E70 X5 ATF fluid experience with Febi 34608?

[Padgett114]

Originally Posted by Price

Those who advocate for "it takes only 20 mins to do XYZ", have you ever owned any kind of business? Just curious about the basis of such naive thinking.

Price, who are you talking to. I didn't say anything about 20min, and yes I do own a business.

[Price]

Originally Posted by Padgett114

Price, who are you talking to. I didn't say anything about 20min, and yes I do own a business.

To those who say "it takes 20 mins to drain and fill, dealer should charge no more"

[bawareca]

Originally Posted by Price

To those who say "it takes 20 mins to drain and fill, dealer should charge no more"

With all the equipment a dealer has it must be the case. There is a "reason" for the indy shop to charge more because it will definitely take them more time, all else equal

[ard]

Originally Posted by Price

To those who say "it takes 20 mins to drain and fill, dealer should charge no more"

I like to point out the costs, in terms of parts and time. The consumer can then determine how much profit/padding they can tolerate.

There surely is overhead both on a specific job, and on running the business- to think you only pay for the time on the rack is misguided. But likewise, when someone needs a battery registered and the salespuke says "yeah, we need to program the whole car, so that is 1.5 hours at $140 per" it is good to know what the real level of effort is.

Take front brakes. I can do the front axle, pads and rotors in 45-60 minutes. (Im a civilian with a TV in the garage... ) Shops will routinely say '2 hours'. I dont advise someone to complain or push back. I *will* tell them how long it really takes and that adding an hour labor and 20-40% on parts is how they make their profits. Learn to wrench or contribute to the economy.

[Price]

Dealer didn't get equipment for free.

[Ozer]

They all go by the book, it could call for 2hr but a good tech does it in an hour... you're getting charged for 2hr no matter what.

[Padgett114]

I got another quote from a qualified Indy for 175.00 for a drain and fill, and full service for $650.00. This seem more realistic at lease the drain and fill does.

[daytonatrbo]

I plan to change the transmission oil/filter on my 2009. I assume it will be the first time with just over 120k now on it. I have software to reset the adaptations myself. Though I don't think I would have bothered doing that had I not read this here.

[SeanC]

Even if you put the ZF fluid in, you should reset the adaptations. I don't think there is much in common between 80-100k mile old ZF fluid and a brand new one.

[Davidf]

Yes, I am saying it is ok to mix fluids. Been there done that with proven no ill effects. No, I am not saying you have to cut service intervals in half, but I try to change every 60k miles mostly because I am only changing a portion of the fluid, not 100%. I would do the same if using ZF/Lifeguard.

I do think the ZF/Lifeguard fluid is of very high quality and thus more resistant to temperature degradation and thus has a longer service life than other compatible fluids.

Incidentally, I drain the fluid, replace the plug, start engine and let idle for a few seconds and drain again. This ejects some additional fluid from internals by about .75 to 1 quart. And, no, it will not cause damage as there is still plenty of residual fluid lubricating the pump and torque converter.

The main point here is that there are indeed several compatible fluids that will not hurt the transmission or degrade performance. But, everyone should do what they are comfortable doing.