Launching "Operation Fix the Transmission" ... SUCCESS!!

[X5only]

Yep, I’d seen the thread, thanks. Mine doesn’t have the tab. Bought it from the dealer matched to the vehicle's vin number.

[haigha]

Originally Posted by X5only

Yep, I’d seen the thread, thanks. Mine doesn’t have the tab. Bought it from the dealer matched to the vehicle's vin number.

Great! It looked to me from the fourth picture from the bottom in your original post that the new part has the tab... could just be the shadow. In any case, you know what to do if it doesn't fit properly

[X5only]

Originally Posted by haigha

Great! It looked to me from the fourth picture from the bottom in your original post that the new part has the tab... could just be the shadow. In any case, you know what to do if it doesn't fit properly

Here's a close-up of it. I inspected it with a magnifying glass, and it looks like the tab was cut off at the factory. I'm yet to drop the pan. Currently doing a drain/refill/drive and then drop the pan and complete the "surgery".

[X5only]

Originally Posted by X5chemist

X5only,
Nice! Thanks for the level idea. I'll be checking mine due an oil cooler replacement. So far, the coolant leak has been sealed.

It took me hours to get the transmission pan perfectly level. My garage floor slopes towards the driveway and slants left-right. Only the rear of the vehicle needed to be lifted but the rear driver side jack stand is higher than the passenger side. Mark the jackstands set height with permanent marker and which one goes to driver/passenger side so that you don't have to adjust all over again. There's sufficient space to fill/drain the transmission oil. To work on the transmission, I lift all four corners to an appropriate height and then level the trans again when it's time to fill her. Place a magnetic leveler right at the center of the transmission and level left-right, front-rear. The bubble should be dead center on both orientation when you're done adjusting the vehicle lift height.

[haigha]

Originally Posted by X5only

It took me hours to get the transmission perfectly level. My garage floor slops towards the driveway...

I feel your pain. It took us quite a while when we did mine the first time. I used a different approach: I used a 48" level on the front and rear bumpers and the sideboards. I had read somewhere that the transmission pan might not be exactly level, front to back, when the car sits on even ground. I didn't check this.

The second time, I had acquired a QuickJack which made it easy... not a solution for you with your uneven floor though

[X5only]

Originally Posted by haigha

I feel your pain. It took us quite a while when we did mine the first time. I used a different approach: I used a 48" level on the front and rear bumpers and the sideboards. I had read somewhere that the transmission pan might not be exactly level, front to back, when the car sits on even ground. I didn't check this.

The second time, I had acquired a QuickJack which made it easy... not a solution for you with your uneven floor though

I agree the trans pan may not be level on even ground since the X5 slightly rakes to the front. But on a level lift where suspension is not engaged (wheels off the lift), the pan would be level. Yeah, placing my long leveler on the front bumper and rear bumper confirmed the car is level. I read somewhere the best is to verify the level on the transmission pan itself with the leveler placed in its center.

[X5chemist]

Ha! I'll be using the same Harbor Freight pump. I'm setting mine up on four ramps. I'll use a 6 ton jack to lift it up. 6 ton jack stands will serve as back up.

[haigha]

I used my trusty MityVac 7201 and the side port on the transmission. I filled it with 8L of fluid and put almost all of it back in. I think it's a lot easier than trying to fill from the port on the bottom. From what I could determine, the side port is at the same level as the top of the tube on the bottom fill port.

My friend, who was a BMW Master tech, said they did it that way at the dealer, but he had left the dealer about a decade before this model came out.

[X5only]

Originally Posted by haigha

I used my trusty MityVac 7201 and the side port on the transmission. I filled it with 8L of fluid and put almost all of it back in. I think it's a lot easier than trying to fill from the port on the bottom. From what I could determine, the side port is at the same level as the top of the tube on the bottom fill port.

My friend, who was a BMW Master tech, said they did it that way at the dealer, but he had left the dealer about a decade before this model came out.

There was mention on a post in this forum a while back that filling from the side on a GA6HP26X could result in a 1 quart overfill. But I was curious and couldn't find any side plug. In any case, I didn't find it hard to fill from the correct fill hole which is on the pan- just need to locate inside the fill hole with your finger the gap in the standpipe (two of them) and push in your oil hose in one of them.

Here's a video showing it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjdjqDqgLj0

[haigha]

Good advice! Better to do it the way the manual states.

The good news is that I haven't had any problems since using the side port. It's on the passenger side (LHD).

I wonder if 1 qt over would do any harm? I had read one place in my research that they are slightly overfilled at the factory.