Transmission Fluid Change DIY

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by BigBlack48is

Fluid level is critical in your transmission. you have a ZF transmission, so any fluid that is the equivalent to the bmw pn #83220024359 will work. I used redline D4 in my 6HP26 ( ZF's 6 speed ). I dropped the pan, changed the filter, gasket and electrical connector ( sleeve ). bolted it back up and filled the pan with the car on level ground. put the fill plug back in and started it up. I kept pumping fluid into it until it started to weep. then shifted through the gears and kept pumping more in until it started to weep again. once it was up to temp, I capped it up and then turned it off.

then I put the big guy back on the ground and did the "reset" procedure with the key in run and held the go peddle down until I could hear the stepper motors actuating for the vanos ( that means it's re-initalizing all of the stuff )

let it finish and then drove it

I changed the fluid/fliter at 100k miles and plan on doing it again at 200k

hope this helped you out!

Confusion seems to be what type of transmission is in your X. RenaissanceMan has a 2005 X5 with a 3.0 (I6) engine, not a 4.4,4.6, or 4.8 V8 so he has the GM trans not the ZF trans.

http://www.xoutpost.com/884253-post9.html

[upallnight]

The reason why the temperature is so important is because ATF expands with heat, so the hotter the fluid is, the more it has expanded. Don't make the mistake of draining a hot trans because unlike an engine only 60% of the fluid is in the pan. The rest of the fluid is in the Torque converter and if the fluid in the torque converter is hot it will upset the actual amount that you put back into the trans.

I would drain the fluid from the pan and let the car sit over night. Next morning I would pump ATF into the trans until it come out the fill hole. Put the plug back into the fill hole and start the engine. Go through all the gears and pause in each gear with the engine running and put it in neutral, remove the fill plug and with the engine still running pump ATF into the trans until it starts to come out the fill hole. Put the plug back in and call it a day.

[RenaissanceMan]

Originally Posted by upallnight

The reason why the temperature is so important is because ATF expands with heat, so the hotter the fluid is, the more it has expanded. Don't make the mistake of draining a hot trans because unlike an engine only 60% of the fluid is in the pan. The rest of the fluid is in the Torque converter and if the fluid in the torque converter is hot it will upset the actual amount that you put back into the trans.

I would drain the fluid from the pan and let the car sit over night. Next morning I would pump ATF into the trans until it come out the fill hole. Put the plug back into the fill hole and start the engine. Go through all the gears and pause in each gear with the engine running and put it in neutral, remove the fill plug and with the engine still running pump ATF into the trans until it starts to come out the fill hole. Put the plug back in and call it a day.

great info, thanks!

[Jungerishere]

Does BMW transmission have fluid temperature sensor so you can monitor fluid temperature with diagnostic software when filling? I have filled trans fluid on Audi this way. Not sure IR heat sensor is always accurate since it is hitting the pan, not the fluid.

[wellingtonamaral]

I'm having a weird problem with a partial transmission fluid change on my X5 3.0i.

I just tried a partial fluid change on my ’04 BMW X5 3.0i E53 AT, by draining from pan drain with engine off until dripping stopped, and then refilling with fresh oil via filler plug.

Issue:
I drained a little over 4.0 liters, but I’m having trouble refilling. Car is leveled. During first refill attempt (with engine off), the oil will spill back out as I pump it in (like it’s already full). Then, with the engine running (tried while both in neutral and park), when I try to unscrew the filler plug, oil sprays out with a lot of pressure. Have you all ever seen this happen?? At this point, should I move on to dropping the pan and replacing the filter and gasket, then trying again? Or should I be worry and just tow it to a shop?

Some important background:
I bought this car about 3 months ago. It has about 110 miles on it. It drove fine and felt not hard shifting or slipping at all, but I figured it was time to do at least a partial fluid change — especially considering that I don’t know much of the car’s history with previous owners. And so, I was planning on getting this done soon anyway. Bought some Pentosin ATF (5.0 Liter bottle), but before getting to it, an issue came up and prompted me to go ahead and get this done immediately. While driving, the car went into transmission failsafe. From what I gather, old fluid could be one of the many reasons the computer would trigger this restriction mode. So, before submitting myself to expensive maintenance quotes, I figured I’d go ahead with the cheapest possibility — old oil, and hence started the partial fluid change.

Partial fluid change reference:
Transmission Fluid Change DIY

I also posted this question as a separate thread, but it seems fitting to also insert it in this discussion.

Any ideas are very much appreciated!

[mgbmwx5]

It sounds like the the transmission might be overfilled, I would just start fresh since you don't know what the PO had done, drop the pan and replace the oil filter with new pan gasket and refill properly.

Originally Posted by wellingtonamaral

I'm having a weird problem with a partial transmission fluid change on my X5 3.0i.

I just tried a partial fluid change on my ’04 BMW X5 3.0i E53 AT, by draining from pan drain with engine off until dripping stopped, and then refilling with fresh oil via filler plug.

Issue:
I drained a little over 4.0 liters, but I’m having trouble refilling. Car is leveled. During first refill attempt (with engine off), the oil will spill back out as I pump it in (like it’s already full). Then, with the engine running (tried while both in neutral and park), when I try to unscrew the filler plug, oil sprays out with a lot of pressure. Have you all ever seen this happen?? At this point, should I move on to dropping the pan and replacing the filter and gasket, then trying again? Or should I be worry and just tow it to a shop?

Some important background:
I bought this car about 3 months ago. It has about 110 miles on it. It drove fine and felt not hard shifting or slipping at all, but I figured it was time to do at least a partial fluid change — especially considering that I don’t know much of the car’s history with previous owners. And so, I was planning on getting this done soon anyway. Bought some Pentosin ATF (5.0 Liter bottle), but before getting to it, an issue came up and prompted me to go ahead and get this done immediately. While driving, the car went into transmission failsafe. From what I gather, old fluid could be one of the many reasons the computer would trigger this restriction mode. So, before submitting myself to expensive maintenance quotes, I figured I’d go ahead with the cheapest possibility — old oil, and hence started the partial fluid change.

Partial fluid change reference:
Transmission Fluid Change DIY

I also posted this question as a separate thread, but it seems fitting to also insert it in this discussion.

Any ideas are very much appreciated!

[admranger]

Originally Posted by mgbmwx5

It sounds like the the transmission might be overfilled, I would just start fresh since you don't know what the PO had done, drop the pan and replace the oil filter with new pan gasket and refill properly.

Agreed. Don't screw around here guessing that the last guy did it right when all indications are something is not normal ("Abby Normal" as Igor said!).

[MPDano]

What about just a top off?

[RenaissanceMan]

Had an interesting conversation with the shop foreman at one of the BMW dealerships in Atlanta last weekend. He recommended strongly against me doing a fluid change on a higher mileage (112k) X5, stating that all of the worn clutch material that was currently in the fluid would be of course drained and could very possibly slipping problems once the newer fluid was in there. He suggested just leaving the trans fluid as it is if it is not exhibiting any problems. FWIW.

[SlickGT1]

Nope, that is the nature of these transmissions. I say, learn to live with it. I even swapped out my solenoids not too long ago, because my reverse was getting screwy. That helped a shit load. But, occasionally, it still does it. And I have done like 4 drain and fills with a computer, with Lifeguard 6 fluid.