DIY: E39 Automatic Transmission Fluid Flushing and ATF Filter Replacement

[jvcajita]

my car is a 2000 528iTA that has about 94K miles. my transmission has always been smooth. but since my 100K mark is fast approaching, i decided to clean out my atf. i've seen many write ups on e46's and 540i atf flushing, but none for the inline 6 528 automatic. Well here goes nothing after working from 7:30pm till 12:00am:

the following are the supplies and tools i used:

tools:
4 jack stands
1 floor jack
T-40 hex socket driver (1/2in drive)
10mm 3/8in hex socket driver (1/2in drive)
18in 1/2in drive breaker bar
12in 1/2in drive breaker bar
torque wrench
manual fluid pump
empty washer fluid container
oil pan
flat head screwdriver

supplies:
20 liters of texaco etl 7045e atf - $96 after employee discount comes out to $4.80 per liter. one liter is approximately a quart.
1 box of shop towels - $10
2 atf filter kits with gaskets (one oem - $35 and one non-oem - $25)
engine degreaser - $3
kitty litter - $0 (got a cat already who poops all the time)

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o161/jvcajita/atf%20change/IMG_3490.jpg

the steps:
0. run the car for about 15-30 mins to warm up. the tranny must be in the temp range of 30C-50C or 85F-120F. skin temp is somewhere 85F.

1. jack the car on four stands. jack them up as high as you can since you'll be needing as much elbow room as possible. put the car on park and hand brake on.
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o161/jvcajita/atf%20change/IMG_3495.jpg

2. with your T40 hex driver, loosen the FILL plug. its the plug that is horizontal facing the drivers side. its situated above the atf pan by the cat. make sure you have your oil pan ready. it can get really messy.
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o161/jvcajita/atf%20change/IMG_3526.jpg

3. with the same hex driver, loosen the DRAIN plug which is on the bottom of the pan. again, have the oil pan ready.
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o161/jvcajita/atf%20change/IMG_3529.jpg

4. as you let it drain/drip, proceed by unscrewing 20 bolts with the 10mm hex socket driver all around the atf pan. the final 4 bolts to unscrew are amongst the corners.

5. this is where i had atf splash all over my hair. beware that your pan is now simply hanging due to suction of the gasket. set the oil pan aside, but not too far. place back your DRAIN plug. carefully, loosen the sides with the flathead screwdriver serving as leverage. have the other hand be able to "catch" the pan. let the atf drain further for about 15 minutes. remember, your goal is attain a minimum of 90% new atf replacement. that's why you got to do this again in about 1000 miles!

6. the atf filter is simply hanging as well due to the o-ring suction which is located closer to the front of the car. simply tug this lightly and set on the atf pan. replace that filter with the non-oem filter by just pushing it in. try to attain some suction as well.
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o161/jvcajita/atf%20change/IMG_3531.jpg

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o161/jvcajita/atf%20change/IMG_3530.jpg

7. time to clean up the atf pan. take the pan out of the undercarriage and place back your oil pan to catch the dripping.
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o161/jvcajita/atf%20change/IMG_3532.jpg

8. with your engine degreaser, spray it! use shop towels to wipe it down. there's a magnet by the top left corner. make sure you clean that thoroughly since that's gushed up with tiny metal bits. imagine if your pan didn't have this? imagine all that metal running through your tranny. ouch. wipe the whole pan in and out.
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o161/jvcajita/atf%20change/IMG_3533.jpg

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o161/jvcajita/atf%20change/IMG_3534.jpg

9. back to the undercarriage. remove the old gasket. with the dripping atf, slightly layer it in the atf pan. now place the new gasket the adjacent holes of the pan. this is the fun part. with your fingers, tighten back the screws. try doing this with a star pattern. once all 20 bolts are lightly screwed on, use your 10mm hex socket driver to tighten them with your torque wrench 6nm tightness. now tighten the drain plug to 35nm.
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o161/jvcajita/atf%20change/IMG_3535.jpg

10. time to put some new fluid in! with the empty washer fluid container, pump in about 3 liters of atf from your big texaco container. while the car is on park, use the same pump with the bottom hose heading towards the fill plug. remember to have your handy oil pan nearby. finger tighten the fill plug. get in the car and start it. change gears from gears one to five, about 15 times to start having the new blood flow. make sure your foot is on the brakes =P. kill the engine and leave the car on neutral. from here on out, i stop taking pictures cuz i just had too much atf everywhere..

11. unplug the fill plug, then pump in more atf until it overflows. finger tighten the fill plug once more.

12. this might be the scariest part of the process. start the car and leave on neutral. get under the car, unplug the fill plug and pump more new blood in. stop until it overflows and finger tighten the plug. be careful to not make contact with the exhaust. put the car on park and turn off the engine.

13. torque the fill plug with 30nm of pressure.

14. make sure clean up under the car. wipe down the atf that splattered all over the place especially if it splattered on your cat/exhaust. you don't want to smell burning atf.

15. take the car off the jacks. also, check for drips just in case you didn't tighten the plugs and screws enough. take the kitty litter out to absorb all the oil on the floor...

16. run the car around the block =) see if it changes gears, lol.

after about 1000 miles, do the same process again, but this time with the oem filter kit. =) reason so is because a lot more old atf was situated in the torque converter. key is to attain at least 90% new atf. after 50 to 60K and if your tranny doesn't need to be rebuilt yet, do this all over again.

i could have finished this DIY in much faster time if i just had a floor jack that would work properly. damn thing didn't have decent pressure...so make sure you got the right tools!

fin.

[B767capt]

Great post as I'll be doing my daughter's 325i someday soon. She has the Texaco 8072B fluid. One thing I notice on all these BMW write ups is a reflush is done later to get the torque converter fluid. What I do, as per Amsoils instructions years ago, on all my Fords is to replace the filter and oil pan fluid like you mentioned, but then disconnect the oil cooler return line from the side of the tranny and have someone start the car and put it in drive. This gets the fluid moving. Put a rubber hose on the end of the return line and aim it into a bucket. The old T/C fluid pumps out while the new fluid is being drawn into the T/C from the oil pan. You have to add fluid while this is going on. When you notice the old color of the fluid going into the bucket changes to the new color, you have almost 100% fluid change. Reattach the cooler return line and adjust the level in the tranny. I have done 20 cars this way, but not a BMW. I will look at mine like this before I do it and see if it's possible. I now have 3 BMW's so I'm very interested in seeing if this will work. On all the other transmissions, the fluid to the oil cooler is the fluid leaving the T/C, then after the oil cooler it dumps into the pan. You just let it dump into an external bucket until it shows new fluid. Any comments?
Bill

[jvcajita]

Great post as I'll be doing my daughter's 325i someday soon. She has the Texaco 8072B fluid. One thing I notice on all these BMW write ups is a reflush is done later to get the torque converter fluid. What I do, as per Amsoils instructions years ago, on all my Fords is to replace the filter and oil pan fluid like you mentioned, but then disconnect the oil cooler return line from the side of the tranny and have someone start the car and put it in drive. This gets the fluid moving. Put a rubber hose on the end of the return line and aim it into a bucket. The old T/C fluid pumps out while the new fluid is being drawn into the T/C from the oil pan. You have to add fluid while this is going on. When you notice the old color of the fluid going into the bucket changes to the new color, you have almost 100% fluid change. Reattach the cooler return line and adjust the level in the tranny. I have done 20 cars this way, but not a BMW. I will look at mine like this before I do it and see if it's possible. I now have 3 BMW's so I'm very interested in seeing if this will work. On all the other transmissions, the fluid to the oil cooler is the fluid leaving the T/C, then after the oil cooler it dumps into the pan. You just let it dump into an external bucket until it shows new fluid. Any comments?
Bill

if i knew what you mentioned, i wouldve tried it. but then again, i wouldn't know what the return line looks like? if you do it this way, please share a write up on how you did it. thanks!

[Captngeetch]

Great write up....need to sticky this one...also..you said "empty" washer fluid bottle ? the jug in the picture looks full, what'd ya drink it first ? :D

[spydrz]

Nice job!
I wish I didn't have the ridiculously expensive ZF fluid :eek:

[jvcajita]

Great write up....need to sticky this one...also..you said "empty" washer fluid bottle ? the jug in the picture looks full, what'd ya drink it first ? :D

lol =P...of course, i cleaned it out...with a straw! hihi:thumbup:

[jvcajita]

Nice job!
I wish I didn't have the ridiculously expensive ZF fluid :eek:

you can substitute that though with the valvoline high mileage atf...

[Artiasn]

I have been on this forum for a while now and have requested and given information. But I have to say it was fun reading your DIY post. It was great to see another BMW owner with a sence of humor made a informative, interesting and correct DIY with no B.S. for the average Joe that can turn a wrench. Im a professional but like to get my hands dirty once in a while. My wife and I have 5 children together from 20 to 5 years old. My 16 year old son has a 2001 V-8 Dodge Dakota and we installed a high preformance shift kit in his truck's ATF the same way. It also took longer than we planned but we had fun and he was proud of himself upon completing the project. I have a 2001 530i Sport with almost 80,000 miles on it. I was interested in changing the fluid myself. I have read all of the post from, DON'T EVER CHANGE YOUR FLUID OR YOU"LL BE SORRY!!!!!!! to the guys that change their fluid every 30,000 miles with a mixture of synthetic Dom Perignon Champagne, Perrier water and some fluid that leaked from a UFO at AREA 51, OEM speck of course. I may attempt this instead of adding a new wing at my BMW dealaeship with a service visit so I can keep my kids in Cathloic School. I must agree that the engine running while your under the jack stands sounds like fun. It's funny because when I was 17 years old I would have never thought twice about it. Then it would have been cool:bigpimp:. Also the fact that you have to repeat the process twice sucks. But makes total sence due to the fact that the non OEM filter takes out all the sludge that could hurt the tranny later. Thanks, and Take Care, James.

P.S. I'd give some hints to the family that you want Santa to leave a professional heavy duity floor jack under the tree for Christmas.:thumbup:

[chivas]

can you add it to the FAQ and the DIY link above? thanks!

[jvcajita]

can you add it to the FAQ and the DIY link above? thanks!

dan, am i gonna get penalized for posting thrice?

- jo

[jvcajita]

I have been on this forum for a while now and have requested and given information. But I have to say it was fun reading your DIY post. It was great to see another BMW owner with a sence of humor made a informative, interesting and correct DIY with no B.S. for the average Joe that can turn a wrench. Im a professional but like to get my hands dirty once in a while. My wife and I have 5 children together from 20 to 5 years old. My 16 year old son has a 2001 V-8 Dodge Dakota and we installed a high preformance shift kit in his truck's ATF the same way. It also took longer than we planned but we had fun and he was proud of himself upon completing the project. I have a 2001 530i Sport with almost 80,000 miles on it. I was interested in changing the fluid myself. I have read all of the post from, DON'T EVER CHANGE YOUR FLUID OR YOU"LL BE SORRY!!!!!!! to the guys that change their fluid every 30,000 miles with a mixture of synthetic Dom Perignon Champagne, Perrier water and some fluid that leaked from a UFO at AREA 51, OEM speck of course. I may attempt this instead of adding a new wing at my BMW dealaeship with a service visit so I can keep my kids in Cathloic School. I must agree that the engine running while your under the jack stands sounds like fun. It's funny because when I was 17 years old I would have never thought twice about it. Then it would have been cool:bigpimp:. Also the fact that you have to repeat the process twice sucks. But makes total sence due to the fact that the non OEM filter takes out all the sludge that could hurt the tranny later. Thanks, and Take Care, James.

P.S. I'd give some hints to the family that you want Santa to leave a professional heavy duity floor jack under the tree for Christmas.:thumbup:

this is the reason why i have fun documenting the things i do for my car. i want to let people know that guys who work at the dealership isn't only about stealing people's money (lol!)...i do like sharing to the average joe's out there. by the way, my name really is jo. +1 on working with your kid on cars. working on cars is somewhat heroic =P...seriously though, once done, you feel like your on top of the world, right? at an early age of 2 1/2, i have my son with me when working on my car. i want him to get familiar with stuff. just like last night, i asked him to pass me the flathead (of course i pointed it out) and he handed it to me. you should see him wash the car, lol..

as for doing it twice, reason why one would do that is because you want to take more old fluid. apparently according to another poster, that this is isn't necessary...(refering to B767capt's post). But then again, i don't mind doing this again as long as i have a decent floor jack within the next 1000 miles =P...as for the family buying this for me, yeah right! it's still gonna come the allowance money i give my wife, lol...

[Artiasn]

The best part about washing the car with my 5 year old daughter is that it gets washed about three times per each car wash. Once I get done with one side she is already on the other with the soap. As soon as I rinse the side that we washed she goes back to the other side that we just finished. This can go on for about three times around the car until she gets tired.

After I let my 16 year old son drive the BMW he now wants to replace his stock brakes, calipers and rotors with higer preformance ones. That's our next project. We installed a cut out on his exhaust and ran the 1/4 mile at Firebird race way here in Phoenix at a Dodge truck meet a few months ago. He ran in the low 14's and now he has a benchmark before he starts his mods. He removed his intake manifold and polished the interior and installed a free flow air intake. He also installed shift software for his tranny. He's got the bug for sure.

I saw that you have the staggered wheel set up. And it looks like you lowered your suspension. If so, are parking curbs a problem for your front bumper. I currently am running staggered BMW 10 spoke wheels with Falken FK452's 275/35ZR18's rear and 245/40ZR18's front. I would like the front tires and rims to set the same distance from the outside fender as the rear tires. I have been online to a few sites that have wheel spacers just for BMW's but I was worried about additional stress on my front bearings and screwing up the front end geometry. Do you know of anyone that has used wheel spacers?

[jvcajita]

The best part about washing the car with my 5 year old daughter is that it gets washed about three times per each car wash. Once I get done with one side she is already on the other with the soap. As soon as I rinse the side that we washed she goes back to the other side that we just finished. This can go on for about three times around the car until she gets tired.

After I let my 16 year old son drive the BMW he now wants to replace his stock brakes, calipers and rotors with higer preformance ones. That's our next project. We installed a cut out on his exhaust and ran the 1/4 mile at Firebird race way here in Phoenix at a Dodge truck meet a few months ago. He ran in the low 14's and now he has a benchmark before he starts his mods. He removed his intake manifold and polished the interior and installed a free flow air intake. He also installed shift software for his tranny. He's got the bug for sure.

I saw that you have the staggered wheel set up. And it looks like you lowered your suspension. If so, are parking curbs a problem for your front bumper. I currently am running staggered BMW 10 spoke wheels with Falken FK452's 275/35ZR18's rear and 245/40ZR18's front. I would like the front tires and rims to set the same distance from the outside fender as the rear tires. I have been online to a few sites that have wheel spacers just for BMW's but I was worried about additional stress on my front bearings and screwing up the front end geometry. Do you know of anyone that has used wheel spacers?

you're son definitely has the bug!

yes i have the staggered setup and no i have not lowered the car. i have the sport package suspension and im running the stock air suspension in the rear. getting the right lowering kit for this car is still a mystery to me. with this setup, my bumper will hit the parking curb (not yet)...my wife has rashed my rear right wheel just this week. as for using spacers, i'm actually opposed to it sir. never had i a good ride/comfort experience with spacers. with spacers, you shake on certain speed ranges. so yes, itll mess up your "front end geometry."

[chivas]

dan, am i gonna get penalized for posting thrice?

- jo
i'm not a mod so i say GO FOR EEETTT!! YOU CAN DO EEETTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!

[Artiasn]

I must say that one my guilty pleasures is the movie Water Boy. "Don't let me catch you playen no fooze ball boy, you hear me now !" Thanks for the info guys. I'm going to snap some pics of my car in the near future to post. I did some minor body mods. Ya know the standard bolt on rear wing that's three sizes larger than the trunk lid!!!!!! Then I glued a bunch of M5 badges all over the place. Ya know, That kind of stuff.

The air suspension in the rear makes sense due to the fact that it's a wagon. That helps when your loading two pallats of stone pavers into the rear or your Bimmer at Home Depot. Don't laugh, I've seen it done or at least tried. Have fun with your two year old. They grow up real fast. Take Care , James.

[bmwm3coupe]

Good job!

For those with a 540i, here is my own ATF service:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=238077

[jvcajita]

Good job!

For those with a 540i, here is my own ATF service:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=238077

lol, as mentioned on the first thread "i've seen many write ups on e46's and 540i atf flushing, but none for the inline 6 528 automatic." but then again i should edit my title of this thread though huh?

[bmwm3coupe]

lol, as mentioned on the first thread "i've seen many write ups on e46's and 540i atf flushing, but none for the inline 6 528 automatic." but then again i should edit my title of this thread though huh?

Oops - missed that part. No worries. We are sharing how/what to do - anyone that opens this thread will know what to do to their E39 :thumbup:

[la528it]

lol, as mentioned on the first thread "i've seen many write ups on e46's and 540i atf flushing, but none for the inline 6 528 automatic." but then again i should edit my title of this thread though huh?

Damn dude, I wish I could have been there to watch the whole thing and lend a hand. I'm mildly eager to do mine sometime soon, though since moving to West LA I lost my garage :(

At any rate, I'm going to try and do a DIY on this damn starter switch this afternoon, thanks for the encouragement!

[jvcajita]

Damn dude, I wish I could have been there to watch the whole thing and lend a hand. I'm mildly eager to do mine sometime soon, though since moving to West LA I lost my garage :(

At any rate, I'm going to try and do a DIY on this damn starter switch this afternoon, thanks for the encouragement!

richard, if you want, we can do both yours and mine (my 1000 mile mark) together? pm me ur #.

[jvcajita]

Oops - missed that part. No worries. We are sharing how/what to do - anyone that opens this thread will know what to do to their E39 :thumbup:

exactly sir!!! =)

[jj4302]

Great write up! How much ATF does the trans hold? If I do this, do I have to buy that big ass jug of ATF (for who knows how much since I don't get the "discount") twice - once for each change? Or is the 20l enough to do it twice?

[bmwm3coupe]

Great write up! How much ATF does the trans hold? If I do this, do I have to buy that big ass jug of ATF (for who knows how much since I don't get the "discount") twice - once for each change? Or is the 20l enough to do it twice?
Each tranny is a little bit different, so I can only tell you what the 5HP20 in the 540 holds:
1) about 9-10 Quarts, if you can get "all" of it, including the stuff inside the torque converter

2) about 4-5 Quarts if you do only the "drop-pan" and filter change. This you would have to do at least 2-3 times to get most of the old fluid out.

[jj4302]

Each tranny is a little bit different, so I can only tell you what the 5HP20 in the 540 holds:
1) about 9-10 Quarts, if you can get "all" of it, including the stuff inside the torque converter

2) about 4-5 Quarts if you do only the "drop-pan" and filter change. This you would have to do at least 2-3 times to get most of the old fluid out.


Thanks. That makes me feel better.

JJ

[jvcajita]

anyone wants my spare ATF? i'm going to be throwing it away...

[John@AstigRacing]

great write up. my car is 2000 528iA.

my filter kit came in today for my 360R. i ordered 8 qts of texaco etl 7045e and it should get here by friday --i hope. if so, i will have my hands dirty this weekend.

if you still have your extra etl 7045e, i will take it off your hands because i could use it for the 2nd drain. let me know...

john

[jvcajita]

great write up. my car is 2000 528iA.

my filter kit came in today for my 360R. i ordered 8 qts of texaco etl 7045e and it should get here by friday --i hope. if so, i will have my hands dirty this weekend.

if you still have your extra etl 7045e, i will take it off your hands because i could use it for the 2nd drain. let me know...

john

good luck on the flushing! =)...sorry i can't offer my spare 7045e though...turbobladz got it already...

[LickittySplit]

I have an 02 530 and 00 323 and they both need to have the trans fluid changed. I have a few questions for all who have done this.
1. How many mile have you driven after the fluid change?
2. What is the best sub for the factory ZF fluid?
3. Has anyone every used the VW fluid as a sub?

I work for a VW-Audi dealer and have access to the shop and a good discount on there fluid if it works. There is one post for a 330 about different fluids but I would love to have some first hand feed back.