There are literally hundreds of posts on the topic, on this board alone. It comes down to the fluid being good for the life of the transmission (not your life, or the vehicle life) and there not being a correlation between changing the fluid and improving that transmission life.

You can change it if you like. There is a small but real risk of the change itself causing problems. Introducing a high-detergent fluid (ATF) into an older transmission can cause problems because the detergents loosen deposits and those deposits tend to cause problems when they move, primarily in the valve body. Those who change it tend to do so to try and extend the life of transmissions that generally haven't lasted as long as we all would like. The debate is simply whether changing it actually does anything to extend the life of the transmission, or not.

^^^Very good point, JCL.

FWIW, penzoil multi trans mission fluid meets the esso 17741 spec.

http://www.pennzoil.com/documents/Mu...icle%20ATF.pdf

you can buy for $4.xx per quart at pepboys. I've been swapping out the pan fluid since 40k miles. we are almost at 140k now.

I beg to differ. According to the link you provided, that fluid does not meet the Esso specification. Penzoil very carefully uses the phrase "suitable for applications that require..." as opposed to saying "certified to meet....".

Apart from the phrasing, which is common with many non-certified fluids, the give-away is that it is a multi-purpose fluid designed to be 'suitable' for transmissions requiring either Dexron III, Mercon, Allison C4, Toyota T, Honda ATFZ1, Mitsubishi SP, Nissan Matic D and J, as well as the LT specification. Those are all different specifications, with different specific requirements. The benefit of this type of fluid is for the vendor, because as Penzoil points out, inventory costs are reduced by only having to stock one fluid instead of the specific fluids called for by the manufacturers. That is also related to why it is inexpensive.

I am not saying that it won't work, and your experience has been positive. But for anyone contemplating changing the transmission fluid, I think it is worth noting the difference in between meeting a specification (as per the publisher of the specification) and claiming that it will be fine. ZF themselves say that only the Esso spec is acceptable, that there are no other appropriate fluids. The mechanical equivalent of these fluids is an adjustable crescent wrench; it can fit some bolts fine, and many times it works. Other times it just destroys the bolt because it doesn't fit as well as a proper wrench.

I put in the VW stuff. It was yellow. :dunno:
My tranny has been making a weird loud sound just before shifting when cold ever since (almost 2 yrs).
I'm thinking of flushing it for the red stuff but i don't know about mixing the two since you can't completly flush the tranny at once (or can you?)

I know this is an old post, but figured I add a new question:

In a previously published posting, I asked for help with regards to the slow leak coming from the Tranny oil pan. Today I purchased a bottle of Pentosin ATF1 and will topp it off before I take it to Spokane for warranty work. I am sure I could fix it myself, as it is probably the gasket that's leaking, but I also hit 60,000 miles and I will let them do the service. I usually change my oil, therefore I will request for the oil not to be changed.

The question none of the NAPA guys could answer was: Is the Pentosin ATF1 as good as the Esso LT 71141? Has anyone used it before? When I typed in BMW oil # 83220142516 listed on the bottom of the oil pan sticker, Pentosin ATF1 comes up...

Thanks for all who read this.

The Pentosin ATF1 apparently meets an older ZF spec, but does not meet the more current ZF spec. It is not the same as what BMW calls for. That may impact any future warranty claims you may have, in a theoretical world.

A separate question is whether it is much different, and whether using a small amount of top-off will have any detrimental effects. My gut tells me no.

Transtar sells the original ZF branded fluid in 1 liter bottles for $18 and change. Transtar has agents in many locations across the US and there should be one near you, look them up on the i-net.

Also, the dealer might give you a break on it if you bring your own container and ask nicely.... I paid $22 and change, hence not worth for me to go to Transtar but w/o the discount I would have driven the 15 miles to get to them.

Good luck

Thanks JCL, returned the Pentosin ATF1 after being told by Pentosin Customer Service that they will not guarantee compatibility!!! I got me a liter of Audi ATF instead which seems to be the same as the Shell M-1375.4

Thanks again !!!

Ok, I will kick myself in the nuts now... The 2005 X5 4.4i transmission oil filler is not on the side, it's on the bottom of the pan. Could have saved myself some serious time and headaches by looking at it first. I saw some instructions on how to deal with trannies, but I got no facility for that. Attaching a pic of the oil pan bottom showing the oil # warning and big plug at the end.

Thanks for all who contributed.


http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/4...annyoilpan.jpgGA6HP26Z