As usual, I think upallnight is right. I don't know where the 140F came from. It might be right for your X5, but I recommend checking it again. For my '01 3.0i (should be identical to yours) that would be too low. Off the top of my head, the 30-50C cited above sounds right. The low end of that translates to 86*F, which may be the same as stone cold depending on your climate and time of day.

So basically start off cold and it is kind of a race to get the level set before it warms up too much.

How to set Level - the spec is for the car (SAV, truck, X5) being level, not the AT, not the frame. One way to set this that I have done is to put a bubble level on the car somewhere convenient, and adjust it so it reads level when the car is parked on level ground. Then I drive into my sloping driveway, back it in, and jack up the front wheels (only) until the bubble reads level (so the level is the same as when it was on its tires on level ground).

A final trick I have done is to purposely overfill it slightly (e.g. by adjusting the level of the car so I can put more in without it spilling out. Then the next morning, after cooldown, take a quick spin around the block, to get in all gears, jack it level, and then open the fill plug to set the fluid level. The point is here, I know some will be coming out, there is no need to be pumping any in, etc. so it is quicker.

ah ok thanks! still learning bmw technology lol going on 3 months since I inherited the x, i'm actually finally going for the plates today.

so I had it leveled it off where the pan meets the trans, the level was on the actual lip of the pan. I know for a fact I have to add more so that's what i'll be doing tonight so i'll take a picture of how I set up the level.

thanks all, i'll post it tonight.

6:43 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOQ3...ndex=4&list=WL

I didn't

Just giving out info, in case someone find this thread in "search" before doing it.
Why asking for info after the work is done?

I simply asked a question about leveling, nothing more. thanks for the info though it's useful

If you look at that video, he already made a mistake with the torque spec for the pan bolts. 140F is 60C which is way over the 40C max that is specified for the max temp when filling the transmission. In fact because ATF expands when it gets HOT, you will be low on ATF when the job is done.

Your car but low ATF will result in increase wear on the trans which translate to a shorter life.

Here a video by ZF for the 5HP24 trans as used on the 4.4 E53. The procedure is the same on the I6 transmission. The temp is given at 5:50 into the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8jcRd4gyWc

As I have already stated your car, you can follow whoever advice, videos you feel like it.

the mistake is pointed out in a note later in the video, 7lbs for the pan and 15 for the drain plug is correct.

it's not some random video on the internet, they're a respected company.

http://www.xoutpost.com/attachments/...pplication.pdf

Thanks for including the PDF from BMW. That might be a better reference than youtube, but maybe not. :dunno:

As I had thought, it references the 30-50C range in there a couple of times, for both ZF and GM AT's.

But I also found this note in there, which makes sense to me, and is actually how I was doing it anyway:
"It is preferred to check the transmission fluid level at 30°C, this way the transmission will hold extra oil versus topping off at 50°C."

And yes, 30*C = 86*F, which might be the shade temperature in many parts of the US right now. Running the car is likely to warm things up from there.