ZF Gearbox Oil Change at BMW dealer
Discussion
stewilko said:
When BMW say 'Sealed for Life', they really mean, 'Sealed For Life of our warranty'.
I changed the gearbox oil on my 335d and later my x35d, both ZF autos. Both responded well. There's a procedure you need to go though when filling back up, and as the whole sump of the gearbox is replaced some careful use of a torque wrench (it has the filter built in) . I also reset the gearbox adaptions using a hooky INPA install - the boxes adjust pressures as the oil ages so need to be reset. I think this is why people sometime have problems when the oil is changed.
A poster said you don't get all the old oil out of the torque converter, they are right, but the bulk of it does change and it made a difference to both my cars (the 335d in particular had an abrupt shift in sports mode, the oil change + reset completely fixed it).
The official ZF service kit for the x35d cost £210 (on offer), with fluid, sump and instructions.
I assumed the fluid in the torque converter was seperate to the gearbox oil, this isn't the case then?
I changed the gearbox oil on my 335d and later my x35d, both ZF autos. Both responded well. There's a procedure you need to go though when filling back up, and as the whole sump of the gearbox is replaced some careful use of a torque wrench (it has the filter built in) . I also reset the gearbox adaptions using a hooky INPA install - the boxes adjust pressures as the oil ages so need to be reset. I think this is why people sometime have problems when the oil is changed.
A poster said you don't get all the old oil out of the torque converter, they are right, but the bulk of it does change and it made a difference to both my cars (the 335d in particular had an abrupt shift in sports mode, the oil change + reset completely fixed it).
The official ZF service kit for the x35d cost £210 (on offer), with fluid, sump and instructions.
I assumed the fluid in the torque converter was seperate to the gearbox oil, this isn't the case then?
_Hoppers said:
I assumed the fluid in the torque converter was seperate to the gearbox oil, this isn't the case then?
Same stuff, when you're filling it up it's done with the engine running (held at 2k RPM for 30 seconds, activate each gear etc) to make sure the converter is full. Needs to be between a certain temperature range too, officially. 
I-am-the-reverend said:
I've had five auto BMW's since 1999 and never changed the gearbox oil. I've not had a problem with any of them.
My parents have owned an E53 X5 with the M54 since new (2003). 262,000 miles and it’s never had the gearbox oil done. Converter still locks up in fifth as it should, and it changes fine for a ZF 5HP. It feels a little tired, but the rest of the car does by now, too. They also owned an E46 330i between 2000 and 2011, and took it to 150,000 miles. Box was fine, too.That said, I had a transmission specialist do the gearbox oil in my E36 320i. It’s got an early ZF 5HP, and they’re robust. But at 28 years old, it seemed prudent to do it. Only on 56,000 miles then, but still.
ZF 8HPs don’t seem to care if they have the oil changed or not. Even police ones with lots of hard use don’t seem to give issues. I’d change the oil every so often, but wouldn’t sweat being over the change interval a bit. If it was something with big miles I’d just plod on. Oil changes can make high mileage boxes do some funny things when there was lots of clutch material in the old fluid.
stewilko said:
_Hoppers said:
I assumed the fluid in the torque converter was seperate to the gearbox oil, this isn't the case then?
Same stuff, when you're filling it up it's done with the engine running (held at 2k RPM for 30 seconds, activate each gear etc) to make sure the converter is full. Needs to be between a certain temperature range too, officially. Make sure the filler plug is in before you switch off, or you'll have a 2 litre puddle to clean up.
stewilko said:
When BMW say 'Sealed for Life', they really mean, 'Sealed For Life of our warranty'.
No, they mean sealed for the life of the gearbox. The point being if you don’t change the oil according to a reasonable schedule (and 60-80k is pretty reasonable), that life will be quite a bit shorter than it needs to be. What’s £450 v the cost of a rebuild?A certain well known Midlands 4x4 manufacturer has the same attitude. Full Fat versions in particular (ZF6 or 8 depending on the model) tend to start eating their gearboxes once they get into six figure mileages for this reason. They tend to be fairly bombproof if they’re serviced so it’s well worth doing.
Pica-Pica said:
JW911 said:
No, they mean sealed for the life of the gearbox. The point being if you don’t change the oil according to a reasonable schedule (and 60-80k is pretty reasonable), that life will be quite a bit shorter than it needs to be..
Eh? ZFs recommendation is to change the fluid at 60-80k miles... I'd always go with their recommendations and NOT BMWs as I'm sure most folk already do...
When Grant at Automatic Transmissions in Preston service my previous Japanese import E39 540i ZF5 box, at 52k miles it came out liquid black tar! Very burnt and very past its usefulness... The fresh fluid & filter change made the box so much smoother and reactive
£250 all in, well worth the money!
£250 for the filter and oil kit yeah? That seems like cheap insurance to keep the box happy.
And I'd wager ZF's 60K recommendation is based on a normally driven car used regularly. A car that's stood around for months condensating, or a car that's be thrashed to death regularly by some chav, yeah, I'd be swapping that oil way, way sooner.
Hmmmm, black oil would indicate a lot of heavy launching and/or brake boosting if it's a N5x motor.
And I'd wager ZF's 60K recommendation is based on a normally driven car used regularly. A car that's stood around for months condensating, or a car that's be thrashed to death regularly by some chav, yeah, I'd be swapping that oil way, way sooner.
Hmmmm, black oil would indicate a lot of heavy launching and/or brake boosting if it's a N5x motor.
d_a_n1979 said:
Pica-Pica said:
JW911 said:
No, they mean sealed for the life of the gearbox. The point being if you don’t change the oil according to a reasonable schedule (and 60-80k is pretty reasonable), that life will be quite a bit shorter than it needs to be..
Eh? ZFs recommendation is to change the fluid at 60-80k miles... I'd always go with their recommendations and NOT BMWs as I'm sure most folk already do...
When Grant at Automatic Transmissions in Preston service my previous Japanese import E39 540i ZF5 box, at 52k miles it came out liquid black tar! Very burnt and very past its usefulness... The fresh fluid & filter change made the box so much smoother and reactive
£250 all in, well worth the money!
Pica-Pica said:
I understand all that (Dan-splaining?). But to say that it’s sealed for life, but if you don’t change the oil the life will be shorter, fails a logic test.
It only fails the owner logic test...as far as BMW is concerned it won't be under warranty and the customer can simply either buy a new 'box or a new car. There's no profit for BMW in all your components lasting 1 million miles.Pica-Pica said:
d_a_n1979 said:
Pica-Pica said:
JW911 said:
No, they mean sealed for the life of the gearbox. The point being if you don’t change the oil according to a reasonable schedule (and 60-80k is pretty reasonable), that life will be quite a bit shorter than it needs to be..
Eh? ZFs recommendation is to change the fluid at 60-80k miles... I'd always go with their recommendations and NOT BMWs as I'm sure most folk already do...
When Grant at Automatic Transmissions in Preston service my previous Japanese import E39 540i ZF5 box, at 52k miles it came out liquid black tar! Very burnt and very past its usefulness... The fresh fluid & filter change made the box so much smoother and reactive
£250 all in, well worth the money!
But I'd say there's a fair chunk of luck in that too IMO
I'll be getting the ZF8 in my F31 serviced by Grant in the very near future.
The gearbox oil change threads are always intriguing. Most people on here will happily ignore the BMW engine oil schedule as its too long for longterm reliability, but believe BMW for the gearbox. Even VW have 40k oil schedule for DSG.
ZF make the boxes, and in Germany it's common practice to have them serviced at one of their service centres. My towcar 535d will have its 2nd change next year as it will be on around 150k by then.
ZF make the boxes, and in Germany it's common practice to have them serviced at one of their service centres. My towcar 535d will have its 2nd change next year as it will be on around 150k by then.
Court_S said:
Personally, I think it’s worth while listening to ZF who make the component rather than BMW.
I had the ZF6 on my 335i serviced recently and it’s shifting better than it did previously; the slight clunk between 3rd and 4th has gone.
Exactly this! And exactly what Grant at Automatic Transmissions in Preston says...I had the ZF6 on my 335i serviced recently and it’s shifting better than it did previously; the slight clunk between 3rd and 4th has gone.
He's been around a long time too and glad he's local as he's sorted all my automatic BMWs
Gassing Station | BMW General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff