E46 ZF Automatic Transmission ATF Fluid & Filter Change DIY

So, a 1999 E46 with the "GREEN" label tranny. Which fluid is recomended besides the oem stuff? I like to do this tranny maitenance as well. Thanks in advance.

Lou.

I've got 1000 miles on the new fluid, no problems except for a minor one.

I noticed some fluid seepage. Turned out the pan bolts loosened up some. Most likely caused by heat cycles. I tightened them up. Should do the job.

I now have a little bit over 5K miles on the MaxLife - everything still perfect

OK, got the oil at dealer for $8.00 a liter. According to the guy at the counter I need 7 lt for a pan drop. He missed by one more (8.lt), so I use a full quart of DEXRON 6.
I have the GM green label transaxle.........SO far so good a week later.

Lou.

Flushed my transmission on my 2001 325i with 115k on the original fluid today. The fluid wasn't as bad as I thought it might be but it was definitely in need of replacing. Other than one stripped Torx bolt and a little bit of tool hunting, all went smoothly. I refilled it with a little less than 6.5 L of the Pentosin ATF fluid from here. http://www.worldimpex.com/parts/pent...in_249116.html
Seems to be shifting smoother already, hopefully it stays that way.

I just changed the ATF. It shifts much nicer now, but the car is idling with a different pitch. She sounds different. I am not sure if this is normal. Has anybody else noticed a change in sound after the ATF change? I also changed the differential fluid.
I put in almost 6 quarts of ATF. (is the noise because of an incorrect fluid level?)
I put in about .7 quart of gear oil in the diff.

Now I have a fluid leak.
When originally I put the pan bolts on I did not have a torque wrench and I developed a small leak.
I checked the bolts with a torque wrench and found I was at about 3 ft/lbs so I tightened them to 7 ft/lbs, (I thought I was going to break or strip one). The small leak stopped for about a week, then started a small leak again.
I checked and found them loose again, so I removed them, applied lock tight and torqued to 7 lbs.
That lasted about one week, with no leaks, until a large leak formed.
Now I've got a new gasket and will replace it with lock tight and proper torque settings from the start.
All I need to do now is find the time between working and completing a home bath remodel.

Any suggestions?

I've had issues with leaks but I could never tell for sure where they were coming from. I used the Elring-Klinger brand gasket last time as opposed of the ZF OEM. The E-K was the same shape but in rubber instead of the thin green material of the ZF. It seems to be holding without leaks, so I ordered another. Pelican Parts of AutohausAZ both have great prices on gaskets.

For the next time I do a fluid change I've purchased button head cap screws in stainless steel with hex heads instead of torx, washers, and lockwashers from McMaster-Carr. I've had enough of stripping the aluminum screws and as long as you use a torquewrench you'll avoid stripping anything in the transmission housing.

so i should have put in about 6.5qts and not less than 6? is that why i am getting a 'whine' noise from the bottom of the car?

You should put in whatever is required to cause overflow when the car is running in neutral. If you did the procedure correctly and the fluid was at the correct temperature, then 6 is the right number. You can always put it up on jackstands, get it in neutral, then open the fill plug. If it needs more, add it.

Originally Posted by Torquewrench

You should put in whatever is required to cause overflow when the car is running in neutral. If you did the procedure correctly and the fluid was at the correct temperature, then 6 is the right number. You can always put it up on jackstands, get it in neutral, then open the fill plug. If it needs more, add it.

I thought it was warm enough. Now I am not too sure because of the noise. It is high pitched and doesn't sound like it used to. Also, most people seem to say they added about 6.5 quarts.
Did the sound of your car change at all? I think it is coming from the tranny. I plan on getting under it tonight after work. It drives great though.

Like Torquewrench stated, the key is to follow the "correct" fluid check/procedure for your tranny. The temp range for mine was between 30-50 deg C, preferably closer to 30 to get the most fluid in, and of course, the car has to be level, and running to do this check.

Will

Originally Posted by bmwm3coupe

Like Torquewrench stated, the key is to follow the "correct" fluid check/procedure for your tranny. The temp range for mine was between 30-50 deg C, preferably closer to 30 to get the most fluid in, and of course, the car has to be level, and running to do this check.

Will

I hear ya, guys. I am curious as to how you checked the temp though. Did you use a thermometer?

What I am really asking about is if you guys heard a change in the sound of your car, at idle, when you changed the ATF. I am pretty sure I did everything correctly. I didn't have a thermometer though. The pan was warm to the touch, but not hot.

My garage has a digital temp gauge, so I used it to get an indication of the temp. In my case, the garage temp was about 80F so I waited until the tranny was at room temp again before starting it back up. Then, after running for a few seconds I am already at the right temp . If your garage/car is not at the "right" temp, you can use one of those low-cost laser temp sensors and "point" the laser to the tranny case to get a temp reading.

Answering your question, no, the tranny never change its sound/behavior before/after the two full changes. If your tranny does sound different (seems like louder in your case), then yes, I still suspect something is not right.

Remember that you can always raise the car again, verify the temp, and re-do the fill-up part just to make sure. The other thing to do (if the level is alright) would be to try a different compatible fluid to see if the noise goes away.


Will

It was the differential....
The tranny is fine.

Originally Posted by shroomer

It was the differential....
The tranny is fine.

Excellent news - thanks for the update!

What fluid did you use in the diff?

Will

Originally Posted by bmwm3coupe

Excellent news - thanks for the update!

What fluid did you use in the diff?

Will

75/90 Redline
...and my car is awesome

There is some sort of obstruction in the diffy. On the end of the tube I was using there was a plastic spoutlike thingie. Because of the plastic thingie I could not put the tube all the way into the diffy. This prevented me from putting the tube far enough into the diffy, and the fluid would overflow prematurely, making me think it was full. So I just cut the plastic thingie off and put the tube in and now I have the right level....and life is good.

My question is this: I just ordered the filter kit and gasket from BavAuto. They say on their site that only 4 liters of Esso are required, but it seems from this thread that 7 is more like it. I ordered 8 to be safe. Why the large discrepancy? The BavAuto guy said that they were not getting complaints from people ordering too little of the fluid.

Maybe that's just the fluid lost from dropping the pan and filter only

That's a little confusing. If you just opened the drain plug and then filled through the fill plug I could see 4 being enough, but since they include the filter and gasket that implies dropping the pan, which in my case required ~6.5 qts. You did the right thing to order 8, I just wonder what their other customers are doing?

Originally Posted by Torquewrench

That's a little confusing. If you just opened the drain plug and then filled through the fill plug I could see 4 being enough, but since they include the filter and gasket that implies dropping the pan, which in my case required ~6.5 qts. You did the right thing to order 8, I just wonder what their other customers are doing?

Perfect answer - you took the words out of my mouth. There is no way you could just use 4 "if" you are also dropping the pan and changing the filter.

Will

I just had the fluid changed by my regular mechanic. I had ordered the kit and 8 liters of Esso fluid from Bavarian. They say that you only need 4 liters but I ordered more based on what I have read here and on other blogs.

The first problem I encountered was a phone call on Friday morning that the kit that I provided was wrong -- the gasket was too small and the filter was a different shape. A call to the local BMW parts depts was futile -- no gaskets or filters in stock. I called Bavauto. Turns out that even though I gave them my VIN, the order taker must have just ordered the kit based on the model year of the car -- 2003. The problem was that there are two kits for MY 2003 -- pre-Jan 2003 and post Jan 2003. If you call them to place an order for the kit MAKE SURE YOU SPECIFY THE VIN AND BUILD DATE OF YOUR CAR. They shipped me a new kit via UPS red and the job was completed on Monday.

The second thing really is not a problem. Turns out that Bavauto was correct about how much fluid my car would take -- 4 liters (4.5 if you include a little spillage). The mechanic measured what came out -- a bit over 4 liters (and it was pretty clean at 50,000 miles, with not too much crap in the pan, either) and put the same amount back in, tested it at the correct temp, and it was good to go. I think that some of the other posters here must have a different transmission than what is in my car. In fact, when I was calling around the BMW dealers to get the gasket and filter, I asked how much fluid my car should take and was told -- by BMW guys looking at their screens -- that it should take between 4 and 6.5 liters. Nice range, huh?

Anyway, this was just preventative maintenance and the car ran great before the fluid change and it runs great after. Based on what the fluid and pan looked like I will do this again at 100,000 miles.

Mark_325i

That is interesting that your transmission only took 4 liters with a filter change. Maybe your tranny is different.

If you look at my posting on: 12-06-2007, 09:14 PM, you'll see that my 2001 330i took 4 quarts when just draining and refilling without dropping the pan and changing the filter.

With a pan drop and filter change it took 6.5 to 7 quarts.

I recently changed the fluid and the filter. Two weeks later I drained and filled the tranny without dropping the pan and only drained about 4 quarts.
You can't drop the pan and change the filter and only need 4 quarts.
That is, with my car which is a 2001 330i.