[sspade]

Hello folks... wanted to start another thread on this topic as I felt this deserved its own avenue of discussion/debate being that it is a different stance than whats been discussed most commonly on here.

My dealer provided me the below details when I asked about getting my transmission serviced around 70k miles.

This is what their standard servicing process is for this transmission. Also worth note is that this transmission is in a vast majority of current BMW vehicles and that this dealer has two different locations in my area. Needless to say they have serviced thousands of these transmissions (presumably).

1. Replace filter/pan
2. Replace electrical connector seal
3. Replace up to 3L of trans fluid

***SA specifically said that it NOT recommended to flush this transmission (drain and replace all fluid).

3.1 hrs labor, estimated total cost including tax $679

[jh_f30]

Cool, but how exactly is this different from what's commonly discussed? Seems about the same to me. Am I missing something?

[sspade]

Originally Posted by jh_f30

Cool, but how exactly is this different from what's commonly discussed? Seems about the same to me. Am I missing something?

Well...

It sounds to me that they are going to pull the car in the garage... drop the pan... put on a new pan... replace a rubber grommet of sorts... and replace any fluid that spilled. PERIOD.

Sounds much more simple that what everyone else is talking about. Also... lets have a look at the math portion:

$679 - tax = $630

3.1 hrs X $175 = $543

$630 - $543 = $87 total in parts.

[sspade]

In my mind its plain to see that this dealers approach to servicing these transmissions is MUCH different than whats being talked about in the other thread.

They specifically said NOT to drain the transmission fluid.

Why are people buying upwards of 6+ litres of fluid when doing this themselves?!

[jh_f30]

Originally Posted by sspade

In my mind its plain to see that this dealers approach to servicing these transmissions is MUCH different than whats being talked about in the other thread.

They specifically said NOT to drain the transmission fluid.

Why are people buying upwards of 6+ litres of fluid when doing this themselves?!

I'm just wondering how they would drop the pan without spilling a bunch of fluid. The pan/filter replacement is around $150 on FCP Euro. I just imagine fluid flowing out from all over the edges as you take the pan off. I guess it largely comes down to how long you let it drain? Trying to preserve as much of the existing fluid in the assembly rather than leaving it to drain for 20-30 mins?

[sspade]

Originally Posted by jh_f30

I'm just wondering how they would drop the pan without spilling a bunch of fluid. The pan/filter replacement is around $150 on FCP Euro. I just imagine fluid flowing out from all over the edges as you take the pan off. I guess it largely comes down to how long you let it drain? Trying to preserve as much of the existing fluid in the assembly rather than leaving it to drain for 20-30 mins?

Idk...

I agree - I figured when you drop that pan... all hell breaks loose (as in way more than 3L of fluid comes out).

Thats why I wanted to start this thread. Im honestly planning to keep my car 200k + miles and will be looking after the tranny soon...

I dont know whether to buy a kit like this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/For-BMW-8HP...310P:rk:4:pf:0

Or let my dealer handle it. Clearly whatever process that kit is designed for (9L of fluid) is no where near what my dealer would be doing when they only use approximately 3L during their procedure and DO NOT recommend a full flush/drain and fill.

What gives?

This is a legit dealer and they have treated me great thus far. Uber classy and clean dealership. They own two local BMW dealerships plus Porsche, Maserati, etc. - Clearly they know what they are doing!

As of this second... Im bringing the car to them around 75k and letting them handle it and document their work for under $700. Unless other forum members can chime in and sway myself (and others) how buying a good kit (like the one linked above) and DIY'ing is a better choice for your trans life.

[sspade]

Anyone else talk to an SA recently about exactly what is done during this service or are we all going by the ZF documentation and YouTube videos floating around out there?

[jh_f30]

Originally Posted by sspade

Idk... honestly. I agree - I figured when you drop that pan... all hell breaks loose (as in way more than 3L of fluid comes out).

Thats why I wanted to start this thread. Im honestly planning to keep my car 200k + miles and will be looking after the tranny soon...

I dont know whether to buy a kit like this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/For-BMW-8HP...310P:rk:4:pf:0

Or let my dealer handle it. Clearly whatever process that kit is designed for (9L of fluid) is no where near what my dealer would be doing when they only use approximately 3L during their procedure and DO NOT recommend a full flush/drain and fill.

What gives?

This is a legit dealer and they have treated me great. They own two local BMW dealerships plus Porsche, Maserati, etc. - Clearly they know what they are doing!

As of this second... Im bringing the car to them around 75k and letting them handle it and document their work for under $700. Unless other forum members can chime in an sway myself (and others) how buying a good kit (like the one linked above) and DIY'ing is a better choice for your trans life.

I'm interested as well. I'm hemming and hawing over whether I should do it at all now that I'm at 101k+. Keep hearing about how changing the fluid after too long can make it slip. But I think keeping the fluid amounts to a minimum would help minimize that risk.

[sspade]

Originally Posted by jh_f30

I'm interested as well. I'm hemming and hawing over whether I should do it at all now that I'm at 101k+. Keep hearing about how changing the fluid after too long can make it slip. But I think keeping the fluid amounts to a minimum would help minimize that risk.

I hear ya...

Worst case we should throw a tranny service party! Forreal, theres a bunch of us around here. I have a 3 car garage and tools that we could utilize to do it together

Would only need to bring our own jack stands.

Im all for a good DIY and have done every mod to my car single handed but Im smart enough to slow the hell down when it comes to internal engine or transmission stuff lol

[TK335iMSPT]

Sorry to throw a wrench in here but I've also seen on some Facebook threads of people suggesting replacing "sleeves" while the pan is off. Anyone know anything about this?

[montr]

When you drop the pan, the only way to need only 3 liters of ATF is to reuse most old ATF

[jh_f30]

Originally Posted by montr

When you drop the pan, the only way to need only 3 liters of ATF is to reuse most old ATF

Oh...hmm...that makes sense.

[jh_f30]

Originally Posted by sspade

I hear ya...

Worst case we should throw a tranny service party! Forreal, theres a bunch of us around here. I have a 3 car garage and tools that we could utilize to do it together

Would only need to bring our own jack stands.

Im all for a good DIY and have done every mod to my car single handed but Im smart enough to slow the hell down when it comes to internal engine or transmission stuff lol

Heh...you said "tranny service party"

That'd be cool. Maybe we can discuss on the 10th!

[n00bkiller944]

So I have the fluid/pan kit from FCPEuro, a lift booked to work on and everything ready to go for doing a transmission service this Monday. However, now I am second guessing myself after hearing all of this information. I plan to measure what comes out and what goes back in but I still don't feel great about it. Anyone else that has done this before have any feedback?

[cxp213]

Lol, I thought you had some breaking news from your post in the other thread. All you're saying is that the dealership doesn't recommend that you do a flush, but nobody is talking about doing a flush. A "flush" isn't the same as a "drain and fill." A flush will circulate new fluids into the system to get everything out. A drain and fill is exactly how it sounds; let fluids fall out of a designated hole and fill via designated hole.

I don't know if your total cost break down is right, either. If you drop the pan, that'll need to be replaced new. If fluid came out, you're putting new fluids in. Both of those things together costs more than $80 some dollars.

BTW, just because they own multiple dealerships doesn't mean they know what they're doing (not saying they don't, though). It just means that the owner has money to buy said dealerships.

[sspade]

Originally Posted by cxp213

Lol, I thought you had some breaking news from your post in the other thread. All you're saying is that the dealership doesn't recommend that you do a flush, but nobody is talking about doing a flush. A "flush" isn't the same as a "drain and fill."

I don't know if your total cost break down is right, either. If you drop the pan, that'll need to be replaced new. If fluid came out, you're putting new fluids in. Both of those things together costs more than $80 some dollars.

Appreciate the response and the fact that you see there is a big discrepancy between what my dealer does for this transmission and what everyone else is doing or is planning to do with theirs

That was the point of the thread.

[sspade]

All Im doing here is providing the community with what is being done to our transmissions for service by BMW in Northern California. I feel that it is different from what is being described in other threads...

This is proven by the fact that the dealer cost is so low and the fact that they allow the absolute minimum amount of fluid leave the transmission as possible.

Everyone on here is doing the exact opposite and trying to get AS MUCH FLUID AS POSSIBLE out of the trans and then refilling it with fresh fluid.

It would take an imbecile to not see the difference...

[cxp213]

Right, so, at least we can agree that nobody is wanting to do a flush..

The only difference is how long you wait for the fluid to come out then.

[sspade]

Originally Posted by n00bkiller944

So I have the fluid/pan kit from FCPEuro, a lift booked to work on and everything ready to go for doing a transmission service this Monday. However, now I am second guessing myself after hearing all of this information. I plan to measure what comes out and what goes back in but I still don't feel great about it. Anyone else that has done this before have any feedback?

If you are all set up... I would go forward and do the job.

If you are taking your time and following ZF documentation - it would be hard to imagine messing anything up.

Last thing you could do is check with your local dealer and see if they will service it for $600-$700 like mine... sounds like you have close to that tied up in parts/rental not to mention the time/effort/stress to do the project.

Worst case, Im sure you can return or sell that kit for sure.

[n00bkiller944]

Originally Posted by sspade

If you are all set up... I would go forward and do the job.

If you are taking your time and following ZF documentation - it would be hard to imagine messing anything up.

Last thing you could do is check with your local dealer and see if they will service it for $600-$700 like mine... sounds like you have close to that tied up in parts/rental not to mention the time/effort/stress to do the project.

Worst case, Im sure you can return or sell that kit for sure.

Because I love doing this stuff. Its fun. And for 25 bucks an hour for a lift and 280 for fluid and pan filter/new bolts I would say I am coming way ahead. Especially considering I am doing a bunch of additional work!

Ill keep everyone updated

[jh_f30]

Originally Posted by n00bkiller944

Because I love doing this stuff. Its fun. And for 25 bucks an hour for a lift and 280 for fluid and pan filter/new bolts I would say I am coming way ahead. Especially considering I am doing a bunch of additional work!

Ill keep everyone updated

Glhf!

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by sspade

Hello folks... wanted to start another thread on this topic as I felt this deserved its own avenue of discussion/debate being that it is a different stance than whats been discussed most commonly on here.

My dealer provided me the below details when I asked about getting my transmission serviced around 70k miles.

This is what their standard servicing process is for this transmission. Also worth note is that this transmission is in a vast majority of current BMW vehicles and that this dealer has two different locations in my area. Needless to say they have serviced thousands of these transmissions (presumably).

1. Replace filter/pan
2. Replace electrical connector seal
3. Replace up to 3L of trans fluid

***SA specifically said that it NOT recommended to flush this transmission (drain and replace all fluid).

3.1 hrs labor, estimated total cost including tax $679

Nothing new here

Replacing the mechtronics sleeve is recommended when performing a pan drop, but for whatever reason most DIYers don't do it.

Regardless of whether one drains 3 or more liters of fluid the refill procedure is the same.