth. And when that happened Mobil changed their M1 over to hydrocracked bases instead of the real synthetic (PAO or Ester based) they used to use that they built their reputation on.

If you can use cheaper base stock that can be called "synthetic" rather than the real stuff and charge the same price then it makes the shareholders very happy.

Oh, and yeah, I've read that gear oil comparison that Amsoil commissioned. Read it after I'd already been using Amsoil. I'd already bought a few quarts of Amsoil 75w90 Severe Gear for use in my diffs. And someday I'll actually put in in my M-Sport.

But anyways, if that was a truly unbiased comparison test that was performed it tells me what I already knew from first hand experience. I've not yet used an oil that has less friction than Amsoil. It's very noticeable on cold starts. With idle speeds. Throttle response & WOT. And it's quiet w/out being thick.

If you wanted to go to the hassle to find it & pay the $ for it I'd go with Amsoil Signature Series 0w30 in your engine, Amsoil 75w90 Severe Gear in the diff, and Chevron/Castrol/Valvoline/etc. non-synth Dexron III in the tranny.

Alright bubba so I am going to order the Amsoil for the diff

and from what I am reading online people are loving the DEXRON VI...It seems as though I can get it for 6.99 a qrt...but then again I can get MB1 for 7.99 a qrt

what do you think?

[bubba966]

Your tranny specs Dex III, no need for Dex VI. You're going to need 12 quarts of it for the drain & fill x2 and then the drain/filter/fill.

Seriously, just go someplace that you can get a decent name brand Dex III fluid for $25-30/case. Do the drain/fill twice, drain/filter fill a couple of days later or a week later. That way any mild cleaning the new mix of Dex III from the 2x drain/fill will clean it out a little and that crap will be left in the old filter before you change it.

Then do it all again in a couple of years. Do that every couple of years.

You should put whatever in the tranny that the tranny was built to use. Yours calls for regular old Dex III. Use regular old Dex III. My M-Sport needs Shell LA-2634 for it's tranny. And that's what I put in it even at $18/half liter. I'm not putting anything different in it as it doesn't do well with anything different in it.

A trany is designed to use a fluid that has specific properties. They've got very complicated hydraulic systems that need certain pressures/flow rates/etc. Ever see a valve body of a 4 or 5 speed auto?

Only problems you get when you use the proper spec fluid is when it's left in too long. Or if it's too aggressively cleaned out (power flushes or running a different fluid that cleans too well and clogs up the passages). Dex III has no problem lasting 50k miles or more in normal use. But to avoid over cleaning the tranny it's a good idea to do a drain/fill a few times every couple of years rather than trying to do a full flush.

[BMW4LIFE]

Your tranny specs Dex III, no need for Dex VI. You're going to need 12 quarts of it for the drain & fill x2 and then the drain/filter/fill.

Seriously, just go someplace that you can get a decent name brand Dex III fluid for $25-30/case. Do the drain/fill twice, drain/filter fill a couple of days later or a week later. That way any mild cleaning the new mix of Dex III from the 2x drain/fill will clean it out a little and that crap will be left in the old filter before you change it.

Then do it all again in a couple of years. Do that every couple of years.

You should put whatever in the tranny that the tranny was built to use. Yours calls for regular old Dex III. Use regular old Dex III. My M-Sport needs Shell LA-2634 for it's tranny. And that's what I put in it even at $18/half liter. I'm not putting anything different in it as it doesn't do well with anything different in it.

A trany is designed to use a fluid that has specific properties. They've got very complicated hydraulic systems that need certain pressures/flow rates/etc. Ever see a valve body of a 4 or 5 speed auto?

Only problems you get when you use the proper spec fluid is when it's left in too long. Or if it's too aggressively cleaned out (power flushes or running a different fluid that cleans too well and clogs up the passages). Dex III has no problem lasting 50k miles or more in normal use. But to avoid over cleaning the tranny it's a good idea to do a drain/fill a few times every couple of years rather than trying to do a full flush.

The only reason I wanted to go with Dex VI was because it is backwards compatible with all the other Dex and it is a better oil when compared to DEX III (from the tests I have seen online)

I can get Castrol Dex VI locally for 6.99 a qrt and the DEX III for 4.99 so I figured that I would totally pay $24 more dollars to get a better fluid being that I do not change my Tranny oil as much as engine oil.

But then again if the DEX VI will harm or do damage to my tranny that is a totally different story!

I will go to Costco to see what they carry...

[BMW4LIFE]

one source

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=526462

[bubba966]

Dex III is dino based & Dex VI is either synth or synth blend. If your tranny was new, I'd say go for the Dex VI if you really wanted to (even though it's still not needed). But it's not. In fact it has a good deal of miles on it. I most certainly wouldn't want to change over to full or blend synth in a tranny with more than 25k miles on it.

And if you'll notice in that GM info bulletin you referenced over at Bob is the oil guy you'll notice that GM is mentioning using a fluid flush machine to change Dex III trannies over to Dex VI and making sure that there's no Dex III left in the flush machine before you put the Dex VI in it. Gm built your tranny, and they're talking about fully flushing Dex III out of a tranny before Dex VI is put in.

Dex VI is pretty much a synthetic equivalent of Dex III.

Hit up Costco and pick up a case of standard Dex III. Will probably be Chevron brand. Do the drain/fill twice and then a week later do the drain/filter/fill and be done with it. Repeat in a couple of years or 25k miles.

This is coming from someone that's never satisfied with factory anything (I even have had a friend ask me why I always need to improve things when I was improving her son's toy so it'd work better...lol). I always want to have something custom built or custom modified so that it works better. But my experience with trannies tells me that if it's spec'd to run Dex III, then run Dex III. As much as I wanted to run Amsoil ATF in my brand new custom built GM tranny I didn't do it. Ran regular old Dex III.

[BMW4LIFE]

Dex III is dino based & Dex VI is either synth or synth blend. If your tranny was new, I'd say go for the Dex VI if you really wanted to (even though it's still not needed). But it's not. In fact it has a good deal of miles on it. I most certainly wouldn't want to change over to full or blend synth in a tranny with more than 25k miles on it.

And if you'll notice in that GM info bulletin you referenced over at Bob is the oil guy you'll notice that GM is mentioning using a fluid flush machine to change Dex III trannies over to Dex VI and making sure that there's no Dex III left in the flush machine before you put the Dex VI in it. Gm built your tranny, and they're talking about fully flushing Dex III out of a tranny before Dex VI is put in.

Dex VI is pretty much a synthetic equivalent of Dex III.

Hit up Costco and pick up a case of standard Dex III. Will probably be Chevron brand. Do the drain/fill twice and then a week later do the drain/filter/fill and be done with it. Repeat in a couple of years or 25k miles.

This is coming from someone that's never satisfied with factory anything (I even have had a friend ask me why I always need to improve things when I was improving her son's toy so it'd work better...lol). I always want to have something custom built or custom modified so that it works better. But my experience with trannies tells me that if it's spec'd to run Dex III, then run Dex III. As much as I wanted to run Amsoil ATF in my brand new custom built GM tranny I didn't do it. Ran regular old Dex III.


Okay bubba you have me sold...I went to Costco today and picked up some Chevron ATF for $24 for 12 qrts ($2 a qrt) =)

The back of the bottle reads that it is compatible with Dex III but on the box it say "Chevron ATF MD-3"

What the heck does MD-3 mean? is that an okay ATF to use?

thanks for all yoru help and advice Bubba! :)

[Ferret]

Where's the "Whatever's on offer the day I wonder into the parts broker?" option?

My transmission runs on Hope, and the engine Contempt!

Edit: On a more serious note, where's the option for my Füchs Dexron 3 and motor oil?

[whiskychaser]

Edit: On a more serious note, where's the option for my Füchs Dexron 3 and motor oil?
They probably pronounce it like that over the phone or it may sound rude. But there is no umlaut:D.

A list of what you can put in where and who makes it courtesy of Mr ZF:
http://www01apps.zf.com/kst464/ZF_InteroeleV2_manager/Work/2010-01-01/TE-ML%2011_en0700.pdf

[BMW4LIFE]

Edit: On a more serious note, where's the option for my Füchs Dexron 3 and motor oil?

To be honest with you I didn't even think about that brand let alone other good brands like Red Line

But I have seen that brand Fuchs but I do not remember where exactly...can you clarify?

Is it better than the other brands sold on the market today?

[Rick L]

Is it just me? Percentage adds up to 215.32%?!?

I have only used Mobil 1 and Castol synthetic on all my cars and never had oil related issue...

[BMW4LIFE]

Is it just me? Percentage adds up to 215.32%?!?

I have only used Mobil 1 and Castol synthetic on all my cars and never had oil related issue...

I think its because Regal is tearing up the survey! ;)

No I think it is because I allowed for multiple choices...

I'm sad I forgot to put Red Line up there though:(

Hahaha, Dex III is what your trans should be using, but check the plate (too late now) Dex IV is supposed to be fully synthetic but backwards compatible.

Differential should always take a full synthetic, 80W 90 non LSD 85W 140 for the LSD unit.

M1 motor oil says full synthetic but isn't anymore because Castrol wasn't a full synthetic like M1 but said so on the bottle. M1 took castrol to court and lost so M1 decided to make a semi synthetic and advertise like castrol, full synthetic.

I'm currently using M1 15w 50, seems fine so far. Should change it soon as the driveway to the shop isn't like driving through wet concrete.

[bubba966]

Okay bubba you have me sold...I went to Costco today and picked up some Chevron ATF for $24 for 12 qrts ($2 a qrt) =)

The back of the bottle reads that it is compatible with Dex III but on the box it say "Chevron ATF MD-3"

What the heck does MD-3 mean? is that an okay ATF to use?

Dexron is a GM product. By making their ATF and calling it "MD-3" (I'm sure the D-3 refers to Dexron III, the M is probably there just to avoid copyright or trademark lawsuits from GM) they don't have to fork over as much $ to GM. It's all Dex III spec. Probably the exact same stuff or slightly better. It's perfectly fine to use. My point has been to just use dino ATF in Dex III spec rather than using a synth Dex III or other synth ATF.

[BMW4LIFE]

Dexron is a GM product. By making their ATF and calling it "MD-3" (I'm sure the D-3 refers to Dexron III, the M is probably there just to avoid copyright or trademark lawsuits from GM) they don't have to fork over as much $ to GM. It's all Dex III spec. Probably the exact same stuff or slightly better. It's perfectly fine to use. My point has been to just use dino ATF in Dex III spec rather than using a synth Dex III or other synth ATF.

Yea I am taking your advice on that Bubba...

I looked it up and it seems as though the MD-3 stands for Mercon Dexron III

Will do the tranny drain in the next week as I have to get ready for Tahoe right now!

Thanks for all your help buddy! =)

[BMW4LIFE]

Hey bubba

So I drain the pan when the car was ran for 15 miles or so and noticed that it only drained ~1.5 qrts...I filled it up with around 1.5 (until it came out of the drain plug and then ran it for another 20 min or so on jacks making sure I went through all the gears so that clean fluid can be distributed...I drained it again and noticed I only got 1.5 qrts again?!?!?!?!

Shouldn't it b draining around 3 qrts from the pan?

did I do something wrong?

oh and yes the car is level on 4 jack stands. :)

[bubba966]

Don't recall the exact amount I was getting out of the '95 525 I was doing it on. Didn't really care either. I was only worried about draining & refilling it. I did it enough to go through at least 6 quarts.

You try filling it with the engine running? Autos need to have the fluid levels checked when the fluid is up to temp and when the engine is running. As these autos don't have dipsticks you should be "checking" it by filling it with the engine running.

If you're only getting about 1 1/2 quarts a pop I'd give it 2 more drain/fills.

[BMW4LIFE]

Don't recall the exact amount I was getting out of the '95 525 I was doing it on. Didn't really care either. I was only worried about draining & refilling it. I did it enough to go through at least 6 quarts.

You try filling it with the engine running? Autos need to have the fluid levels checked when the fluid is up to temp and when the engine is running. As these autos don't have dipsticks you should be "checking" it by filling it with the engine running.

If you're only getting about 1 1/2 quarts a pop I'd give it 2 more drain/fills.

oh oh ...

I did not fill it with the engine running! =(

I ran the engine for about 20 min until it got to temp then shut it off...drained it...filled it...then started the engine...ran through all the gears...shut the car down...drain...refill...turn on the engine...ran through all gears...shut car down...drain...refill....and now I am driving it...

should I stop driving it?

[bubba966]

oh oh ...

I did not fill it with the engine running! =(

I ran the engine for about 20 min until it got to temp then shut it off...drained it...filled it...then started the engine...ran through all the gears...shut the car down...drain...refill...turn on the engine...ran through all gears...shut car down...drain...refill....and now I am driving it...

should I stop driving it?

Nah. If you were only getting 1 1/2 quarts out the difference between being topped off while running and being filled with it off is minor.

I would re-do the process soon though. Get it hot. Shut it off and drain it. Fill it with the engine off. Start it up and let it run for 5 or 10 minutes as it was still mostly warm from the initial warm up. Top it off while the engine is running. Don't do the whole fill with the engine running, just the top off.

Do that drain/fill twice this weekend. Then next weekend drop the pan and change the filter.

[BMW4LIFE]

Nah. If you were only getting 1 1/2 quarts out the difference between being topped off while running and being filled with it off is minor.

I would re-do the process soon though. Get it hot. Shut it off and drain it. Fill it with the engine off. Start it up and let it run for 5 or 10 minutes as it was still mostly warm from the initial warm up. Top it off while the engine is running. Don't do the whole fill with the engine running, just the top off.

Do that drain/fill twice this weekend. Then next weekend drop the pan and change the filter.

sheesh I was worried for second there! :(:D

But yea I will plan on doing some more drains and fill becuase I only went through 3 qrts and I have 9 left ;)

Hopefully the dropping the pan and gasket will go as smoothly as the drain and fill did! :D

I appreciate all your help bubba!

[632 Regal]

i posted to this thread but my messages are gone, glad it worked out good so far!

[BMW4LIFE]

never ever rush the transmission, it has served many miles without change. Now you wish it to accept change yet the transmission is like an old guard dog, how much change do you want? It really matters on the miles you travel, to blatantly change the fluid can be risky man. I wouldn't.

I do the change every 15-20K miles which seems forever, however I dont want a catastrophic change of the dogs, hope they don't bite you. I did change the filter but swapped half the fluid with new (filtered through coffee filters of course) because I didnt want to shock them old friction plates. It is actually the glue that freaks out and for no known reason it is better to slowly do a change out.