Anyone done a ATF fluid swap

chefwong · #1 11-18-2005, 11:52 PM

Speced capacity is 10 quarts. With the pan drop, how MUCH of the fluid is changed.....I'm read it's around 3 qts to 4 qts.

Anyhow, just wondering as I need to determine how much I need to order for my ATF fluid change. The X just hit the 31K mile mark and I'll soon be doing the winter prep. Anyhow, has anyone done a ATF fluid change ? How much did you end up using /replacing.

At $12+ per liter, I just want to order as much as I need.....

hayaku · #2 11-19-2005, 12:47 AM

i did one... but didn't drop the pan. if you do, you need to get a new gasket.

i just drained from the drain plug and use a pump to fill at the fill plug... its that simple...

i forgot how much fluid i needed to use...

dkl · #3 11-19-2005, 12:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hayaku

i did one... but didn't drop the pan. if you do, you need to get a new gasket.

i just drained from the drain plug and use a pump to fill at the fill plug... its that simple...

i forgot how much fluid i needed to use...

I thought the tranny is sealed...meaning no fluid changes. Do you have to get a replacement plug and re-seal it if you do the ATF change?

hayaku · #4 11-19-2005, 02:07 AM

tranny is not sealed. all 5-6 different versions of ZF and GM trannies have drain and fill plugs. you just need to get the new crush washer from the dealer for the change...

bmw advertises its tranny and diff fluids as lifetime. so you don't have to change it if you don't want to. nothing wrong with not changing it... nothing wrong with changing it... i just rather err on the side of caution (and spending more money) and play safe with having fresh(er) fluid in my tranny and diffs...

mtd · #5 11-19-2005, 03:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hayaku

tranny is not sealed. all 5-6 different versions of ZF and GM trannies have drain and fill plugs. you just need to get the new crush washer from the dealer for the change...

bmw advertises its tranny and diff fluids as lifetime. so you don't have to change it if you don't want to. nothing wrong with not changing it... nothing wrong with changing it... i just rather err on the side of caution (and spending more money) and play safe with having fresh(er) fluid in my tranny and diffs...

How about transmission flush? Isn't that better than just draing the trans?

dkl · #6 11-19-2005, 02:44 AM

Hayaku, thanks for clearing that up. Since there's a way to drain and refill the tranny and diff, I'll probably do it every 40K or 50K miles just to play it safe, as you've indicated.

hayaku · #7 11-19-2005, 04:13 AM

you're gonna need lots of fresh tranny fluid to do a flush. the idea would be to supply by force (pump) the fluid through the fill hole while you let the waste/old fluid out the drain hole.. constant fluid flow till you think you got everything or at least 1 cycle of what the capacity is (ie: 3-4 liters)...

not neccessary imo. just like engine oil. you just drain and fill.. no need to flush in this case. we flush the radiator with water because thats cheap and compatible with the coolant...

JCL · #8 11-19-2005, 04:47 AM

I would have thought that simply draining the transmission sump would be of limited value. If you get 3 or so quarts out, that will leave 7 quarts in the torque converter. You are only replacing 30% of the fluid, or at best, just under half.

You can either do this drain and fill procedure several times (the new fluid mixes with the old, and after several iterations you have replaced most of the fluid) or get it flushed by a shop.

It makes sense if you are pulling a heavy trailer, but if not then I am not sure how much benefit there is at the mileage the OP quoted. As Hayaku says, it won't hurt, but to use the engine oil analogy, would you change only a portion of your engine oil?

chefwong · #9 11-19-2005, 10:01 AM

Fluids changes for me is just for peace of mind :-)

Am I the only X5'er on this forum that has done UOA's not only on the oil but also on the coolant.

Changing the ATF and differentials is a little money out of pocket, but like Hayaku stated, I'd rather have fresh fluid than fluid with minor particulates.

JCL · #10 11-19-2005, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chefwong

Fluids changes for me is just for peace of mind :-)

Am I the only X5'er on this forum that has done UOA's not only on the oil but also on the coolant.

Changing the ATF and differentials is a little money out of pocket, but like Hayaku stated, I'd rather have fresh fluid than fluid with minor particulates.

No argument at all here on the peace of mind issue, just the comment that changing a portion of the oil isn't really giving you fresh fluid, it is just giving you fresher fluid. If you are going to do it, why not get the oil out of the torque converter as well, and change all (or practically all) of it? Alternatively, do the straight drain procedure three times and get out approximately half the old oil the first time, a quarter the second time, and an eighth the third time. That gives you an estimated 83% fluid replacement, by simple math. Yes, it costs more for fluid, which is why the flushing procedure is more common.

By UOA I presume you mean used oil analysis. Haven't done it on my current fleet, but the company I work for is a supplier (we own a lab). If you are going to do any analysis, recommend you trend it over time as that is the best indicator. Often people do one or two samples and try and make decisions on that small sample size. Also, are you doing large particle analysis? I would be interested in any trended sample results from the X5, particularly for TBN for the engine oil.