I just bought a 1995 525it wagon with 138,000 miles that I drove back from Kentucky to New Jersey. I am going to a BMW independent mechanic tommorrow to get the oil changed, coolant flushed, and a new thermostat put in. My question is do I change the transmission fluid or leave it alone. I always hear mixed answers on this question. Some people say leave it alone or you might open a can of worms where others say it is ok. The tranny is shifting smoothly, however, I don't think the previous owner ever changed the fluid. I know these GM transmissions were the weak point of this car and is a transmission fluid change expensive? Let me know...Hutch

I have my trany drained and replace fluid and filter every 30,000 miles by Motorsports of Lexington. I started doing this at 80,000 miles (first fluid change) when I purchased the car. My last fill was with Castron Dexron VI. To date, have had not trany problems. I now have 153,000 miles on the car. Also, do you have any records of the fluid/filter every being changed. Hope this is helpful.

BTW, where did you buy the car in KY.

I bought it from a guy named Heinz who lived on a farm.. He actually got his car serviced at Motorsports. I got all the records and none of them said he changed the tranny fluid. He bought the car at 75,000 miles and now it has 138,000. Should I change it and how much does it cost to change it? I heared it might be kind of costly... H

It costs about $150 or so to remove the pans, drain the trany, blow out the trany cooler and refill with a quality fluid. If it was mine, I would simply change the fluid and filter. I WOULD NOT flush the system. I am concerned that a flush would dislodge gunk.

Is this car Black? I think I saw it for sale on Motorsports bulletin board.

Yeah, It is black.. Hopefully, I bought a good car.. You didn't hear anything weird, did you? H

Well the tranny is designed to be a lifetime tranny, i.e. no flushes. I flushed my tranny two weeks agai because i had a leaky seal. I have not yet had a problem. If the tranny seems fine, i would just leave it, but if it starts shifting hard, i would replace the fluid, seal, and filter. It should run smooth again, like mine did.

change fluid before there is a problem. once you have problem it is far too late to save the tranny.

Well the tranny is designed to be a lifetime tranny, i.e. no flushes. I flushed my tranny two weeks agai because i had a leaky seal. I have not yet had a problem. If the tranny seems fine, i would just leave it, but if it starts shifting hard, i would replace the fluid, seal, and filter. It should run smooth again, like mine did.

525i does not have the same trany as the 540i and it is not lifetime fluid. The gm 4-speed auto uses Dexron II, superceded by III and now VI.

Yeah, It is black.. Hopefully, I bought a good car.. You didn't hear anything weird, did you? H

Heard nothing. In fact, I started to check out the car. You might call Kurt (owner) at Motorsports 859-259-2901 and double check the possibility of a trany fluid change. You might also check with BMW of North America to find out who was the orignal selling/servicing dealer. Some dealers will provide history.

Cool, Thanks guys, I will change the tranny fluid and filter. If I am going to a independent BMW and Mercedes mechanic, will he have the parts or do you think he will have to order the tranny filter and I will have to come back another day? H

525i does not have the same trany as the 540i and it is not lifetime fluid. The gm 4-speed auto uses Dexron II, superceded by III and now VI.

oh well in that case i would flush it ever 30,000miles.

I would also buy my own parts. Otherwise call in early, tell them what you want to do, and they should be able to get the parts in within a day or two, if not a few hours

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I would also buy my own parts. Otherwise call in early, tell them what you want to do, and they should be able to get the parts in within a day or two, if not a few hours

Do you bring your own food to a restaurant and have the chef cook it?

About the same...

Just basing off personal experience.

Just basing off personal experience.

Mechanics hate that!

Mechanics hate that!

Not all do. The ones that rip you off by buying the same part from the same place you do and then charge you more for it do.

what, my mechanic either a) orders parts, and i pay for them when he gets them, and it takes either an hour, or a day. or b) i go to his parts dealer and buy them myself, and have him do it. Personal experience....

Mechanics hate that!

Well it depends on who/what the shop is, and who/where the customer is getting the parts from.

We never had much mark up on parts, abotu what you could get them for from the internet partshouses...
the ones we hated were the ones that would bring in autozone parts, offbrand parts or junkyard parts of questionable serviceability... or the ones that would order the wrong parts/not bring in parts and leave us with a disassembled car taking up space because something went sour.
the ones that always brought in OEM parts or known GOOD parts and always ordered the right ones, were never a problem.

well i guess it's diffrent, because i really havnt done anything at the shop that if i screwed up would render my car driveless

If you ordered the wrong filter for the auto for example, or got a misboxed part... We'd be stuck with it half disassembled until you arranged to return the wring part and hvethe new one shipped, if it was our parts fault then we have no one to blame but the part supplier, and can get them to overnight the correct one.

well see i use the same parts supplier that my mechanic does, and he is literaly up the street. But yea, i see your point

If you ordered the wrong filter for the auto for example, or got a misboxed part... We'd be stuck with it half disassembled until you arranged to return the wring part and hvethe new one shipped, if it was our parts fault then we have no one to blame but the part supplier, and can get them to overnight the correct one.

That's what I'm saying, plus my guy marks up parts by about 5%, maybe less. I'm cool with it...he's $65/hr. and goes by how long it will take him, not by a B.S. book.

I've brought him my parts without problems, except for when I ordered the wrong pulley...he simply rebuilt mine.

Other shops hate when I bring in parts.

Mechanics here raise their rates by $20 per hour if you bring your own parts, and they will not warranty the work. So basically they recoup any lost profit by not selling parts via their labor costs. I don't like that mechanics wont let you bring your own parts usually. Any shop that is open to letting you bring your own parts is a nice shop imo, and it seems rare.

A tranny gasket/fluid/filter change is an easy dirty job. I'd do it myself if I were you, just don't strip the bolts when putting them back on. Get the book for your car before doing it too. The kit is $25+s/h through www.autohausaz.com.

It costs about $150 or so to remove the pans, drain the trany, blow out the trany cooler and refill with a quality fluid. If it was mine, I would simply change the fluid and filter. I WOULD NOT flush the system. I am concerned that a flush would dislodge gunk.

What exactly does "flush" mean in this context? Do people blow fluid through the system or what? I just drained the fluid, replaced the gaskets and seal, and put it back together. Did I do a "flush"?

What exactly does "flush" mean in this context? Do people blow fluid through the system or what? I just drained the fluid, replaced the gaskets and seal, and put it back together. Did I do a "flush"?
In this context, a flush means hooking the trany up to a machine rhat "exchanges" all the fluid. Some people believe this will dislodge small chunks of debris that can clog small passages. My shop only blows air through the trany cooler. They disconnect the lines and blow out the old fluid. Does not blow air through the trany. It just removes more trany fluid. IMO, you did not do a flush. Just a drain and fill.

Do you bring your own food to a restaurant and have the chef cook it?

About the same...

No I don't bring food to a restaurant and have the chef cook it, but I been to a steak house where they charge extra for the chef to cook it if you didn't want to cook it yourself.

.....the ones we hated were the ones that would bring in autozone parts, offbrand parts or junkyard parts of questionable serviceability...

Well at least you didn't mention Pep Girl, that were I get my parts for my BMUU.

No I don't bring food to a restaurant and have the chef cook it, but I been to a steak house where they charge extra for the chef to cook it if you didn't want to cook it yourself.

Me too. What a blast. "The Grate Steak" in Norfolk Va.