[rsmallwo]

Hi All,

My car is a 56reg 335d with 70k on the clock.

Its due a service in a few months and I wondered what your opinions are on getting the gearbox oil changed. I've had the car remapped from 63k and I do plan to keep the car for about another 4 years (as I love it!)

Am I been too cautious? theres nothing in the manual about gearbox oil service intervals, my guess would be that the inspection services do carry out some tests on the gearbox oil and only change it when it meets some criteria.

Is there some sort of performance oil that would be just generally better?

If anyone has had this done, how much would it cost from a BMW indy?

Thanks

[creepy coupe]

Originally Posted by rsmallwo

Hi All,

My car is a 56reg 335d with 70k on the clock.

Its due a service in a few months and I wondered what your opinions are on getting the gearbox oil changed. I've had the car remapped from 63k and I do plan to keep the car for about another 4 years (as I love it!)

Am I been too cautious? theres nothing in the manual about gearbox oil service intervals, my guess would be that the inspection services do carry out some tests on the gearbox oil and only change it when it meets some criteria.

Is there some sort of performance oil that would be just generally better?

If anyone has had this done, how much would it cost from a BMW indy?

Thanks

The oil from BMW is about £18+ vat a litre and you need about 10 litres, plus a filter.
Whoever does it make sure they change the torque converter oil as part of the quote.

[ghosty]

i was under the impression that all auto 'box's needed the gearbox oil changed at a set interval or mileage. i know my missus DSG is due one at 3/4 yrs, dont remember which exactly. and my dads honda was due one a 4 years. i know the honda DCT's had a technical bulletin due to a batch of them used a lower quality gearbox oil initially and that messed up the gearbox. honda did the right thing and extended the gearbox warrenty to 7 years/100k miles. and my dads whole auto transmission got replaced under honda warrenty!

so that'll be something i'll be keeping my eye on. will be good to know if there is a schedule and where it is. would have thought it would be in the service book or something

[dxb335d]

There a sealed unit which does not need an oil change.

Not a bad idea though if your keeping the car long term if you can justify the cost.

[doughboy]

Like carlos says, it's meant to be 'sealed for life'. How long 'life' is though i'm not sure!

Often with sealed unit diffs and 'boxes there won't even be a drain plug, you may need to loosen off and crack the gasket on a housing plate or something to get the oil out.

Not sure on the bimmers though...

[creepy coupe]

I think there is something odd about the filter, like it's part of the lower pan and fooking expensive, so washing out might be an option.

[rsmallwo]

Originally Posted by dxb335d

There a sealed unit which does not need an oil change.

Not a bad idea though if your keeping the car long term if you can justify the cost.

Didn't realise it was a sealed unit, whats your source for this information. Is it from other forum users or from a BMW tech of some sort? maybe even personal experience.

Excuse me wanting to know 100%, just if your correct then I'd expect a lifetime product to last 10 years (according to trading standards etc). If thats the case then I'm happy to keep my money and put in a 2nd hand gearbox if mine should blow in several years time (alber it shouldn't as its a life time oil'd box)

Thanks

[willhollin]

Why not contact the gearbox manufacturers direct for their view...

http://www.zf.com/eu/content/en/grea.../homepage.html

[toxicnerve]

I'm pretty sure that the official BMW line is that the boxes are sealed units.

BUT...

I read a post on Piston Heads a while back about some dude who had a 5er or something with gearbox problems. He drove his motor to Germany to get a ZF (they're the guys that make our boxes) workshop change his oil for him.

I will see if I can dig out the link...Piston Heads search is wank though.

Google FTW:

http://www.pistonheads.com/Gassing/t...oil%20changed?

[E92Fan]

OP - please make sure you post in the correct sections. This thread has been moved accordingly.



BMW gearboxes are theoretically sealed for life. By life I think the rough estimate is around 150,000 miles or so. However, that doesn't mean you can't change the oil if you want to. It's actually a very easy process and is similar to changing the engine oil. The only difference is that instead of replacing the gearbox oil filter on its own, you have to replace the entire gearbox sump pan because the filtration is built into it as is the gasket. It's not an expensive item by any means.

Changing the gearbox oil is probably a worthwhile thing to do if the car has had a harder than normal life. I changed the oil on mine about 3000 miles ago - the oil that came out was pretty much contaminant free although it had a bit of discolouration as you would expect. Fresh oil installed, new pan, and there's not a noticeable difference to be honest. Mentally you'd know there is a difference, potentially, but in practice the gearbox was never less than smooth anyway.

And you definitely don't need to go to ZF to change the oil - I did mine at Birds on the ramp and it took about an hour and a half...

[toxicnerve]

Originally Posted by E92Fan

And you definitely don't need to go to ZF to change the oil - I did mine at Birds on the ramp and it took about an hour and a half...

Tone,

How much did it cost at Birds?

[E92Fan]

Originally Posted by toxicnerve

Tone,

How much did it cost at Birds?

Uh... I have no idea ??

[creepy coupe]

Originally Posted by toxicnerve

Tone,

How much did it cost at Birds?

Drop Kevin an email, I'm sure he will be happy to quote.


Email address has been edited out to prevent spambots!

www.birdsauto.com

[ghosty]

wow, sounds good to me! great info guys

who would have thought, bmw and cost saving motoring...impressive

[PAOK]

Originally Posted by willhollin

Why not contact the gearbox manufacturers direct for their view...

http://www.zf.com/eu/content/en/grea.../homepage.html

They will give an answer "no need to do that".


I have changed to my previous 530dA gearbox oils after 80000km + flushing. 13 litres oil trought the gearbox and the new filter. Old oil looked extremely dirty and it was also a little bit grey coloured. Gearbox which was on my previous 530dA was made by GM.

I need to mention that our weather conditions are little bit different than in UK or in middle europe and ofcourse technically cars on their limits especially in wintertime. Temperture differences can be easily +6 to -25C in one day.

[E92Fan]

Originally Posted by toxicnerve

Tone,

How much did it cost at Birds?

To do a ZF automatic gearbox oil change properly, you need to flush the oil lines completely. Therefore you would need at least 10 litres of gearbox oil - the correct type of oil is a heavy duty longlife high grade oil like the top-end Fuchs Titan oils. From Opie its around £17 per litre...!

Couple of hours labour, and the sump pan (which has the filter and gasket pre-installed) - probably total cost near enough £290 + VAT....

[rsmallwo]

didn't realise the gearbox was so massive, 13 litres of oil +

:O

excuse my ignorance!

[E92Fan]

Originally Posted by rsmallwo

didn't realise the gearbox was so massive, 13 litres of oil +

:O

excuse my ignorance!

The gearbox isn't that big - it doesn't actually take 13 litres of oil. But because you need to do a full flush of the gearbox including the lines, you need quite a bit more oil than just what's in the sump to push the old dirty oil out. It's not good enough just draining the oil out. And you can't flush the system with water!

[creepy coupe]

Originally Posted by E92Fan

The gearbox isn't that big - it doesn't actually take 13 litres of oil. But because you need to do a full flush of the gearbox including the lines, you need quite a bit more oil than just what's in the sump to push the old dirty oil out. It's not good enough just draining the oil out. And you can't flush the system with water!

Are you suggesting they fill the box and then dump it out again Tony?

[E92Fan]

Originally Posted by creepy coupe

Are you suggesting they fill the box and then dump it out again Tony?

Sort of - not exactly filling it twice, more running the new oil through to push out the old, then sealing the unit and filling to capacity

[westhampete]

Oil is cheaper than gearboxes and engines, do it.