stupid question about leveling trans to fill
 

I'm even embarrassed to ask since I have a mechanic background but which part of the pan should I put the level on to even it out? I put it on the pan lip where the bolts are.

Only asking because there's 2 bottles left over and I know it should take about 1 more yet the fluid was coming out before I got to the last 2 bottles. thanks

So long as the X5 is parked on a flat/level surface when you refill, you're fine.

So long as you refill with about what you've drained, you're Ok. The torque converter, heat exchanger/transcooler and lines all hold fluid that you wont be able to replace with a pan drop and refill.

I add fluid until it starts to drip. Reinstall the drain plug, start it and manually engage each gear for about 20secs each. Re-engage park, remove plug and top off again.

I agree that volume drained will vary, which means refill volume will also vary.

Did you check the temperature? They define a narrow temp range you are supposed to fill at. Hotter than that and you will end up under filled. Do it cold and you end up overfilled.

Spec is 140 for temp but I don't have a way to record it so I just let run until it reached operating temp then checked. At that point I added about 1 bottle.

I'm going to recheck it again tonight as I had a leak at the back of the pain from a couple loose bolts so i've lost some fluid.

Like what other say, since there is no drain plug on torque converter, you cannot drain all fluids out. There will be only half of total fluids sitting on the pan.

When I did mine, I flushed it 3 times to get almost all old fluids out and this is how I've done.
1. jack up the car in all 4 corners to level
2. remove fill plug first. because if you drain oil first and strip fill plug, your day is over.
3. remove drain plug
4. drop oil pan
5. install new filter and re-install oil pan and drain plug
6. fill new fluids to fill plug until it drips out and install fill plug
7. start engine and run each gear for about 20sec.
8. monitor oil pan with infrared thermometer until temp reaches 30-50C
9. remove fill plug and pump some more if necessary until drips out
10. drive a week. at this stage, fluid is about 50% mixed between old and new.
11. do steps 1-3 again
12. do steps 6-9 again
13. drive a week. at this stage, fluid is about 75% new.
14. do steps 1-9 again. install new filter again.

This seems overkill to some people, but with this method, your old fluids are almost replaced with new fluid 100%.

Great info on this pdf.

it's already done. just looking for the answer to level it correctly

The SAV needs to be leveled when re-filling. I suggest you to get DIS and follow the procedure. It can even read the ATF temp for you and guides you through.

ok, what's a sav?

and for the third time the service has already been done

If you fill it with the engine at operating temperature it is too HOT. I normally jack the car up on jack stand the night before and drain the fluid. This way the ATF in the TQ has a chance to cool off. Fill the empty trans with fluid and start the engine up, continue to fill the trans while the engine is running and check the pan temp with an IR thermometer. You can also use INPA to monitor the ATF temp in the trans. You shouldn't run the car for more than 10 minutes if you want to stay within the temp range as called for by BMW.

Sports Activity Vehicle.... BMW's term for SUV.

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.

Like I said it's your car, take care of it any way that you wish.

Aren't you contradicting yourself? In a previous post you said

incorrect. never said I filled it at operating temp, i clearly said I checked it at operating temp.

I'm going to look for an infrared gun so I don't have any issues down the line.

Isn't adding about 1 bottle is the same as filling?

thought you meant the entire fill but either way i'm going to get an infrared

so as I've been thinking I'm not sure I even checked the level with the motor running. I had a problem with the fill plug early in the process & it cloud my head for the rest of the service. I'll be getting a temp gun & will check at 30-50C with the car running

http://media6000.dropshots.com/photo...0_b_203643.jpg

leveled correctly & properly filled with engine running & fluid at 50C I am finally & officially good to go :thumbup: