[hun77777]

as some of you already knows, i'm hitting 50k really soon and started working on preventative maintenance my own as i'll be out of warranty...

On 3rd, i went to the dealer, they did final inspection of my car before i hit 50k and they replaced wiper blades, top off coolant fluids and steering fluids. BMW Seattle quoted me around $300 for transmission oil change, which is not bad as tranny oil itself go for ($22 per 1/2 liter and i need 5.5 liter they said) so i set the appointment for this coming saturday morning. thought about doing Redline or Pentosin but there's just too much going on with those according to my most recent research so i decided to stick with OEM. I'll certainly be doing this every 50k or less for sure...

for those who haven't seen discussion about aftermarket ATF vs OEM (ZF) : http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=345598

Yesterday, i just seafoamed my car. Ton of white smoke came out of exhaust, multiple misfire code came up. it was actually bit scary at the moment but end result tells me it's well worth it. thanks Mr.5 for sharing his insight on this. i used 2/3 to clean up intake manifold and valve and pour the remaining into engine. Didn't poor it on the gas tank though...

Today, after driving around 50~60 miles since seafoam treatment, i went to my mechanic shop and swapped out spark plugs with new ones. I was so surprised that even after merely 20k miles, it kinda looks bad (i changed out last time @ 30k miles). all minor misfiring is now gone. car feels a lot smoother. Also did engine oil change (TOTAL QUARTZ INEO MC3 5W30) along with oil filter (OEM), and put magnetic drain plug in it. i did brake fluids which was recommended by dealer to do it every 2 years. mine wasn't bad and still have another 4 months according to the schedule but i just did it anyways since i am doing all of these at once.

Tomorrow morning, i'll be taking my car to the dealer for transmission fluids service. supposedly takes 2 hours or so. after that, i'll be pretty much done with the maintenance, except two things; cabin filter and differential fluids. i already ordered cabin filters and already have 2quarts of diff. fluids (royal purple 75w90), i just don't know how to fill up the differential because there's only drain hole but no hole for fill up... anyone who's done it can share some insight on how it's done?

[jimk]

Originally Posted by hun77777

as some of you already knows, i'm hitting 50k really soon and started working on preventative maintenance my own as i'll be out of warranty...

On 3rd, i went to the dealer, they did final inspection of my car before i hit 50k and they replaced wiper blades, top off coolant fluids and steering fluids. BMW Seattle quoted me around $300 for transmission oil change, which is not bad as tranny oil itself go for ($22 per 1/2 liter and i need 5.5 liter they said) so i set the appointment for this coming saturday morning. thought about doing Redline or Pentosin but there's just too much going on with those according to my most recent research so i decided to stick with OEM. I'll certainly be doing this every 50k or less for sure...

for those who haven't seen discussion about aftermarket ATF vs OEM (ZF) : http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=345598

Yesterday, i just seafoamed my car. Ton of white smoke came out of exhaust, multiple misfire code came up. it was actually bit scary at the moment but end result tells me it's well worth it. thanks Mr.5 for sharing his insight on this. i used 2/3 to clean up intake manifold and valve and pour the remaining into engine. Didn't poor it on the gas tank though...

Today, after driving around 50~60 miles since seafoam treatment, i went to my mechanic shop and swapped out spark plugs with new ones. I was so surprised that even after merely 20k miles, it kinda looks bad (i changed out last time @ 30k miles). all minor misfiring is now gone. car feels a lot smoother. Also did engine oil change (TOTAL QUARTZ INEO MC3 5W30) along with oil filter (OEM), and put magnetic drain plug in it. i did brake fluids which was recommended by dealer to do it every 2 years. mine wasn't bad and still have another 4 months according to the schedule but i just did it anyways since i am doing all of these at once.

Tomorrow morning, i'll be taking my car to the dealer for transmission fluids service. supposedly takes 2 hours or so. after that, i'll be pretty much done with the maintenance, except two things; cabin filter and differential fluids. i already ordered cabin filters and already have 2quarts of diff. fluids (royal purple 75w90), i just don't know how to fill up the differential because there's only drain hole but no hole for fill up... anyone who's done it can share some insight on how it's done?

It's actually the opposite. There is a fill hole but no drain plug. You need to use a suction pump and suck the fluid from the fill hole. I used a mityvac like this that I have for years but similar ideas should work. Key is to find a hose that can be bend 90 degrees so you can get to the bottom of the diff. I had to use a more bendable hose which I got from Home Depot and even insert a short 90 degree bended hanger wire into the edge of the hose to keep the hose bended while I was sucking the fluid. A second set of hands holding the hose while you pump will be helpful.

http://www.amazon.com/Mityvac-7201-F.../dp/B0002SR7TC

Great job with keeping up with the maintenance. Try Red Line fluids next.

GL,
Jim

[hun77777]

thanks for the heads up there.

i read somewhere royal purple was better but i just can't fine the link now... anyways, i'm sure red line and royal purple will performs very similar anyways...
from the research i did, it also indicates that that's fill hole but it really does look like drain hole as it's angled downwards...
so how do you fill up all the way?

i guess i'll leave it up to professional for diff fluids service...

[Duhst]

damn... im coming up at 48k miles right now and i really do need to go in to get the final check up before warranty is up..

[jimk]

Originally Posted by hun77777

thanks for the heads up there.

i read somewhere royal purple was better but i just can't fine the link now... anyways, i'm sure red line and royal purple will performs very similar anyways...
from the research i did, it also indicates that that's fill hole but it really does look like drain hole as it's angled downwards...
so how do you fill up all the way?

i guess i'll leave it up to professional for diff fluids service...

You don't. Make sure the car is level and fill up to the lip of the fill hole. When the fluid starts leaking out you're done.

[hun77777]

Originally Posted by jimk

You don't. Make sure the car is level and fill up to the lip of the fill hole. When the fluid starts leaking out you're done.

oh so you are not supposed to fill up all the way? so at the lip of the fill hole is 1.2 quarts then?

[raceyBMW]

That's correct. Bavauto.com also has a $20 fluid pump that you could use for this suction and fill.

[hun77777]

just had the transmission service done at my local dealer. on my receipt, it says 83-22-0-406-929. asked SA if it is shell M1375.4 and he said it is... .

anyways, they charged me $427.02 out the door which wasn't too bad of a deal as fluid itself goes for over couple hundreds bux. they actually gave me whole sale price on the fluids ($18.06 per unit (1/2 liter)) and told me they had to use 12 units (1unit = 1/2 liter = 6 liters) for this service. They drained and fluids and show it to me. they said it wasn't super bad but it is still dark brown to brownish black. new transmission fluid is more like redish brown/amber so there's definite difference in color. overall i'm happy with the result. i can't notice much of difference but it does feel like shifting is bit smoother, could be four hundred bux placebo effect. but it sure doesn't hurt and piece of mind for next 50k is way more worth it for me...

i guess if i went on any other fluids, i could've save couple hundred bux on it but i'd rather have this done by the dealer mainly because it needs to be level off at certain temp. etc etc...

so there you have it on my tranny fluid story... i'll be doing differential fluids next week sometime... thanks for all the info guys...

[AlanAZ]

so how do you fill up all the way?

Bavauto.com also has a $20 fluid pump that you could use for this suction and fill.

use the same pump that you used to drain the diff to fill it with new oil, pump some new oil into your oil pan to flush the old oil out of the plastic tubing before you start filling the diff.

I measured how much oil I pumped out of the diff (into a 3 liter plastic water container that I marked at 1 qt.) to ensure that you get most of it out, otherwise you're just guessing. Good suggestions above on how to get the tubing to the bottom, I had to switch from a stiff plastic tube to something a lot more flexible to get to the bottom.

[Bcube]

Originally Posted by hun77777

thanks for the heads up there.

i read somewhere royal purple was better but i just can't fine the link now... anyways, i'm sure red line and royal purple will performs very similar anyways...
from the research i did, it also indicates that that's fill hole but it really does look like drain hole as it's angled downwards...
so how do you fill up all the way?

The fill hole is at the 1 liter level and that is great if one has a 328. Just fill until the fluid starts dripping back out. But the 335i diff spec calls for 1.2 liters. So I jacked up the rear until it was higher than the front, and measured out an additional 200 milliliters. Btw, 60nm torque on the new (~$4.50) fill plug.

[AlanAZ]

The fill hole is at the 1 liter level and that is great if one has a 328.

My 325 took 1.2 qts with the car level.

I'd be careful about adjust the level of the car to accommodate a set amount of oil since you can't be sure how much is remaining in the bottom of the diff. (which is why I advocated measuring how much is removed above - I had to change to a more flexible hose to get the last third of a quart from the bottom, and the only way I knew that was because I was measuring and was expecting 1+ qt.) The industry standard is to fill to the fill hole with the car level.

[hun77777]

BTW, here's picture of old spark plugs, barely around 19k miles...
it's not in bad shape overall but considering the mileage, i'll be doing this every 20k for sure.
probably best $60 spent out of all maintenances i've done...

[Perfectus]

Where did you get the Seafoam from?

[hun77777]

i got it off ebay. do you need some?

[Driv3r]

Im curious about your seafoaming adventure. as far as engine lights are concerned, did they disappear soon after you put in the seafoam? i think you should make a DIY for others as this is a topic of much debate.
Thanks

[hun77777]

mr.5 already post it up. i read his article and did mine. you will have all kinds of lights when during the process but i have procede and it was just matter of resetting and erase all the codes afterwards.

[chromisdesigns]

That's actually not a bad dealer price for transmission refill -- I've heard $600 and up a lot! Also that some dealers resist doing it because BMW claims the fluid will go 100K miles. Sounds like a good service department for a dealer.