Oil Pan Filter Kit for Automatic Transmissions e90

[DieselFan]

Ah bmws infamous life time oil saga.

Sclass I agree you will get different arguments for either side. And what you have to decide is do you change the oil and run the risk of your box breaking from the oil change which from what I can tell is a rare occurrence. Or do you wait and have the box break and endure a full recon?

I read that even if the oil looks ok that the additives could have already been used up and past their lifetime.

My mechs have never had a gearbox break from an oil change. So for me I will change the oil.

 

[Blue Shirt]

I fail to see how new oil can break a gearbox unless you are putting in an incorrect oil.

If you use the correctly specified oil, how on God's green earth can new oil be bad for a gearbox?

Furthermore, there is no such thing as "lifetime" oil. If you never change the oil, it will last until the gearbox breaks at the end of its lifetime because the oil went bad. This is completely BS logic.

 

[DieselFan]

I fail to see how new oil can break a gearbox unless you are putting in an incorrect oil.

If you use the correctly specified oil, how on God's green earth can new oil be bad for a gearbox?

Furthermore, there is no such thing as "lifetime" oil. If you never change the oil, it will last until the gearbox breaks at the end of its lifetime because the oil went bad. This is completely BS logic.

Supposedly when you drain the oil, bits of sludge or something can cause blockages.

 

[Blue Shirt]

If the sludge is already in the old oil, why does it not cause blockages while the old oil is being pumped around the gearbox? Again, this logic does not make sense to me.

 

[akash]

I was thinking off a theory here, I’m in no way a mechanic.

But, could the clearance of the components within the gearbox that are in contact with each other increase over time due to friction, expansion and contraction, etc.

The old thicker old aids in reducing the friction (in some way compensating for the change in clearance (filling in the wider gaps between moving parts in contact with each other a they wear over time).

Replacing the oil with fresh oil which is now thinner, is not able to sort of “fill in the gaps” and reduced the friction.

Not sure if that makes any sense.

 

[DieselFan]

If the sludge is already in the old oil, why does it not cause blockages while the old oil is being pumped around the gearbox? Again, this logic does not make sense to me.

Probably because oil contains detergents and breaks down the sludge stuck on components in the gearbox. But i don't know I'm just brainstorming here.

 

[Kish2604]

the problem were gearbox oil changes were followed by gearbox failures were when the oil changes were not done as preventative maintainence but to cure erratic behaviour... by then the gearbox is too far gone to save it goes poof...

 

[DieselFan]

the problem were gearbox oil changes were followed by gearbox failures were when the oil changes were not done as preventative maintainence but to cure erratic behaviour... by then the gearbox is too far gone to save it goes poof...

Most likely but ZF said that they do not recommend it as it can break the box. Their words not mine.

 

[sclass]

This a tough one, and if you go onto US forums you'll never come away with a definitive answer. How is it that those guys experience 100 times the problems of anybody else...?!

@ChefDj Rebuild on a ZF unit will run to around R30k....this is at ZF.

This turning out to be a catch 22 because an oil change is not recommended on a young car (<7 yrs) yet if you wait it may be too late by the time you do...also doesn't help that BMW and ZF give conflicting advice.
I still feel that if one can afford to do so on the older cars, get it reconned by ZF and don't worry about it again.

I'm sure glad I drive a 6 speed manual now lol!!

 

[akash]

This a tough one, and if you go onto US forums you'll never come away with a definitive answer. How is it that those guys experience 100 times the problems of anybody else...?!

@ChefDj Rebuild on a ZF unit will run to around R30k....this is at ZF.

This turning out to be a catch 22 because an oil change is not recommended on a young car (<7 yrs) yet if you wait it may be too late by the time you do...also doesn't help that BMW and ZF give conflicting advice.
I still feel that if one can afford to do so on the older cars, get it reconned by ZF and don't worry about it again.

I'm sure glad I drive a 6 speed manual now lol!!

Its like a case of "Damned if you do and damned if you don't"

 

[Jeremy]

Well im no mech or expert but i can tell you of a story with my Dads mercedes, the gearbox sump also started leaking and he attended to it too late and the box died, the mech who was repairing it also said that if we had attended to it earlier, all that we would needed to do was change that sump and top up the oil, because if you change the oil it may be disastrous, but we ended up redoing the whole box because of not being careful, so just keep an eye on the box's fluid levels guys.

 

[ChefDJ]

30k??? :flyfun:

 

[KarshS]

Is there a way to check gearbox oil level?

my gear changes have become somewhat harsh and feels like its slipping on lower gears

might be too late ?

 

[sclass]

Is there a way to check gearbox oil level?

my gear changes have become somewhat harsh and feels like its slipping on lower gears

might be too late ?

In your case it's probably gearbox adaptations, should be rectified with an update or such, I'm sure other members have done this and will be in a better position to comment. I believe your 'box is good for 600nm, it should run forever on STOCK power

 

[Executer]

Changing oil on these boxes is beneficial...but there's reason to the "if it aint broke don't fix it" answer people give. A gearbix fluid chabge MUST be accompanied by a Gearbox adaptation reset, and not the one where you put your foot in the acellerator for 30sec. Thats got nothing to do with the gearbox, its throttle adaptations. ...Your gearbox is sensitive to changes in viscosity of the oil, hence without a reset, or the wrong oil...it will behave erratic and probably eventually prematurely fail. Also, with every gearbox fluid change you risk metal shavings being loosened from the magnet and rest of the boxes nooks and crannys that can cause catastrophic failure. Nobody will say dont do it...it will improve longevity if done right....just know the risks and how to best avoid them.

 

[Nikhil]

Alot of the comments are based on speculation im going to get an oil service done on my E46 Auto transmission and will report back. :thumbs:

 

[Silverbird_96kw]

My car will be going friday to JSN Bmw, only getting new sump with filter, gasket and sleeve kit done, old oil will be used again and then just topped up.

 

[DieselFan]

Why are you sending to bmw may I ask? And what are they charging you for parts and labour?

 

[Silverbird_96kw]

Why are you sending to bmw may I ask? And what are they charging you for parts and labour?

One of my friends work there.

I got a price on the sump kit for 3000 and the sleeve kit 185, i dont want just anyone to do the sump, also thought that if i take it to bmw im sure they know what they doing and its around the corner from me

 

[DieselFan]

I'm glad you have confidence in bmw. If you were really worried about having someone do it properly you should take it to ZF.