[whenasked]

My dealer is running specials as:

Coolant flush $140

Brake Fluid flush $120

Are they good prices?

[Glim]

Originally Posted by whenasked

My dealer is running specials as:

Coolant flush $140

Brake Fluid flush $120

Are they good prices?

That is your call, both are cheap fluids and mostly labor and the car is raised for both projects.

This was posted in other threads, check out these maintenance schedules

E90 Maintenance schedule


They will use the correct fluids and do the job properly, they will also do a quick inspection and spot any trouble areas like bushings, joints, etc.

Check your CBS, and get anything else done that is close to its service date, if you are around 50,000+ miles and have never had your transmission fluid changed now is the time to get that done as well, it is jet black after 50k. I do not know how much it costs for an automatic fluid change as it requires a filter as well.

If you are 100,000+ then have the differential fluid changed as well, you can change it at 50k like in the schedule, I did, but it was very clean after 50k.

The parts I have not changed (I will wait for them to leak, fray, give an error code or clog before changing them) are: Water Pump, Fuel Filter, Oxygen Sensor, Accessory Drive belts and will change the coolant hoses as they leak or will change them all when the water pump fails at over 100k as they will be over ten years old at that time.

Parts Estimate:
Brake fluid $20
Coolant $20
(Manual) LT-2 transmission fluid $62
Diff Fluid $58

Labor:
BMW Service Clinic (inspection) $0
DME & KOMBI update: $128.64
Manual Transmission Fluid Change: $53.60
Differential Fluid Change: $53.60
Loaner Car: $0

Total Labor and Parts:
Manual Transmission Fluid Change: $115.60
Differential Fluid Change: $111.60
DME/KOMBI update: $128.64

[chromisdesigns]

Those aren't bad for dealer pricing. My independent shop charges about the same, here in the SF Bay area. Dealers here are a fair bit more.

[JunkStory]

I agree with Glim.

By the way, I just did the coolant flush ($110) and the power steering flush ($100) at the BMW dealer. These prices are reasonable and they do it fairly quick because they have special machines. Note that these are flushes.. a simple DIY (drain and fill) cannot get all the fluids out, so I think it is worthwhile.

[iflyjetzzz]

Originally Posted by JunkStory

I agree with Glim.

By the way, I just did the coolant flush ($110) and the power steering flush ($100) at the BMW dealer. These prices are reasonable and they do it fairly quick because they have special machines. Note that these are flushes.. a simple DIY (drain and fill) cannot get all the fluids out, so I think it is worthwhile.

True that about the flushes. I'm not a huge flush fan though, as I prefer the incremental drain/refills.
I just did my power steering drain/refill. I took out a quart in three stages (turkey baster method) and refilled with the quart of PS fluid. Total cost ~$23.
Not a complete flush/refill and I could have done a more efficient job if I had flushed it a bit but the PS fluid looks pretty darned clean.

I did a coolant drain/refill on my wife's 2005 Acura TL with one gallon of dealer Type 1 50/50 antifreeze ($24). The old antifreeze still looked like new. I'm not bothering to do this on my 2008 328i after seeing how clean my wife's antifreeze was.

But yes, those are decent dealer prices.

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by JunkStory

I agree with Glim.

By the way, I just did the coolant flush ($110) and the power steering flush ($100) at the BMW dealer. These prices are reasonable and they do it fairly quick because they have special machines. Note that these are flushes.. a simple DIY (drain and fill) cannot get all the fluids out, so I think it is worthwhile.

The BMW TIS procedure for the coolant flush does not call for a coolant transfer machine, just drain and refill.

There is no special machine for "flushing" the power steering system. The best way to drain and refill the power steering is to suck the old fluid from the reservoir, then from underneath the car remove the lower bango bolt holding on the return line to the steering rack. Removing the line allows the power steering fluid to drain from the rack, the hoses, and the cooler that is built into the left side of the radiator. Even better is to remove the flare nut on the external oil line on the rack and let that drain as well.

[whenasked]

thanks guys. I just went ahead and did a coolant flush at the dealer. Brake fluid did look pretty clean and hence did not do the flush even though it is due in another month.

Next step..front brake job..CBS says 0 mile left..but still no light. I was thinking to buy from Tischer BMW and get it done at a local shop.

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...catalogid=4462

[Glim]

Brake fluid does not really get dirty, it does however absorb moisture over time which heats when you brake, eventually the moisture boils and your brakes fade. Maximum extreme neglect life is 3 years, normal is 2 years, I change it every year.

[JunkStory]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

The BMW TIS procedure for the coolant flush does not call for a coolant transfer machine, just drain and refill.

There is no special machine for "flushing" the power steering system. The best way to drain and refill the power steering is to suck the old fluid from the reservoir, then from underneath the car remove the lower bango bolt holding on the return line to the steering rack. Removing the line allows the power steering fluid to drain from the rack, the hoses, and the cooler that is built into the left side of the radiator. Even better is to remove the flare nut on the external oil line on the rack and let that drain as well.

Can a drain and fill get all the fluid out? You may be right, but on the invoice it says they used 4L of BMW coolant. Assuming they mixed with distilled water 50/50, that's a total of 8L of fluids, which is the near the 8.4L capacity of the 335i cooling system. I will ask the SA next time.

[Glim]

Originally Posted by whenasked

Next step..front brake job..CBS says 0 mile left..but still no light. I was thinking to buy from Tischer BMW and get it done at a local shop.

Get a brake quote from both BMW and indi and a quote with you buying the parts, it may be cheaper if the shop supplies the parts as they get a volume discount.

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by Glim

Brake fluid does not really get dirty, it does however absorb moisture over time which heats when you brake, eventually the moisture boils and your brakes fade. Maximum extreme neglect life is 3 years, normal is 2 years, I change it every year.

I once kept the same brake fluid for nearly 4 years on a motorcycle. The brakes became very grabby and extremely difficult to modulate - so I'm a believer in the two year change.

Tom

[iflyjetzzz]

Originally Posted by Glim

Brake fluid does not really get dirty, it does however absorb moisture over time which heats when you brake, eventually the moisture boils and your brakes fade. Maximum extreme neglect life is 3 years, normal is 2 years, I change it every year.

Interesting. How does humidity effect that?
I don't think that my wife's Acura has had the brake fluid flushed since we bought it new in 2005. It's got 79K miles on it. She may have had the brake pads replaced last year but I don't know for sure.

[queensfield]

For what it is worth, on my wife's corolla I replaced brake fluid after 11 years. When replaced, there were no symptoms. I only replaced it, because it looked cloudy.

On my BMW, I just changed the brake fluid (on the clock after 2 years according to CBS). It looked OK (I will follow CBS plus a little more aggressive schedule on certain other fluids- coolant, every 60K miles, and engine oil, every 10-12K miles)

[tibra1]

Originally Posted by Glim

Brake fluid does not really get dirty, it does however absorb moisture over time which heats when you brake, eventually the moisture boils and your brakes fade. Maximum extreme neglect life is 3 years, normal is 2 years, I change it every year.

Every year is a little over kill..if you use hi temp wet and dry boiling point, racing fluid like Motul or Super Blue ATE..u can get away w 3 year intervals..unless you are tracking

[Glim]

Originally Posted by tibra1

Every year is a little over kill..if you use hi temp wet and dry boiling point, racing fluid like Motul or Super Blue ATE..u can get away w 3 year intervals..unless you are tracking

Why not? I have the wheels off when I am putting the summer tires on anyways, it costs $12 and takes 5 minutes per wheel with a power bleeder.

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by JunkStory

Can a drain and fill get all the fluid out? You may be right, but on the invoice it says they used 4L of BMW coolant. Assuming they mixed with distilled water 50/50, that's a total of 8L of fluids, which is the near the 8.4L capacity of the 335i cooling system. I will ask the SA next time.

That's correct, 2 gallons of coolant mix.

[SeriousE92]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

The BMW TIS procedure for the coolant flush does not call for a coolant transfer machine, just drain and refill.

There is no special machine for "flushing" the power steering system. The best way to drain and refill the power steering is to suck the old fluid from the reservoir, then from underneath the car remove the lower bango bolt holding on the return line to the steering rack. Removing the line allows the power steering fluid to drain from the rack, the hoses, and the cooler that is built into the left side of the radiator. Even better is to remove the flare nut on the external oil line on the rack and let that drain as well.

Does flushing the radiator/cooling system with a machine harmful? All the dealers in the DC area use a machine for coolant service.