What did you do to / for your E53 today??

[themechanic]

Thanks Jeff! I will reach out to them.

Palmsprings, my lights illuminate the road fine at night but I know they can be better. The beam pattern arcs, overlaps unevenly, and is not a crisp level horizontal line. I aimed them as best I could and I forget about the lights driving down the road until I pull up to the garage and it annoys me. I’ll get some pics next time I’m out at night. Here is a pic of the lights with halos on.




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[LA02MAX]

Changed the transmission fluid, filter, mechatronics seals, and pan gasket....the previous owner obviously had it serviced at some point and they didn't put ZF Lifeguard fluid in it, which bums me out....I'm going to grab another 7 quarts or so and do a few more flushes to dilute whatever fluid they had in there. The person that did the work also left several oil pan bolts loose and didn't replace the original pan gasket, which is why I had a slight leak. Isn't it fun cleaning up other people's messes?

[Overboost]

Yeah, ZF Lifeguard is not cheap. Another $100 in fluid. I feel your pain.

[Purplecty]

Originally Posted by LA02MAX

Changed the transmission fluid, filter, mechatronics seals, and pan gasket....the previous owner obviously had it serviced at some point and they didn't put ZF Lifeguard fluid in it, which bums me out....I'm going to grab another 7 quarts or so and do a few more flushes to dilute whatever fluid they had in there. The person that did the work also left several oil pan bolts loose and didn't replace the original pan gasket, which is why I had a slight leak. Isn't it fun cleaning up other people's messes?

I've seen many have great results with Valvoline Max Life LT71141 spec fluid on their 4.8iS 6speed gearboxes and it's at great price point. I used Valvoline Import (blue bottle) on my 5hp24 in my 4.6iS since the specs are closest to the ZF fluid...

[LA02MAX]

Originally Posted by Purplecty

I've seen many have great results with Valvoline Max Life LT71141 spec fluid on their 4.8iS 6speed gearboxes and it's at great price point. I used Valvoline Import (blue bottle) on my 5hp24 in my 4.6iS since the specs are closest to the ZF fluid...

I’m pretty committed to restoring everything using oem fluids and parts. The price isn’t a big deal to me, but getting a full fluid flush isn’t easy on these transmissions, so I’ll never get all of that other fluid out. That being said, the only real issue I had with the transmission before was the 1-2 shift. It was extremely slow (like, seconds) at wide open throttle. Everything else was fine. Smooth shifts, no clunking when putting it into reverse or drive, it shifted quickly going from park to reverse to drive, etc. Hopefully that means the fluid in there is somewhat decent. It’s just red, not gold like the lifeguard.

[Purplecty]

Originally Posted by LA02MAX

I’m pretty committed to restoring everything using oem fluids and parts. The price isn’t a big deal to me, but getting a full fluid flush isn’t easy on these transmissions, so I’ll never get all of that other fluid out. That being said, the only real issue I had with the transmission before was the 1-2 shift. It was extremely slow (like, seconds) at wide open throttle. Everything else was fine. Smooth shifts, no clunking when putting it into reverse or drive, it shifted quickly going from park to reverse to drive, etc. Hopefully that means the fluid in there is somewhat decent. It’s just red, not gold like the lifeguard.

You can't lose with ZF fluid.

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by Purplecty

You can't lose with ZF fluid.

Oh... you can. It's thin. If the seals, solenoids, or bearings in the trans are worn, the ZF will show it.

But it's great fluid for a trans that has been regularly serviced every 60k miles since new.

I have 7 bottles of ZF LF6 on the shelf in case I ever find a cream puff Bimmer with a 6HP in it. But anything over 80k miles without a trans service is getting Pentosin, Liqui Moly, or Valvoline MLMV.

[bcredliner]

The fluid used in a transmission is part of the design. With the exception of engine oil I never use anything but OE fluids. I have changed the fluid every 50,000 miles and in spite of all the engine mods I have done the transmission is working fine after 122,000 miles.

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by bcredliner

The fluid used in a transmission is part of the design. With the exception of engine oil I never use anything but OE fluids. I have changed the fluid every 50,000 miles and in spite of all the engine mods I have done the transmission is working fine after 122,000 miles.

Most important part of that bolded.

[Henn28]

installed a sirius antenna on my rear spoiler deck, referencing the guidance on the how too section of the forum. I chose to put a hole in the middle of the deck however, tack the antenna down with a dot of caulk and cover it with an ebay sharkfin. I left a couple feet of slack in coiled in the space between the spoiler cover and the lower spoiler that it bolts to so the lid can be placed up on the roof to work under the cover (washer hose, etc.). Other than that, I'll have to run a new one, or cut and splice a new one in if the spoiler cover has to come fully off the car.

Running the cable was the challenge, as expected. A coat hanger taped to the plug end of the cable and a liberal squirt of WD4 helped the antenna cable slide through the left hand rubber tube/protector that runs from the hatch to the car. I poked a coat hangar wire through first, put a small loop in it around the antenna plug and further secured it with electrical tape. The biggest challenge was the fact that the wire had to be pushed into the roof cavity about 3" to the spot where the OEM wires and washer tube exit the cavity on top of the headliner, then do a 180 and come back to the pillar. After dropping the pillar cover and pulling the headliner down a few inches, you can squeeze a finger or two in between the liner and the lower roof structure to catch the wire as you poke around with it. Too many sharp edges.

I left the wire coiled up in the amp cubby hole as it started pouring, and my next task could be just as challenging...running it all the way up front and up to the radio cavity.

The impetus for finally getting to this project is that after a 5 month chip related wait Crutchfield has finally put my Kenwood (model DMX9707S) touchscreen receiver in the mail. I admit to becoming a satellite radio cripple thanks to my wife's grand cherokee.