Thanks. I should post more pics up.

I will be doing a diff oil change and the tranny change, I will let you guys know once its done. I am crossing my fingers, dont need another headache with this vehicle.:bustingup

You might wanna check out www.noreverse.org. To the OP, I'd go ahead and do a complete flush, or at least a drain and fill. You can use Valvoline MaxLife instead of Esso ($$$) and make sure to use only Filtran filters. I bought mine @ Auto Parts at AutohausAZ - OEM Auto Parts - Discount Replacement Parts, Resources and Car Care Tips, then followed the writeups on e38.org BMW 7-series information and links.

Thanks.

Keep us posted...hopefully it's not too late. Regardless of the controvery behind, common sense tells me to change the fluid every 50k instead of following BMW's advice, which they've ironically changed on newer models.

I also wanted to ask if anyone had replaced the MAF even after cleaning it. I have been reading alot on MAF and some have the similar problems on hesitation, stumbling, jerky movement.

I am trying to find the crc maf cleaner...
and yes I was researching a lot lately about jerking /shuddering tranny and it seems to be MAF related in most of the times + throttle position sensor...
will try to clean the my on my X this weekend and hoping to forget about shuddering etc.
Two times I got such a bump that engine stalled in the middle of the street in the trafic,and I was just coming to stop because of somebody turning left,so I just restarted the X and went home,and next day I got the same stall in the same place,I thought it was a cursed spot,McDonald's drive thru entrance..and I started to dig here on xoutpost and discovered relation between the MAF and a tranny,it's my first automatic car ever,so no experience with that. and I opened the hood,what I found there was the the intake boot loose on the intake manifold as well as on the MAF...I don't know how it happened,but it was that way,so I just put everything the way it should be,and no more harsh downshifts,but I get more shuddering,so my guess now,after reading a lot of threads,I have to clean the MAF,so far it was -25 -30 C so I didn't have courage to do it,but definitely I will this weekend.

Post the results please///

IMHO cleaning the MAF is like cleaning and reusing spark plugs...your waisting your time since both build up resistance after use. I'm on my phone now, so I can't post any links, but we've had great success over in the 5, 7 and M5 boards using VW MAF's for $70 each. Feel free to search m5board.com, BeastPowerForum.com, Bimmerforums.com - The Ultimate BMW Forum, etc in the appropriate subforums for "VW MAF" to find the part number. It bolts right in, but you'll need a safety torx bit, which has a little nipple in the middle. Some have just used pliers to remove the bolts and swap sensors.

Thanks, I searched and found some on ebay. Do you know of any online stores that sell them for that price?

I'm still on my phone now, so if you're on a PC, you'll have better luck searching that I would. Just hit the 540, 740 and M5 boards using "VW MAF" as the keyword.