E39 540 Auto Trans Fluid
Discussion
Hi there,
If you look through the many many posts about the autobox on the E39, there's two things you'll read.
1. Changing the autobox fluid will be fine for the gearbox
2. Changing the autobox fluid will mean a catastrophic failure a short while later
There's no constant, so it's really up to you. I'd 'hazard' a bias that if you were to change your fluid and use cheaper/non recommended stuff, your gearbox will probably go along point number 2 above.
The 'general' consensus amongst quite a few Auto gearbox specialists I spoke to when mine gave up at 172K miles, is that they last to around 150K miles and then would require a full recondition/rebuild. This is further blurred when you read owners saying that their gearbox has given up at 70/80K and yet others saying their original boxes are 200, 250K miles plus!
What kind of mileage and age is your E39 540i? and has it had a recondition before by any chance?!
Cheers, Dennis.
If you look through the many many posts about the autobox on the E39, there's two things you'll read.
1. Changing the autobox fluid will be fine for the gearbox
2. Changing the autobox fluid will mean a catastrophic failure a short while later
There's no constant, so it's really up to you. I'd 'hazard' a bias that if you were to change your fluid and use cheaper/non recommended stuff, your gearbox will probably go along point number 2 above.
The 'general' consensus amongst quite a few Auto gearbox specialists I spoke to when mine gave up at 172K miles, is that they last to around 150K miles and then would require a full recondition/rebuild. This is further blurred when you read owners saying that their gearbox has given up at 70/80K and yet others saying their original boxes are 200, 250K miles plus!
What kind of mileage and age is your E39 540i? and has it had a recondition before by any chance?!
Cheers, Dennis.
I've got an e39 540. The general consesnus is that the gearbox doesnt like anything other then the LT71141- the jaguar forums have the same gearbox and they say the same thing.
The oil is now branded as Mobil rather then esso (same company- exxon-mobil), and I got mine from oil-store.co.uk. They have batches of 12 1 litre bottles which cost £117 delivered, inclduing vat. I sed 9, so I have three left.
There is also a consensus as to whether chanigng the oil is a bad thing, as the fresh oil might dislodge old gunk which then clogs the oil passageways.
I dont get this- logically the old oil will have some in suspoension, so removing as mish as possible is a good thing. And a fresh filter will stop any particulates which get loose. And the magnets stop any larger particulats which might get lose.
Oh, here is a tip: I got mine level using 4 axle stands on the jacking points. Then therer was plenty of room underneath to work. When filling, I went to Wilkinsons and headed to their home brew department. Bought two wine syphon tubes, and a pack of three funnels- under £5 all in.
Use the two syphon tubes to make a long tube (I kept the tap on one end, but its not necessary) and use the hard plastic bit to join the two ends. Put one end in the car filler tube, and the other I held high above the car with a fullen, nailed to my wooden shelving unit. Fill the oil from here, letting gravity do the hard work. Try to avoid air gaps in the tuve as this will take time.
Once you get rid of the air gaps, it was easy.
The oil is now branded as Mobil rather then esso (same company- exxon-mobil), and I got mine from oil-store.co.uk. They have batches of 12 1 litre bottles which cost £117 delivered, inclduing vat. I sed 9, so I have three left.
There is also a consensus as to whether chanigng the oil is a bad thing, as the fresh oil might dislodge old gunk which then clogs the oil passageways.
I dont get this- logically the old oil will have some in suspoension, so removing as mish as possible is a good thing. And a fresh filter will stop any particulates which get loose. And the magnets stop any larger particulats which might get lose.
Oh, here is a tip: I got mine level using 4 axle stands on the jacking points. Then therer was plenty of room underneath to work. When filling, I went to Wilkinsons and headed to their home brew department. Bought two wine syphon tubes, and a pack of three funnels- under £5 all in.
Use the two syphon tubes to make a long tube (I kept the tap on one end, but its not necessary) and use the hard plastic bit to join the two ends. Put one end in the car filler tube, and the other I held high above the car with a fullen, nailed to my wooden shelving unit. Fill the oil from here, letting gravity do the hard work. Try to avoid air gaps in the tuve as this will take time.
Once you get rid of the air gaps, it was easy.
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