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transmission DIP STICK WHERE?

77K views 34 replies 25 participants last post by  peterkrug 
#1 ·
97 528i automatic Where is the transmission DIPSTICK don't have manual! is it the red one?
 
#8 ·
what's up everyone? Had this 540 for almost a year now. Just recently banged up the front bumper; pushed in the front spoiler on the driver's side (sad) below and left of the fog light. I need to know where to buy a new spoiler/bumber for my E39? Thanks!

:cry:
That's a little off-topic!? Thread hijack? Many vendors, including forum sponsors, seel those parts. Do a search. or, In fact start your own thread with your needs in the title and some will respond.
 
#11 ·
Consider yourself lucky we even have an oil dipstick... BMW first did away with transmission dip sticks (lifetime oil... HA), now new BMWs dont have an oil dipstick (dont need that, go to the stealer for an oil check)...

The transmission "check" is the fill plug accessed from under the car, there is a procedure for it being at a certain temp, car running, etc. the Bentley manual has a good discussion on it.
 
#15 ·
With no dipstick hard to know if you tranny fluid needs to be changed. Therefore how often are you suppose to change the tranny fluid and filter (assuming it has a filter)?

Thanks in advance for the advice.
If you drink the BMW Kool-Aid, it`s "Lifetime Fill" (which, interperted into real-world-speak, means "while covered under warranty"). A more sane interval would be every 30,000 miles or so. Some believe if it`s never been done in over 100K miles, it`s best to leave it alone. The prevailing thought seems to be "Change it regularly, or not at all". YMMV....
 
#14 ·
It's a lifetime fill. Don't replace the fluid, replace the transmission :roundel:

However, most of us prefer to replace the fluid at regular intervals. Use common sense. Sometime around ever 30-60k miles seems sensible.

It should be noted that the E60 engines are dry sump so it's impractical to have a dipstick. The oil can be checked via iDrive. Actually, a lot of the car's functions can be checked via iDrive, while on our cars it would require a trip to the stealer.
 
#27 ·
Just correcting this, but the e60 engines are NOT dry sump. only the M5 V10 is a semi dry setup, and it still has a somewhat traditional oil pan.
 
#16 ·
For the record, how to check the transmission fluid level was asked today here:
- E39 (1997 - 2003) > Transmission Fluid

How do I check the Transmission fluid level... I have looked everywhere on the engine compartment and find nothing like a transmission level... Please help. I know This might be a dumb question but Honestly i just need to know how to.
There were good answers in that thread.
 
#18 ·
For the record, this was asked today:
[/B]I had a coil change last week, the guy who did my oil change told me the ATF is very dirty. After I come home and tried to see how dirty it is, but I couldn't find the dip stick for the ATF.
I wonder how he checked it, I took his word and took my car to the European Car Specialist to drain and fill the ATF today and will pick up tomorrow afternoon, which costs me $362.00. It included drain all ATF as much as they could, replace the Filter & Gasket, Clean up the ATF Pan, they will approximately use 8 quarts of ATF.

First of all, could someone please tell me where I should check the ATF,
Second, you guy think it is reasonable to pay$362 to do this job.

P.
 
#20 ·
For reference, today someone was looking for a transmission dipstick retrofit DIY, over here:
> E39 (1997 - 2003) > E39 trans dipstick
Ik that they dont have one and the procedure for checking and changing the fluid has been overkilled on here. Im wondering dose anyone make an aftermarket dipstick that i can add or has anyone tried to make there own
 
#21 ·
There is a good discussion today about how temperature affects the transmission fill level ...
> E39 (1997 - 2003) > Trans fluid level checked hot and cold

  1. Vehicle level
  2. Engine running
  3. Transmission temp between 30 and 50 degrees C.
  4. Turn on A/C
  5. Engage parking brake and press hard on the brake pedal
  6. Move through each gear, pausing momentarily in each gear
  7. Put the transmission in Park
  8. Remove the filler plug (a small stream of oil should spill)
  9. Replace the filler plug
  10. Turn off engine
 

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#25 ·
cars with no dipstick require you to crawl under the car and tap the bottom of the transmission, if it's a hollow sound...transmission needs oil, if a solid sound...transmission oil is full! :rofl:
 
#28 ·
This forum is littered w/ tranny, dipstick, and ATF threads. A little searching will tell you what you need. I know this because I recently suffered an auto tranny fail and I found many answers here.
Fast Bob is correct. BMW sold them as lifetime fluid, but the prevailing thought is to change every XXX miles. I got 256K on lifetime ATF and I'm now replacing the tranny.
There is no ATF dipstick, so use Bluebee's post. Warm up the car, crawl underneath, unscrew the top plug, and see what trickles out. The car will do strange things when it's low. Not sure what it does if there is too much, but that's physically harder to accomplish. Again, search.
If you have low mileage, consider an ATF drain and refill now. Otherwise, leave it alone until she dies.
PS. I have a 97 528i, too. Built 11/96.
 
#31 ·
One theory I've heard is when dumping old transmission fluid one can send little bits of debris throughout the transmission. These bits were sitting quietly for 100,000 miles, but now get disturbed and move about causing issues. Though I have heard otherwise with newer transmissions. I change mine about every 40,000ish.
 
#30 ·
I bought mine at 209k, now I'm at 233k+ and I never changed or drained my ATF, I only top'd her up a few times (2) since I had her (exactly 1 year)

Only weird thing I've noticed is when I mash on the peddle to do a quick acceleration from 1st gear - 2nd gear it jerks with torque. Im not sure if that's a sign of transmission failing or if that's the tires gripping the ground but the car runs awesome....
 
#34 ·
My '99 528i (owned since '04) threw a "Transmission Error Code" while my niece was driving the car a month ago. When I got to the car the next day, no error was showing and the tranny was functioning normally. As noted previously in this thread, there is no tranny dipstick in the E39 - in order to check tranny fluid level and fluid condition, you must get under the car and remove the drain plug. If you have access to a lift, awesome, if not, you need to use either ramps or jack & stands. Ideally, you want to raise the car at least 2 feet off the ground unless you're really skinny. :p

Since my car has 262,000 miles on the odometer and I can't remember if and when the transmission fluid was last replaced, I decided to do a fluid and filter change. The process involves sucking out as much ATF as possible and then removing the tranny pan as this is the only way to replace the filter. Good news is most tranny filter replacement kits come with a new pan gasket. After the tranny service, the shifts seem much quicker and after almost 1,500 miles, no apparent problems have popped up. Keep in mind that when I removed the tranny pan, I took the time to get it squeaky clean. It was pretty ugly in there when I first pulled it out. This clean up obviates the problem of shavings and other gunk on the bottom of the pan ending up recirculating back into the transmission gears. Bottom line, if you replace the ATF, you MUST replace the filter as well.

My other two cars are a '99 740iL/ODO 122k (donated by my parents who decided they needed a Buick :rofl:) and an '84 528e/ODO 168k (purchased in '91 :thumbup:). Out of the three, the '84 has required the least amount of maintenance, but then again, it is a much simpler car. None of my Bimmers have had any significant transmission problems after a combined 500,000 miles. But oil leaks, that's an entirely different story :mad:
 
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