[b7ff]

Hi Guys,

I got a BMW 340i (MY2016) with a 12,000 miles on the clock.. I know that the KM's look really small, but I live in a place where there's a lot of stop-and-go traffic.

Im planning to change my transmission oil, but cannot really find any info on the weight or recommended brands of lubricants for our car.

There are several options that Im considering:
* ZF Lifeguard Fluid 8
* MOTUL GEAR 300 LS 75W-90
* MOTUL GEAR COMPETITION 75W-140
* BMW Trans Fluid - buy it from the Stealership (a friend of mine told me that it is safer to use the OEM BMW because there might still be 1-2 litres of oil left within our transmission even if we change the oil-pan/filter; so if we put in different oil, the different additives mixing could be problematic?)

Sorry if this thread have been made before, but seems like I cannot find it anywhere.

Thanks!!

[edycol]

ZF8 LG! Don't experiment with other fluids not specifically made for transmission! In ZF8 people use successfully Valvoline MaxLife, Refline D6, Motul Multi ATF VI etc.
I would personally go ZF8 LG, and only refresh. Don't flush!

[Itogliano]

Even with stop and go traffic, why are you changing your transmission fluid? 12000 on the clock is absurdly low for transmission fluid refresh. ZF calls for every 50 or 60,000 miles IRIC.

In any case, I agree with edycol. Even if it's more expensive, shell out the extra money to stick ZF fluid. It's something you really only need to do once every 4-5 years. It's generally a good idea to stick to the same fluid in a transmission.

[edycol]

Originally Posted by Itogliano

Even with stop and go traffic, why are you changing your transmission fluid? 12000 on the clock is absurdly low for transmission fluid refresh. ZF calls for every 50 or 60,000 miles IRIC.

In any case, I agree with edycol. Even if it's more expensive, shell out the extra money to stick ZF fluid. It's something you really only need to do once every 4-5 years. It's generally a good idea to stick to the same fluid in a transmission.

Right on point. Why at 12,000 miles?
For ZF8, ZF recommends refresh every 60-75k.

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by b7ff

Hi Guys,

I got a BMW 340i (MY2016) with a 12,000 miles on the clock.. I know that the KM's look really small, but I live in a place where there's a lot of stop-and-go traffic.

Im planning to change my transmission oil, but cannot really find any info on the weight or recommended brands of lubricants for our car.

There are several options that Im considering:
* ZF Lifeguard Fluid 8
* MOTUL GEAR 300 LS 75W-90
* MOTUL GEAR COMPETITION 75W-140
* BMW Trans Fluid - buy it from the Stealership (a friend of mine told me that it is safer to use the OEM BMW because there might still be 1-2 litres of oil left within our transmission even if we change the oil-pan/filter; so if we put in different oil, the different additives mixing could be problematic?)

Sorry if this thread have been made before, but seems like I cannot find it anywhere.

Thanks!!

Interval is 8yrs OR 45-65k miles for high speeds (ex autobahn), offensive sporty driving (ex racing) and towing.

ATF: Lifeguard 8 (LG8) is the only official fluid. ZF fluid doesn't license their fluid and it is formulated by Shell (M-L12108). There are plenty of LG8 clones (ex, Liqui Moly, , Pentosin, Ravenol).

[WDE82]

Originally Posted by b7ff

Hi Guys,

I got a BMW 340i (MY2016) with a 12,000 miles on the clock.. I know that the KM's look really small, but I live in a place where there's a lot of stop-and-go traffic.

Im planning to change my transmission oil, but cannot really find any info on the weight or recommended brands of lubricants for our car.

There are several options that Im considering:
* ZF Lifeguard Fluid 8
* MOTUL GEAR 300 LS 75W-90
* MOTUL GEAR COMPETITION 75W-140
* BMW Trans Fluid - buy it from the Stealership (a friend of mine told me that it is safer to use the OEM BMW because there might still be 1-2 litres of oil left within our transmission even if we change the oil-pan/filter; so if we put in different oil, the different additives mixing could be problematic?)

Sorry if this thread have been made before, but seems like I cannot find it anywhere.

Thanks!!

That's a complete waste of time and money.

[ooshnoo]

Why the hell would you change transmission fluid at 12k km? Waste of time.

[b7ff]

Thanks guys for the reply -- ZF Lifeguard 8 it is then..

Im changing the oil just as precaution, its a 5YO car with XHP flash in the past 1.5 year, so just wanted to be safe rather than sorry. The f30 340i is a very very rare car in Indonesia, I think they only have 4 units in the country -- so yeah just want to keep it in its best shape! hehehe

I'll be changing my Diff fluids as well, I've been reading, I think the BMW oil is the best option for this ya:
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...83222295532#qa

Anyhow, will update you guys on the color of the 5-YO transmission oil for a car that only got 12k miles on the clock later this week!

[thejeremyman9]

Just make sure you or the shop follow the correct fill procedure per ISTA. If you don't fill fully/correctly, you could cause more harm than just leaving in that OEM fluid.

[Polo08816]

Originally Posted by thejeremyman9

Just make sure you or the shop follow the correct fill procedure per ISTA. If you don't fill fully/correctly, you could cause more harm than just leaving in that OEM fluid.

+1.

I would measure the amount you drain out of the transmission so you have some reference point.

[Itogliano]

Originally Posted by Polo08816

+1.

I would measure the amount you drain out of the transmission so you have some reference point.

I haven't done a trans fluid change yet so correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't that be completely unnecessary? I thought fill procedure was to fill until it starts to overflow, shift through the gears, run the car a bit, and fill until starting to overflow again.

[sspade]

ZF officially changed their stance this summer, now saying 93k miles is generally a good service interval in most cases but… also state that leaving the fluid forever is fine as long as the driving history is known (and not abusive).

[sspade]

Originally Posted by Itogliano

I haven't done a trans fluid change yet so correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't that be completely unnecessary? I thought fill procedure was to fill until it starts to overflow, shift through the gears, run the car a bit, and fill until starting to overflow again.

No. The ZF procedure is much more involved.

[Polo08816]

Originally Posted by sspade

No. The ZF procedure is much more involved.

Basically, the intent of the procedure is to fill the torque converter AND the cooling lines.

Measuring how much you drain will help you estimate how much you need to fill assuming the previous fill was correct.

[johnung]

Originally Posted by b7ff

Hi Guys,

I got a BMW 340i (MY2016) with a 12,000 miles on the clock.. I know that the KM's look really small, but I live in a place where there's a lot of stop-and-go traffic.

Im planning to change my transmission oil, but cannot really find any info on the weight or recommended brands of lubricants for our car.

There are several options that Im considering:
* ZF Lifeguard Fluid 8
* MOTUL GEAR 300 LS 75W-90
* MOTUL GEAR COMPETITION 75W-140
* BMW Trans Fluid - buy it from the Stealership (a friend of mine told me that it is safer to use the OEM BMW because there might still be 1-2 litres of oil left within our transmission even if we change the oil-pan/filter; so if we put in different oil, the different additives mixing could be problematic?)

Sorry if this thread have been made before, but seems like I cannot find it anywhere.

Thanks!!

I would only use ZF fluid in a ZF transmission. ZF's recommended interval was 60k miles/100k kilometers. I did the automatic transmission service at about 30k miles just to be overly cautious after tuning my car. 12k miles is really unnecessary.

When you do it also change the pan and bolts. The filter is built into the pan. Do t want to change fluid and leave a dirty filter.

Follow the procedure exactly to avoid under filling your transmission!

[sspade]

Originally Posted by Polo08816

Basically, the intent of the procedure is to fill the torque converter AND the cooling lines.

Measuring how much you drain will help you estimate how much you need to fill assuming the previous fill was correct.

Okay, the main parts that I count as "more involved" are the temperature monitoring/readings that aren't necessarily called out with lower technology transmission service procedures.

I believe the fluid may expand/contract depending on temperature which could make eyeballing it difficult and inaccurate.

If I were opening mine up, Id be sure to follow ZF procedure very closely rather than going off old tribal shop knowledge. That was my point.

[Polo08816]

Originally Posted by sspade

Okay, the main parts that I count as "more involved" are the temperature monitoring/readings that aren't necessarily called out with lower technology transmission service procedures.

I believe the fluid may expand/contract depending on temperature which could make eyeballing it difficult and inaccurate.

If I were opening mine up, Id be sure to follow ZF procedure very closely rather than going off old tribal shop knowledge. That was my point.

I agree. I run ISTA for the procedure and it basically tells you what to do.

However, I believe the fluid expansion based on temperature is actually very very minimal. Sizable expansion would occur when your fluid becomes a gas which I don't see hapenning.

However, the fill procedure is dependent on temperature because the thermostat for the ATF fluid opens up and fills the cooling lines.

[edycol]

Originally Posted by sspade

Okay, the main parts that I count as "more involved" are the temperature monitoring/readings that aren't necessarily called out with lower technology transmission service procedures.

I believe the fluid may expand/contract depending on temperature which could make eyeballing it difficult and inaccurate.

If I were opening mine up, Id be sure to follow ZF procedure very closely rather than going off old tribal shop knowledge. That was my point.

Yes, temperature is the key. Other than that, it is refilling until overflows. There is video tutorial on YouTube by ZF.

[WDE82]

Originally Posted by b7ff

Thanks guys for the reply -- ZF Lifeguard 8 it is then..

Im changing the oil just as precaution, its a 5YO car with XHP flash in the past 1.5 year, so just wanted to be safe rather than sorry. The f30 340i is a very very rare car in Indonesia, I think they only have 4 units in the country -- so yeah just want to keep it in its best shape! hehehe

I'll be changing my Diff fluids as well, I've been reading, I think the BMW oil is the best option for this ya:
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...83222295532#qa

Anyhow, will update you guys on the color of the 5-YO transmission oil for a car that only got 12k miles on the clock later this week!

You're way more likely to make things worse than better changing fluid this early.

[Itogliano]

Originally Posted by Polo08816

I agree. I run ISTA for the procedure and it basically tells you what to do.

However, I believe the fluid expansion based on temperature is actually very very minimal. Sizable expansion would occur when your fluid becomes a gas which I don't see hapenning.

However, the fill procedure is dependent on temperature because the thermostat for the ATF fluid opens up and fills the cooling lines.

So I was reading up on ZF's procedure on their website yesterday, and they specify a temperature range. They say if it's above the threshold to let the fluid cool until it's within the given range. If the point is to get the thermostat to open and fill the cooling lines, wouldn't just a temperature minimum be called out? I feel like something else has to be at play

[sspade]

Originally Posted by Itogliano

So I was reading up on ZF's procedure on their website yesterday, and they specify a temperature range. They say if it's above the threshold to let the fluid cool until it's within the given range. If the point is to get the thermostat to open and fill the cooling lines, wouldn't just a temperature minimum be called out? I feel like something else has to be at play

Viscosity and thermal expansion/contraction are also at play.

[Itogliano]

Originally Posted by sspade

Viscosity and thermal expansion/contraction are also at play.

Right...don't know how I didn't think about viscosity...that's embarrassing lol. Someone else also mentioned it, but I can't see thermal expansion making any meaningful difference. Have to imagine ZF would include the coef. of vol. expansion on the msds if it did