E38 Transmission Fluid Change.

Well I have a 95 740i, with 90k on it. I see others saying theirs make a whirring noise for a few minutes when the car has been sitting for a while. Mine also does this, until it seems it has "warmed" up with easy driving. My assumption is a fluid change would rejuvenate the viscosity in the oil. No oil lasts forever, especially if it isn't 100% synthetic. Also, has BMW ever said what is considered to be "lifetime"? I know many cars that wouldn't live to see 100k, never mind just a tranny fluid change! Think I might get the filter kit from BMW (heard about aftermarket filter probs) and get my local indie to give it a try... will update later.

Mine has 106,000 on it and I just changed it out with Esso. New filter, too. Unhooked the return line from the cooler and started it up in park while another guy was pumping new fluid in. Let it bleed 3-4 quarts into a bucket. Shut it off and then hooked it back up, started it and put it in reverse and filled it up. Usd 12 liters Esso. Shifted fine before-shifts fine now. Had him reset the 'adaptive memory'. Particulate matter-however small--isn't good for valve body assemblies. Do it.

I have a 1998 750iL with 111000 miles and did not change fluid yet, but about a month ago transmission started whining. It shifts smooth. No slipping at all. Mechanic said it's gonna be the front pump. Another person from transmission shop told me the filter is full of particles and it is restricting the flow of the fluid which causes the whining. Not sure who to believe.

I really take care of the transmission. I always shift it to lower gear on every hill and never really accelerate hard. Triple digit speeds weekly though.

I will service the transmission this week. Most likely use the Esso fluid and definitely the FILTRAN fliter.

My 2001 740i has never had it changes and it has 138,000 miles. It runs smooth as silk...can hardly feel it shift

I own a '95 740il with 104,00 miles and drive it kinda hard (sport mode) and have no signs of tranny problems. The way I see it is if ain't broke don't mess with it.

My question about this is what does BMW consider a "lifetime"?? My car shifts great, but has 102k miles on it now... I do occasionally see a "hard" shift in the same part of my commute home, right as I pull off the interstate after a 35 mile trip, 1 mile from the house going over the same bridge, it is slightly sloped and the car does a slightly noticeable hard shift.. My wife says Im crazy because her xterra shifts harder in all gears...lol

My 2000 740il has about 168k on it and the transmission still shifts smooth. The car does slip while in reverse sometimes and once failed to go into reverse all together (yikes). I'm thinking that it might be the transmission valve body so I'm thinking of doing a fluid change as one last hailmary before I decide to rebuild.

if i dont do the work myself, i will be spending roughly $110 on 4 litres of Esso, and about $140 for the labor. the filter isnt going to be much at all though, maybe $50 if even that. i'm still considering it, but am still weary of doing it at 115000 miles.

To change the auto oil you will need to get the car wheel free and LEVEL first, This can be very dangerous on the ground unless you can support the car with four heavy duty axle stands and you need two large trolley jacks to do this, Next with the Engine stopped undo the large hexaganal recessed sump plug from the gearbox and oil will run out and then undo the sump retaining bolts and remove the sump be warned a lot of oil will come out and MAKE SURE THAT YOU DO THIS SECTION WITH THE OIL COLD OTHERWISE YOU WILL SCOULD YOURSELF SO BE WARNED. Then replace the filter, Now the very hard part, You need to be able to pump oil up into the recessed sump plug hole buy using some type of oil pump and fill it until oil runs out, Then you must start the engine and run the car in drive wheel free ( rear wheels must be turning with parking brake off ) and keep on topping up as before until oil starts to run out of the recessed filler, You must get the auto oil up to normal running temperature and then replace the sump plug with a new washer. You can buy a complete kit from BMW.
I'm a semi retired bmw specialist with forty years experience and I'm not happy with long life oil and I feel that it should be changed at 100'000 miles and I do not believe indies saying leave it alone and that particulates are ok for the auto box. Peter Newman

same feelings here. clutch shavings from the auto box are really bad for the hydrolic system. i know that wears away the internals that have high tolerances, which is usually the cause of transmission failures.

i think i will be having my indy mechanic do the work for me in the near future as i saw him doing the exact procedure on a 745i. i'd rather just let someone else do it and not worry about making a mess. would be so easy if i had a lift, but i dont work in a shop. i may be getting the Esso for less than i had originally though too, as i will get a commercial discount. only problem i can think of is what to put it in, they have it in a drum. so i need to find a container that will hold 4 liters or more. maybe my mechanic will be able to help me out with that though.

i would just feel better knowing that i have had the tranmission serviced. i already have had experiences replacing transmissions in my other cars that werent serviced soon enough and failed missureably.

95 E38 changed at 70K now at 74K runs like a raped Ape Fluid will get old and burn.liftime no change is BMW's way of saying don't change it under the original 50K mile warranty. Your car is no different then any other car when it comes to fluids they have to be changed they get HOT and burn and break down like any other. Also change your power steering fluid and filter!

For the guys who say their transmission whines - I'd advise to get it checked out. Mine started whining and shortly afterwards developed a leak. Had it serviced at ~112,000 miles and all was fine again.

Originally Posted by e38cruiser

Your car is no different then any other car when it comes to fluids they have to be changed they get HOT and burn and break down like any other. Also change your power steering fluid and filter!

well said. puts in into perspecitive. its as if the dealerships have brainwashed us to believe that our cars dont require service on the tranny and diff fluids. kind of like they used the "lifetime" fluid claim to fool us into neglecting the trans and end up needing a replacement!

Yep if it wasn't meant to be changed they wouldn't sell the filter and fluid. Just the fact that it has a changable filter tells one that it was meant to be changed. Do the maintenance on your cars and keep them rolling the E38 is a beautiful ride

Originally Posted by e38cruiser

Yep if it wasn't meant to be changed they wouldn't sell the filter and fluid. Just the fact that it has a changable filter tells one that it was meant to be changed. Do the maintenance on your cars and keep them rolling the E38 is a beautiful ride

Exactley what I was thinking. If it didnt need to be changed there would be no need for replacmetn sh*t. Another pm task on the list

OK, so mine has 73000 miles and shift hard the first time when cold. Otherwise works perfect and I have put 3000 miles on it in the last 2 wks. Already have change kit and plan to change it as soon as I can it it still long enough.

Originally Posted by meteck

OK, so mine has 73000 miles and shift hard the first time when cold. Otherwise works perfect and I have put 3000 miles on it in the last 2 wks. Already have change kit and plan to change it as soon as I can it it still long enough.

95-99 e38's need to warm up! Temp needle almost out of the blue and the car shifts fine there is nothing wrong with your car. I forget what the switch is called but it is supposed to do that at start up.
DO change fluid and filter with the right stuff and feel the differance the car even idols better. Also if you have a mesh strainer on your power steering reservoir you need to change the filter at the bottom of this reservior and fluid

Cool, thanks. I'll check that strainer.

I finally had my transmission serviced since my last post. My indie replaced filter with OEM parts, and found an equivalent to the Esso or other oils listed on the chart for my tranny. He found a Lucas synthetic oil product that worked. Before the service my transmission whined for the first few minutes of driving. After the service, it whines ALL THE TIME. The noise doesn't sound severe, but annoys me because it was less before. My mechanic found the old oil was tinted but not dirty, and no particles were floating in the pan. The transmission always shifted nicely, and still does... if not a little better.
Should I be concerned about this issue?? Or should I just drive her til she shows problems? New oil should reassure me it's ok (especially seeing that it shifts nicely, even when pushed hard)

I have an appointment on 10/15/10 to have mine serviced at BMW. Its $470. total which I think is a little high, but Id rather them do it. My car is a 98 il with 102,600 on it. I have no problems at all. When I called my service writer and asked should this be done, he said absolutely.

If by "service", you mean that they will take the pan off, replace the filter, and refill, then I would recommend it. But if you are talking about flushing the system while leaving the old filter in the tranny, I would recommed against it.

Originally Posted by balance

If by "service", you mean that they will take the pan off, replace the filter, and refill, then I would recommend it. But if you are talking about flushing the system while leaving the old filter in the tranny, I would recommed against it.

No, definitely doing the filter!

I have never seen a car that had issues with the transmission after only doing a drain and fill. I have heard of many cars that had issues after doing a flush though, so I would not recommend doing flushes on any transmission unless they were done routinely every 30k-60k miles since the car was new.

Paullydoo1, did your mechanic do a transmission flush, or a drain and fill? If he did a drain and fill by dropping the pan and changing the filter, did he use a "FILTRAN" filter?

Hey balance, my mechanic does not feel a thorough flush was a good idea either, so we did a simple drain and fill. The filter we used was ordered from B....specialist site and was ZF OEM part. I can't remember the package but Filtran rings a bell. Like I said before, the transmission shifts great, but always had a whine cold. Now it whines all the time. Do these things have a pump that wear out or could it be a shock because of new oil? I'm not too concerned since it shifts awesome otherwise, but it does seems strange.

I'm sorry paullydoo1, but I don't know much about transmissions in general. I'm not even sure if the transmission fluid pump is electrical or mechanical (probably mechanical), but I've heard both types of pumps whine when they were old or on their way out. I would try to get info from different transmission shops around town if I were you. Whether I found any useful information or not, I would probably still just keep on driving it as the whine may not be that big of a deal.