Automatic Transmission Fluid Flushing and ATF Filter Replacement

[Jo@EuroDyne]

my car is a 2000 528iTA that has about 94K miles. my transmission has always been smooth. but since my 100K mark is fast approaching, i decided to clean out my atf. i've seen many write ups on e46's and 540i atf flushing, but none for the inline 6 528 automatic. Well here goes nothing after working from 7:30pm till 12:00am:

the following are the supplies and tools i used:

tools:
4 jack stands
1 floor jack
T-40 hex socket driver (1/2in drive)
10mm 3/8in hex socket driver (1/2in drive)
18in 1/2in drive breaker bar
12in 1/2in drive breaker bar
torque wrench
manual fluid pump
empty washer fluid container
oil pan
flat head screwdriver

supplies:
20 liters of texaco etl 7045e atf - $96 after employee discount comes out to $4.80 per liter. one liter is approximately a quart.
1 box of shop towels - $10
2 atf filter kits with gaskets (one oem - $35 and one non-oem - $25)
engine degreaser - $3
kitty litter - $0 (got a cat already who poops all the time)



the steps:
0. run the car for about 15-30 mins to warm up. the tranny must be in the temp range of 30C-50C or 85F-120F. skin temp is somewhere 85F.

1. jack the car on four stands. jack them up as high as you can since you'll be needing as much elbow room as possible. put the car on park and hand brake on.


2. with your T40 hex driver, loosen the FILL plug. its the plug that is horizontal facing the drivers side. its situated above the atf pan by the cat. make sure you have your oil pan ready. it can get really messy.


3. with the same hex driver, loosen the DRAIN plug which is on the bottom of the pan. again, have the oil pan ready.


4. as you let it drain/drip, proceed by unscrewing 20 bolts with the 10mm hex socket driver all around the atf pan. the final 4 bolts to unscrew are amongst the corners.

5. this is where i had atf splash all over my hair. beware that your pan is now simply hanging due to suction of the gasket. set the oil pan aside, but not too far. place back your DRAIN plug. carefully, loosen the sides with the flathead screwdriver serving as leverage. have the other hand be able to "catch" the pan. let the atf drain further for about 15 minutes. remember, your goal is attain a minimum of 90% new atf replacement. that's why you got to do this again in about 1000 miles!

6. the atf filter is simply hanging as well due to the o-ring suction which is located closer to the front of the car. simply tug this lightly and set on the atf pan. replace that filter with the non-oem filter by just pushing it in. try to attain some suction as well.




7. time to clean up the atf pan. take the pan out of the undercarriage and place back your oil pan to catch the dripping.


8. with your engine degreaser, spray it! use shop towels to wipe it down. there's a magnet by the top left corner. make sure you clean that thoroughly since that's gushed up with tiny metal bits. imagine if your pan didn't have this? imagine all that metal running through your tranny. ouch. wipe the whole pan in and out.




9. back to the undercarriage. remove the old gasket. with the dripping atf, slightly layer it in the atf pan. now place the new gasket the adjacent holes of the pan. this is the fun part. with your fingers, tighten back the screws. try doing this with a star pattern. once all 20 bolts are lightly screwed on, use your 10mm hex socket driver to tighten them with your torque wrench 6nm tightness. now tighten the drain plug to 35nm.


10. time to put some new fluid in! with the empty washer fluid container, pump in about 3 liters of atf from your big texaco container. while the car is on park, use the same pump with the bottom hose heading towards the fill plug. remember to have your handy oil pan nearby. finger tighten the fill plug. get in the car and start it. change gears from gears one to five, about 15 times to start having the new blood flow. make sure your foot is on the brakes =P. kill the engine and leave the car on neutral. from here on out, i stop taking pictures cuz i just had too much atf everywhere..

11. unplug the fill plug, then pump in more atf until it overflows. finger tighten the fill plug once more.

12. this might be the scariest part of the process. start the car and leave on neutral. get under the car, unplug the fill plug and pump more new blood in. stop until it overflows and finger tighten the plug. be careful to not make contact with the exhaust. put the car on park and turn off the engine.

13. torque the fill plug with 30nm of pressure.

14. make sure clean up under the car. wipe down the atf that splattered all over the place especially if it splattered on your cat/exhaust. you don't want to smell burning atf.

15. take the car off the jacks. also, check for drips just in case you didn't tighten the plugs and screws enough. take the kitty litter out to absorb all the oil on the floor...

16. run the car around the block =) see if it changes gears, lol.

after about 1000 miles, do the same process again, but this time with the oem filter kit. =) reason so is because a lot more old atf was situated in the torque converter. key is to attain at least 90% new atf. after 50 to 60K and if your tranny doesn't need to be rebuilt yet, do this all over again.

i could have finished this DIY in much faster time if i just had a floor jack that would work properly. damn thing didn't have decent pressure...so make sure you got the right tools!

fin.

[jamesdc4]

Thanks for the DIY, Jo.
I'll put it in the DIY section.

[Jo@EuroDyne]

Thanks for the DIY, Jo.
I'll put it in the DIY section.

sorry took a while...just found time earlier...been busy with work.

[jszrom]

What is the recommended mileage to change to auto trans fluid? My car runs great and im at 93k.

[tka1]

Good post. I've been tempted to do mine recently. This is one of those jobs that takes more time to set up and clean up than to actually do.

[xxpanipuri]

you probably want to do it now....

i'm very anal about these things and i just had mine changed last week when my car was in for an oil change.

and its at 36k miles. but its 4.5 yrs old...so it was ready for it!

i noticed a huge difference in the way the trans shifted it was alot crisper/quicker.

last week i only did the fluid change which got 75% of the fluid out.

next yr i'll do the trans service to get the filter etc etc..

but just changing the fluid like i did made big difference.

What is the recommended mileage to change to auto trans fluid? My car runs great and im at 93k.

[xxpanipuri]

hows the waggin driving now since the trans fluid was changed?

[FP5241]

Great DIY!!!
Clear pics and everything....

[Jason5driver]

Very good write-up!
Ever considered using Amsoil Universal ATF?
Thanks!
Jason

[Doru]

Did about 10 days ago on mine. Here's the details for after:
Car seemed to shift better. Thought I got rid of the jolt when shifting from R into D (warm engine). This jolt came back, but not so hard as before. Lasted for about 4-5 days, now it's completely gone. I think much of the remaining grit is filtered and trapped on the magnets (and filter). Also, when driving on a light incline (like indoor parking), before tranny would kinda slip - higher than normal revs. This happened only once and briefly I think the 2nd when I went to work. Again, I think most of the remaining particles are trapped now. I will still drive 1 or 2 weeks and will change the Febi/Bilstein filter (not OEM) with the OEM (Filtran). Mine is a 2003 530. Changed ATF at arond 54000mi.

[Jo@EuroDyne]

What is the recommended mileage to change to auto trans fluid? My car runs great and im at 93k.

as i stated on my first paragraph, "my car is a 2000 528iTA that has about 94K miles. my transmission has always been smooth. but since my 100K mark is fast approaching, i decided to clean out my atf.."

100K is my answer.

[Jo@EuroDyne]

hows the waggin driving now since the trans fluid was changed?

honestly, i don't feel much of a difference =P...on steptronic. but when i'm driving it automatic, i feel a crispier responsiveness. i drove it around the block twice. no jolts whatsoever.

[Jo@EuroDyne]

Very good write-up!
Ever considered using Amsoil Universal ATF?
Thanks!
Jason

I did! But how can you beat the real deal from the dealership 20 liters for $96. Comes out $4.80 a liter vs. Amsoil at $7.95 a quart. If i'm not mistaken, thats even cheaper than Merc/Dex.

[oekundar]

very nice write up....during my e39 service weekend...I will tackle this.

[Jo@EuroDyne]

very nice write up....during my e39 service weekend...I will tackle this.

what else are you planning to do? =) cuz this job took me about 4 hours!

[Jason5driver]

I did! But how can you beat the real deal from the dealership 20 liters for $96. Comes out $4.80 a liter vs. Amsoil at $7.95 a quart. If i'm not mistaken, thats even cheaper than Merc/Dex.

I am debating using Amsoil Universal ATF or the recommend BMW part number stuff on the green tag at the bottom of the tranny...???
Recommendations?
Jason

[Jo@EuroDyne]

if you can get the same pricing as i did, go for the BMW one...if not, go with amsoil.

[oekundar]

what else are you planning to do? =) cuz this job took me about 4 hours!

starting to put my list together:

Day 1
Auto tranny fluid
Diff fluid
Serpentine Belt
Possibly Brakes (depending on when this weekend happens)

Day 2
Pull all seats...properly clean interior
Wire up crossovers for front components
Possibly put a new sub box/enclosure in the current location
Put Snow tires/rims on....

Already tackled the leaking power steering hoses/resevoir

that is all on the 'list' for now....I'm sure I'll add more....

[rom]

THANX! gonna do this when i get home! great thread!

[Jo@EuroDyne]

oekundar, why do you have to live across the country?!? don't forget to do write ups on this weekend...hey how do you do the differential fluid?

[Jo@EuroDyne]

THANX! gonna do this when i get home! great thread!

and since you live in rside, hit me up if you need any help...i'm just in corona!

[oekundar]

oekundar, why do you have to live across the country?!? don't forget to do write ups on this weekend...hey how do you do the differential fluid?

Uh....East coast is cooler?....cheaper gas?

I will be tackling this soon...although not this weekend...have a couple of things to address with the beater.

[BMW 528]

oekundar, why do you have to live across the country?!? don't forget to do write ups on this weekend...hey how do you do the differential fluid?

I think I don't have same tranny like you, mine is AS4 270R.

[Jim530i]

I also did this after seeing that most people here will change their ATF.

My car is a used 2001 530iA. When I first got the car on Dec of 2006, the car had only 34,000km on the clock. I did the first fluide change then.

After ~30,000km in a year (the odo is now at 63,000km), I did the fluide change again, and the oil is dirty. So from now on, I guess I will set the ATF change interval at every 30,000km to 35,000km.

However, I did use a non-oem filter the first time, so I wonder if it made any difference.

I also changed my rear diff fluide at the same time with Redline 75W90NS...what a difference it made when having these two fluide changes done at the same time.

Smooth and crisp

[BMW 528]

How much liters goes on diff?