Fluid changed

[realchef]

01 4.4 at 62,500 miles, before change, currently at 66,150.

Brought it in to the dealer and changed the transmission filter and fluid, transfer case fluid and the two diffs.

Replaced with BMW fluids.

Transfer case fluid looked the worst but wasn't that bad. Diff fluids were dark but not Solid black. The trans fluid was aged but not burnt or any odd odors. They remarked that it appeared to need changing.

After the change, shifting is crisp and solid. I hadn't noticed it was becoming sluggish. Took a long trip (2,750 miles) immediately after changing and there hasn't been any issues.

I will say that I still love this car. She drove flawlessly at various speeds . Drove hard and straight through with only simple stops for gas and to exercise the pups. At times it hauled 4 adults, 2 pups and stuff for an incredible picnic, comfortably. We spent 14 hrs in and out of it without issue.

Yeah, there might be a few things I would change or improve, but they are minor.

[wullaby]

Originally Posted by realchef

01 4.4 at 62,500 miles.

Brought it in to the dealer and changed the transmission filter and fluid, transfer case fluid and the two diffs.

Replaced with BMW fluids.

Transfer case fluid looked the worst but wasn't that bad. Diff fluids were dark but not Solid black. The trans fluid was aged but not burnt or any odd odors. They remarked that it appeared to need changing.

After the change, shifting is crisp and solid. I hadn't noticed it was becoming sluggish. Took a long trip (2,750 miles) immediately after changing and there hasn't been any issues.

I will say that I still love this car. She drove flawlessly at various speeds . Drove hard and straight through with only simple stops for gas and to exercise the pups. At times it hauled 4 adults, 2 pups and stuff for an incredible picnic, comfortably. We spent 14 hrs in and out of it without issue.

Yeah, there might be a few things I would change or improve, but they are minor.

How much did the dealer charge to do all this work?

[realchef]

I would really rather not remind myself, also had oil/filter change. The 4 drivetrain items were about 1,200 including seals, fluids, filter etc...

[wullaby]

1200! wow that is a lot of cheddar! But worth the piece of mind, I am contemplating doing it myself or taking it in...to save a few hundred bucks and potentially mess up something...maybe not worth it and let BMW do it. Thanks for the info.
I do my own oil changes and it takes me almost 2 hrs. I still spend almost $80 in parts.

[realchef]

After reading some posts from JCL and others... I drew the same conclusion. I doubt that any other mech around here would use actual BMW fluid. There is s'posed to be a difference. And that was alot of juice overall.

The dealer was hesitant because of the 'lifetime' thing. We talked about the new servcice bulletins altering their previous 'lifetime' fluids stance and we decided to do it as a group. They did note it definitely looked on the way out and changing was an ok decision. Could have gone longer but hindsight is 20/20.

Originally Posted by wullaby

1200! wow that is a lot of cheddar! But worth the piece of mind, I am contemplating doing it myself or taking it in...to save a few hundred bucks and potentially mess up something...maybe not worth it and let BMW do it. Thanks for the info.
I do my own oil changes and it takes me almost 2 hrs. I still spend almost $80 in parts.

[sethro]

Interesting I never knew that the bottom half of the trunk could double as a bench. Can it really support that weight?

[realchef]

Originally Posted by sethro

Interesting I never knew that the bottom half of the trunk could double as a bench. Can it really support that weight?

Pretty sure manual lists 500#'s.
I will let the ladies know you asked and they will most likely reply directly.

[Weasel]

I use mine for a bench all the time, usually with the radio playing.

[realchef]

Originally Posted by Weasel

I use mine for a bench all the time, usually with the radio playing.

weez,
what would youse guys charge?

[Weasel]

The labor times should be the same if they went by the times in the computer and our labor rate is currently $118 per hour (up from $98 recently...) Ideally the only variable would be the shops individual labor rate. But I no longer have the resources at home to look all that stuff up.