[sl13]

Hi all,

I'm getting a slight bit of slip coming from the box and have decided to get it serviced. Before I start looking for a suitable garage (gearbox oil changes are not my idea of fun), I wonder if I should be avoiding a full flush and just go for a pan drop and top up, or if a full flush is a good idea?!

I'm on 92k f31 335d

Pointers greatly appreciated!!

[Bachu1]

ide check out getting the whole kit from auto doc, and i had mine done from a place in Coventry called Olympia motors.

I think the kit did cost me around £180.... as far as I remember.

[sl13]

Did you have a full flush or just a pan drop and top up?

I read different things and some say never flush, others only full flush!?

[sl13]

Just spoke to BMW who said what I was expecting 'it's a sealed unit, life long usage. ZF however recommend a service every 80k miles'. They didn't have a cost or process but as I wait for their pearls of wisdom, I'm seriously tempted to just do it myself. the hardest part seems to be getting the car in the air - which I am sure I can figure out with all my stands etc.

[bishbosh]

BMW do have a process for servicing the transmission, however it's only really used in cases of a fault, i.e. a leaking/cracked oil pan for example.

[M80]

Originally Posted by Bachu1

ide check out getting the whole kit from auto doc, and i had mine done from a place in Coventry called Olympia motors.

I think the kit did cost me around £180.... as far as I remember.

I've been looking at this as my 330i is on about 62k now.
Cheapest I've found online is £249 for the genuine ZF full kit part #
1087.298.365

[TurboWeasel]

Originally Posted by sl13

Just spoke to BMW who said what I was expecting 'it's a sealed unit, life long usage. ZF however recommend a service every 80k miles'. They didn't have a cost or process but as I wait for their pearls of wisdom, I'm seriously tempted to just do it myself. the hardest part seems to be getting the car in the air - which I am sure I can figure out with all my stands etc.

Needs to be level as well, which is difficult on my sloped drive

Its not a tricky process at all. You just have to make sure the right amount of fluid goes back in as that is where a lot of people go wrong. The oil cooler holds roughly 0.7 litre iirc, and the torque converter holds near on 2 litres. Both need to be filled up again after a drain, which with the oil cooler, can take a while as it doesn't open until 75-80 degrees.

In a nutshell, follow the ZF instructions to the letter and you can't go wrong.

[sl13]

Originally Posted by TurboWeasel

Needs to be level as well, which is difficult on my sloped drive

Its not a tricky process at all. You just have to make sure the right amount of fluid goes back in as that is where a lot of people go wrong. The oil cooler holds roughly 0.7 litre iirc, and the torque converter holds near on 2 litres. Both need to be filled up again after a drain, which with the oil cooler, can take a while as it doesn't open until 75-80 degrees.

In a nutshell, follow the ZF instructions to the letter and you can't go wrong.

Doing diffs and boxes on our other car it's a case of filling until excess comes out the full hole. I've seen a couple of vids online and it shows the same.

I appreciate viscosity and temp of oil out and in is important, but if it's a case of drain, drop, refill until coming out, cycle gears with engine on and oil moving about, top up and seal off.

Or am I being overly simplistic?!

[Eddamoo]

Originally Posted by sl13

Doing diffs and boxes on our other car it's a case of filling until excess comes out the full hole. I've seen a couple of vids online and it shows the same.

I appreciate viscosity and temp of oil out and in is important, but if it's a case of drain, drop, refill until coming out, cycle gears with engine on and oil moving about, top up and seal off.

Or am I being overly simplistic?!

Just follow the ZF guide mate. Temperature for example is an important consideration. ATF decreases in density by ~5% between 15C -> 50C or 50C -> 85C so you can get some major under/overfill if you do it hot/cold.

[sl13]

Roger that guys - thank you very much for the hints.

BMW haven't called back with a price but I suspect it'll be hefty.

[SkyJawa]

Originally Posted by M80

I've been looking at this as my 330i is on about 62k now.
Cheapest I've found online is £249 for the genuine ZF full kit part #
1087.298.365

Keep your eye on Autodoc and discounts. I bought this kit a couple of months ago from them for £190!

[gac]

https://williamsperformance.co.uk/pr...40791444291666 currently £225 with OEM fluid, or less if you're OK with aftermarket fluid.

[sl13]

Just had a quote back from BMW at £850!!! They've included 9litres of fluid in the quote -even with a flush, this seems way too much.

Thanks for the links. I'll take a look now...

[TurboWeasel]

Yeah BMW branded trans fluid is astronomical, but the standard Shell stuff is also quite expensive in the aftermarket as well.

You can normally get 6.5 litres in during a refill. 9 litres is the box + torque converter's dry capacity for the 8HP70 I believe.

Yep the method you mentioned isn't far off. Fill it up, run engine, run through the gears specified, hold rpm at 2000 rpm for the specified time (to fill the TC), top off, wait until oil is in the 40 degree range, then check and top off again.

The bit most people leave out is driving it around until the oil cooler opens and then check and top off that final time. It is mentioned in the instructions though.

[sl13]

Great stuff. Thanks for the info. I see various outlets around the 250 mark. I'll wait a few weeks for the next cold spell to float off and get ordering.

[Bachu1]

Originally Posted by Bachu1

ide check out getting the whole kit from auto doc, and i had mine done from a place in Coventry called Olympia motors.

I think the kit did cost me around £180.... as far as I remember.

i had the whole oil emptied, no flush and refilled..

new filter etc..

[johnung]

Originally Posted by sl13

Hi all,

I'm getting a slight bit of slip coming from the box and have decided to get it serviced. Before I start looking for a suitable garage (gearbox oil changes are not my idea of fun), I wonder if I should be avoiding a full flush and just go for a pan drop and top up, or if a full flush is a good idea?!

I'm on 92k f31 335d

Pointers greatly appreciated!!

My understanding is to never “flush” anything on these cars. “Flush” implies forcing fluid through under pressure which could damage internals. Fluids are typically drained, or if there is no drain hole they are suctioned out through the filler hole.

With the automatic transmission made by ZF, all of the fluid must be drained and then the pan and bolts replaced. The filter is integral to the pan so the new pan is also replacing the filter.

The ZF filling procedure requires the car to be level, so either up on a lift or on four jack stands. My local shop requires that the car be dropped off the afternoon prior. They set it up in position on the lift. They said that it will drain the most if it drains all night into the pan. Service kits typically come with 7 liters of new fluid. Mine took a little less than a full 6 liters after the refilling process was complete.

BMW’s “Lifetime” fluid claim is nonsense. BMW defines “Lifetime” to mean whenever they are no longer legally liable. They could care less how long their old cars last. Their business is selling new cars.

My understanding is that ZF the manufacturer who sells this same transmission to several car makes, recommends full service of fluid/pan/bolt replacement every 60k miles or 100k kilometers.

My local shop refuses to do the transmission service on cars with a longer than 100k mile interval since the last fluid replacement. They learned through many years of experience that cars over 100k miles on the fluid soon return with transmission issues after running on new clean fluid.

Their theory is that over 100k miles the internal wear of transmission components puts particles into the fluid which makes it thicker. A symbiotic relationship forms between the worn part and the thicker fluid which essentially fills the worn out space. New fluid exposes the component wear and actually causes transmission issues to become apparent. They recommend that high mileage cars do not do the fluid replacement and instead just wait until they actually have transmission symptoms.

I have heard of guys with high mileage on their fluid actually draining and saving the old fluid, then replacing the pan with its integral filter and bolts. Then refilling with the old fluid. Obviously it’s no big deal if a little bit of new fluid is needed to top up to complete the ZF filling procedure.

That procedure requires filling. Then running the engine while the car is in the air until the transmission fluid is up to a specific temperature. Then topping up the fluid again to the fill hole. Best to watch videos. ZF has a video.

I use the actual service kit sold by ZF. Much less expensive than the BMW Genuine kit, yet no worries about the quality level.

Hope this helps!

[bjmck]

I've been quoted £650 from an independent bmw specialist and £668 from a bmw main dealer. Thinking of going with main dealer?
Car has done 60000 miles

[danb1979]

Originally Posted by bjmck

I've been quoted £650 from an independent bmw specialist and £668 from a bmw main dealer. Thinking of going with main dealer?
Car has done 60000 miles

Both are massively overpriced really

[planemad]

https://bmconnected.co.uk/

Above is the best place to go in the south east for a zf service.

The chap has done hundreds of them and knows the process inside out.

[bobby-six-killer]

+1 for BM Connected, they did mine too.

[sl13]

What was the cost from BMW connected ?